For the first time since visiting King Cove, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland held a news conference sharing insight into how the trip went.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - It’s been a whirlwind first trip to Alaska for U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who has yet to make any commitment to building a road from King Cove to Cold Bay, but said a response could be coming soon.
Earlier in the week, Haaland visited King Cove, and it was a long-awaited trip after she had previously postponed it due to concerns over COVID-19. She toured the small southwestern Alaskan city alongside Sen. Lisa Murkowski, with Gov. Mike Dunleavy also in attendance. During the visit, residents urged Haaland to build the long-requested road between King Cove and Cold Bay.
Aleutians East Borough Communications Director Laura Tanis wrote in the statement that 18 deaths have been associated with a lack of land access since 1980, and that the 10,000 foot paved runway in Cold Bay is more suitable for transporting people in need of medical care to Anchorage.