‘You know you’re an Alaskan if…’

One relative newcomer to the Last Frontier wants to know what it is that makes Alaskans inherently, well, Alaskan.

Hedy-Jo Huss recently moved to the 49th state to settle in Soldotna and has since begun searching for the true Alaska essence those around her seem to possess. She is hosting a contest to ask her fellow Alaskans to submit answers to the prompt: “You know you’re an Alaskan if….”

“I got here a year and a half ago, and shortly after I got here it just popped into my head,” Huss said.

Participants can submit as many entries as they’d like, Huss said. She will read through them all herself and offer a prize yet to be determined for the most “Alaskan” response.

Huss said she’d like to hear from both old timers and newcomers to the Last Frontier. For those who haven’t lived here long, Huss said some good responses might include things that have to do with becoming an Alaskan and getting to know the state’s way of life.

“I’ll never run the Iditarod, but I can appreciate it,” she said. “I am slowly and surely feeling more Alaskan all the time.”

Huss would especially like to hear from the families of homesteaders who have lived in the state since its inception, she said.

Some of the top prompt responses could be published along with the winner, Huss said, and she’ll hold on to all the submissions for the future.

“I would like to make them into a booklet,” she said.

Submit responses to “You know you’re an Alaskan if …” by sending an email to news@peninsulaclarion.com, including a name and contact information, or finding the post on the Clarion’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/peninsulaclarion/.

Reach Megan Pacer at megan.pacer@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Jason Criss stands for a photo in Soldotna, Alaska, after being named a qualifier for the Special Olympics USA Games on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna athlete to compete in 2026 Special Olympics USA Games

Thousands of athletes from across all 50 states will be competing in 16 sports.

The entrance to the Homer Electric Association office is seen here in Kenai, Alaska on May 7, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
HEA opens bids for real property

The deadline to submit bids is 5 p.m. on Aug. 11.

Arturo Mondragon-Lopez, Jr. (right) attends a change of plea hearing related to the October 2023 fatal shooting of Brianna Hetrick on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, at the Homer Courthouse in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Mondragon-Lopez sentenced for death of Homer woman

Arturo Mondragon-Lopez, Jr. accepted a plea deal in February for the shooting of Brianna Hetrick.

Soldotna City Hall is seen on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna OKs $395,000 capital plan

This year’s list of capital projects is “nominal compared to some past years,” according to officials.

A map of areas proposed for annexation by the City of Soldotna. (Provided by City of Soldotna)
Soldotna adds annexation proposal to ballot

The proposed annexation is split across five small areas around the city.

Nets are extended from North Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, during the first day of the Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘A really good day’

Kenai River personal use sockeye salmon dipnet fishery opens.

The entrance to the Kenai Peninsula Borough building in Soldotna is seen here on June 1. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough assembly to consider ordinance to increase residential property tax exemption

If approved by voters in October, the ordinance would increase the tax exemption by $25,000.

Vice President Kelly Cooper speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough considers seasonal sales tax rate

Borough sales tax would be modified from a flat 3% to a seasonal model of 4% in summer months and 2% in winter months.

Most Read