We in Alaska have still got a ways to go in determining the end of our election--maybe tonight we will know!

But in the meantime, this is what I have to say at the end of this. For everyone.

I can't think of anything else to say. You can see the vids. You can ask me. You can look back with me. But for now, all I can think of saying that is appropriate for the occasion... is thank you.

As for more thanks...

MTV Newsroom, you're all a blast. If I ever come visit one day I expect to see the Alaska flag hanging up!

Thanks Mom, Dad, Shelby, Courtney... and my whole family. You guys always listened to me get happy, get frustrated,

Thank you to Aaron, of course.

Thanks also to Phil, Tom, Matt, Katie, Drew, Carey, Chris, Nathan, Leah, Sarah, and everyone else who took up for me and cheered me on and provided inspiration.

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The election hub might be at the Westmark Hotel in downtown Fairbanks, but the place to be for mellow conversation, a safe environment, and a good beer, too... would be the UAF Pub.

CNN is scrolling on the big screen in the center of the Pub, and off to a brightly-lit side room.  Chicago's WGN (widely available on Alaska cable) is on a smaller mounted television up near a shelf adorned with a classy collection of vintage beer bottles.  Halloween decorations still stream from one corner of the ceiling to another.  Spiderwebs, skeletons and ghosts still creep across the walls.

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I voted, and it was 2 degrees outside. You have no excuse to not go out and VOTE!

I cast my vote at the Chena District 8 polling place at approximately 9:15 AM... at the teeny-tiny Faith Baptist Church, which sits overlooking the iced-over Chena River.

Polling workers present said I'd missed the major throng that came shortly after 7 AM, when traffic was backed up for more than half a mile on the one-lane Chena Pump Road. They'd mentioned that over 400 voters had already come to cast their ballots since the polls had opened.

According to the national stereotype of Alaska... more people voted here than live in our state. Just kidding!

I'll be heading down to the University of Alaska polling place this afternoon to catch up with Alaskan students on the way to cast their vote. I'll also have my voting footage... which includes pictures of that iced-over river!

love,

Alaska Dani

What were Alaskans to expect when their fresh-faced governor with record approval ratings was presented as the next possible Vice President of the United States?

Probably not what one congressman had to say in September.

Late last month, Florida Democratic Congressman Alcee Hastings addressed a panel discussion put on by the National Jewish Democratic Council in Washington, DC . According to ABC News' Teddy David, Hastings said the following:

 "If Sarah Palin isnt enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention. Anybody toting guns and stripping moose dont care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through."

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Representative Lindsey Holmes (D-Anchorage) was once a hard-working law student in Chicago... while Barack Obama had a part-time post teaching Constitutional Law while serving in the Illinois State Legislature. What does she remember about the guy who had the classes that were so hard to get into? And where do Sarah Palin and Barack Obama match up, in Lindsey's eyes?

I might have to take my reporter hat off this week, and talk a little bit about something more personal… but something that so many other people are going through in our nation.

In March of this year, I emceed an annual music showcase here in Fairbanks.  I hit it off with one of the bands that was featured—several members remain close friends, but the drummer happened to mean a lot more to me.  I had not been looking for a stolidly permanent arrangement in the love department, but what can I say? He had a car, a steady job, an education, he’s a good-looking guy, and we shared a lot of the same interests… and I genuinely enjoyed being around him. Aaron was, well, amazing. In late April we started dating, and had a great Alaskan spring, went to California on a trip together… I’ve met his family (and like them), I...

Last Wednesday night, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was welcomed home by an airplane hangar full of Alaskans.

The McCain-Palin campaign jet rolls up to the airport hangar where Fairbanksans gathered to welcome Governor Sarah Palin.

The cheers were loud and the excitement was high, even while waiting for the vice presidential nominee to step off of the campaign jet.

Shortly after the Republican National Convention, Palin accompanied Republican presidential nominee John McCain on a number of stops to promote their campaign in battlegrounds states such as Pennsylvania and Colorado.  During that time she was sequestered from the media, and kept her talking points to those she made during her convention speech--which drew over 38 million viewers during its live play.

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So, John McCain wasn't the only star of the Republican National Convention--his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, was the talk of the Twin Cities (as well as everywhere else).

The Republican National Convention was a frenzy of supporters and protestors alike. What was the vibe on the street? Jay from Detroit had some things to say.