Editing Kotzebue, Alaska (section)

===21st century===

On September 2, 2015, U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] gave a speech on [[climate change|global warming]] in Kotzebue, becoming the first sitting president to visit a site north of the [[Arctic Circle]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/03/us/politics/obama-arctic-alaska-climate-change.html |title=Obama, Visiting Arctic, Will Pledge Aid to Alaskans Hit by Climate Change|work=New York Times |date=September 2, 2015 |access-date=September 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.yahoo.com/obama-visit-puts-spotlight-rough-plight-rural-alaska-071414226--politics.html |title= In Alaska, Obama becomes 1st president to enter the Arctic|work=Yahoo News |date=September 3, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2015}}</ref>

Since 2016, the [[United States Coast Guard]] has deployed [[Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawk|MH-60 Jayhawk]] helicopters to Kotzebue from the beginning of July to the end of October as part of [[Operation Arctic Shield]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 26, 2016|title=Coast Guard launches seasonal home base in Kotzebue|url=https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2016/06/26/coast-guard-launches-seasonal-home-base-in-kotzebue/|access-date=July 24, 2021|website=Anchorage Daily News|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Rosen|first=Yereth|date=July 5, 2021|title=US Coast Guard starts its seasonal Arctic operations from Kotzebue base|url=https://www.arctictoday.com/us-coast-guard-starts-its-seasonal-arctic-operations-from-kotzebue-base/|access-date=July 24, 2021|website=ArcticToday|language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2017, the city  received an [[All-America City Award|All-America City award]] from the [[National Civic League]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kotzebue |url=https://www.nationalcivicleague.org/aac-winners/kotzebue/}}</ref>

On December 3, 2018, [[Mike Dunleavy (politician)|Mike Dunleavy]] was sworn in as the 12th [[governor of Alaska]] in Kotzebue's high school gymnasium after inclement weather thwarted his plan to hold the ceremony in [[Noorvik, Alaska|Noorvik]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dunleavy sworn in as governor after a very Alaska travel glitch|url=https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/rural-alaska/2018/12/03/theres-never-been-an-alaska-inauguration-like-this-noorvik-welcomes-dunleavy/|access-date=August 19, 2021|website=Anchorage Daily News|language=en}}</ref>

In November 2023, [[ProPublica]] and ''[[Anchorage Daily News]]'' released an investigative report of [[domestic abuse]] and potential murders in Kotzebue  involving six [[Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women|indigenous women]] who had dated Mayor Clement Richards Sr's three sons, resulting in a total of 16 charges that were ultimately dismissed by local prosecutors or received minimum sentences by local judicial magistrates.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hopkins |first=Kyle |date=November 11, 2023 |title=One Woman Died on an Alaska Mayor's Property. Then Another. No One Has Ever Been Charged. |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/two-women-died-on-alaska-mayors-property-no-one-ever-charged |work=[[ProPublica]] |access-date=November 11, 2023}}</ref> While a state medical examiner stated for one of the women that there were "signs of strangulation", the local police eventually closed the case as [[suicide]]. In January 2024, the police released a statement saying they would not be re-opening the case, with their timeline of events in the statement contradicting events that occurred just after the woman's death. The city police said the other case of strangulation on the Mayor's property was referred to state investigators, though the Alaska Department of Public Safety said no such case was ever given to them.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hopkins |first=Kyle |date=January 30, 2024 |title=Police Say They Won't Reopen Case of Alaska Woman Found Dead on Mayor's Property |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/police-wont-reopen-case-of-kotzebue-alaska-woman-found-dead-on-mayors-property |work=[[ProPublica]] |access-date=January 30, 2024}}</ref>