This is an odd story. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) is asking for some answers about an alleged flag policy at a well-known national park.

Allegedly, officials at Denali National Park told construction crews at the park not to fly the American flag. The senator wrote a letter requesting an explanation, noting that such a demand was made "on the eve of Memorial Day weekend." It's a bad story made worse because of its timing.

How did this story happen? Allegedly a report by the Alaska Watchman, a local conservative publication, cited an anonymous construction worker at the national park. 

When initially reporting the story, the crewman who contact me ask to remain anonymous because he is actively working on a project for Granite Construction – the company building a massive bridge for the Federal Highway Administration, about 43 miles into Denali Park Road.

As we first reported, the worker said the flag controversy originated from Denali Park Superintendent Brooke Merrell, who he said contacted the on-site Federal Highway Administration official overseeing the bridge project. The crewman said Merrell told the federal official that there had been “complaints” about the American flags, that they were detracting from visitors’ “park experience,” and that they should be removed from the trucks.

Before publishing the story, the Watchman reached out to Denali National Park’s media contact on May 22 to get their side of the story. We were told that Superintendent Merrell was not around, and that it was not likely she would respond to our questions before the end of the day on May 22.

After failing to receive any answers to our questions, we finally published the story on May 23, around 4 p.m., with a note that we had not received a response from park officials.

 The source wanted to remain anonymous to not lose his job by coming forward about something he thought was wrong. If the story is found to be true, it's understandable that he doesn't want to be outed as a tattle tale about an action taken by a person in a position of authority. 

Does it sound feasible that visitors to a national park would complain about an American flag flying? That seems to be the iffy part. Senator Sullivan's letter states that he was told that a construction worker affixed a 3x5 foot American flag to a construction vehicle. Sullivan said he was told that a National Park Service (NPS) official told the construction crew to remove the American flag. 

Senator Sullivan isn't having it. 

“This is an outrage – particularly in the lead-up to our most solemn national holiday, Memorial Day, a time when Americans come together to honor those that gave their lives in service to our nation, while wearing our country’s flag,” Sullivan wrote. “The American flag, especially on Memorial Day weekend, should be celebrated, not censored by federal government employees.”

Sullivan wants an investigation and if the story pans out, he wants to make sure it doesn't happen again in a national park.

The NPS did not respond to the original story for four days. Then, the day a peaceful truck convoy protest originated from Fairbanks and arrived at the park with flags flying, the NPS decided to release a brief statement.

“Reports that a National Park Service (NPS) official ordered the removal of an American flag from a Denali bridge construction worker’s vehicle at Denali National Park are false. At no time did an NPS official seek to ban the American flag from the project site or associated vehicles. The NPS neither administers the bridge project contract, nor has the authority to enforce terms or policies related to the contract or contractors performing the work. The American flag can be seen at various locations within Denali National Park – at park facilities and campsites, on public and private vehicles, and at employee residences – and we welcome its display this Memorial Day weekend and every day.”

The Alaska Watchman went back to the anonymous worker and asked about the NPS statement. The worker said that the Federal Highway Administration supervisor has overall jurisdiction over the bridge project, as well as the granite construction. The supervisor oversees the projects. Park Superintendent Merrell has no say over what happens within the boundaries of the bridge construction site. 

The Alaska Watchman found that response to mesh with what the NPS said. 

However, the worker went on to say that the Federal Highway Administration official told the granite construction project manager that the park superintendent wanted the flags removed from the construction trucks when they drive through the park. That means whenever they leave the construction area the flags have to come down.

“He told the Granite Project Manager to convey to the hands that they have to take down their flags when they are driving on the park road,” the crewman said. “The Granite foreman told the hands who have flags that they can’t have them.”

The NPS statement may be true but misleading. It said that no park officials issued a ban on the flags. The statement doesn't answer the question of whether or not park officials wanted the flags removed outside the construction site. The Alaska Watchman said that this is the important point of the story.

The worker claimed that the Federal Highway Administration official confirmed that Superintendent Merrell complained about the flags. He called them "not conducive to the park experience." 

The construction worker is the person who contacted Senator Sullivan's office.

The Alaska Watchman sent questions in an email to the Denali National Park’s public information officer. It placed a Tuesday afternoon deadline on a response. 

It's an odd story. Perhaps Senator Sullivan's office can get an investigation underway. I find it hard to believe that tourists would complain about American flags flying on construction trucks as they drive through the park.