Not a Legit Alaskan

When you think of political figures in the vast northern state of Alaska, chances are, you’re bound to think automatically of Sarah Palin. For most Americans, she’s the chief figurehead representation of politics in that state — so much so that they’ve probably never even heard of any other Alaskan political figures.

That said, Sarah Palin and her family are not originally from The Last Frontier. She was technically born in Sandpoint, Idaho. That said, once her father accepted a teaching position, the family moved to the far north, when Sarah was just a few months old. Since then, whether it be the state basketball championships or being governor, she has done more than her fair share of making the state of Alaska look amazing.

Camera Shy During Katie Couric Interview

Sarah Palin had her fair share of moments in the limelight that made her visibly uncomfortable. People saw this first hand during a 2008 interview with Katie Couric. Nervousness took over this candidate for the vice presidency and she began to fumble with her words.

Katie Couric’s questions appeared to catch the politician off-guard. It later came to light that she hadn’t been too keen on doing the interview and was manipulated into it by one of running mate John McCain’s aides. Sarah also went to say that she felt badgered by Katie Couric. However, no one will ever really know if that’s true; she could well have been camera shy.

Special Needs Child

Sarah Palin’s youngest child, her son Trig, was born with Down syndrome. The news was first relayed to her when she was four months pregnant with him. Instead of immediately telling her family, she chose to keep it a secret from them for months.

When interviewed, according to the Associated Press she said the following about raising this special boy: “Trig is beautiful and already adored by us. We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives. We have faith that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed.”

Sarah The Sportscaster

Before Sarah Palin found her way onto the political scene, she had some very different hopes and aspirations on her mind. In college, Palin immersed herself in journalism and got a degree in communications. On top of that, she was a renowned athlete during her academic years.

Being a sports fanatic, she saw her ideal future as a sportscaster. Today, we know her as a determined individual who gets things done, and she was the same back in her youth. After college, she became a sportscaster on an Anchorage news program. Even then, it was apparent she had a stand-out personality.

She’s Pro-Gun Rights

For most of her life, Sarah Palin has been a member and supporter of the National Rifle Association. Much of this has to do with her conservative view points and the environment that she had grown up in. Being from Alaska, gun ownership comes with the territory. Some of the state’s most popular pastimes are going out into its vast expanses of wilderness for hunting, fishing, and shooting.

No one should be shocked by her love for the deadly weapon. She has proven her steadfast determination to stand by party lines no matter what. Beyond her love of guns, she believe strong family values and tradition will keep the United States strong and united.

Stunning 1984’s Miss Alaska Pageant

Anyone who has ever seen Sarah Palin during an interview can tell you that there is something very special about her that makes her stand out from her peers. You don’t have to agree with her political stance to be charmed by her political savvy. No doubt, Palin picked up a few handy tricks back in her youth that taught her poise before a crowd.

After high school, Palin enrolled in the Miss Wasilla Beauty Pageant. She kicked the charms into high gear, and won with ease. It was from there that she signed up for the Miss Alaska Pageant. While she wasn’t able to take home the title of Miss Alaska, she did slide into third place. It’s not often at all that you can see leading politicians who have also placed in pageants!

Game Changer

The world was hyped about Sarah Palin for several years after she stepped onto the scene in 2008. Given the ripples left by her grand entrance to the upper heights of the American political scene, it should come as no surprise that HBO Films decided to make a movie about Palin. In 2012, they released a direct-to-television film called Game Changer.

The movie starred Oscar-winner Julianne Moore and it was an immediate hit. 2.1 million viewers tuned in on its opening night, and it received 64% on Rotten Tomatoes. The masses loved Moore’s portrayal. That said, Sarah Palin herself was less than thrilled. She stated that the movie made her look incompetent and like she was more concerned with her image than political issues.

Todd’s Love For Racing On Ice

For most, the massive state of Alaska wouldn’t necessarily seem like the most ideal place to start a life. It is often viewed as cold and barren, and while there is beautiful nature always close at hand, one has to feel a touch of isolation living up there. Even so, Alaska and its freezing temperatures definitely come with a few upsides.

This is especially true if you love the outdoors. Todd Palin, Sarah’s husband, is a big outdoors fan and one of his favorite activities is ice racing with his snowmobile. His beloved hobby was so well-known that it even became the centerpiece of jokes on Saturday Night Live.

A Barracuda On The Court

Sarah Palin has found herself parodied repeatedly on Saturday Night Live, among other comedy programs. However, you wouldn’t be laughing if you had to play a game of basketball against her. Before she ever made a name for herself in politics, Palin was an all-star in the world of high school sports.

While Palin often comes across as charming and soft-spoken, she was an aggressive monster on the basketball court, so much so that she earned herself the nickname “Barracuda”. In 1982, Sarah became the captain of her school basketball team and led them to a state championship. No doubt, Sarah still knows how to ball.

Her Favorite Food

Given how steeped in American culture Sarah Palin is, and how much she likes to sport the red, white, and blue, most would likely expect her to love American classic foods like hot dogs, hamburgers, and steak. However, Sarah Palin especially loves eating a dish that most Americans likely never ate in their lives.

Sarah’s favorite food to dine on is moose stew. Given that these massive and potentially dangerous deer aren’t exactly common in most other states except those in the far north, this is truly a regional delicacy. The biggest question is, does it taste closer to venison, or beef?

Choosing Her Favorite School

Once that senior year of high school comes around, many people are deep in the midst of considering where they will continue their education afterwards. In Sarah Palin’s case, her academic journey after high school would take her for one wild ride.

Sarah Palin didn’t settle for a single school. Her educational journey started at the University of Hawaii. Within the islands, she soon transferred to the University of Honolulu. That wasn’t her final location; she soon found herself in North Idaho College, and then moved on to the University of Idaho. Instead of completing her education there, she went home to Alaska and studied at Matanuska-Susitna College. She returned to the University of Idaho, where she at last got her degree.

Her Pet Name For Todd

Whether it be for their pets, children, or spouses, everyone has a pet name for somebody. It’s a cute way to show that special person in your life a little extra affection. The practice has been going on for centuries, but Sarah Palin didn’t pick it up until her news casting days came to an end.

That’s around the time when Todd and Sarah tied the knot. After getting married, the two decided to get into the commercial fishing business together, and that is when Todd earned himself a pet name that has stuck with him ever since. He is affectionately called Sarah’s “First Dude”.

Love At First Sight

In terms of relationships, things can often start off like a turbulent drift on a sea of uncertainty. Your heart’s into it one day and out of it the next. Judging by her success and fame, it isn’t hard to see that Sarah Palin is a woman who knows what she wants in life — and that extends to how she met the love of her life.

When Sarah first laid eyes on hubby Todd, she knew she wanted him for keeps. During an interview, she remembered back to the day she first saw him. It was at a high school basketball game. She reported that as he walked onto the court she quite literally thanked God.

A Very Educational Upbringing

Sarah Palin has a strong backbone of education that likely helped jettison her to becoming a one-time candidate for Vice President of the United States. Most of this can likely be attributed to her parents and the way she was brought up, as both of her parents had careers in the school district.

Her father Chuck was one of the school’s more beloved science teachers, while her mother worked as a secretary in the school. In addition to the classes he taught, Chuck also worked as a fishing instructor and as a bartender at the Alaskan Railroad. He was a man that would never hesitate to take on a second job when times got tough in the Palin household.

The Origins Of Track’s Name

When a new baby is on the way, both parents are usually in a world of joy. However, there is one big challenge that every parent must face no matter their circumstances — and that’s choosing a name for their child. The topic can be discussed and hotly debated for months. However, this was no problem in the Palin household.

Sarah named her son after one of her most beloved hobbies. When spring comes and melts all the snow off the pavement, Sarah delves into track mode. Seeing as Track was born in the springtime, she decided to name him after running track. It makes you wonder what he might have been named had he been born in another season!

Track’s Trouble With The Law

While being born into the Palin family seems like a lot of fun on the surface, it isn’t all hunting and snow racing. Todd and Sarah’s oldest son Track has had his share of slip-ups in recent years. In 2016, his then girlfriend reported him for mistreatment. When police entered the home, he was taken but not without a struggle.

While he eventually cleared his name, the former military veteran was again arrested over a dispute he had with his father. This time he also resisted arrest but was eventually taken in. Thankfully, the military hero seems to have cleaned himself up in recent years.

Sarah Knows How To Spend

Sarah wasn’t born into a family with bottomless pockets. Both her parents worked decent jobs to sustain the family, but money wasn’t growing on the trees in their backyard. Once she began running for Vice President in 2008 and became one of the big centers of media attention, the money started pouring in. For someone who had not grown up with much funds, it must have been exhilarating.

In the wake of her bid for the vice presidency, she immediately went on some wild shopping sprees. It’s said that she shelled out around $50,000 at Saks Fifth Avenue and $75,000 at Neiman Marcus. All together, Palin ended up spending $150,000 just on clothes.

Sarah and The Wolves

Alaska is full of beautiful wildlife. However, a recent explosion in the wolf population has put animals like moose and caribou in danger. In 2007, Palin began supporting a policy that approved hunters hunting wolves from the air. This would allow the wolf population to thin out a bit and leave more room for other species to thrive.

These hunters weren’t going out there and saving the moose and caribou for nothing. Palin supported a $150 bounty for each wolf killed. One can’t imagine animal rights groups being too happy about this policy, but as she sees it, the act is for the best.

Going Rogue

With the Sarah Palin biopic attracting such a huge audience, one could have only guessed that an autobiography would get the same, if not more, heaping amounts of attention. In 2009, Sarah Palin penned her first book, entitled Going Rogue: An American Life.

When a book does well, it usually get that shiny “New York Times Bestseller” sticker on its cover. However, it doesn’t exactly tell the reader how many people have bought the book. In just its first day in stores, Sarah’s book sold 300,000 copies. In terms of political figure writing books, it’s only been trumped by Bill Clinton’s autobiography, which sold 400,000 copies on its release date.

Race You To The Altar

Usually, couples tend to wait a period of time between getting engaged and officially tying the knot. It allows for them to plan the perfect wedding, get the best fitted dress, and choose an amazing venue. Sarah and Todd, meanwhile, wasted no time getting married once Todd had popped the question.

They didn’t even have a traditional wedding service, as they got two elderly people from an old folk’s home to be their witnesses. Much of this had to do with Sarah falling pregnant before getting the ring on her finger. She would end up having her son Track just a couple months after tying the knot.

Getting Behind Censored Books

An Alaskan librarian named Mary Ellen Emmons had been working at the local library for years and was fully dedicated to literature and the way the authors intended their works to be read. Sarah Palin had some different ideas about what kind of content ought to be provided in libraries, and Mary Ellen Emmons was not subscribing to those ideas.

Sarah Palin came to Mary Ellen and asked if she’d be willing to censor some of her books. There are a lot of things from the old days that can come across as harsh to children or even give them bad ideas. Cutting out some of the more harsh details could do wonders. The librarian refused the idea. The two parted ways peacefully, but it wasn’t long after that meeting that Mary Ellen received a termination letter from Sarah.

Palin is Pro-Israel

As a devout Christian, Sarah Palin is a big supporter of where the religion began and where many of its holiest sites are located: Israel. She hasn’t exactly kept this a secret, as she has worn her United States & Israel unity pin on multiple occasions. In 2008, she was quoted as telling then-Israeli president Shimon Peres that she kept an Israeli flag displayed in her office.

The media has reported her visiting Israel on two separated occasions. She was there in 2011 and 2015 to congratulate Benjamin Netanyahu for winning his fourth run as the country’s Prime Minister. Most of her support for the nation can likely be attributed to her religious beliefs.

Ambassador To Canada

Just when the world finally felt like Sarah Palin would not be running for elected office any longer, a rumor started to spread in 2017 that she was due to become the United States’ Ambassador to Canada under Trump’s presidency. Unfortunately for her, many Canadian citizens responded negatively to the notion.

It wasn’t just the people that were against Palin, but also the country’s politicians.  To make the matter even more complicated, Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary at the time, refused to deny the rumor. Thus far, Palin’s big move to Canada hasn’t turned out to be a reality.

Relation To Halle Berry

If you found out that Sarah Palin was related to a celebrity, who might you assume? Her celebrity relative is someone that nobody would expect. It came to light in 2020 that Sarah Palin is actually a distant relative of Monster’s Ball actress Halle Berry.

If you thought that the two had an emotional meeting and embraced this new bond, you’d be wrong. Perhaps Palin would have liked the idea of being related to an A-list, Oscar-winning star. However, Berry wasn’t having it. She took to Twitter and tweeted, “She may be on the tree but she ‘AINT invited to the cookout.”

Sources: Bob’s Hide Out, Two Reddots, Hooch