Johnson Tire Closure - Some Background

The ADN has had articles Thursday and today  on the closure of Johnson Tire.  This is a particularly critical time as people are changing their tires from summer to winter tires.  According to the article, people had left their snow tires at Johnson Tire and now they can't get access to them.

Kelly Gaede 2010 Leg Hearing

I  posted on Kelly Gaede back in 2010 when I was blogging the legislature.  He had proposed a mandatory winter tire bill which Rep. Harris had introduced.  At the hearing it was clear that this was a bill that would give Gaede and his company Johnson Tire a lot more business.  Rep. Tammy Wilson aggressively questioned the bill and how it would impact her constituents.


The state now lists inactive business licenses for Johnson's Tire Service - one for Dennis Gaede in Fairbanks and Kelly P. Gaede in Anchorage.

Here's a link to that old post:  Mandatory Winter Tire Bill.  One of the commenters - Anonymous July 7, 2010 - seemed to have more detailed personal information about the history of Johnson Tires and Gaede.  I can't vouch for the accuracy of the comment, but it seems like it's worth checking out.