Articles written by caleb vierkant
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New jiu jitsu class starts next month
“I don’t know, somehow you kind of get addicted to it, I guess,” Matt Nore said. Nore, volunteering with the Parks and Recreation Department, will be hosting jiu jitsu classes starting next month. Nore has grown up enjoying combat sports, he said,...
Coast Guard promotes formation of Wrangell auxiliary detachment
Liz Buness is working to reestablish a U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary detachment in Wrangell, and she received some help last week when a retired vice admiral, a division commander and Alaska district chief of staff were in town to meet with community...
Volunteers give Jason Gadd his own special 'Cars' room
The community came together last week to help make a wish come true for Jason Gadd, 16, with a parade in his honor and a bedroom makeover thanks to community volunteers and the Make-A-Wish...
New superintendent works to boost enrollment
Even while Bill Burr, Wrangell's new schools superintendent, is still unpacking, he already is looking toward challenges the district will face in the coming school year. One area of improvement he...
Borough will check soil for fuel leaks at power plant building
The borough assembly on Tuesday approved spending about $42,000 to find out how much diesel and other contaminants may have leaked into the soil around Wrangell Municipal Light and Power’s generator building on Case Avenue. The site assessment w...
Scoping underway for Mt. Dewey trail extension
With over $450,000 in promised federal funding, the city will spend the next few months scoping out a possible extension of the Mt. Dewey trail. “There are so many conditions or issues at play that affect our timeline,” Amber Al-Haddad, Wrangell cap...
Rob Cross wins Tongass ToughMan
The third annual Tongass ToughMan triathlon drew 22 competitors to swim, bike and run through Wrangell, with Rob Cross logging the best solo time of 7 hours, 54 minutes and 40 seconds. After sparse turnout last year, the July 3 event this year...
Yacht traffic recovering strongly from minimal 2020
After a long year of empty boat stalls and a diminished tourism industry, 2021 is motoring in the direction of normalcy for many Southeast communities, with several towns - Wrangell included - reporting an increase in yacht traffic. Wrangell saw only...
Art Clark Scrap Fish Derby reels in a line of happy kids
"How long it's been going? Since I was a 3 year old, I think," said Jamie Stough, 38, one of the volunteers running the Art Clark Scrap Fish Derby. "My parents started it. They did it as a tribute to...
Chuck Oliver Logging Show returns
Just like so many other events returned to Wrangell’s Fourth of July this year, the Chuck Oliver Logging Show was back after taking a COVID-19 year off. Oliver started the show in 1975, and he and h...
Salmon derby winner nets $3,000
Wrangell’s king salmon derby, back after a three-year hiatus, closed June 30, ahead of the Fourth of July celebration. The biggest fish of the derby went to Trevor Acker, who caught a 36.9-pound king salmon near Found Island on June 17, netting a $...
Royalty ticket sales come close to record
Emma Martinsen and Cassady Cowan came close to setting a record for Fourth of July fundraising raffle ticket sales this year, totaling $114,564. They were not much behind the 2016 record of $126,408...
Wrangell B&Bs full with summer visitors
After a rough pandemic-closed year for the tourism industry nationwide, especially in visitor-dependent Alaska, businesses are starting to show signs of recovery. And that means guests filling up overnight accommodations in Wrangell after a dismal...
Jason Rivers ties his love for fly-fishing into business
"Fly-fishing in general, I think, it's really hard to explain but everybody that I talk to about fly-fishing, that has fly-fished, they get it," Jason Rivers said. "It's really hard to explain to...
Borough wants to sell unused armory
The borough is selling the unused National Guard armory at 101 Second Ave. The armory was built in 1982 on land leased from the city, and the building was turned over to the borough when the Guard shu...
Wrangell's new wildlife trooper living the dream
"Since I was a kid, a 12-year-old kid, I just started hunting myself,"Trooper Chadd Yoder said. "My parents didn't hunt, so to start legally hunting I took my mom with me. I educated myself about...
Assembly adopts budget, plans for future flexibility
Wrangell’s municipal government will operate in the black for another fiscal year, under the budget adopted by the borough assembly Tuesday evening. However, the assembly is prepared to make amendments during the fiscal year, which starts July 1, as...
KSTK sponsors Adult Prom at the golf course
A fun tradition for Wrangell’s grown-ups is returning this Saturday, with the 2021 Adult Prom. The party will start at 8 p.m. at Muskeg Meadows Golf Course. The prom is an opportunity for locals to get out, dress up and dance the night away, said L...
AP&T begins survey for new SE undersea fiber optic line
Alaska Power & Telephone has begun preparations for a 214-mile fiber optic cable that will run from Juneau down to Coffman Cove. The SEALink submarine cable project will bring faster broadband internet access to communities like Coffman Cove and Kasa...
Wrangell last stop in 43-day round-the-world flight
"If you have the dream, or hopes, just try that," Shinji Maeda said. "Put the effort to make that happen, not sit and complain about your life. That's the whole purpose of this flight." Maeda, 41, is...
Borough approves permit for cell tower on north end
A conditional-use permit for construction of a new cell tower at the north end of town was approved by the planning and zoning commission last Thursday, after a consulting health physicist working for the developer testified that the tower’s radio s...
Family Fishing Day at Pats Lake next Saturday
Continuing a decade-plus of tradition, the U.S. Forest Service and other volunteers will sponsor Family Fishing Day at Pats Lake from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 26. The fishing day is an opportunity for families to come out and enjoy the outdoors, said...
Wrangell's new tourism branding promotes 'travel outside the lines'
With vibrant colors, an eye-catching logo and the goal of telling visitors what they can expect, Wrangell has launched its new tourism branding campaign. The "Travel Outside The Lines" slogan is...
Businesses report hiring struggles
Much like the rest of the country, several businesses in Wrangell said hiring has become a greater struggle than in the past. “I haven’t had a full staff in a year and a half,” said Josh Young, with J&W’s. “I hired my first new employee in over a yea...
Yancey ready to sell Rainforest Islander and retire
A little over a year after being put back in the water, the Rainforest Islander is for sale again. Owner Eric Yancey has been operating the Islander under Breakaway Ferry and Freight. He has also...
