Just because the U.S. House — after more than a year of doing nothing — finally took time out from its busy days of politics and grandstanding to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools program for …

Borough officials in every department, every assembly member and probably every resident is well aware of the community’s needs to repair, upgrade or replace many of its aging buildings and service …

For Wrangell, the proverb “good things come in threes” rings true this holiday month — three meetings on the same night. It’s probably not what most people think about 10 days before …

When all the contractor bills are paid, the borough will have ended up spending more than double what it expects to receive from selling 20 residential lots at the Alder Top Village …

Much has been talked, written and speculated about a couple of possible big changes in the community: Pouring in rock fill and building a new dock downtown to accommodate overnight stays by smaller …

There’s nothing wrong with criticism of public officials. It’s not only constitutionally protected but it can be productive. It’s part of the decision-making process. It provides public …

Wrangell voters in October 2022 by an almost 2-to-1 margin approved borrowing $3.5 million to put toward a much bigger and more expensive list of repair, rebuild and replacement work at the …

The induction last week of this year’s nominees into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame covered an important part of Native civil rights history — and highlighted Wrangell’s place in that …

Just because the calendar has 365 days every year doesn’t mean there has to be an organized activity every day of the year. But there are a lot of activities in Wrangell, which is good. And it …

The federal government shutdown, driven by politics and personalities and posturing, is starting to cause a real mess. Particularly for travelers, where a shortage of air traffic controllers has led …

Homer is a fishing and tourism town of about 6,000 people at the southern end of the Kenai Peninsula. It’s more politically diverse than most cities in Alaska, with a strong liberal side, an …

The senator is a hard worker who does her homework. She looks for compromises, albeit frustrating both sides of the political aisle who would prefer she not compromise on what they don’t …

Running for borough assembly, school board or port commission — as 10 people are doing this month — is the easy part of the job. That’s not to dismiss the hours that the winners will spend …

The Alaska Division of Public Assistance has been behind — far, far behind — in processing applications and reviews for food stamp benefits since 2022. Alaskans who need help the most have not …

Playgrounds don’t show up in a community’s economic statistics like jobs, incomes, housing prices, new construction and school enrollment. But playgrounds can help make a town more appealing to …

Federal grants totaling over $650,000 to two Southeast Alaska tribal groups and the state to gather more science on transboundary rivers may seem like a proverbial drop in the bucket compared to the …

The school board voted last week to raise the pay for substitute teachers by $1 an hour, to $17. Though that’s short of commensurate with the responsibilities for the classroom job, at least it’s …

This is not to diminish the importance to Wrangell of the mayor, schools superintendent, road maintenance crews, postal workers, or the butcher, baker or candlestick maker. But the school …

  Good health is priceless. Staying active is part of that investment. Fortunately for the community, a motivated, multi-skilled, multi-tasking Parks and Recreation staff is the …

  It’s not often that a small town welcomes two new community leaders at the same time. But that is Wrangell’s good fortune with the arrival of Joshua Garrett as the new schools …