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Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins headed toward victory in governor’s race

Former Sitka legislator Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins appears headed to victory as Alaska’s first Democratic governor in 24 years with a commanding lead in the vote count as of the Division of Elections …
7 hours ago

Assembly votes to shelve heating fuel sales tax waiver

At their Oct. 27 meeting, the borough assembly voted unanimously to indefinitely shelve the proposal of providing a three-month sales tax waiver for residents who heat their homes with diesel fuel. …
7 hours ago

Fishermen are hopeful federal relief program will help with high fuel prices

Everyone is feeling the high price of fuel these days, but for some industries, like commercial fishing, the rising cost is inescapable. On Oct. 19, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced …
7 hours ago
“Elf: The Musical” rehearsals are underway at the Nolan Center three nights a week. The large ensemble cast will perform during Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 27-28. Matt Nore (left) Malachi Harrison (center) and Casy Nini (right) worked on a musical number during practice on Oct. 29.

Cast and crew prepare for holiday production of 'Elf: The Musical'

Rehearsals are well underway at the Nolan Center as cast and crew members get ready for their Thanksgiving weekend stage production of “Elf: The Musical.” Actors, musicians and stagehands …
7 hours ago

Salvation Army Angel Trees will go up this week to collect gifts for children

With the holidays approaching, The Salvation Army is preparing to launch its annual Angel Tree program, stepping up efforts to reach more children and help families facing financial strain. The …
7 hours ago
Alaska news
Petersburg refused to pay $1 million cyberattack ransom in July
Cyber attackers who locked up Petersburg borough computers in July demanded about $1 million in Bitcoin, and the borough refused to pay, Borough Manager Stephen Giesbrecht told the Pilot last week. …
Yesterday at 4:00 AM
Judge dismisses federal lawsuit to block Alaska’s U.S. Senate winner
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration that sought to block the state of Alaska from declaring a winner in the state’s U.S. Senate election. In a 20-page …
2 days ago
FBI knocks on doors in Petersburg in its investigation of Senate candidate
In Petersburg, nobody has seen Dan J. Sullivan for weeks. His rustic home stood dark a day after FBI agents visited friends who donated to his quixotic campaign to unseat the Republican senator …
2 days ago
California approves plan to build largest kelp farm in the country
California has long been farm country, and its oceans soon could be, too. State coastal officials voted in September to allow a plan to build the United States’ largest kelp farm 6 miles off …
Tuesday, October 27
During the four days The Associated Press was on the fishing vessel Progress in the Bering Sea in July, the vessel caught some 210 chum salmon. The captain, who has spent 13 years in the pollock industry, said avoiding salmon is a central part of his job.
The fish behind America’s fish sticks is fueling a fight over trawling in Alaska
The net rose from the heaving Bering Sea swells, packed so tightly with Alaska pollock that their heads squeezed through the webbing. As the catch spilled onto the deck, other dead marine life …
Tuesday, October 27
Ketchikan borough assembly removes official after racial remark
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly has voted unanimously to immediately remove Darlene Dollimont-Svenson from the borough planning commission. The motion was put on the Oct. 20 agenda by …
Tuesday, October 27
Nyché Andrew places her hand on the soil after bringing flowers to the grave of her relative, Tummassak, at the Lutheran cemetery in Shishmaref on Oct. 5. Tummassak, who died more than 100 years ago while attending the federal Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, was reburied on a grassy knoll. She was among three Alaska Native students whose remains were returned to Alaska this year from Carlisle.
Ketchikan family’s wait continues for remains of Native boarding school student
Healing, joy and new connections filled a Ketchikan family’s journey in September to the Carlisle Barracks Post Cemetery in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where the family’s ancestor, Mabel Stack, died …
Tuesday, October 27
Incumbent congressional candidates skip Alaska Native convention forum
Mary Peltola, a Democrat in a tight race that might determine control of the U.S. Senate, stood on stage at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage and threw some barbs at the …
Tuesday, October 27
At least 18 early and absentee voting sites in rural Alaska fail to open
At least 18 remote villages where Alaska Natives are a majority of the population failed to open early and in-person absentee voting sites during the first week of early balloting, according to …
Tuesday, October 27
Wrangell

Freedom Rock veterans memorial installation postponed to spring

The placement and official community unveiling of Alaska’s first Freedom Rock memorial to veterans have been deferred until spring, primarily due to manufacturing lead times for a protective …

Tuesday, October 27

School district will require two more course credits for graduation

High school students will need to earn 26 credits to graduate instead of 24, following final school board approval on Sept. 21. The policy change raises overall graduation requirements without …
Wednesday, October 21

School board elects Powers as new president

The school board reorganized its leadership and officially seated its newest member at its Oct. 12 meeting. The board welcomed newly elected member Jayme Howell, who won the seat previously held …
Wednesday, October 21
Newspaper Archives

View Sentinel archives back to 1898 -- a joint project between the Sentinel and the Irene Ingle Public Library.

Thursday, August 14, 2025

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Police report

Police report for Nov. 4, 2026

Monday, Oct. 26 Traffic stops (2). Citizen assist. Bar check. Tuesday, Oct. 27 Traffic complaint. Traffic stop. Parking problems (2). Assist. Bar check. …

7 hours ago
About Town
Photos of the week
Photo gallery

Getting ready for Halloween

Ryan (left) and Erika Jabusch on Oct. 22 helped fill the candy bins and bowls for next week in the heavily decorated garage of their grandparents, Jeff and Kay Jabusch, in advance preparation for Halloween. Jeff and Kay are well known for their extravagant Halloween displays each year, and this year promises to be no different. They welcome all who want to come enjoy their haunted garage on Ocean View Drive — and some treats too.

Tuesday, October 27
History column

The Way We Were for Nov. 4, 2026

Nov. 4, 1926 All of the guild committees are working to make the coming fancy work sale on Nov. 13 a big success. The sale will open at 2:30 in the afternoon, upstairs in the Redmen Hall, and …

7 hours ago
Sports

Wrestlers take first among small schools, third overall at tournament

Wrangell’s Jackson Carney, a 152-pound senior, took down Dillingham’s Baker Hulett in action Friday, Oct. 30, at the Mountain City Classic in Anchorage.
It was a strong two days for Wrangell High School wrestlers at the Mountain City Classic in Anchorage, with the Wolves taking first among small schools and third overall at the tournament. …
Yesterday at 4:00 AM
Wrangell freshman Seth McMaster (far left) leaves the block in the boys 200-yard freestyle race during at the Southeast high schools regional championship meet in Juneau on Friday, Oct. 30.

Swim season ends at Southeast regionals with several personal-best times

Members of the high school swim team achieved several personal records and two swimmers made it to the finals at the Southeast regionals last weekend in Juneau. Freshman Seth McMaster set his …

Yesterday at 4:00 AM

Wrangell wrestlers take Division II title at Southeast Showdown

The Wrangell High School wrestling team captured the Division II team title at the Southeast Showdown in Juneau on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 23-24, behind three individual champions and a dominant …
Wednesday, October 28
Opinion
Editorials

Assembly right to get cold feet on heating fuel tax holiday

As tempting as it looked to waive Wrangell’s 7% sales tax on heating fuel sales for three months this winter, borough officials and the assembly made the right call in dropping the idea. After …

7 hours ago

Vote only no on unnecessary ballot measure

State law already is clearer than a cloudless day in Southeast; as clear as the March 31 annual filing deadline for an Alaska Permanent Fund dividend; and just as clear as the TSA rule against …

Wednesday, October 28

Naming the port a fitting honor for former governor Murkowski

Frank H. Murkowski, who turned 93 in March, was governor of Alaska from 2002 to 2006; a U.S. senator for the 49th state from 1981 to 2002; named commissioner of the Alaska Department of Commerce and …

Wednesday, October 21
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Reporter's column

The best camera makes you want to work

There is an old, reliable maxim in photography that often gets lost beneath marketing copy: The best camera isn’t the one with the highest price tag or the most advanced technology — it’s the …

Wednesday, September 30
Publisher's column

Only the important things in life have to be real

I like talking and listening with taxicab and ride-sharing drivers. It gets me away from only talking and listening to myself or my friends, who tend to have the same outlook on life as I do. It …

7 hours ago
Letters to the editor
Greetings from Silverdale, Washington, my new home. After a half-century of life in Wrangell, I want to honor all those family, friends, co-workers and compadres who enriched my life in so many ways. …
7 hours ago
Between the three of us, we have had the privilege of serving Alaska as governor for a total of 16 years. We come from different political backgrounds, have different perspectives and have not always …
Wednesday, October 28
Obituaries
Ira Robert “Bob” Sansom
Former resident, retired teacher Ira Robert ‘Bob’ Sansom dies at 94
Ira Robert “Bob” Sansom, 94, passed peacefully to heaven in the early hours of Oct. 28, 2026, in Conroe, Texas. “He was loved by many and will be missed, but we take comfort in knowing that his …
7 hours ago
Phillip “Phil” Wayne
Longtime teacher Phil Wayne, who helped start wrestling program, dies at 89
Phillip “Phil” Wayne passed away peacefully at his home in Sitka on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, at the age of 89. Phil’s arrival on Feb. 7, 1937, was featured in the Corbin Times as the first …
Wednesday, October 14
Jerimiah ‘Jerry’ Lee Meyers
Surrounded by family and music, Jerimiah ‘Jerry’ Lee Myers passes at age 77
Jerimiah “Jerry” Lee Myers passed away on Aug. 25, 2026, in Absarokee, Montana, at the age of 77. Jerry was born Sept. 26, 1948, in Medford, Oregon.  He was raised all along Southeast …
Wednesday, September 23
Jacqueline ‘Jackie’ Brown (Gross)
Jacqueline ‘Jackie’ Brown (Gross) dies at 79
Jacqueline “Jackie” Brown (Gross) passed away on Aug. 14, 2026, in Glendale, Arizona, at the age of 79. Jackie was born on May 17, 1947, in Wrangell and carried with her throughout her life …
Wednesday, August 26
Patricia Eileen (Lewis) Mork
Lifetime resident Patricia Eileen (Lewis) Mork dies at 92
Patricia Eileen (Lewis) Mork, loving wife, mom, grandmother, great- and great-great-grandmother and friend to many, passed away peacefully on Thursday, July 26, 2026. Patricia “Pat” was born …
Wednesday, August 19
Community Calendar
Calendar of events