People have been driving out the Spur Road and illegally cutting down trees on borough land and hauling away the logs, likely for firewood, Wrangell Police Chief Tom Radke said. In a move to combat the theft and damage to public property, the...

The primary election for the Alaska House of Representatives is more than nine months away and already five-term incumbent Rep. Dan Ortiz has at least two challengers for the District 1 seat that represents Ketchikan, Wrangell and Metlakatla. Robb...

Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed state budget for legislative consideration starting in January includes $5 million to strengthen the century-old earthen dams that contain Wrangell’s water reservoirs. The state grant would pay to “reinforce both these...

By the time this paper hits the stores, I’ll be on a plane to my family home in Salt Lake City for the holidays. But unlike last year, I won’t be coming back to Wrangell in January. Instead, I’ll be making a leap from the oldest continuously publi...

A dozen Wrangell households had applied as of Dec. 7 for state financial aid to help them recover from the Nov. 20 landslide. The deadline to apply is not until Jan. 27, and an official with the state emergency management agency is encouraging...

Interim Borough Manager Mason Villarma and other local officials were in Washington, D.C., last week to ask for federal help for the community after its deadly landslide. “In terms of impact, the community is scared, I think, and rightfully so,” Vil...

Southeast Alaska is known for rain, windstorms, mountainsides that loom above residential areas — and landslides that occur with increasing frequency. Sitka knows the risk, and the pain, losing three people in a 2015 landslide. Haines lost two p...

Individuals and the borough are eligible for financial aid under the state’s disaster assistance programs. State grants to individuals are limited to no more than $21,250 for housing repairs and up to the same amount for other needs. That could i...

Borough officials successfully negotiated down the cost of the Mount Dewey trail extension with the project’s only bidder to keep the work within budget. The assembly approved the contract at its Nov. 14 meeting after staff and the contractor cut m...

A massive landslide 11 miles from town destroyed three homes on Nov. 20 — including one that housed a five-member family — and stranded more than 70 residents who lived south of the slide. Timothy Heller, 44, Beth Heller, 36, Mara Heller, 16, and Kar... Full story

The building housing the community center is in its eighth decade and the center is into its fifth decade — with the Parks and Recreation Department looking to gather up remembrances for a dedication ceremony planned for March. In a letter posted o...

While serving as interim borough manager, Finance Director Mason Villarma will make $10,000 per month in addition to his regular monthly base salary of just under $10,000 per month. As interim deputy borough manager, Clerk Kim Lane will receive an...

The Wrangell Cooperative Association is nearing completion of its 5,000-square-foot maintenance and warehouse building on Zimovia Highway. The facility is in its second year of construction, though planning for the project started about a decade ago....

After seven years of planning, the borough has accumulated the funds it needs to upgrade its water treatment plant and is preparing to move forward with the work. At its Oct. 10 meeting, the assembly approved a $1.961 million loan from the U.S. Depar...

The borough assembly approved a $880,294 contract with Juneau-based Global Diving and Salvage to install corrosion-inhibiting anodes at Heritage Harbor and in two locations at the Marine Service Center. The project is funded through Port and Harbors...

After Jeff Good’s resignation, Finance Director Mason Villarma was named interim borough manager and Borough Clerk Kim Lane was named deputy interim borough manager while the assembly seeks a permanent replacement for the role. Mayor Patty Gilbert a...

As the downtown barge ramp nears the end of its useful life, the borough is weighing its options for replacing and possibly relocating this piece of critical infrastructure. Assembly members and borough staff discussed replacing the ramp in its...

Borough Manager Jeff Good submitted his resignation on Sept. 27 after nearly two years of service. He has accepted a civil engineering job with the Bureau of Indian Affairs which will allow him to live in Wrangell and also spend more time with...