(1166) stories found containing 'COVID'
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 1166
Job gains forecast in Alaska, but working-age population decline a problem
Alaska is expected to gain 5,400 jobs in 2024, an increase of 1.7% over the past year and enough to nudge total state employment above 2019 levels for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, according to the newly published annual... Full story
School district counts on state funding increase
It’s been eight years since the state last increased its per-student funding formula for public schools — a 0.5% nudge that year — and years of stagnant funding have caught up with districts statewide, including Wrangell. “We have to count on fund...
Girls basketball team ready for season opener this weekend
After missing out on a chance to compete at last year’s state tournament by a two-point loss at regionals, Wrangell Lady Wolves basketball coach Christina Good is ready for her team to try again this season. “We’re due again, so we’ll see how it...
School board offers to extend Superintendent Burr's contract
The school board has offered a three-year contract extension to Schools Superintendent Bill Burr, effective July 1, 2024, pending further negotiations. “We just wanted him to know that we want him to stay,” said David Wilson, school board pre...
State domestic violence services running short of federal funding
A major source of funding for Alaska’s domestic violence response has decreased significantly the past five years, leaving a multimillion-dollar hole in the budget for services. That reduction, paired with the end of federal pandemic relief money a... Full story
Haines shares what it learned from deadly 2020 landslide
More than 140 miles away in Juneau, Sylvia Heinz picked up her phone and read the news of the fatal landslide in Wrangell. "I put my phone down. I couldn't read it. I couldn't think about it. I felt s...
Students gather with their favorite adults for Friendsgiving lunch
Tables and seats were organized for students and guests along the walls of the elementary school gym, with "Happy Friendsgiving 2023" coloring pages scattered on the tables, ready for crayons. The...
Walking is better for my health, as is the view
In my 20s and 30s, in addition to relying on public transportation to get around, I did a lot of walking. I briefly owned a couple of cars at different times, but they were, for the most part, older and often in disrepair. Plus, I mostly worked in...
It's time to get back to things that matter
By Pastor Sue Bahleda Island of Faith Lutheran Church I like words with opposite meanings, like “trim.” One meaning is about eliminating unnecessary bits, like trimming fat from a steak. An opposite meaning is to decorate, like trimming a Chr...
Volunteers continue long tradition of recycling eyeglasses
The Lions Club closed down its Wrangell chapter seven years ago, but volunteers still participate in the international service organization’s eyeglass recycling program. “We’re still collecting eyeglasses,” said Janet Strom, who along with her hus...
Elks Lodge needs more volunteers for dinners, other help
The Wrangell Elks Lodge has been active in town since 1935 and could use a few more active volunteers to help with its weekend dinners, chores around the building and public services. “It is getting worse over time,” said Dawn Angerman, one of the...
State loses challenge to special COVID-era hunt for Kake residents
A federal judge in Anchorage has ruled that U.S. government officials did not overstep the law when they allowed an emergency hunt near Kake during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision, published Nov. 3 by Judge Sharon Gleason, is...
Backlog returns for approving food stamp benefits
More than a year after the state Department of Public Assistance first fell behind with processing food stamps benefits for thousands of Alaskans, the agency is again reporting lengthy delays for new and returning applicants. As of late last month, a...
Tlingit Haida household pandemic aid program ends this month
A pandemic aid program that provides one-time payments to tribal citizens is ending Nov. 30, though the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska will continue to offer other federally funded assistance programs for its citizens...
Alaska seafood harvesting, processing jobs declined in 2022
Alaska fish-harvesting employment declined in 2022, a continuing yearslong slide caused by a variety of factors, according to an analysis by the state Department of Labor. Employment for people harvesting seafood dropped by about 25% from 2015 to... Full story
School principal takes proactive approach to absenteeism
Jackie Hanson, high school and middle school principal, is attempting to make improvements in student attendance before it becomes an issue this school year. According to the most recent Alaska Department of Education’s Report Card to the Public, s...
Record museum visitor count, but low gift shop sales at the Nolan Center
Now that the tourist season has come to a close, the Nolan Center looks back on a successful year as it prepares for a winter of community events and holiday festivities. In 2023, the Nolan Center...
Juneau sets record at over 1.6 million cruise ship visitors
The last of this year’s record of 1,646,862 cruise ship passengers left Juneau on Oct. 25. It was dark, temperatures were below freezing and a steady wind was blowing. All of which suited Shane Carl, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, just fine. “I wanted...
School district may use reserves to cover state travel deficit
School district administrators have recommended using a collection of unspent accounts and general fund reserves to cover the $44,000 deficit in the travel account from past state competition, while...
Starry, starry art
Retired troller John Church has found a new use for the "miles of troll line" left over from his fishing days. He makes "Kostick Stars," named for the artist who created the geometric wire pieces...
Wrangell's death rate has exceeded births since 2017
Though fewer Wrangell residents died in 2022 than in 2021, and more babies were born last year to Wrangell moms than the year before, the longer-term numbers continue to show more deaths than births for the community, matching the downward trend in t...
Spending on dividend and public services squeezes Permanent Fund
The Alaska Permanent Fund isn’t running out of money, but it may be running out of money that can be spent. After years of earning less than it needed to beat inflation and the demands of the state treasury, the Permanent Fund’s spendable res... Full story
Don't let cruise visitors overrun the community
I cannot agree more with John Bania’s letter to the editor in the Oct. 11 Sentinel. I live in Juneau and have been fighting the impact of cruise ship tourism on my neighborhood for over 30 years. Three years ago, we finally had a borough assembly t...
Historian assembles 40 years of stories from Wrangell Institute
Award-winning historian Ronan Rooney’s latest project is filling up a new webpage with interviews, photos, government and university reports — even the student newspaper and yearbooks — remembering the Wrangell Institute Bureau of Indian Affai...
Gone until next summer
The last cruise ship of the season, the 650-foot Seabourn Odyssey, as seen from the Nolan Center, tied up at the City Dock on Sunday, Oct. 8. Wrangell was on the itinerary for more than 130 cruise...