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A "hero" walks among us. Junior Mia Wiederspohn has been selected as one of six Alaska teenagers to receive a scholarship through the Summer of Heroes program. The program each year recognizes teens who are making positive impacts in their communities. Wiederspohn was selected because of her efforts to keep the Tlingit language and culture alive through radio broadcasts and podcasts and for her work in the high school BASE (Building a Supportive Environment) program. Wiederspohn, 15, was awarded...
The state ferry Tustumena was tied up in Homer for several days last week, lacking enough crew to operate. Due to crew shortages, the Tustumena’s sailings were canceled as of July 26, and were scheduled to resume seven days later on Tuesday, according to an announcement from the Alaska Marine Highway System. “A critical crew shortage required the vessel to stay in port for safety reasons,” the state reported July 28. “We ran out of stewards,” Alaska Department of Transportation Commissioner Ryan Anderson said during a presentation to the Junea...
More than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, parents across Alaska are still struggling with long wait lists, high costs and limited capacity at child care centers. Federal grant funds administered by the state and a child care nonprofit are helping providers cope with financial struggles and staff retention. However, the money is available only to licensed child care facilities — which Wrangell does not have. But help may be coming later this year. The state plans to distribute federal money as community grants to help new providers s...
The chamber of commerce will work to raise money over the next nine months or so as it looks ahead to paying for next year’s Fourth of July fireworks and events. The annual royalty raffle is the chamber’s major fundraiser for the summer celebration, and this year’s proceeds are short of what’s needed to fully stage the 2023 Fourth, said Brittani Robbins, executive director of the chamber. The chamber would like to raise an additional $20,000 to $30,000 before next summer to ensure the fireworks, events and prizes can continue at the same le...
The chainsaws are quiet. The laughter and cheers have subsided. The splashing has passed. The Fourth of July celebration and events may be over, but the memories, victories and bragging rights will live on. From catching fish and chopping wood to volunteering and counting raffle tickets, there were plenty of positive outcomes. "I think everything went well considering this is only the second Fourth of July celebration since COVID," said Brittani Robbins, executive director of the chamber of...
Princess Cruises will not add any additional Southeast businesses to its MedallionPay program this summer, taking time after the season ends to better explain to merchants the digital payment system that can be used by passengers to buy goods and services while in port — with a substantial commission retained by the cruise line. The program takes as much as an 18% commission on local purchases. Objections from merchants and the mayor in Skagway were part of the company’s decision to pause adding new Southeast businesses to the payment system, w...
THANK YOU Thanks and Gunalchéesh to Alaska Vistas, ANB, the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce, Harbor Department, Parks and Recreation Department and WCA for all their support with the July 3 canoe races. Both scheduled and spontaneous helping hands made it possible for 100 entrants to participate. John and Cindy Martin THANK YOU Thank you to Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood for the donation and frybread sale on the Fourth of July. Gunalchéesh ho ho! Wrangell JOM THANK YOU The Stough family, James and Rachel, would like to say a big thank y...
The borough assembly approved a budget for the fiscal year that started last Friday similar to past years — no increase in property tax or sales tax rates, and with more than half of the total spending going to the self-supporting operations of sewage, water, garbage, electricity, port and harbors services. The budget approved by the assembly June 28 includes more than 20 repair, maintenance and improvement projects across the borough and in several departments, including: Repairs and maintenance at the schools, recreation center and pool, i...
Eric Halstead took the lead in the 67th Wrangell King Salmon derby with a 43.4-pound catch near Blake Island on June 17 and never lost it, bringing him the first-place prize of $3,000 cash. Stanley Johnson took second, with his 41.8-pound king on June 19, near Found Island. He will receive $2,000, plus an additional $500 for the largest catch on Father’s Day. Dave Svendsen caught a 39.9-pound king on the first day of the derby June 15, near Blake Island, good for the third-place prize of $1,000, plus an additional $500 cash for reeling in t...
Friendly competitions, food tosses, tests of endurance and plenty of fun filled the weekend as hundreds flocked to various Fourth of July events throughout Wrangell. Tourists, visitors, family and former residents returning home joined locals in watching and participating in the parade, talent show, basketball and many other events from Friday through Monday in celebration of the Fourth. Despite a change in venue for the fireworks show from Volunteer Park to a barge in Zimovia Strait due to dry...
The fun is returning with four days full of games, music, food, booms, pops, pows and wows. In addition to all the popular events held at last year's Fourth of July celebration, six more have been included in the schedule after being on hiatus for a couple years, and three new events have been added. For a full schedule of events for Friday through Monday, see Pages 8 and 9. Returning favorites include the fireworks show Sunday evening, Monday's parade, Saturday's fish derbies and several waterc...
Starting the final week of the Wrangell King Salmon Derby, Eric Halstead was holding his lead with a 43.4-pound catch. Almost four dozen fish had been weighed in as of Sunday evening, with no one coming close to Halstead in the second week of competition. The derby opened June 15, and Halstead hooked his leader on June 17. The derby runs through 9 p.m. Sunday, with $7,900 in cash prizes. The largest king salmon entered in the derby will win $3,000; second place is worth $2,000; and third place wins $1,000. As of Sunday evening, Stanley Johnson...
June 22, 1922 Wrangell now has an exclusive permit for water power development on Mill Creek, at Virginia Lake on the mainland across from Wrangell Island. The application made by the town was in conflict with an application made by J. G. Galvin. The executive secretary of the Federal Power Commission recommended that the application of Mr. Galvin be denied and that the town be given an exclusive permit. Following is the letter which accompanied the permit: “Mr. J. E. Worden, City Clerk, I am enclosing herewith, for your files, the original c...
Eric Halstead was at the top of the Wrangell King Salmon Derby scoreboard with a 43.4-pound catch as of Sunday evening, five days into the competition. The derby runs through July 3, with $7,900 in cash prizes. As of Sunday evening, 27 salmon had been entered, according to the chamber of commerce, which sponsors the event. Halstead hooked his salmon last Friday, near Blake Island. Stanley Johnson, of Wyoming, was in second place, with a 41.8-pound king that he caught near Found Island on Sunday. He won $500 for catching the largest fish on...
From log rolling to similarly shaped but much smaller and lighter wiener tossing — and everything in between, whether moving or not — the events over the long July 4th weekend are going to be plentiful. However, the chamber of commerce needs help. At least 15 volunteers are needed to help pull apart raffle tickets for the annual prize drawing, set up and take down booths, direct people and generally help out wherever needed over the several days of community festivities. Brittani Robbins, the chamber’s executive director, said there are about...
Just as Alaska’s tourism season heats up, Princess Cruises said it will close one of its five lodges in the state this summer because of staffing shortages. The Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge will close this Friday, according to a statement provided June 6 by Negin Kamali, a spokeswoman with Princess Cruises. The lodge had opened on May 19 for the first time in more than two years, after the COVID-19 pandemic halted major cruise sailings to Southcentral Alaska until this summer. Located a 3½-hour drive northeast of Anchorage in Co...
It was the fundraiser that almost wasn't until one ambitious teen decide to set another goal. Each year, the chamber of commerce uses the Fourth of July royalty contest to raise money to pay for the following year's events. Nobody had entered this year's competition until Tyson Messmer stepped up mid-May to help. Messmer, who graduated high school this year, will attend the University of Miami in Florida. Though the school awarded him a scholarship, he still needs to raise money for his schoolin...
Don’t let this be the one that got away. The Wrangell King Salmon Derby gets underway on June 15 and runs through July 3. At stake is $7,900 in cash prizes. The heaviest king salmon will get the biggest prize, as first place in the derby wins $3,000; second place wins $2,000; and third place wins $1,000. If two people land fish that weigh the same, the person who gets it weighed first will win. There will also be a $500 prize for the biggest fish caught on opening day, a $500 prize for the biggest caught on Father’s Day, two $250 random wei...
An award and scholarship ceremony held May 13 at Wrangell High School lauded the achievement of many students and presented seniors with scholarships to further their educations. Teachers Lisa Brooks, Jack Carney, Winston Davies, Ann Hilburn, Donna Massin and Tasha Morse all presented various students with certificates and plaques to commemorate their accomplishments for the year. Community members presented a bevy of different scholarships to the seniors, such as Virginia Oliver, who presented...
When Kitty Angerman caught wind of the chamber of commerce logo design contest for the Fourth of July, she smelled inspiration right away. That inspiration - the scent of the Stikine River - won her the grand prize of $1,000, and her design will appear on posters, T-shirts, hat, cups and more. Angerman was the first to submit an entry into the contest, followed by 22 more. Chamber executive director Brittani Robbins said they decided to go with a contest this year rather than pay someone for a...
It's not uncommon for high school students to learn a second language. It's a bit rarer for them to take what they've learned and teach it to others. That's exactly what sophomore Mia Wiederspohn has been doing the past two years with the Tlingit language and by extension the culture. As a freshman, Wiederspohn, 15, began learning Tlingit from Virginia Oliver, whose Tlingit name is Xwaanlein (the frost on the beach when the glacier passes over). She teaches the language at the high school, middl...
The chamber of commerce is planning a welcome ceremony for the first ship on Wrangell's official cruise calendar, which also happens to be a brand new vessel making its inaugural sailing to Southeast. The 186-passenger Ocean Victory, chartered by American Queen Voyages, is scheduled to arrive at 8 a.m. Thursday at the City Dock. Chamber Executive Director Brittani Robbins on Monday said the ceremony is planned for 10 a.m. Thursday and will feature Tlingit dancers, a presentation of a key to the...
It's time to dust off that Duster and shine up that Chevelle. Proud owners of anything from classic cars and clunkers to tricked-out trikes and awesome ATVs will have a chance to cruise into infamy on July 2. A yet-to-be-named car show is scheduled to be part of the Fourth of July festivities, with prizes awarded to best in show and other categories. Ellen Jellum, a masseuse at Arctic Chiropractic, had the idea for a car show to raise funds for Wrangell's schools. It's something she used to do...
Anyone who wants to get a pizza midweek at the Marine Bar or a steak or burger at the Elks Lodge knows that worker shortages have forced employers to reduce their days and cut back on offerings. “This worker shortage is real, and it’s not going away anytime soon,” Dan Robinson, research chief at the Alaska Department of Labor, told legislators last month. “For nine years in a row, more people have left the state than have come here,” he told the Senate Finance Committee. The population has been stable as births have outpaced deaths, but the y...
"A River Runs Through Us" is the theme chosen for this year's Fourth of July celebration in Wrangell, prompting event organizers to hold a first-ever art contest, with the winner's work being featured on posters and other swag. Plus, there's a chance to win $1,000. Entries can come from anyone and can be hard copies or digital. The piece should capture the theme of the contest, which refers to the Stikine River. The deadline is Friday by 4 p.m. "It's a connection that everybody from here...