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Borough officials met with the Washington state developer who has grand plans for the former mill property at 6-Mile. They listened as he presented his ideas at a public workshop. And they wisely made no commitments, other than to continue listening. It’s not that the borough is against development proposals to create jobs; City Hall fully supports any reasonable idea that would help the town’s struggling economy. It’s just that officials don’t want to write any checks, make any promises or sign any commitments until they know more. Cautious is...
It feels like just yesterday we were welcoming a new year on this incredible island we are so blessed to call home. Wrangell is more than a place — it’s a family. Each person here adds something extraordinary to the vibrant life of our community. This past year, we celebrated milestones that reminded us of the strength of these bonds. During the Fourth of July, 30- and 40-year high school reunions chose Wrangell as their gathering place — not just out of tradition, but because here, everyone knows your name, arms are open wide, and every accom...
The Wrangell Athletic Club succeeded in raising enough money in its first full year to repay the school district for the cost of sending students to state competition in the 2023-2024 school year. The all-volunteer nonprofit organization was created in late 2023 after the school district determined it could not afford to pay the expenses of students traveling to state competition and needed community fundraising to cover the bills. The costs totaled $25,042 for the 2023-2024 school year, which...
The Wrangell high school girls basketball team opened their season with back-to-back home losses against Metlakatla. In the Dec. 20 game, Wrangell lost 64-22. The next day, the Wolves fell 62-24. Though neither game was much of a contest, head coach Christy Good understands that at this point in the season generating results comes second to building positive habits. She also noted that the Wolves were without four of their 11 rostered players, including star sophomore Alana Harrison. “We have a lot of things to work on,” Good said. “We neede...
The Wrangell boys basketball team lost both home games to Metlakatla in their first competition of the season on Dec. 20 and 21 but playing in Metlakatla this weekend will give the high school squad an opportunity to get even with their southern rivals after an early bye week. The two-game series (one game Friday and one game Saturday) started off with a bit of a rude awakening for Wrangell. Metlakatla won the Friday game 49-26 in a triumphant display in the Wolves’ home gym. On Saturday, Wrangell was far more competitive, though the Chiefs s...
Wrangell's Jackson Carney is a state wrestling champion. The sophomore finished atop the podium in the boys 140-pound bracket after beating Glennallen's Jake Stockhausen in a 7-1 decision. Carney was not the only Wolf with a strong showing at the high school state Division II championship in Anchorage on Dec. 20-21. Della Churchill finished fourth in the girls 120-pound division and Cody Barnes finished fourth in the boys 215-pound bracket. Everett Meissner finished sixth in the 152-pound...
Jack Carney's maniacs on the mat aren't slowing down. At the Southeast wrestling championship in Haines on Dec. 13-14, Wrangell boasted three champions, four runners-up and five bronze medalists. Seven wrestlers qualified for the state tournament in Anchorage on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 20-21, but head coach Jack Carney hopes many more will receive an at-large bid. Wrangell's triad of top-step finishers were Della Churchill, Jackson Carney and Everett Meissner. Hailey Cook, Ian Nelson, Vanessa...
The governor has proposed a state budget for next year that does not repeat this year’s education funding increase and pays out a $3,838 Permanent Fund dividend — and runs up a $1.5 billion deficit. The cost of the dividend, estimated at more than $2.5 billion, consumes 40% of total available state general fund revenues. Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s spending plan, unveiled Dec. 12, would wipe out more than half of the state’s budget reserve account. The broad aspects of the Republican governor’s spending plan are similar to those that encounter...
Dec. 18, 1924 On last Friday evening the Wrangell schools two basketball teams played their first public game of the season. The attendance at the game was small due to the fact that the evening was so cold. The evening opened with a curtain raiser by two teams of smaller boys from the grade school. The featured event of the evening was a game between the regular high school and grade school teams. The teams are about as evenly matched as any two teams could be, the grade team having the advantage in weight and high school boys the advantage...
Southeast Alaska’s population is expected to drop 17% between 2023 and 2050, far more than any other region of the state, according to the latest projections, with Wrangell showing the steepest decline at 33%, from 2,039 residents in 2023 to 1,988 in July 2025, 1,845 in 2030 and down to 1,349 in 2050. Wrangell’s population has been in a steady decline since the timber industry started cutting back in the 1990s and the mill closed down permanently in 2008, and with deaths outnumbering births. The state’s latest projections are not based on an...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has a choice for his final two years on the job: He can continue talking about how state law requires him to include an outrageously large Permanent Fund dividend in the budget — even though it would dig a deep budget hole which, thankfully, legislators will never approve — or he can help solve the problem. It looks like he is sticking with the irresponsible approach. He proposed a budget last week that is politically popular with his supporters but which he knows the state cannot afford without drawing down its rem...
Ketchikan Rep.-elect Jeremy Bynum has decided to join the House Republican minority caucus. A narrow 21-member coalition of Democrats, independents and two Republicans are set to govern the 40-member House when lawmakers convene next month in Juneau. The majority coalition has been hoping to entice a couple more Republicans, including Bynum, to join their ranks. Bynum opted to stay with the Republicans, according to last week’s announcement by the minority caucus. The freshman legislator, who also will represent Wrangell, Metlakatla and C...
What do you get when you mix a cross-country superstar, a couple of wrestling studs, one of the best basketball players in Southeast and a coach who believes in his system and his players? My guess? A damn good basketball team - but at the very least a really, really, really, really fun team to watch. And if you aren't quite convinced, add to the mix the following: a feisty freshman vying for a spot in the rotation and a high basketball-IQ senior leader unwilling to accept anything other than...
Five, four, three, two, one - wooooooooooo. And just like that, the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree was alit. Adorned with 10,000 Alaskan-made ornaments and glistening with the power of 5,000 LED bulbs, the 80-foot-tall spruce will remain lit from dusk to 11 p.m. through Jan. 1. While the tree obviously headlined its own lighting ceremony, the Dec. 3 event was equally a celebration of Wrangell and the state. Members of Alaska's congressional delegation, Rep. Mary Peltola and Sens. Lisa Murkowski...
After more than five years of work, Wrangell's newspapers going back to the Fort Wrangel News in June 1898 (when the town was spelled with one l) are now available in a searchable online database. And it's free. The website, which went live on Wednesday, Dec. 11, is owned and managed by the Irene Ingle Public Library. "This incredible resource brings over 6,000 issues together in one convenient location, providing a powerful tool for researchers, families and anyone curious about Wrangell's...
STATE PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE will be in town on Thursday, Dec. 12, and will see clients in the clinic. Immunizations, birth control and STD screening, well-child exams for kids up to age 7, TB screening and medication, Narcan kits and medication disposal bags will be offered. The Public Health Center is in the Kadin Building, 215 Front St. Call 907-723-4611 to make an appointment so the nurse knows which immunizations to bring. CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS PARTY, 10 a.m. for last names starting with A-K; 1 p.m. for last names L-Z; Saturday, Dec. 14, at th...
Alaska Airlines has received a federal subsidy since 1976 to provide Wrangell with twice-daily jet service, and the mayor and chamber of commerce are rounding up community support to urge the government to issue a new contract after the current agreement expires in 2025. “I want to ensure it stays around,” Mayor Patty Gilbert said of her petition drive to show community support for Alaska Airlines under the U.S. Department of Transportation Essential Air Service program. Wrangell is one of 65 communities in Alaska — which includes 10 more...
The Southeast champions' season came to a close at the hands of Susitna Valley on Dec. 6 at the state tournament. The double elimination, three-day tournament was held in Palmer. After plowing their way through Southeast competition the weekend prior, Wrangell had high hopes going into state. However, due to some injuries, illnesses and struggles to close out games, the Wolves were forced to settle for fourth place at the tournament. "Fourth at state is nothing to hang our heads about," head...
Wrangell asserted its wrestling dominance over 10 Southeast rivals at the Viking Invite held in Petersburg on Dec. 6-7. While the competition was not organized like a traditional bracket-style tournament, the scramble-style play gave Wrangell wrestlers plenty of opportunities to get back on the mat after a week of rest. On the first day of competition, Wolves won 27 of their 32 matches and led the 10-school invitational with 17 pins. On day two, they picked up right where they left off, winning...
Mikki Angerman just wants everyone to feel included. She isn’t an esports fanatic. She doesn’t even call herself a gamer. Instead, she’s a special services educator who is passionate about promoting inclusion and acceptance. “Our world right now needs empathy more than anything else,” she said. Angerman wants the middle and high school esports team to be a conduit for just that. She hosted preliminary and casual esports practices last spring, but after realizing what was needed to both expand the team and possibly compete against other sch...
Dec. 4, 1924 A second cold storage plant for Wrangell is scheduled to be in operation within three months after the beginning of the year. E. A. Albright, representing F. Klevenhusen, arrived in Wrangell on Tuesday evening for the purpose of putting the Columbia & Northern cold storage plant into shape to operate again after being shut down for six years. Mr. Albright is the engineer who constructed the Columbia & Northern plant at Wrangell more than 12 years ago. He will make a thorough inspection of the plant and dock and will make an estimat...
CHRISTMAS TREE LANE decorated trees are up for bid starting Thursday, Dec. 5, through 1 p.m. Dec 19 at the Nolan Center lobby. Half the proceeds go to the treemaker and the other half to Hospice of Wrangell. For more information, email rooney@aptalaska.net. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WINTER CONCERT 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, in the elementary school gym. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. Stream online: https://bit.ly/3G2ulZ8. SANTA CLAUS 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6, at the Nolan Center during Midnight Madness, with a break during the tree lighting ceremony. Kids...
When See Stories brought its documentary filmmaking program to Wrangell two years ago, most of the students who participated hadn't picked up a camera outside of what was on their phones. Now, Laura Davies, a teacher at Stikine Middle School, is carrying on what she and her students learned by creating Stikine Stories, producing more documentaries and podcasts. One of her former students who participated in the original program even plans to make filmmaking a career. Alaska-based See Stories, a...
The Wrangell school district will not purchase an electric school bus this year. Business Manager Kristy Andrew informed the Environmental Protection Agency that the district would return the $370,000 federal grant it received in 2023. After the school board voted down the purchase on Sept. 9, the district had until Nov. 22 to inform the EPA of its decision, which it did ahead of the extended deadline. This concludes a four-month long saga in which the school board initially expressed optimism about the bus purchase before flipping on the...
HELP WANTED Johnson’s Building Supply is accepting applications for the following position: Customer Service. Duties include counter sales, freight handling, customer deliveries, stocking and inventory. Full-time position; will require working Saturdays. Valid Alaska driver’s license, must be able to lift 50 lbs., forklift experience a plus, starting pay is DOE. Stop by Johnson’s for an application. LOOKING FOR Wrangell Public Schools is looking for a volunteer crossing guard at the elementary school from 7:40 to 8 a.m. Even one or two days...
