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Every year is different for Wrangell High School students in the nationwide Close Up program, and this year had a couple of new high-tech highlights. Since the 1970s, the program has provided an opportunity for students to visit the nation's capital to learn about history, government, people and places. New York City was added to the itinerary for Wrangell students in 2008. Five high schoolers the last week of April toured Washington, D.C., including The People's House, which uses interactive...
Both chambers of the Alaska Legislature have approved a resolution stating its support for Canadian independence and opposing “restrictive trade measures or tolls” that would affect commerce between Alaska and Canada. House Joint Resolution 11, which will be sent to President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and other top officials in both countries, rejects Trump’s call to make Canada the 51st state in the United States. “Alaska recognizes the importance of a strong and sovereign nation of Canada and firmly supports Canada’s r... Full story
The 15 seniors graduating this week are Johnny Allen, Adeline Andrews, Vanessa Barnes, Della Churchill, Ander Edens, Keaton Gadd, Trevyn Gillen, Daniel Harrison, Anika Herman, Max Lloyd, Lucas Schneider, Kyan Stead, Clara Waddington, Aubrey Wynne and Kayla Young. Fourteen took time from their already busy days to answer questions about what lies ahead for each. Here are their responses. Johnny Allen What's your favorite thing about going to school in Wrangell? "Going home." What's your advice... Full story
Alaska’s largest tribal government marked its return after two years to the biggest statewide Alaska Native organization on May 6, with the tribal president declaring “unity is our greatest strength” during uncertain political times. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska participated in an Alaska Federation of Natives board meeting, which occurred about two months after Interior Alaska’s major tribal consortium — the Tanana Chiefs Conference — also voted to rejoin AFN after a two-year absence. “Two years ago, th...
Four years after a federal appeals court eliminated Alaska’s limits on political campaign contributions, the Alaska House of Representatives has taken a step toward reimposing them. The House voted 22-18 on April 28 to approve House Bill 16, which mirrors the language of a ballot measure slated to go before voters in 2026. The bill moves next to the Senate, with the Legislature facing a May 21 adjournment deadline. Bills that don’t pass both chambers this session will still be alive for consideration next year. Alaskans are expected to approve... Full story
A Washington state-based conservation group filed a lawsuit last week in an effort to speed up the federal government’s review of a proposal to list king salmon as threatened or endangered across the Gulf of Alaska. The Wild Fish Conservancy filed its lawsuit May 8 in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., saying that the National Marine Fisheries Service had missed a 12-month deadline under the Endangered Species Act to decide on the conservancy’s proposal to list Gulf of Alaska king salmon. The conservancy, in its 17-page complaint, said it... Full story
The state agency that owns the Ketchikan Shipyard wants to find a new operator quickly, hoping to avoid a work gap after deciding that the current contractor needs to vacate the facility this fall. But few specifics about the process for selecting a new operator, the transition timeline and prospects for current shipyard workers if there is a gap between operators were available May 4 during a nearly two-hour public meeting in Ketchikan hosted by the shipyard owner, the Alaska Industrial...
Mothers in Alaska’s northern and western regions are more likely than other Alaska mothers to give birth to preterm and underweight babies, and their travel from rural Alaska to get care in bigger communities is a factor that contributes to those outcomes, a study has found. The study, by researchers at the University of Alaska Anchorage, analyzes the more than 218,000 childbirths recorded in the state from 2000 to 2020. It revealed striking geographic disparities in the rates of preterm and very preterm births, defined respectively as b... Full story
The Alaska Legislature has approved what would be the first measure to raise significant new state revenue in a decade. The measure, unless blocked by the governor, also would unlock a key section of the Legislature’s education funding bill. On May 7, the House voted 26-14 to update the corporate income tax for companies doing business over the internet. The revenue measure is tied to a provision of House Bill 57, a bipartisan education funding measure awaiting Gov. Dunleavy’s verdict. The Senate passed the bill on a 16-4 vote last month. Rep... Full story
Tessa Hulls was making sandwiches in the Alaska Capitol when she learned she had won a Pulitzer Prize. Her book, "Feeding Ghosts," is a nonfiction graphic novel that documents three generations of women in her family, starting with her grandmother, who was a journalist at the time of the Chinese Communist Revolution. It had already won three national awards by the time the Pulitzer announcement came on May 5, placing her among America's top writers. She won for the category of memoir or... Full story
For over two decades, Suquamish tribal member Joshua George has dived into the emerald waters of the Salish Sea north of Seattle, looking for an unusually phallic clam that's coveted thousands of miles away. George is a geoduck diver. Pronounced "gooey-duck," the world's largest burrowing clam has been harvested in tidelands by George's Indigenous ancestors in the Pacific Northwest since before Europeans arrived. In recent years it has also become a delicacy in China, with Washington state...
The school board has adopted a budget for the next school year that relies heavily on funds from two different reserve accounts to balance revenue with expenses. By withdrawing $976,000 from its operating reserves — just about emptying the longstanding account — and transferring $250,000 from its capital improvement projects reserves, the school district is able to cover its $5.98 million operating budget. The 2025-2026 spending plan includes two fewer full-time teaching positions than this year. Any increase in state funding for schools would...
The borough’s continuing work on its downtown waterfront master plan is ramping up after the community’s nearly 50-year-old freight barge landing was shut down. The assembly will hold a work session on the master plan at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 13, at the Nolan Center. The barge ramp, next to the City Dock, was closed down in mid-March after an engineering report detailed structural and safety concerns about the steel bridge and other components. The closure has prompted the borough to accelerate its quest for a permanent solution. The freight comp...
The chamber still needs volunteers - and sponsors - to run events at the town's multiday Fourth of July celebration. And there's just one big, bright, sparkly unknown. "The only worry is the fireworks," said Tracey Martin, executive director of the chamber of commerce, which organizes the holiday extravaganza. Wrangell no longer has a certified pyrotechnician to take charge of the fireworks. "Someone in the fire department is working on passing their state-proctored test so that they can do the...
Amid a severe state budget deficit, the Alaska Senate Finance Committee is proposing the lowest Permanent Fund dividend in five years and — if adjusted for inflation — the lowest dividend ever. On May 1, the committee unveiled a new version of its proposed state operating budget with a $1,000 dividend, a $400 reduction from its first draft. That cut reduces the Senate’s budget draft by $265 million, likely balancing it once additional legislation is considered. The dividend figure is not final: The full Senate will vote on the commi... Full story
Starting July 1, residents and businesses will be charged higher rates for water and sewer services and trash pickup. Moorage fees and other rates at the port and harbors also will go up. The utility rate increases will be small, adding up to just under $10 a month for a residential account at the minimum level of water use and garbage pickup. The borough assembly adopted the annual rate and fee schedule unanimously at its April 22 meeting. The monthly base rate for residential or commercial metered water service will increase 10%, from $45.61...
How do you take an hour's worth of interviews and additional video footage and shape them into a three- to eight-minute film? That's the cinematic goal of the Stikine Stories Film Festival presented by Stikine Middle School and Wrangell High School students on Monday, May 12, at 6:30 p.m. at the Nolan Center. The event is free to the public. The short films cover a wide range of topics, including hooligan fishing, totem carving, the pride and trauma of serving in the military, and bowling....
Whether by land or by sea, everyone is invited to participate in the annual blessing of the fleet, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 12, at the Wrangell Mariners’ Memorial at Heritage Harbor. For those who arrive by sea, “we will broadcast the event on VHF,” said memorial board president Jenn Miller-Yancey. “Having those vessels out there makes the whole experience more meaningful,” she said of the boats that drift in front of the memorial during the ceremony. Wrangell has held a springtime blessing of the fleet for decades, moving to the He...
For the third time in two years, the Alaska Legislature has approved a bill to increase long-term state funding for the state's K-12 public schools. On April 30, the state Senate voted 17-3 and the House voted 31-8 to approve House Bill 57, which would permanently increase the base student allocation, the core of the state's per-student funding formula, by $700 per student, almost 12%, at a cost to the state of $183 million for the 2025-2026 school year. The increase would send more than... Full story
Creating safe and accessible community playgrounds is not child’s play, and so the Parks and Recreation Department will host consultant Heather Plucinski, of Northwest Playgrounds, as the next step in a planning process to reimagine and recreate Wrangell’s playgrounds. The public meeting is set for Friday, May 9, from noon to 1 p.m. at the Nolan Center. Parks and Rec Director Lucy Robinson said the general worn-out status of Wrangell’s playgrounds has been a community concern for years. She is encouraging community involvement and engag...
Alaska bars and liquor stores will be required to post signs warning of alcohol’s link to cancer, under a bill that became law on April 25. The new sign mandate, to go into effect on Aug. 1, makes Alaska the first U.S. state to require such health warnings specifically related to colon and breast cancers. The warnings about the alcohol-cancer relationship will be added to already mandated warnings about the dangers that pregnant women’s consumption can lead to birth defects. The requirement is part of a measure, Senate Bill 15, that allows empl... Full story
Wrangell police, working with law enforcement personnel from a regional task force, arrested three men on April 30 on felony drug possession charges. Justin G. Churchill, 39, Richard “Daniel” J. Eklund, 38, and Cooper J. Seimears, 39, were arrested after police confiscated a package containing 88 grams of methamphetamine (about three ounces), with a street value of approximately $17,600, according to a prepared statement issued by Wrangell police on April 30. The package had been shipped to Wrangell. Police Chief Gene Meek on May 1 declined to...
As Alaska lawmakers confront a major budget deficit, disagreements over how to solve the problem appear likely to lead to a lower Permanent Fund dividend this fall and cuts to services, including public schools. In public statements, members of the Alaska Senate’s majority caucus have said they oppose spending from savings to balance the budget and want to see new revenue bills instead. Meanwhile, members of the state House and Gov. Mike Dunleavy have said they oppose new revenue bills and would prefer to spend from savings. Those different p... Full story
At least 87 federally funded AmeriCorps volunteers were notified last week that their current or upcoming service work in Alaska was abruptly canceled. They include local aspiring teachers planning to tutor young Alaskans, out-of-state volunteers set to work at Girl Scout Camps in Chugiak this summer and school and parks workers in Sitka. AmeriCorps is a federal agency aimed at volunteerism that operates a network of local, state and national service programs. But last month, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency began dismantling t...
Nine AmeriCorps volunteers serving in Sitka learned on April 25 that they had to leave their jobs by the end of the day April 28. The volunteers, who had been working with the Sitka School District, Mt. Edgecumbe High School, Sitka Parks and Recreation and nonprofit organizations, were notified that their employment was ending by order of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which was closing out $400 million in AmeriCorps grants nationwide. The order terminates more than 1,000 AmeriCorps programs and 32,000 positions across the c...