Nearly two-thirds of the 440 Southeast Alaska business leaders who responded to a spring survey said the region’s overall business climate is good, the highest positive rating since 2017.

It’s a strong turnaround from last year’s survey when 80% called the business climate “poor” or “very poor,” amid the second year of pandemic limitations on travel.

Businesses in Wrangell were not as optimistic as other Southeast communities. Whereas the Southeast average was 62% who rated the economy as good or very good, Wrangell came in at 48% good and 48% poor, similar to Ketchikan’s su...