Wrangell Sentinel -

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 the population.

In the past six years, 128 babies were born, while 145 residents died between 2017 and 2022.

Statewide, there were fewer babies born in 2022 than in the previous year, extending a yearslong downward trend, according to the Alaska Vital Statistics 2022 Annual Report.

Births in Alaska topped 11,000 a year from 2007 to 2016 but have dec...