Wrangell Sentinel -

"Why would you want to move to a small town in Alaska?"

That was the question put to me by the Sentinel's publisher, Larry Persily, when I applied for the position of editor.

My answer? I was looking for an adventure.

Before coming here, I had never been near the state of Alaska. I did live in Fargo, North Dakota, from 2004 to 2006, which is a lot colder. But it's a dry cold; I heard that phrase a lot while I was there - that and "uff da".

I was born in Richmond, Virginia, and spent my formative years in Washington, D.C. Then my parents divorced and my mother brought me and my younger sister a...