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For the better part of a year wireless communication infrastructure has been a topic of controversy and community engagement in Petersburg. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska has been pursuing three tower locations in Petersburg through its broadband initiative, Tidal Network, as part of a federally funded broadband expansion effort - a project that has drawn sustained opposition from a contingent of residents raising concerns about radio frequency emissions, to...
Subscribers can use the link below to access this week's PDF Edition, or use the E-Editions button on the homepage for all of our current and archived PDFs. Click here to view this week's PDF. Thanks for subscribing!... Full story
Over 200 people, many wearing regalia, gathered on a sunny afternoon at Auke Recreation Area, the former site of a Tlingit village. Ten canoes floating near the shore took turns for traditional protocols before landing on the beach. Among them was Petersburg's killer whale canoe, or kéet yaakw in Lingít. "My name is ShaaL'aanee, my English name is Brandon Ware," Ware, the skipper, shouted from the water. "Gunalchéesh for having us. We are so grateful to be here. Forgive me if I miss protocol -... Full story
U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan from Petersburg says a state investigation into his bid for office is baseless and inappropriate. "It's a little bit chilling in a way, in some ways, that they would go after somebody like me," he said in an interview Wednesday this afternoon. The candidate shares a name and Republican party designation with Alaska's incumbent senator, whom he's running against. That kicked off a lot of Republican complaints and the state's investigation. Sen. Dan Sullivan has... Full story
An Arizona hunter was cited last month for unlawfully taking a brown bear on Kupreanof Island after mistaking it for a black bear, the second such mistaken-identity case involving a non-resident hunter in the area in roughly a year, according to Petersburg-based Alaska Wildlife Trooper Sgt. Cody Litster. William DeGrave, 38, of Vail, Arizona, was cited May 19 for taking a brown bear in Game Management Unit 3 without the proper tag, registration permit or guide while hunting black bear at Duncan...
A few weeks ago, Petersburg singer-songwriter Sarah C. Hanson Hofstetter released her sixth album, All the Bones, a 14-song collection of original work now available on Bandcamp. The song writing has been in development for over ten years, and the recordings took shape over roughly a year of recording sessions in Petersburg with local musician Matthew Wintersteen, followed by a spring break trip to Anchorage where engineer Kurt Reiman of Surreal Studios helped complete the record. Sarah has...
After a 1.5-year, $12 million renovation, Forest Service staff returned on May 14 to the Federal Building located on the south end of downtown Petersburg. During the project, staff were temporarily relocated to a facility out the road, about 2.3 miles, at Scow Bay. The remodel makes their building more visitor-friendly, and the new location is more walkable and accessible to residents and visitors. "Kids come through before they go to school, they can come in after school before their parents... Full story
This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, there will be informative outdoor community events in Petersburg. Saturday and Sunday’s events will be led by Vivian Mork, where she will lead groups to harvest wild vegetables and teach how to prepare them for eating. Saturday’s hike will begin at Sandy Beach Park, and Sunday’s will be carpooled starting at the library. Both days’ events begin at 10 A.M. Mork’s “Hike, Harvest, Heal” event is through the Rainforest Festival with support from Petersburg Mental Health Services. This year’s Rainforest Fest...
WRANGELL — The 71st Wrangell fishing derby is underway after opening on Sunday. Almost $6,000 in cash prizes await the winners with the largest king and coho salmon and largest halibut and the catches closest to a secret weight over the three-month derby which ends Sept. 7. Derby tickets, at $35 each, are available at the chamber of commerce office in the Nolan Center, and at Sentry Hardware and the Stikine Inn, with more locations coming, Lora Lee Mason, executive director of the chamber, said Sunday. The weigh-in station on weekdays will b...
Alaska lawmakers, meeting in a special session, advanced a bill intended to spur construction of a long-desired pipeline carrying natural gas from the North Slope to markets. The legislature’s House Finance Committee approved the bill, House Bill 381, which would largely eliminate state and municipal property taxes on project-related infrastructure, replacing those revenues with money from gas flowing through the system. The bill now heads to the House floor for consideration. For the bill to become law, it must be approved by the House and t... Full story
Consumer price inflation reached 4.2% in May, the highest mark in three years, boosted largely by higher energy prices that have spiked because of the Iran war, according to federal numbers released on Wednesday. The higher year-over-year inflation rate was expected. But at more than double the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%, the new numbers dimmed hopes for a cut in the interest rate. The so-called core inflation rate, which excludes volatile food and fuel costs, was 2.9%. Apparel costs were up 4.8% and the cost of transportation s... Full story
Retired fifth-grade teacher Dan Sullivan, a longtime Petersburg resident, has launched a campaign for one of Alaska's two U.S. Senate seats. Who is he trying to replace? Dan Sullivan. Dan S. Sullivan(R) has served two consecutive terms in the U.S. Senate and is running for reelection. The fall election is viewed nationally as an important race, as Democrats try to regain control of the Senate. Mary Peltola(D) is competing against Sullivan for the seat, as are 15 other candidates. "We need a... Full story
The proposed ordinance that would have established the Petersburg Borough's first regulatory framework for wireless communication facilities failed its second reading Monday on a 3-3 tie vote, leaving the borough with no formal controls over cell tower siting just as Tidal Network continues to pursue construction of new towers in the community. Ordinance 2026-12, which had passed its first reading unanimously at the May 18 assembly meeting, would have created new language in the Petersburg...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 4-2 Monday to reject the sale of a small borough-owned parcel near the Haugen Drive fire hall to Tidal Network, the broadband arm of the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, in a vote that surprised some members and capped months of contentious negotiations over cell tower expansion in Petersburg. Assembly Members Bob Martin, Rob Schwartz, Jeff Meucci, and Scott Newman voted against the resolution that would have authorized the...
Petersburg's own Tracy Welch was appointed as the second commissioner of the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC). Welch was approved by the Alaska State Legislature by unanimous consent on May 14. She was appointed to the position by Governor Mike Dunleavy, taking the second of two seats. After being appointed by the governor, Welch was approved by three confirmation hearings to be officially accepted for the position. Welch grew up in Petersburg and commercially fished for over thirty...
According to Alaska Airlines, their "Customer Service Legend Award" is "for those who always look up, push higher, put others first and have been doing so for more than a decade. They are the models of excellence and ones we can all aspire to be more like." 17 out of around 30,000 employees were chosen this year for the award. Lifelong Petersburg local Darcey Hedlund was one of the 17 granted the award. She was given the award after 39 years of legend-worthy customer service at Petersburg James...
Senator Lisa Murkowski came through Petersburg last week to see the Petersburg Medical Center's (PMC) new Wellness, Education and Resource Center (WERC). Murkowski had helped secure $8 million in federal funding for the project. "It was very successful on Friday," Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter said about Murkowski's visit. "I think she was very well impressed," Mayor Bob Lynn said. The WERC building opened in August of 2025. It was noted for having the borough's first-ever MRI...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously adopted the property tax millage rates for fiscal year 2027 at its May 18 regular meeting, slightly raising the rate for Service Area 1 property owners to 10.93 mills and introducing a new area-wide general purposes levy that for the first time charges all borough property owners for services the borough charter has always authorized charging borough-wide, but which Service Area 1 taxpayers have been covering since borough formation. For Service Area 1 residents the new rate of 10.93 mills - an...
The "Kéet Yaakw" – or the killer whale canoe – launched from Petersburg on Sunday morning and reignited a tradition of canoe-based transportation – the first such departure in at least 100 years. Traveling by canoe to Celebration – the biennial gathering of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian tribes in Juneau – has been a tradition for tribes in the region. This year Petersburg joins the paddling tradition for the first time since Celebration became an event. ShaaL'aanee Brandon Ware is Petersburg...
In last week’s edition of the Pilot, in the story about Desi Burrell being named the Petersburg Community Foundation Volunteer of the Year. The Pilot misspelled the last name of Dorothy Enge, and we apologize for that mistake. In a story about Chris Weiss retiring from our local library, published on April 23, 2026, the Pilot wrote that Library Director Tara Alcock “arrived in Petersburg 23 and a half years ago with no library experience.” It was, in fact, only Petersburg’s library that she did not have experience with, finding herself quickly... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly gave first-reading approval last Monday to an ordinance raising sewer utility rates by 20 percent for fiscal year 2027, the latest step in a multi-year effort to cover the costs of aging infrastructure and heightened state and federal environmental compliance requirements. Ordinance #2026-11, which passed 7-0 and will require two more readings before taking effect, would increase the base residential monthly service charge from $56.79 to $68.15 for a standard mete...
"How many of you have ever played with sounds from outside? Like rocks and sticks, pinecones, shells, water?" asked Alexis C. Lamb, of a circled crowd at Sandy Beach. A percussionist, composer, and educator, Lamb came to Petersburg as part of the Devil's Thumb Chamber Music Festival. Not only did she perform as a percussionist and showcase her work as a composer, but she also wore her educator hat at the festival. The crowd at Sandy beach had gathered to be a part of Lamb's "Forest Orchestra" wo...
“Petersburg is straight-up beautiful,” said State Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, pausing to appreciate the labrador tea and the muskeg wildflowers while walking the Hungry Point trail after a community potluck last Saturday. After the close of the 34th session of the Alaska Legislature, Himschoot visited Petersburg – part of House District 2, which she has represented for the past two terms. On the walk she reflected with the Pilot on the legislative session – it’s highs, lows, and painful vetoes. Three major bills — two vetoed Himschoot identified...
Canadian men Neil Warrington, Liam Gilchrist, and Ryan Van Horne left Petersburg on Friday, May 22 for an expedition with the goal of summiting Devil's Thumb. The plan is to ski up the Baird Glacier, then, if conditions allow, climb Devil's Thumb. Their bags were packed with three-weeks' worth of supplies. With the notorious weather of the area, the climbers approach the expedition with an open mind. "The objective is to go climb Devil's Thumb, but really we're just going for a walk in the wilde...
After more than a year of mounting community pressure over the locations of wireless broadband towers in Petersburg, the Borough Assembly voted unanimously Monday to advance a comprehensive wireless communications zoning ordinance on its first reading, encouraging the public to submit written comments during the two weeks before a scheduled public hearing June 1. The ordinance - 17 pages of amended municipal code accompanied by a seven-page explanatory memo from Community Development Director...
