Week of January 15, 2026
Week of January 15, 2026
A comment period is open until Feb. 13 as part of a program review that could change the way subsistence hunting and fishing is managed on federal lands in Alaska. On May 5, 2025, Safari Club International filed a petition with the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) asking for significant changes to the Federal Subsistence Management Program — including the removal of all six public members from the Federal Subsistence Board, changes to how members of the Regional Advisory Councils are...
Leo Juel Kernin made his arrival on January 5 at 1:53 p.m., claiming the title of Petersburg's first baby of 2025 and earning his family a bounty of gifts from local businesses. Each year, Petersburg businesses donate gifts to be collected by the family of the first baby born to local parents. This year's gifts were published as the centerspread in the Jan. 8 edition of the Pilot. Sam Kernin said she got a kick out of how the community kept tabs on the pending arrival. "I had [a friend] at the...
Living in a small town like Petersburg often means traveling to Anchorage or Juneau for specialized healthcare. Medical travel can be inconvenient and costly, which means some people delay seeking important preventative care, like colonoscopies. For years, colonoscopy clinics were few and far between in Petersburg. But the cancer-spotting procedure will be returning in February on what’s expected to be a quarterly basis. During a colonoscopy, a doctor uses a camera on a flexible tube to look... Full story
Petersburg Medical Center's long-awaited MRI project has reached its final regulatory hurdle, with the state accepting the facility's Certificate of Need application and scheduling a public hearing for Feb. 4. The Alaska Department of Health declared the application complete and is now seeking public input on the proposed project, which would bring MRI services to Petersburg for the first time. "We're cautiously optimistic," said PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter. "This is really the last step." The...
A Petersburg man arrested in 2024 for felony charges related to child sexual abuse material has pleaded guilty. Over a year ago, Alejandro “Alex” Melendez Aguilar, age 46, was indicted on 10 felony counts for possession and distribution of the material, which he initially pleaded not guilty to. Prosecutors and the defense made an agreement to dismiss most of the charges, with Aguilar pleading guilty to one count of possession. Aguilar would serve the minimum sentence allowed by state law... Full story
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the state of Alaska’s latest attempt to alter Alaska’s decades-old system of subsistence fishing management. In a one-sentence order Monday, the court said it will not review a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in August that Alaska cannot manage fishing on a stretch of the Kuskokwim River that flows through the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. If the Supreme Court had taken up the case, it could have redefined Alaska’s... Full story
Former U.S. House Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, has announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate, challenging Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan. Republicans control the U.S. Senate by a 53-47 margin, including two independents who caucus with Democrats. If Peltola were to defeat Sullivan, it would contribute to Democrats’ efforts to retake the chamber. While Alaska voted for President Donald Trump by a 13-point margin, an indication Sullivan is favored, public opinion polling has shown... Full story
Wrangell’s economic development board, which advises the assembly, has raised several questions about a possible borough land lease for a California-based company to build and operate a small-scale data center. The board voted 5-0 on Jan. 5 to recommend the assembly move forward with the lease for one or two acres at the former 6-Mile Mill property, but not until board members added several issues that they believe the assembly needs to consider. Those include any water discharge from the...
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... Full story
January 8, 1926 – Mrs. Grover Cleary, whose husband is a fox farmer in Southeastern Alaska, has sworn to a warrant for the arrest of Robert Bryant, radio expert. Mrs. Cleary is well known in Petersburg, where she has visited many times. She said three of her rings disappeared with Bryant while a guest of the Cleary’s on Thanksgiving day. He reported he found them in an ice machine but one slipped away. Mrs. Cleary found the ring in a Seattle pawn shop and declared Bryant held the ticket. She valued the ring at $1,500. It is a platinum...
Special Meeting January 23rd: Planning Commission Drafting Zoning Code re: Towers To the Editor: We the Planning Commission are drafting a zoning code update to propose to the Borough Assembly to regulate communication towers locally. Our current code was written before cell phones and so does not contemplate tower locations. We are hoping to remedy this. Drafting this code is difficult and complicated because of binding FCC regulations — if we draft conflicting or illegal code, it can and will be struck down by the courts and then we'll be...
Ida Mary Fidura was born on October 27, 1949 to Mary and Alexander Fidura in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the elevator on the way up to the maternity ward. One of eight children, Ida's early years were spent in the Polish area of Philly before her father moved the family for a railroad job in Eagle Creek, Oregon. During her school years Ida excelled at basketball, baseball, tennis, and swimming, which she continued for life. She was a member of 4-H and took on a lot of the responsibility for...
Rose Ann Sheldon was born in Kake, Alaska on June 3, 1927 to Jesse and Annie Coday. Rose lived in Kake, Alaska until she was old enough for school, at that time Rose and her family moved to Petersburg where she attended school, until she later attended Wrangell Institute. She was active in sports and played Basketball. She met her husband Bob at a dance on July 4th, 1948. It was love at first sight. As she and Bob were married on September 14th, 1948 in Juneau, Alaska. In 1951 they bought...
January 7 - Suspicious activity on Kings Row. A vehicle was blocking a garage on N 3rd Street. The owner was notified and moved the car immediately. An officer helped a juvenile with a concern on S 3rd Street. A warning was issued for speed on S Nordic Drive. Extremely icy roads were reported on Haugen Drive. The Department of Transportation (DOT) was notified and responded. January 8 - A homeowner complained of snow accumulation on Lumber Street. Officers responded to a vehicle in a ditch on Sandy Beach Road. A minor vehicle accident was...
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