Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 232
A regional tribe wants to buy around 10,000 square feet of Petersburg Borough-owned property near the town's Fire Hall. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, a federally recognized tribe based in Juneau, has applied to the borough to purchase the plot off Haugen Drive. The tribe wants to build a wireless tower there next summer to provide internet service and expand cell coverage in Petersburg. The Petersburg Borough Assembly considered the tribe's application...
The window to file for candidacy in Petersburg's upcoming local election closed Tuesday afternoon. In total, 24 people filed for the various positions. There are 20 open seats among several boards slated for the October 7 ballot, including a mayoral race. That race is contested this year, as are the races for Petersburg Borough Assembly and the Public Safety Advisory Board. Current assembly members Bob Lynn and Scott Newman are both running for mayor. Mayor Mark Jensen is not running for...
Petersburg's school buildings and surrounding area were on lockdown for over an hour Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 26, after police received a report of a person with an AR-15 gun and multiple magazines in a school bathroom. The Petersburg Police Department, Alaska Wildlife Troopers and U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement responded and secured the area. Officers found no real threat on the premises and determined it was a false report. "I'm sure people were alarmed, but rest assured it's safe and...
A late-night car crash south of Petersburg on Friday, Aug. 22, landed two people in the local hospital with moderate injuries. The crash happened about nine miles from town on Mitkof Highway near what's known as the "S-curve" in the road, just south of Twin Creek. A four-door truck traveling northbound did not clear the curve and went off the roadway, ending up in the forest brush downhill. Emergency dispatch got a text message around 9:30 p.m. that an accident had occurred within a few miles of...
The Petersburg Borough will seek state funding for a potential float replacement project in the town’s biggest harbor. Some of “C” Float’s 50-foot fingers are several decades old. “These are circa 1970 original Middle Harbor finger floats that were repurposed in 1985 when the South Harbor was built,” Harbormaster Glorianne Wollen said. “So they saved a little bit of money, and now we get to pay for it.” At a meeting on July 21, Petersburg’s assembly agreed the borough should apply for the $617,000 state grant to help fund the float replacement...
Petersburg's police chief sued his employer, the Petersburg Borough, and the two parties have officially resolved the matter with an out-of-court settlement. That means the remaining claim about the chief's First Amendment rights will not go to trial this summer. Police Chief James Kerr testified against enforcing a masking mandate during a fall 2021 borough assembly meeting. He said he was speaking as a private citizen. This ultimately snowballed into a multi-year legal battle between Kerr and...
The recently passed budget reconciliation bill, signed into law by President Donald Trump last week, does not include U.S. Senator Mike Lee's (R-Utah) withdrawn proposal that could have potentially sold off areas of the Tongass and Chugach National Forests and parts of the Interior in Alaska. But even so, the Petersburg Borough is going on the record against selling public lands. At a meeting on Monday, assembly members and community members voiced support for the borough resolution that formall...
Two men arrested by law enforcement during a sting operation last month in Petersburg have pleaded not guilty. A third suspect remains at large. Petersburg police arrested Shubaum Patel, 24, and Harshilkumar Patel, 22, on June 9 with assistance from the FBI, as suspects allegedly connected to an elaborate phone scam that stole over $100,000 from an elderly resident. A grand jury indicted the suspects on June 18 in Juneau. Both men face federal charges for theft and scheme to defraud - along...
In an effort to generate money for essential services, Petersburg voters will be asked this fall whether to impose income limits for the community's senior sales tax exemption. That's after the Petersburg Borough Assembly approved the proposal on Monday, June 16. The change would limit the decades-old exemption to only low-income seniors who qualify for the state's Senior Benefits Payment Program, with annual incomes below $34,213 for individuals or $46,253 for couples. Revenue from...
Silver Bay Seafoods President and CEO Cora Campbell returned to her Southeast Alaska hometown of Petersburg recently to meet with the fleet. Local fishermen, processing plant staff and community members who gathered for a Silver Bay social hour in Petersburg's Sons of Norway Hall directed their attention to Campbell at front of the room. "If you find a member of the Silver Bay Leadership team, there's a very good chance that that girl grew up in Petersburg," she said. Campbell's family has...
Petersburg's borough assembly passed its overall budget for the next fiscal year on June 2. But the option to allocate a million dollars from the harbor reserves for a potential cruise dock project caused friction for the final vote. The Petersburg Borough's general fund was nearly $400,000 in the red for the last fiscal year, but that's not the case this time. The borough's next budget is in the black, despite state and federal funding reductions and inflationary costs in all departments....
May 17 is Norway's Constitution Day, and in "Alaska's Little Norway," it's a big deal. Every year around this time, Petersburg holds a week-long festival to celebrate its Norwegian heritage. Hundreds of people flock to the Southeast island town for the experience. Festival celebrations date back to the late 1950s. Some traditions have grown and morphed over the decades, with new ones entering the mix as well. But the Norwegian Dancers have always been a fixture. Brandi Thynes is a volunteer on...
Petersburg's police chief is suing his employer, the Petersburg Borough, and a federal court in Juneau has dismissed two of the three claims. The remaining claim, which may go to trial this summer, concerns the police chief's First Amendment rights. How it started In the midst of the pandemic, Petersburg Police Chief Jim Kerr criticized a masking mandate during a borough assembly meeting on Nov. 17, 2021. Kerr began his virtual testimony by saying, "This is my personal statement, and not the...
May Day, also known as International Workers Day, recognizes the historic movement for labor rights around the globe. But this May 1, people in Petersburg joined thousands nationwide to stand not only in support of the working class, but also against what they say is responsible for terminating jobs, funding and uprooting the lives of their colleagues and neighbors: the Trump Administration. About 60 locals rallied in the pouring rain at Buschmann Park in downtown Petersburg. Among the...
Last month was the second wettest April on record for Petersburg. "So if it seemed like April was a little bit more wet than usual, you aren't wrong. It was a lot more wet than usual," said Greg Spawn, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service (NWS) in Juneau. "Our April that we had in Petersburg was actually the second wettest April on record." Nearly double the amount of water fell from the sky than what's typical - that's 11.29 inches, compared to the normal 6.66 inches - and April 13...
The Petersburg Borough is the closest it's been in years to owning a well-used portion of tidelands south of town. The State of Alaska is considering giving the borough ownership over specific tidelands on Mitkof Island, located dockside of the Papke's Landing neighborhood. The local borough has plans to develop the waterfront area and improve the infrastructure there for mariners. "We've got lots of ideas," said Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht. "But it's just a matter of trying to make some of...
A middle-aged man was rescued from frigid waters near Petersburg on the night of April 7. Franz Schonberg was walking his dog near the ferry terminal after sunset when he heard someone yelling in the Wrangell Narrows, between Mitkof and Kupreanof Islands. Schonberg, a local volunteer firefighter, launched his skiff and went to investigate, searching the dark, fast-moving waters for the person calling out for help. Around the same time, local resident Dr. James Pizzadili was walking along the...
Kelsey James McCay, age 31, will serve a decade in prison for sexually assaulting a woman in Petersburg in 2019. Complications from the pandemic and backlog at the state's only forensic lab delayed pressing charges against McCay, according to Assistant District Attorney Jessalyn Gillum. "Sexual assault cases can be very difficult," said Gillum. "I think there's a duty on behalf of really everybody to ensure that if [forensic] evidence exists and can be tested, that it be done prior to any...
Red king crab commercial permit holders in Southeast Alaska will have a better chance of fishing in the coming seasons. The Alaska Board of Fisheries approved a change in management regulations proposed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) that allows for a conservative commercial fishery when crab stocks aren’t enough for a typical competitive opening. Red king crab is a low-volume, high-value fishery. The crab can bring in over $100 each. But commercial openings have been few and far between — just one in over a decade. Sev...
The Southeast island community of Petersburg held a town hall meeting on Feb. 10 to discuss the future of tourism in "Alaska's Little Norway." The borough is considering a potential partnership with a small cruise ship company and may see more tourists in coming years. While the conversation welcomed ideas related to tourism in general -like emergency services, trails and public restrooms- much of the discussion pertained to increasing tourism, especially from cruise ships, and what that means...
A Petersburg home was destroyed in a fire on Jan. 13. Just after noon, Petersburg's volunteer fire department, police and Alaska State Troopers responded to the residential fire - located about two miles out of town along Frederick Point Drive. Petersburg's Fire Chief Dan Bird said the house was "completely engulfed in flames" when firefighters arrived on scene. No one was home at the time of the fire; neighbors said the owners are on vacation. The fire was contained by midafternoon. "It's...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved a wishlist of community projects during their first meeting of the year on Jan. 6. Every year, the Alaska Legislature puts together a capital budget - money to fund big ticket projects around the state. And every year, the Petersburg Borough requests some of that money for local projects, and names its top ten priorities. Assembly member Jeigh Stanton Gregor said he isn't very optimistic the projects will receive large amounts of funding, but he likes...
Part of Petersburg's downtown was closed for nearly an hour on Jan. 9. Just after 7 p.m., George Marlow was waiting for a ride home from work at the IGA grocery store when he witnessed a black truck make a U-turn at the north end of Main Street. That's when, he said, the truck rammed into a trash can on the sidewalk. "Nearly got me right there," Marlow said. "He hit the garbage can, he seen me standing there and he just got on it ... way too fast." Heading south, the truck smashed into a parked...
A Petersburg man has pleaded not guilty for allegedly sharing child sexual abuse material. Alejandro “Alex” Melendez Aguilar, 45, was indicted last month on 10 felony charges for possession and distribution of child pornography. He was arraigned remotely from jail in Juneau through the Petersburg Courthouse on Jan. 6. Last year, law enforcement officers said they received a tip from Kik, a social networking app, reporting Aguilar’s account shared explicit sexual content of children. Alaska State Troopers investigated. When interviewing Aguil...
Petersburg started the year nearly snowless, even at high elevations - and that's rare, according to long-term data records. Snowpack data is collected at hundreds of sites in Alaska every winter month for the National Resource Conservation Service's snow survey program, which monitors snow depth and water content measurements to use for environmental forecasting and water management. There are several snow survey stations in Southeast Alaska - including two on Petersburg's Mitkof Island, which...
