Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 37
For the third year in a row, free breakfast and lunch will be available to all Petersburg School District students. Superintendent Robyn Taylor said free meals take financial burdens off families, and she sees educational and behavioral benefits that come with making sure students are fed. "It's not uncommon to see disruptive behavior or inattention, and when you're working with that student or that family, to really find out that they're struggling," she said, "A lot of the lack of ability to... Full story
A Petersburg man is pleading not guilty to two felony drug charges after police said they found methamphetamine and fentanyl in his car. According to police reports, Alaska Wildlife Trooper Cody Litster conducted a traffic stop on 32-year-old Cory Drew Wilson on August 5. After smelling alcohol, Litster asked Wilson to step out of the car, and a small ziploc fell onto the ground. Local police officers also responded and said the contents in the bag tested positive for 5.5 grams of meth. Police said Wilson told them he had two guns behind his... Full story
Construction on a new set of breakwaters at Banana Point wrapped up on Aug. 7. Petersburg Public Works Director Aaron Marohl said the project will improve safety at the boat launch, which is about 25 miles south of town. "This will create a safer boat ramp for both the water taxis and our sporting teams that go back and forth between here and Wrangell," he said. Banana Point is an important transportation hub between Petersburg and other communities. The boat launch was originally built by the s...
Petersburg's St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church caught fire and burned to the ground in July 2023. It was a devastating blow to Petersburg's Catholic community, which spent three years without their own church. Father Thomas Jose was in his first year in Petersburg when the church burned down. He said other faith communities propped the church up in its darkest days - like Petersburg's First Presbyterian Church, where St. Catherine of Siena held mass as they sorted out the construction of a... Full story
On one of Petersburg's rare warm, sunny days, Dan Sullivan was sitting in a little folding chair in his home workshop. All around him were shelves full of various tools and parts. "I play music down here with friends sometimes, and make lots of sawdust and clean my fishing gear," Sullivan said, looking around. The candidate for U.S. Senate had recently finished up the paperwork for accepting campaign donations, a process he described as "excruciating." He said that originally, he hadn't planned... Full story
A free course in Petersburg taught entry-level disaster response skills from July 10-12. Graduates of the training can join Petersburg's Community Emergency Response Team - a different group from Petersburg's existing volunteer EMS force. The Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, is a supplemental group that gets called in when emergency responders need more hands. CERT is a national program through the Federal Emergency Management Agency that trains community members in basic disaster... Full story
Petersburg’s hospital launched a subscription-based healthcare program on July 1. The Direct Primary Care program gives members access to primary care services for a monthly fee — $125 for adults, and $80 for kids. “It’s a flat monthly rate,” explained Joy Janssen Clinic Director Kelly Zweifel. “It provides services like routine checkups, chronic care management, basic labs, and so it’s access to primary care.” Members can come in as many times as they need for almost all included services, which include sports physicals, simple stitches... Full story
The Petersburg School District approved the budget for the next fiscal year on June 30. Due to higher projected student counts, one-time state funding and one-time energy relief funding, the district anticipates receiving roughly $900,000 in additional revenue to spend. Much of that money comes from the Alaska Legislature's approval of up to $115 million in one-time funding for districts. But, that funding is contingent on oil prices staying high. The state Department of Revenue has until the... 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
Inside a small booth with a large glass window, Petersburg Medical Center Radiology Manager Sonja Paul was running Petersburg’s new MRI machine through a quality control test. “These machines can get pretty loud,” she explained, turning up the volume on a nearby speaker. “It sounds like a lot of knocking, hammers, ticks, things like that.” An MRI is a medical device that takes images of soft tissues in your body – like your tendons or your brain – using powerful magnetic fields. Those images can help diagnose joint and back injuries, tum... Full story
Petersburg is home to skilled quilters, knitters, and other textile artists, but it's been years since the island town had a dedicated craft store. That changed on Wednesday, May 6, when Olivia Martinsen opened Tangled Thread. The bright, colorful craft store is tucked into the first floor of the Petersburg Indian Association's Hallingstad-Peratrovich building. Martinsen has a little bit of everything: yarn, fabric, embroidery supplies, weaving materials, felting options, and lots of crafty... Full story
On a Friday afternoon in Jill Lenhard's class, the sound of crying babies filled the room – crying robot babies, that is. The babies were new, and the class, including Lenhard, was still figuring out how to use them. "I took one baby home to see how it all worked, and I took it home in a grocery sack because I didn't want to walk down the street carrying a baby," Lenhard told the class. "But then when I got home and I laid it on the counter my husband was like, 'What is this?!'" These robot b... Full story
The first draft of the Petersburg School District's budget anticipates a $343,000 deficit, which is more than last month's estimate. In a presentation to the school board on Thursday, April 24, school officials said that's because the district's enrollment projections went down, and they had hired more paraprofessionals. But other expenses, like health insurance and curriculum costs, turned out lower than expected. The district is planning to spend $11.6 million next school year. Last year, the...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously last week to sell two borough-owned parcels to local developer Dave Ohmer for $61,800. Ohmer plans to build a duplex on each property, which are on Haugen Drive near the hospital WERC building. Ohmer has not signed the deeds yet, but he told KFSK he was happy the contract specifically outlined that the property would be used to build housing rentals. “I hope this is a bit of a template for them to do this with a lot more people around town, and try to get lots into private hands,” Ohmer sai... Full story
Petersburg’s elementary school will be getting new accessible playground equipment next school year as part of a $173,000 grant from the Hurst Wood Education Foundation, a nonprofit that supports special education projects in schools. The current playground at the Rae C. Stedman Elementary School has swings, slides, monkey bars, and a variety of climbing equipment. For students in wheelchairs or with limited mobility, playing on that equipment can be challenging. Special Education Director Cyndy Fry said having a playground that’s ina... Full story
Two drivers have been transported to the Petersburg Medical Center after a collision around 10 a.m. Tuesday on the Mitkof Highway near Petersburg's cemetery, about two miles south of town. "There was a car heading southbound, and as he was accelerating into the 40 mile an hour zone, he ran into a patch of ice and lost control of the vehicle," said Dave Berg, a spokesperson for the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department. "He crossed the center line and hit another vehicle." Berg said when the two... Full story
The executive director of Petersburg’s domestic violence prevention nonprofit will be leaving her position this summer. Rikki McKay was hired to lead Working Against Violence for Everyone last May. She plans to step down from the position in July after just over a year in the role. The director before McKay was in the position for less than a year. McKay said she’s leaving to finish a double master’s in public health and social work — she’s been working full time at WAVE on top of being a full-time student. “I would like to become licensed as... Full story
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
The unofficial 2026 Petersburg Indian Association election results are in. Tribal members re-elected Carol Martinez to a one-year term as council president, and elected Stephanie Silva to a two-year tribal council seat. Martinez and Silva were the only candidates running for spots on the tribal council this year, leaving two council member seats unfilled. This year’s election had a significant decrease in candidates compared to previous years. Last year, 11 candidates and two write-ins ran for six available seats. The 2024 election had nine c... Full story
When New Jersey-based director Brian Bill was working on the documentary “Tide and Table,” he knew the film needed to premiere in Petersburg. His company, Two Doors Down Productions, visited Petersburg several times this year to document the town’s vibrant food and close-knit community. Bill said it felt important to have the community’s approval before the film hit a broader audience. The production reached out to Petersburg’s only movie theater, the Northern Nights Theater, which partners with the local school district to provide job train... Full story
Marc Taylor will be sworn into the Petersburg school board next month, filling a seat that has been vacant for nearly two months. Taylor has lived in Petersburg since 2022 and works for Trident Seafoods. He said he applied for the board’s remaining empty seat because he wanted to give back to Petersburg. “I just kind of want to do my part for our community,” Taylor said. He said education has been a big part of his family, which also contributed to his desire to serve on the board. “My whole family, outside of me, were teachers or worked... Full story
Tribal members will decide who will serve as the Petersburg Indian Association’s council president and who will fill three seats on the tribal council when the tribal government holds its election on Jan. 5. The president serves a one-year term, while tribal council members serve two-year terms. Current council members Heather Conn and Nathan Lopez and Heather Conn will not be seeking reelection. Conn will be taking time to care for herself and her family, and Lopez is moving out of Petersburg. Conn has held a seat on the tribal council for s... Full story
When 16-year-old Jakob Preisler signed up for his international exchange program, he didn't expect to come to Alaska. "It was a really big surprise," Jakob said. "I choose USA, and then after a few weeks, I got the information: you go to Alaska." Since the early 1990s, Petersburg's Rotary Club has participated in international exchange programs. Each year, a student from Petersburg spends time in another country, and the community welcomes an international student for the school year. This... Full story
