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Petersburg’s school district approved a budget last week that will draw down nearly $700,000 dollars from its reserves to make up for school funding vetoed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Dunleavy reduced education funding for school districts statewide with a line-item veto on June 12, just weeks before districts start their next fiscal years. The Legislature originally approved a $700 increase in per-student funding, known as the base student allocation (BSA). It was the first substantial increase since 2017. Dunleavy didn’t approve enough money to fu...
Nancy Claire Strand was born in Petersburg, Alaska, on June 20, 1945 to Claire and Erling Strand. As was the tradition in her youth, she worked in the canneries during the summers. She graduated from Petersburg High School in 1963 and briefly attended Oregon State University, but missed home and returned to Southeast Alaska and an internship with the Wrangell Sentinel. When she returned to Petersburg in her twenties, Nancy edited the Petersburg Press from December 9, 1966 through March 1967. It... Full story
June 12, 1925 – Miss Mary Wolverton has returned from the Cassiar mining district and says: “Three experienced miners who went to Gold Pan Creek diverted a stream at their own expense, after two months’ labor, and took out $1.60 in gold. Very little gold has been found. Many Alaskan and Yukon sourdoughs who went in with dog teams are coming out and are on their way to other fields. The only real money made is in selling claims for hundreds of dollars. One school teacher put her savings of $600 into a claim and sent in two men with supplies. The...
Alaska is required by law to fund public education equitably across all school districts through its Base Student Allocation formula. Each student generates a set amount of state funding, with adjustments for factors like special needs, district size, and geographic isolation. The federal government also sends Alaska over $100 million annually in “impact aid” – money meant to compensate certain school districts for lost property tax revenue from federal and Alaska Native lands that cannot be ta...
Petersburg Mayor Mark Jensen announced during Monday's borough assembly meeting that he will not run for reelection in October, ending what will be an 18-year tenure as an elected official in Petersburg. "I thought it was time to announce that I don't intend to run for mayor in October," Jensen said during the meeting. "That's four months from now. That gives people that are interested in the mayor's position [time] to put their name in." Jensen was first elected to the Petersburg City Council...
Community support for Beat the Odds To the editor: Petersburg Medical Center Foundation’s Beat the Odds provides resources in Petersburg for people with cancer. Our generous sponsors helped raise over $37,000 during our last fund drive. We acknowledge the contributions of Petersburg Mental Health Services and an incredibly special gift from the late Scott Olson. Thank you to First City Council on Cancer in Ketchikan, Wrangell Cancer Care, and Cancer Connection in Juneau. In 2024 over $35,000 was provided to assist with expenses for P...
Community members and visiting dignitaries attended the Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting on Monday, May 19 to witness Mayor Mark Jensen proclaim June 28th as Amy Hallingstad Day, honoring the Tlingit civil rights pioneer whose work transformed education and social justice for Alaska Natives. The mayor's proclamation drew representatives from the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) and Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS), including several who offered emotional testimony about Hallingstad's lasting...
On Saturday, the Petersburg Community Foundation awarded $37,125 in grants to seven local organizations during its annual awards ceremony and honored one community volunteer with its prestigious Volunteer of the Year recognition. The foundation, which began 17 years ago with support from the Alaska Community Foundation and the Rasmuson Foundation, has seen accelerated growth in recent years. It took the organization around a decade to award $100,000 in local grants, but it has matched that...
May 22, 1925 – John Thompson has the framework up for a two-story building, adjoining the Citizens Steam Laundry, to be used as a machine shop and blacksmith shop downstairs with living apartments upstairs. Alongside of the machine shops will be built gridirons for small boats and boats of a larger fishing class. Also will be built a covered runaway on the shore side where autos can be repaired. There will be a pit so that it will be easy to work under the machines. “And you may say,” said Mr. Thompson, “that my gridirons, when not in use, wi...
The Petersburg high school baseball team looked to claim their first pair of victories this past weekend against the undefeated Sitka Wolves. The Vikings ran into a Wolves buzzsaw as they were swept 3-0 by the Wolves, losing 17-0, 11-1 and 10-0. The Vikings have been inconsistent on offense and haven't scored more than three runs since April 12, against the Ketchikan Kings. "We've had games where balls are hit right to people. We had that happen multiple times in Sitka where the ball was hit...
May 8, 1925 – Ohmer plans to invade Lynn Canal and there is great rejoicing at Haines, the little village nestling in Mission Cove, and happiest of the whole crowd is Dr. L. Pryer, the druggist and president of the chamber of commerce. For three years, Dr. Pryer has been preaching shrimp, shrimp and nothing but shrimp, in Lynn Canal. So loud and persistent was he in his talk, that it was heard way down at Petersburg, 200 miles distant, by Mr. Earl N. Ohmer, president of Alaskan Glacier Seafood Company. He immediately and forthwith sent two f...
This past weekend, Petersburg's high school art program brought their talent and work to the annual Artfest, in Wrangell – a four-day series of workshops, creativity and fun. "I brought an acrylic painting of a whale tale with a bunch of flowers on it," said sophomore Rebecca Midkiff, who has been working on the whale tale since the beginning of the year. "I did an acrylic painting of Ketchikan – a board walk with houses," sophomore Ali Kittams added. Senior Becky Fisher brought one of her for...
I Feel So Blessed To the Editor: Reaching out to our entire community with a heartfelt THANK YOU!!! To all my friends, family, loved ones, well wishers, and prayer senders, to the EMTs, PMC staff, Medivac staff, PPD staff, Providence Alaska Medical Center staff, and Providence St. Elias staff – your generous and caring support both physically and emotionally have followed my sons and me to Anchorage for life-saving medical care. One never knows what the next day is going to bring. Your continued support is much needed and appreciated along this...
"The Senate's new education bill is a joke!" declared Governor Mike Dunleavy in a social media post last week. "It does absolutely nothing to improve educational achievement... Welcome to Alaska: 51st in the nation in educational outcomes. In what world does one write a blank check with no expectations?" The governor's comments came as the Alaska Legislature passed House Bill 69 on Friday, April 11, which would increase the Base Student Allocation (BSA) by $1,000 per student. Dunleavy...
The Petersburg School District presented its draft budget for the 2026 fiscal year at Tuesday's school board meeting, April 15, revealing a major budget deficit and the strategic use of the fund balance to maintain educational services amid uncertain state funding. PSD Finance Director Shannon Baird presented a draft budget projecting total revenue of $9,876,947 against expenditures of $11,426,685, creating a deficit of approximately $1.5 million. This shortfall would be covered by spending...
We felt loved and cared for To the Editor and this wonderful community: One year ago I came very close to dying. I got very, very sick with three upper respiratory viruses which allowed a strep infection to turn into pneumonia which caused sepsis or toxic shock syndrome. All in a matter of days. Luckily, I live here in Petersburg, the best place on earth. The doctors, nurses, and staff at Petersburg Medical Center were amazing and got me out on a medivac as quickly as possible. The outpouring of love, prayers, good vibes, cards, and gifts was...
April 3, 1925 – Earnest Kirberger, the merchant at Kake and fur farmer, was in town the forepart of the week with some choice blue fox pelts to be shipped to the New York auction sales. Mr. Kiberger says Kake is unusually lively this season with boats supplying clams from there to Mountain Point Packing Company below Scow Bay, and with three different logging camps operating in that section. He said Charles Knutson of the powerboat Katie and Arthur Johnson of the Woodrow are making regular trips to Mountain Point with clams. Mr. Kirberger s...
The bell jingles as the door to Kinder Komfort opens, and a customer slips in with a hopeful smile. "Did you find it?" he asks Jenny Cisney, who lights up behind the counter. "I did!" she cheers, retrieving a copy of Code Names, a board game the customer had hoped to special order but couldn't quite remember the name of days earlier. Jenny had put together the clues and figured out the name, found the game and even had her visiting mother bring it from Washington with her luggage rather than... Full story
The Petersburg School District and its support personnel union reached a tentative three-year contract agreement in less than a day of negotiations, school officials announced Tuesday. The agreement includes a $2.50 per hour wage increase across the board in the first year, followed by 1.5% increases in each of the following two years, according to Finance Director Shannon Baird. Support staff will also receive a $500 matching contribution to a 403(b) retirement plan. This matches a similar...
March 20, 1925 – The Petersburg teachers have received a certificate for framing from the National Education Association attesting to the fact that they are enrolled 100 per cent in that organization. There are over 70,000 teachers in the United States and more than half of this number are enrolled in the national organization. The Petersburg teachers have made it a 100 per cent year for they are also enrolled 100 per cent in the Alaska Education Association, an organization of all the teachers in Alaska. To thoroughly keep in touch with all o...
Robert James Leekley, loving husband, father, brother, and grandfather passed away March 13, 2025, in Petersburg, Alaska at the age of 82. Robin was born April 4, 1942, in Petersburg, Alaska to Anne and James Leekley. He grew up on the Federal Fur Farm 9 miles from town. The Fur Farm raised fox, mink, and martin and in the war years tested the effects of sonic boom on mink behavior. Robin helped on the farm with the family vegetable garden, animals, and shoveling snow which could be over ten... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voiced serious concerns that potential federal funding cuts could devastate essential services and potentially threaten the town's viability by approving a strongly worded letter to Alaska's congressional delegation during Monday’s assembly meeting. The letter, approved by all six assembly members present, details how the rural Southeast Alaska fishing community of approximately 3,000 residents could face an existential crisis if federal support is significantly reduced. “Indiscriminate and across the board red...
Elementary students in Petersburg won’t get as much physical education next year. Rae C. Stedman Elementary Principal Heather Conn said it comes down to limited education funding. Renting Petersburg’s community pool and gym is expensive for the Petersburg School District. So is staffing physical education classes. Conn said the district’s tight budget this year means they will have to reduce hours. “We have been conservatively budgeting but at this time, even we are being affected,” she said. This isn’t the first year the district has had to...
Petersburg AAU girls' basketball team – which is made up of players from fifth grade through eighth – recently went undefeated during a tournament in Wrangell, sweeping the A, B & C brackets. Petersburg went an impressive 11-0 throughout the tournament. "They're extremely talented," head coach Matt Nilsen said. "We've been working on fundamentals and ball handling, passing, defense and playing to the best of our abilities." The team was split into A, B & C brackets, with every player getting a t...
