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Young growth Sitka spruce from Mitkof Island, milled at Alaska Timber and Truss and shipped via the Alaska Marine Highway, now forms the timber-frame structure of an outdoor learning shelter at Pacific High School in Sitka. The impressive posts and beams of the pavilion showcase what Southeast Alaska's 50 to 60-year-old second-growth trees can produce. The structure will serve as an outdoor classroom for the alternative high school's garden-based education program. Andrew Thoms, executive...
February 12, 1926 – The largest school of herring found in any one locality in Southeastern Alaska in years, and the only school yet found in the district this season, fills the channel at Tee Harbor, according to local fishermen. Following the herring is a large run of King salmon, which is unusual for this time of year, and appearing in Southeastern Alaska waters for the first time, as far as is known, are blue shark, said to be man-eating, following the herring and salmon. The amount of herring can not be estimated so great are their n...
February 5, 1926 – The past few years has witnessed a struggle between theologists and the end is not yet. Whether the miracle of changing water to wine is questioned or not worries not the average layman. For the days of miracles are not past. Recently the United States Marshall’s office of the third division seized considerable whiskey and rum for the pre-Volstead stock and for safe-keeping it was kept under lock and key and stored in the custody of the clerk of court. Recently Judge Richie appointed Frank H. Foster as District Attorney and...
To the Petersburg Community To the Editor: Thank you, thank you, thank you for providing us with the most rewarding memories of the past 25 years! From opening your arms to us in 2000, when Kathy was hired as Petersburg’s City Clerk, to supporting our family operation of Northern Lights restaurant from 2003 to 2010 and Larry’s commercial carpet cleaning business for many years. But most of all, we thank you for working with us since 2014 to develop the youth shotgun marksmanship program, Devil’s Thumb Shooters. Since 2014, DTS has expan...
January 2025 The Petersburg Borough Assembly agreed to transfer seven parcels of borough-owned land in the Airport Addition Subdivision to Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority (THRHA) in exchange for the developing road and utilities for 11 residential lots. The snowpack at the Raven's Ridge snow survey site at 1,650 ft elevation measured zero inches. One of only two years on record without snowpack in January. Rock-N-Road Construction was awarded the contract for the borough's Pump Station...
After a six year hiatus, Petersburg's wearable art tradition returns this February as a fundraiser for KFSK community radio. The two-night event, scheduled for Feb. 6-7 at Sons of Norway Hall, aims to transform the venue into an immersive, glow-in-the-dark experience under the theme "Weird Core". "I want you to step out of Petersburg for a night," said Bennett McGrath, the event's organizer and a KFSK board member. "It's a night to transform, a night to not be yourself." McGrath's inspiration...
The Alaska Board of Game will consider nearly 70 proposals affecting Southeast Alaska during its January 23-27, 2026 meeting in Wrangell, including several that would directly impact hunting regulations around Petersburg and on Mitkof Island. The meeting will be held at the Nolan Center in Wrangell, with remote participation available via Zoom. Written comments are due by January 9 to be included in the board’s meeting materials. The Petersburg Fish and Game Advisory Committee is reviewing the proposals ahead of the January meeting. The c...
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
November 20, 1925 – Alaska’s Governor is standing squarely with the Territory in opposition to the plan of postal authorities to ship Alaska mail from Seattle as freight. At the risk of incurring the displeasure of the administration to which he is answerable for his acts, the Governor has addressed a protest to the Washington authorities, vigorously opposing the proposed change and defending the right of Alaskans to a continuance of the present excellent service. He scarcely could have done more had he been elected by the people. The Gov...
Nothing is guaranteed in sports. You can be the favorite as a team or player to win a championship and still fall short in the biggest moments. Heading into the 2025 ASAA Swim and Dive State Championships, Petersburg senior Logan Tow was the #1 seed in the boys 100 freestyle, with a time of 47.69. To this point, Tow had won five regional titles, set multiple personal best/records throughout his career. The only thing he hadn't accomplished was a state title that seemed almost evasive – a...
Scott Newman has returned to his seat at the dais as the seventh member of the Petersburg Borough Assembly. When voters in the October municipal election chose Bob Lynn as Petersburg's new mayor, the move opened up his seat on the borough assembly. Bob Martin and Jeff Meucci were sworn in last month as newly-elected assembly members. Their seats were previously filled by Newman and Donna Marsh. Marsh ran for reelection to the assembly this fall as the sole incumbent in the race for the two... Full story
November 6, 1925 – The motor-ship Boxer was in Port Wednesday with four hundred reindeer carcasses on board, some of which were sold to the local markets. The Boxer, with its Eskimo crew, is on its way south from the Point Barrow district. It has a 300-HP Atlas diesel and is commanded by Captain Whitlan. The passengers on board were Mr. and Mrs. C.L. Andrews and six school teachers from Wainwright, in the Arctic Circle. November 3, 1950 – Despite the fact that digging started when the season was almost over, about 1,000 pounds of false hel...
In 1927, a 14-year-old girl named Alice Norberg left the fox farm in West Petersburg where she was raised and boarded a steamer to Seattle then a Greyhound bus to Hollywood to pursue a showbiz career. She eventually appeared in 32 movies during the 1930s and 40s. This Friday, the Clausen Memorial Museum is screening one of her films, "The Invisible Ghost" (1941), starring Bela Lugosi, in an evening designed to bring Alice's story back to Petersburg's collective memory. "People kind of forgot...
Jaime Cabral, Petersburg High School and Mitkof Middle School Assistant Principal and Activities Director, was named the 2026 Assistant Principal of the Year by the Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals (AASSP) at a ceremony in Anchorage last weekend. The recognition came while Cabral was already in Anchorage, in the middle of coaching his volleyball team at a tournament. Cabral's wife Heidi picked him up between games, drove him across town to accept the award, and rushed him back...
Petersburg's municipal election received the highest number of ballots this year in over a decade. A total of 1,280 ballots were cast and canvassed, including one outstanding ballot. It was the highest turnout since Petersburg voted to become a borough in December 2012, which saw just over a hundred more ballots than this year. There were a couple of contested races for local office this year, namely for mayor and for Petersburg's Borough Assembly. It was Bob Martin's first time running for an a...
Bob Lynn decisively won Petersburg's mayoral race in the October 7 municipal election, defeating fellow assembly member Scott Newman 807 to 443 votes, while Proposition 1 - limiting the senior sales tax exemption to only low-income seniors - squeaked by with a nine-vote margin. The unofficial results showed strong voter participation, with a record-breaking number of early and absentee ballots cast before election day (647) and the highest local voter turnout (1279) since the borough formation...
October 9, 1925 – According to word received by local persons, the New England Fish Company at Ketchikan is looking for fresh smelt (true Silver Smelt), for which they will pay a minimum of 7 cents per pound, freight on board steamer at Petersburg. Large smelt reaching them in good condition will probably fetch a higher price. A good deal of smelt was shipped from Wrangell last year and some shipments have already been made from that district this season. It would seem that there is an opportunity for local men to make some money in a new f...
Petersburg’s borough assembly is taking up U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan’s offer to talk about H.R. 1, also called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). H.R. 1 is a wide-ranging spending and tax bill that was signed into law in July. The bill includes much of President Trump’s domestic policy agenda, including changes to Medicaid, tax cuts, and phasing out clean energy tax incentives. In Alaska, the bill directs more oil and gas leases in Southcentral’s Cook Inlet, and offers tax cuts for whaling captains. Many impacts of the bill in Alaska...
He's been swimming since he was seven, he became an 18x NCAA All-American during his time at Auburn University, earning the title of "Greatest Auburn Sprint Relay Swimmer of All Time," dubbed by "The Voice of Swimming," NBC announcer and analyst, Rowdy Gaines and an induction in the Alaska Swimming Hall of Fame in 2015. His name is Derek Gibb and he's embarking on a new challenge – now the new head coach of Viking Swim Club and hoping to help lead the next generation of Viking swimmers. Gibb s...
October 2, 1925 – The tidal wave of so-called economy now sweeping over the country is liable to wreck the present system of transporting mail to and from Alaska and outside points, if steps reported as being in contemplation are taken – that of returning to the system in vogue during the late war, when mail to and from Alaska was carried as freight instead of under special contract as at present, when mail clerks were being carried aboard the steamers and the mail handled the same as on trains. Three or four weeks ago special agents of the...
Proposition 1 Yes – 633 No – 624 Petersburg Borough Mayor (One 3-year term) Bob Lynn – 807 Scott Newman – 443 Borough Assembly (Two 3-year terms) Bob Martin – 825 Jeff Meucci – 539 Donna Marsh – 520 Raliegh H. Cook – 286 Tony Vinson – 221 School Board (Two 3-year terms) Sarah Pawuk Holmgrain – 1,042 Hospital Board (Three 3-year terms) Joni Johnson – 933 Cindi Lagoudakis – 874 Joseph Stratman – 853 Planning Commission (Two 3-year terms) Write-in: Joshua Adams – 66 Planning Commission (One 2-year term) Sarah Fine-Walsh – 833 Harbor & P... Full story
Q: Ideas to increase economic opportunity? "For the business owners I've been talking to over the last month, you know that they one of their biggest concerns is there's not enough local tradesmen in town ... maybe a borough school partnership program for scholarships for kids who want to go to become electricians, refrigeration person, or welder, mechanics, and so they come back to Petersburg and work. We need to make sure that we have the basis for the local services in town covered so that...
Bob Lynn's decision to run for mayor wasn't made lightly. "It wasn't an easy decision for me at all."But he sees a need for the community to become more self-reliant as times become more challenging and costs shift from state and federal government to the local level. He says he is willing to listen to and work with all and has demonstrated his ability to help guide decision making: "I have the time to do this, and I have the experience. I'm hoping that I get a chance to try some ideas and see...
Scott Newman decided to run for mayor because he feels "there hasn't been strong leadership, advancing any advocacy towards the big projects in the community like the hospital and in tourism ... I kind of feel like we've had a bit of a dysfunctional process." "We could be advocating more strongly, at a state and federal level for these projects that we have going on, mainly the hospital," Newman told the Pilot in an interview. "I just don't feel like we've been doing enough in that direction....
After 35 years working in local public radio - 27 years as general manager of KFSK in Petersburg - Tom Abbott has reached retirement. It'll just require a bit more crisis management before he can fully clock out. In an interview with the Pilot, Abbott said he provided KFSK's board of directors a resignation letter last year, with 18 months built in to pass the torch to the station's next manager. He hoped a successor could be hired and would arrive by this summer and the two could work together...
