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Petersburg's Devil's Thumb Shooters wrapped up their season this past weekend at the AK YESS State Tournament to huge results. For the first time, DTS won the High Over All Grand Champion Team. For long-tenured seniors such as Cayden Turland, who has been in this program since the spring of third grade and Trent Kittams, who has been with the team since fall of fourth grade, this accomplishment ended their careers with a bang. However, despite the accomplishment, it wasn't all smooth sailing...
At the Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting on May 5, the results of recently completed five-year utility rate study were presented, and borough residents can expect utility rate increases in the coming fiscal year as officials adjust for rising operating expenses and debt service for capital projects across water, wastewater, and electric departments. The suggestions based on the rate study include: Water: 3% annual increases from FY2026 through FY2030 Wastewater: 25% increase for FY2026, then...
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...
April 30 - An officer responded to a car hitting a stop sign on Skylark Way. Public Works was contacted. Extra patrols were conducted. An officer responded to a disturbance on S 2nd Street. An officer conducted a welfare check. An officer responded to a disturbance on S 3rd Street. An officer assisted EMS. May 1 - A distracted driver was reported on Haugen Drive, but couldn’t be located. A deer versus vehicle accident was reported. The deer was salvaged and given to charity. Extra patrols were conducted on Sing Lee Alley. Intoxicated i...
Three sets of stairs have provided access from North Nordic Drive down to the beach near Hungry Point. A few years ago, the wooden stairs closest to town were replaced with new treated lumber. The middle set of stairs was blocked off to discourage use. And the third set of stairs, closest to Hungry Point, was determined to be hazardous and in need of removal or replacement. "We decided to do both!" Aaron Marohl, Petersburg's Assistant Public Works Director told the Pilot. The existing concrete s...
"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...
March 27, 1925 – Representative John E. Rankin in a speech before Congress [titled] “Alaska, as I Saw It,” said among other things: “I believe that we should give those people as much authority as possible over the territory and that we should protect them in the enjoyment of life and the pursuits of happiness to the same extent that we do our people here in the states – that the wealth up there may not be used to fill the coffers of a few trusts and combinations, but that the resources of the great territory, with its wonderful scenery,...
In Wright Auditorium, tubes of cardboard are being transformed into marble columns. Costumes salvaged from thrift stores are repurposed into Elizabethan finery. And students are grappling with language written over 400 years ago learning how to bring it to life. Petersburg High School's drama program, under the direction of Elsa Wintersteen, is tackling William Shakespeare's comedy "Much Ado About Nothing" this spring, with performances scheduled for March 27-29, including a Saturday matinee....
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 6-0 Monday to adopt a resolution formally approving a comprehensive Visitor Industry Management Plan developed by a local working group in 2019-2020 and updated in early 2025. The plan, created by 17 Petersburg residents including business owners and borough staff, aims to address visitor industry growth while “maintaining the balance between Petersburg's quality of life and the visitor economy while preserving Petersburg's authenticity and sense of place,” states the resolution. Petersburg Har...
Veterans, our heroes To the Editor: Flying the inverted American flag is a recognized distress signal. Recently we hung our flag in this manner to sound the alarm as a wake up call to the seriousness of all that is happening since January 20, 2025. Musk is creating chaos and catastrophe, and it’s hurting veterans who put their lives on the line for the country we love. Veterans are 30% of the federal workforce. The DOGE’s illegal firings of these brave men and women has been cruel. Veterans’ groups are raising the alarm about what they call ind...
February 12 - The Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report that a dog had been lost and found. An officer responded to a report of a dog at large. The dog could not be located. A runaway canine was reported and later found by the owner. An officer provided lockout assistance. A protective order service was completed. An officer responded to a noise complaint and determined it to be non-criminal. An officer responded to a complaint of barking dogs. The owner was contacted and brought the dogs inside. February 13 - An officer conducte...
President Donald Trump’s order to pause the spending of billions of dollars in federal grants triggered a wave of anxiety, fear and uncertainty on Tuesday in Alaska, a state dependent more than any other on federal spending. “For me, it was pandemic-level chaotic,” said Nils Andreassen, director of the Alaska Municipal League, which works with cities and boroughs statewide. A federal judge’s ruling late Tuesday temporarily blocked the presidential order, but that only defers an act with broad consequences. “We’re waiting for the other shoe... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously on Tuesday, Jan. 21 to extend the borough's solid waste disposal contract with Republic Services for an additional year, as communities across the region continue to explore long-term solutions for Southeast Alaska's waste management challenges. The one-year extension will maintain waste disposal services through August 2026 at a rate of $192.40 per ton, with estimated costs between $425,000 and $475,000 for the year. The borough had until...
Word arrived last week that Petersburg has finally secured funding for the Scow Bay Haul-out and Washdown Pad project. $8.8 million is coming through the Department of Transportation's Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program, part of more than $47 million for Alaska in federal transportation grants announced by U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan. The funding breakthrough came after eight consecutive applications submitted by the...
January 16, 1925 – The bachelors are going to entertain the people of Petersburg at the Sons of Norway Hall on Saturday, January 17th. There will be entertainment, a big dinner and dancing. Everyone is cordially invited to attend. The bachelors are to be hosts and wish everyone to know that there will be no admittance or other charges. January 13, 1950 – With memories of last winter’s dry spell still fresh in their minds, citizens of Petersburg are watching the city’s water supply dwindle away to almost nothing this week. With her inadequ...
WRANGELL — The mayor convened the public workshop, inviting Washington state-based entrepreneur Dale Borgford to lay out for borough officials his plans to build biomass boilers that would burn trash from around Southeast to heat large commercial greenhouses at the site of the former 6-Mile mill. He also wants to build a plant capable of filling large plastic bottles with 40,000 gallons a day of clean water from a creek at the north end of the property, or from rainwater if the creek flow is insufficient. And his list includes a plant to turn f...
January 2024 A prized Mental Health Trust lot by Blind River Rapids, a popular recreation site for sport fishing, was sold at auction to a USCG family. Toler and Jessie Alexander are eager to return to Petersburg after retiring from the Coast Guard in a few years. The borough listed its top priority capital projects, and the Petersburg Medical Center replacement was first and second on the list – for the main hospital construction and the main hospital interior build out. Petersburg Indian A...
December 26, 1924 – Petersburg is to celebrate the completion of the Hydro Electric project. A committee of which Harold Dawes is the chairman was named at the Commercial Club meeting Monday evening to arrange details. Secretary C. Clausen was instructed to write Governor Bone and invite him to attend or send a representative, if unable to attend, or at least to “officially switch on the juice at Juneau.” The Governor will be apprised later of the exact date and hour the new plant at Blind Slough will be hooked up to the town of Peter...
December 18 – An officer provided lockout assistance on Howkan Street. An officer assisted a citizen. December 19 – An officer assisted the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) with a fall. The Petersburg Police Department received a report of a missing dog. An officer assisted an individual who had fallen on Ira II Street. December 20 – PPD received a report of a non-working power pole on South Nordic Drive. Petersburg Power and Light (PP&L) were notified and responded. PPD received a request for extra patrols of Hungerford Hill Road. An indiv...
November 26 – An officer spoke with a complainant regarding a civil issue. Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of a vandalized door to a school outbuilding near the track. An officer responded to a disturbance on South 2nd Street and determined it was a civil issue. PPD received multiple reports of fraudulent texts from an individual claiming to be a minister needing Apple gift cards purchased for them to give to cancer patients in the hospital, alleging they were too busy to get the cards themself, but would repay the money a...
A Petersburg borough sanding truck slid into another vehicle on an icy hill and then rolled into the muskeg on December 1. The truck was going up a hill to the local dump at around 4:30 p.m. Dave Berg is a spokesperson for the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department. He said the sand that the truck had just put down was no match for the steep, slick road. "He was heading up the hill," he said. "There was another vehicle following him, and the sander stopped, [it] basically was not getting any...
Hundreds of folks gathered downtown Friday, Nov. 29, for this year's Petersburg Christmas Tree Lighting. Donning an array of light-up accessories and holding candles aflame, people of all ages followed Santa Claus, who rode aboard a fire truck, with many joining Nathan Lopez in caroling along the walk through the snow-covered street on Nordic Drive to reach the towering, unlit Christmas tree standing at the municipal building, thanks to Public Works. A crowd formed in the parking lot to see...
WRANGELL — Tidal Network is operating in its test mode, with about a dozen Wrangell households trying out the new wireless internet service provided by the Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. Wrangell is the first location in Southeast to get the new service, which is funded by a federal grant for construction and later will be expanded across the region. During the testing phase, technicians will be “breaking it to fix it,” looking to maximize the signals’ range and finding the best system for managing the fiber optic a...
Upgrades are in the works for a few amenities at Sandy Beach recreational area, including a year-round restroom, parking improvements, and the ongoing extension work on City Creek Trail. Sandy Beach is a place for all sorts of recreational happenings. The beachfront park and picnic area includes a few shelters, benches, firepits, barbecues, a playground, as well as a totem pole and four informational signs at the plaza installed this summer. Visitors also park at the Sandy Beach area to access...
