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Three teachers from the Petersburg School District are state finalists for awards in excellence – Hannah Smith and Alice Cumps, math and science teachers at the middle and high schools respectively, are two of the finalists for a Presidential Excellence Award, and Becky Martin, a third grade teacher, for the Alaska Teacher of the Year Award. The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) is the highest honor a K – 12 math or science teacher in the U.S. can...
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 Alaska Legislature has voted to uphold Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a bill that would have significantly increased the funding formula for Alaska’s K-12 public schools. Dunleavy vetoed House Bill 69 last week, citing cost concerns and the lack of policy measures he endorsed. With the House and Senate meeting in joint session, the vote to override Dunleavy was 33-27, sustaining the veto. Forty of the Legislature’s 60 members were needed for an override. In its final version, HB 69 would have increased the state’s base student allocat... Full story
"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...
Dear Neighbors To the Editor: I humbly ask that you look beyond the two names at the bottom of this letter. See us all as we are: your Neighbors whose children play with yours, who celebrate holidays beside you, and who have built lives here in Petersburg. Tonight, I wonder who’ll be next – taken simply for where we were born, what we believe, how we worship, or whom we love. Dear Neighbor, will you be there for us? When you see me at the grocery store, you smile and wave. Your son and mine jumped off the Blind Slough bridge together last sum...
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...
The American Legion provided the first home for the Petersburg Public Library in 1931. Initially, it was a modest shelf of books donated by the community, managed by the American Legion Auxiliary in the Legion's building. This humble beginning eventually grew into the institution we know today. The collection was so small at first that some people even took out membership cards in the names of newborns to borrow more books. As time passed, the Alaska Territorial government and the City of...
The first-of-its-kind event was an all-male pageant where dance dads of Mitkof Dance Troupe (MDT) students bravely entertained a sold out crowd at the Elks Ballroom. After several uproarious rounds of competition, high school teacher Dustin Crump was crowned Mr. MDT and celebrated his win with an encore rendition of "the Dougie." Thousands were raised to upgrade the dance studio's facilities....
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...
This past weekend, Stedman Elementary School's wrestling club hosted a round-robin tournament against Wrangell's wrestling club. "They did incredible. Last year's Petersburg tournament was basically a lot of the kids' first tournament. It caught them by surprise and they've just done exponentially better each time they compete," Eldon Walker said, head coach for the third, fourth and fifth-grade wrestlers. "This season, overall, was their best performance yet." Sam Caulum is the head coach of...
Forest Service terminations To the Editor: 3,400 U.S. Forest Service employees have lost their jobs across the nation. 10 of those FS employees live in Petersburg. These firings were not based on performance. That is a false agenda this administration is pushing to make you not care and look away. These terminations were inflicted on employees that were still in their probationary period, usually their first year of work. They are predominantly young, motivated people starting out their careers. This will not only leave a gap in the Forest...
Mitkof Middle School students put their engineering skills to the test Tuesday in an underwater robotics competition, marking the culmination of a project that brought together students, parents, and community volunteers. Science teacher Hannah Smith's sixth and seventh-grade students assembled remote operated vehicles (ROVs) nearly from scratch before competing in events including speed races, obstacle challenges, and debris cleanup at the Petersburg Community Pool. "Everyone had three class pe...
The state of Alaska is bringing in less money than it is spending, and is on pace to finish the current fiscal year with a deficit of $171 million, according to figures presented Tuesday. Lacey Sanders, Gov. Mike Dunleavy's top budget official, told the Senate Finance Committee that spending from the Constitutional Budget Reserve likely will be needed to close the gap. To do this would require support from three-quarters of the House and three-quarters of the Senate. That's a critical... Full story
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...
Carol Kandoll drapes a Quilt of Valor over the shoulders of veteran Tony Vita during the 2024 Veterans Day Parade....
October 31, 1924 – Thursday evening, November 6, in the schoolhouse, the Petersburg Parent-Teacher Association will once again convene. There is to be a business meeting which will likely not be long. The following program will be rendered for the pleasure of those present: piano solo, Miss Reep; reading, “Maggie Clancy has her say,” Lanore Martin; vocal solo, “The Hour of Memory,” Mrs. Martin Enge; and a reading by Miss Thorp. Refreshments are promised. So bring yourself, a friend and lots of pep and interest! October 28, 1949 – The ski tow...
Growing up in Petersburg, Heather Conn remembers holding weekend school sessions inside a little schoolhouse her father built along the side of their home on Tango Street, with her brothers and kids from the neighborhood in attendance. Conn wanted to be a school teacher her whole life and had even considered aiming for superintendent at some point. She achieved a dream in 2019 when Conn became the school principal at Petersburg's Rae C. Stedman Elementary school, after years in special and...
Petersburg students return to class this Tuesday, and students and families will experience some changes to Petersburg School District policies this academic year. The local school board reviews the student handbooks for Stedman Elementary School, Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School every year and makes updates as deemed necessary. Language in the Stedman handbook about dress code was added to include a "three-finger rule" for tank tops to advise the width of sleeves should be about...
To register a new student, please stop by the office at 303 Dolphin Street by August 22. You will need to bring a current immunization record and birth certificate – a legible copy is okay. For questions, please call or text the office at 907-302-2385 or 877-526-7656, ext. 400 Mrs. Willis, Kindergarten: Julie Baguley, Levi Bateman, Mia Carr, Levi Clemens, Esmae Corrao, William Hussey, Jackson Josey, Kaylee Lenihan, Tora Marohl, Harlan McKay, Knox Mendoza-Einerson, Ca’Nay Mitchell, Sophie Morin, Chloe Morrison, Lydia Padgett, Henry Paul, Kno...
Alaska's freshly signed capital budget includes state funding for a program meant to encourage land development. It's a single line: Statewide Housing Development, $4 million. But according to Republican Senator Bert Stedman of Sitka, that money could help shake loose some land for much-needed housing. He said there's a lot of land around the state, but it's not getting developed. "The economics don't work, due to the cost of the infrastructure, mainly the roads and the utilities," he said. "So...
For the next few years, school meals will be free to all students enrolled in Petersburg School District. All three school sites in PSD now qualify for the USDA Community Eligibility Provision, which allows schools to offer breakfast and lunch at no cost to student families because the meals are ultimately reimbursed by money from the federal government. PSD Food Program Director Carlee Johnson McIntosh managed the administrative push for getting the CEP. "It's such a great need ... I've seen it...
After twenty three years working for the Petersburg School District, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter will retire on June 30. In early 2001, Kludt-Painter's dad told her there was a job opening for a principal in Petersburg, Alaska, and said he thought she'd like Petersburg, a town about the same size as her hometown of Orofino in rural northern Idaho. She jumped at the opportunity. Barb Marifern, who was on the hiring committee, said that after a series of phone interviews with each...
The multi-million dollar funding request for the Petersburg hospital replacement project was not included in the most recent state FY2025 capital budget, despite being the Petersburg Borough's top priority capital project and months of advocacy to the legislature. In January, the borough assembly unanimously approved a capital projects list that ranked the Petersburg Medical Center replacement project as the very top priority for funding. In February, individuals from the borough, board and...
Feel like dancing during this week's festivities? Then you're in luck! High energy, multi-genre Seattle-based band the Staxx Brothers are set to perform two fun, riveting and especially groovy shows in Petersburg for the Little Norway Festival. Founded by band lead Davin Michael Stedman in 2002, the Staxx Brothers are a high energy American band from Seattle who play a mixed genre of music, but like to define themselves as "Hard Ass Soul." "The energy you get from the Staxx Brothers show is...
