Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 7076
Petersburg, like many small towns, has increasingly been under attack by scammers. One of the newer schemes showing up locally is the rental scam, in which fraudsters create fake listings and advertise them on platforms like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. Recently one of those scams went further than most. Matt Duddles and his wife had listed their Hungerford Hill home for sale with Petersburg Properties realtor Sarah Holmgrain when someone lifted the listing photos, posted them to Craigslist, and advertised the property for rent at...
Subscribers can use the link below to access this week's PDF Edition, or use the E-Editions button on the homepage for all of our current and archived PDFs. Click here to view this week's PDF. Thanks for subscribing!... Full story
Petersburg homeowners who heat their homes with oil, propane, or wood may soon have an increased financial incentive to make the switch to electric heat pumps. Alaska Heat Smart’s Accelerating Clean Energy Savings program — known as ACES — is now accepting applications from eligible residents, and a regional energy advisor is in town this week to host a pair of public information sessions at the Petersburg Public Library. Aaron Blust, an energy advisor with Alaska Heat Smart, will hold sessions on Friday, March 6, from 4 to 5 p.m. and Satur...
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
Two state lawmakers introduced legislation this month that aims to crack down on a major source of water pollution from cruise ships in Alaska waters. Sen. Jesse Kiehl and Rep. Sara Hannan, both Democrats from Juneau, each introduced bills that revolve around the type of fuel ships use. The bills vary slightly, but they do essentially the same thing: require ships to use fuel with lower levels of contaminants, including sulfur. “There is a growing trend around the world toward requiring cleaner fuels that don’t have as much sulfur and met... Full story
The Petersburg School District is wrapping up a lengthy roof replacement project and moving into the security upgrade phase of campus improvements funded through a 2024 voter-approved bond. CBC Construction, the contractor handling the roof replacement at Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School, is in the final stretch of that project. As of last week, Superintendent Robyn Taylor said the contractor is waiting on a shipment of 20 remaining vents before completing installation. “Once they arrive, [and once the roof is cleared of snow] i...
The murder of Sing Lee was never solved. The Petersburg merchant was found dead in his apartment in November 1930, and despite a community that demanded answers, the investigation went nowhere. Clausen Memorial Museum has spent months digging through the evidence and, on March 2, opens an exhibit on his life and death. The museum's exhibit, "The Sing Lee Mystery," will run throughout the month of March. Clausen Museum Director Sarah Pederson says the exhibit doesn't solve the case, but works to...
The U.S. Forest Service announced in the Federal Register Wednesday, Feb 18, that it is preparing to update the Tongass National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan to align with executive orders that President Trump issued when he took office last year. Also on Feb. 18, the Forest Service opened a 30-day public comment period on the planned update. The current Tongass plan has been in place since 1979, and the last major revision of the management plan for the 16.7-million acre national forest was in 1997. Amendments to the plan in 2016...
The Alaska Marine Highway System has been struggling with less than full staffing since 2019, with last month’s numbers showing the state ferries were short 59 workers to fill jobs as masters, mates, engineers, seaman and stewards. The shortage grows by about three dozen crew when measured against what would be needed to cover for workers out on personal leave, or due to injury or illness, according to a presentation by the Marine Highway System Director. “Attention to employee recruitment and retention strategies is core to this sta...
A 25-year-old Haines man has been hospitalized in Fairbanks since a Feb. 13 collision with an 18-wheeler that left him with several broken bones and extensive internal injuries. Seth Waldo was headed to Anchorage for a new job, his Toyota pickup crammed with his belongings, when he collided with a Lynden Transport truck about 15 minutes from the Beaver Creek border crossing. Troopers got a report of the collision just after 1:20 p.m. His truck was demolished and, at first, it was assumed that...
Katie Holmlund didn't quite believe it at first. "When they called about this 40 Under 40 thing, I was like, that seems like a trick," she said with a laugh, recalling a piece of junk mail she'd received months earlier promising similar honors. "I'm like, this isn't real." But it was. Holmlund, Petersburg Medical Center's Youth Programs Development and Advocacy Coordinator, has been named to the Alaska Journal of Commerce's 2026 Top Forty Under 40, a statewide honor recognizing professionals und... Full story
The Alaska Board of Game has approved a change expanding where archers can hunt on Petersburg's Mitkof Island. The change opens bow hunting in an area that has been closed to harvesting big game, except for wolves, since 1962. It eliminates a closed area south of town around the Petersburg road system, which served as a quarter-mile corridor for decades, and adds it to a larger management area. The Board approved the change with a 4–3 vote at a late January meeting in Wrangell. Board Member J... Full story
Two softly humming glass cabinets, brightly lit from within, cause students and grown-ups to pause and peer on their way through the Petersburg High School commons. They are hydroponic gardens, complete with lights for growing greens and flowers year-round. This provides Petersburg students not only with quality food, but a nice splash of greenery and light in the commons, and a brilliant hands-on learning opportunity. Hydroponic gardens have been a big goal for Alex Helms, Farm to School...
Ryan Gilkey arrived in Petersburg via the ferry on Super Bowl Sunday with his two dogs and about 1,700 emergency calls worth of experience under his belt. The 35-year-old says he has spent years methodically working his way toward Alaska for a job like this. Gilkey is Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department's new EMS Coordinator, a full-time administrative and training position that serves as the department's primary point of contact for all things emergency medical services. "The job is an admin...
During his 20 years as a member of the Alaska Board of Fisheries, Petersburg commercial fisherman John Jensen relied on a lifetime of experience harvesting salmon, crab and other shellfish as he voted on statewide fishery regulations. But he couldn’t always weigh in with his wisdom, and a Kodiak legislator is looking to change that this year. When the Board of Fisheries held its 2018 Southeast regulatory meeting in Sitka, Jensen had to sit on the sidelines for about a third of the meeting. He couldn’t participate in the board's deliberations on...
Boat owners in Wrangell now have some new rules to follow if they plan on keeping inactive vessels tied up in any of the harbors. At the Feb. 10 borough assembly meeting, members unanimously passed a new law designed to crack down on inactive boats taking up moorage space in the harbors. The provisions, which went into effect immediately, come after years of talks between Harbormaster Steve Miller, the port commission and borough leaders. No one from the public offered any comments about the ord...
At the ballfield on last Thursday's stupendously stormy day, a pack of elementary schoolers in Kinder Skog did their best with wet numb fingers to pick up trash and put it in plastic bags billowing in the wind. All spring, Kinder Skog will be raising money by collecting trash as they spend time outside at their regular spots around town. Each skoggy is asking for personal sponsors, which can be individuals or businesses, with a suggested donation of $20 per bag. "We are asking sponsors to sponso... Full story
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...
American Cruise Line's long-discussed cruise ship dock project in Petersburg took another step forward last week when the borough assembly approved the first reading of an ordinance rezoning a 22,500-square-foot parcel at the end of Dock Street to accommodate ACL's proposed facility. The ordinance, which must pass two additional readings before final adoption, changes the parcel from un-zoned to Industrial with Marine Industrial Overlay. The Planning Commission unanimously recommended the...
After their acclaimed but ominous rendition of "Dracula" last fall, Petersburg High School's drama program is ready to brighten up the vibe with a Victorian-era romantic farce, "The Matchmaker," opening Feb. 19 at Wright Auditorium. The Thornton Wilder comedy - best known as the basis for the Broadway musical "Hello Dolly" - features a large ensemble cast navigating love, loss and the search for joy in 1880s New York. Director Elsa Wintersteen said she deliberately chose the play to give...
Petersburg Medical Center's Home Health department is settling into its new space in the former office of Public Health and is working to expand community awareness about the services available to local residents. The move brings Home Health nursing staff into closer proximity with PMC's clinical departments, emergency room, and therapy services. "It's so nice to be on campus and just be able to have conversations face to face," said Ruby Shumway, PMC's Home Health and Community Based Services...
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins - former state legislator who represented Petersburg and much of Southeast for a decade - is running for governor, he said Tuesday. Kreiss-Tomkins, frequently known as "JKT," served in the Alaska House of Representatives between 2013 and 2023. He becomes the 16th candidate and third Democrat to enter this year's gubernatorial election. Incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy is term-limited and unable to run for a third term. In Alaska, the top four vote-getters, regardless of... Full story
Alaska’s state ferry system is at risk of a partial or total shutdown this summer due to the failure of the federal government to issue a key annual grant. “Currently right now, we have a shortfall in our budget,” said Dom Pannone, director of program administration and management for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, to members of the Senate Finance Committee during a Monday morning hearing. Money from the Federal Transit Administration’s rural ferry program pays for almost half of the Alaska Marine Highway... Full story
WRANGELL - With just four weeks left before the deadline, Wrangell borough is pressing ahead to complete its application for a $50 million federal grant to help pay for several projects to boost the town's economic future. "We all know we've been economically depressed" since the timber industry collapsed more than a generation ago, Kate Thomas, the borough's economic development director, told the assembly at a work session on Jan. 27. The federal grant, through the Economic Development...
Young performers and seasoned community talent will share the stage in Wright Auditorium on Monday night when Petersburg Live returns as a fundraiser to support high school art students traveling to Haines this spring for Art Fest and drama students heading to Scotland this summer for Fringe Fest. The two-hour variety show opens its doors at 6 p.m., with performances running from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door, with a bake sale offering homemade treats throughout the evening. “There will be a wide range of performance, t...
