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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...
Petersburg's Assembly unanimously approved a lease for Nordic Real Estate LLC to use a narrow strip of borough land adjacent to the Narrows Inn, clearing the way for further rehabilitation of the nearly 60-year-old apartment complex. Nordic Real Estate LLC, owned by Sarah and Randy Holmgrain, purchased the 27-unit building in January 2025 and has begun an ambitious renovation project that they hope will help improve Petersburg's housing stock. Originally built as the King Salmon Motel in the...
Sarah Pederson has taken the reins as the new director of the Clausen Museum, bringing with her a wealth of experience in community building and a passion for local history. Originally from Michigan, Pederson is no stranger to Southeast Alaska, having lived in the region for more than 20 years. She and her husband Cody moved to Petersburg about a month ago after he accepted a position as the new manager at the SSRAA Crystal Lake Hatchery, replacing the retiring Loren Thompson. "We've been living...
Petersburg Public Library will reduce its Monday evening hours starting in May. The library will now close at 4:00 p.m. on Mondays instead of remaining open until 8:00 p.m., a change Library Director Tara Alcock describes as a careful compromise to meet borough-wide budget constraints while minimizing impacts on patrons. "We're still open a fair amount for a library of our size and a community of our size," Alcock explained during a recent interview with the Pilot. "We'll still be open three...
A group of Gortex-clad visitors step out of the chilly spring rain on Friday afternoon and enter the Clausen Memorial Museum. From the window of the museum a ship is visible in the distance, tied up at Petersburg's drive-down dock. It's the National Geographic Sea Lion, operated by Lindblad Expeditions, and they are the first cruise ship of the year to visit Petersburg. As some passengers browse through downtown shops, others cross the Wrangell Narrows in one of the cruise ship's zodiacs, or...
For Petersburg families wondering what their children will do this summer, Petersburg Medical Center's Youth Programs are offering more activities, more accessibility, and more options than ever before. After a six-month effort to secure critical funding streams, the programs have achieved a milestone that will help ensure more families can participate, regardless of financial circumstances. PMC Youth Program administrators have spent months advocating for access to state child care assistance...
Kinder Skog mentor and Mitkof Dance Troupe teacher Kaili Watkins has been named an Alaska Afterschool Superhero, one of five educators recognized across the state this year by the Alaska Afterschool Network. The press release on Monday described the recognition as "a highly competitive, statewide award that recognizes spectacular afterschool professionals ... Kaili has gone above and beyond in her role, building relationships and learning about the individual needs of youth." Watkins was...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted Monday to direct Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht to enter into negotiations with Greg and Heidi Johnson for the sale of nine borough-owned lots intended for residential property development, effectively overriding a recommendation from the Petersburg Planning Commission. The properties in question include lots six through ten in block 255 of the Northeast Subdivision and lots two through five of the unrecorded Scenic View Subdivision. The Johnsons...
The Petersburg Borough is the closest it's been in years to owning a well-used portion of tidelands south of town. The State of Alaska is considering giving the borough ownership over specific tidelands on Mitkof Island, located dockside of the Papke's Landing neighborhood. The local borough has plans to develop the waterfront area and improve the infrastructure there for mariners. "We've got lots of ideas," said Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht. "But it's just a matter of trying to make some of...
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...
Petersburg Police Department officers executed a search warrant Monday evening in an operation that yielded multiple drugs, cash, and a firearm. The April 14 search on South Second Street resulted in the seizure of approximately 80 grams of methamphetamine packaged for sale, along with heroin, cocaine, prescription medications including methadone, oxycodone and suboxone, approximately $3,800 in cash, and one firearm. The seizure also included drug paraphernalia such as a digital scale, numerous...
"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...
The Petersburg High School music team stunned the crowd during Spring Music Fest this past weekend in Juneau. The music team was determined to perform at their best, from jazz bands to solo ensembles. In 2024, Petersburg’s concert band did not receive any “superiors,” the highest marks from the judges. They changed that this past weekend. “We were just focused, we were like ‘Let’s just try to get one,’ but our concert band got three and that’s a reflection on the amount of work they [seniors] put into it and the amount of care,” music di...
Petersburg Indian Association Council President Carol Martinez portions out frozen Sitka herring eggs on branches into gallon bags for Petersburg's tribal citizens. A fisherman volunteer collected and provided these eggs for free distribution by PIA. Herring roe on branches is not something that can be bought or sold, so PIA appreciates those volunteers who help to gather the subsistence foods. In recent years, the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Tribes purchased herring roe on kelp - which...
A middle-aged man was rescued from frigid waters near Petersburg on the night of April 7. Franz Schonberg was walking his dog near the ferry terminal after sunset when he heard someone yelling in the Wrangell Narrows, between Mitkof and Kupreanof Islands. Schonberg, a local volunteer firefighter, launched his skiff and went to investigate, searching the dark, fast-moving waters for the person calling out for help. Around the same time, local resident Dr. James Pizzadili was walking along the...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly has once again rejected a proposal to establish a police K9 unit, voting against the request by a 5-1 margin despite grassroots advocacy efforts and significant financial pledges. The proposal, which returned for reconsideration at Monday's assembly meeting after being initially rejected in February, failed to gain approval even with new funding commitments from the Petersburg Indian Association (PIA) and local businesses. Perspectives on the drug dog proposal...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously passed the first reading of Ordinance #2025-04 on April 7, moving forward the plans to establish a Marine Industrial Overlay (MIO) zone to preserve waterfront areas for maritime uses. The ordinance would create special zoning restrictions to ensure specific tidelands in the Port Dock and Scow Bay areas remain dedicated to commercial fishing and maritime operations. "Harbor board and staff has been working hard on this for over a year," Harbor Master...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously Monday to approve a resolution calling on state lawmakers to increase education funding and create a sustainable formula for Alaska's schools. Resolution #2025-07, which passed 6-0, urges the Alaska Legislature to "significantly increase the Base Student Allocation" and develop a long-term bipartisan solution for education funding beginning in fiscal year 2026. Assembly members cited the strain on local resources - the borough currently provides...
While the total number of cruise ship visits to Petersburg will decline this summer, local tourism experts say the quality of port calls should actually increase. "I think after looking at the schedule, the numbers of port calls are down, however, the quality of port calls are high," said James Valentine, co-owner of Viking Travel. Petersburg will welcome 87 cruise ship visits in 2025, down from 104 the previous year. However, Valentine notes that many of last year's visits came at times when to...
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...
Musician Seán Dagher will bring his interactive sea shanty performance to Petersburg next week, inviting locals to join in the maritime musical tradition that has experienced a surge of recent popularity. The performance will be "pretty participatory," Dagher told the Pilot it will be fun and easy to take part. "The shanties are like call and response songs, so I'll sing the call part, and people sing the responses," Dagher explained. Dagher's performance, being presented by the Petersburg... Full story
Silver Bay Seafoods and Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation (BBEDC) jointly announced Tuesday a partnership they say "will increase stability for Alaskan fishermen and communities reliant on seafoods processing operations," with Silver Bay acquiring Icicle Seafoods' 50% ownership stake in OBI Seafoods. The acquisition affects many processing facilities throughout Alaska, including Petersburg's OBI plant, one of the community's largest employers. According to the March 18 announcement, S... Full story
