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Sam Caulum, with Petersburg Municipal Power & Light, hangs a banner on the lamp post at the corner of N. Nordic Dr. and Gjoa St. on Monday. Eighteen banners were hung along Nordic Drthe ., Harbor Way and the north end of Sing Lee Alley ahead of the Little Norway Festival and will stay up throughout the spring and summer seasons. The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce owns the banners, but PMP&L lends the chamber its staff and bucket truck to hang up the banners each year, said Utility Director Karl...
After last year's festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 62nd annual Little Norway Festival is slated to begin May 13. "I think everyone can't wait for it to happen," said Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Administrator Mindy Lopez. "There's some excitement in the air." Prior to the festival, free transportation across the Wrangell Narrows will be provided on May 8 for the City of Kupreanof Celebration Day from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. The United States Forest Service is also hosting a...
The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce has announced that it will be hosting the Little Norway Festival this year, but it will be taking precautions to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19. Chamber administrator Mindy Lopez said the Little Norway Festival Committee has been planning for the festival since January but has only recently made the commitment to hold Mayfest this year. The Little Norway Festival will be held from May 13 through May 16 and is going to look a bit different from past...
Halibut prices for Alaska fishermen for 2021 have started out significantly higher than last year, despite sluggish demand and transportation logjams in some regions. The Pacific halibut fishery opened on March 6 and two weeks later only 80 deliveries were made, 46 at Southeast ports and 34 from the Central Gulf, totaling 355,524 pounds. Most landings appeared to be small lots that were purchased on consignment. The first fish typically fetches higher prices and then drops off as the season progresses. No Alaska ports reported paying under $5...
The Borough Assembly updated several local health mandates and an emergency directive at an emergency meeting Tuesday in response to the expiration of the state's emergency declaration. The health mandates had previously contained language that reflected similar health mandates at the state level, but Alaska's health mandates related to COVID-19 expired Feb. 14 along with the emergency declaration. The Assembly updated the language in several of the local health mandates in order to reinstate...
The Canadian government issued an order on Feb. 4 to prohibit cruise ships in all Canadian waters until Feb. 28, 2022, but Dave Berg, cofounder of Viking Travel, said the restriction would only affect one cruise line expected to port in Petersburg this summer. Victory Cruise Lines' foreign-flagged ship Ocean Victory is scheduled to port in Petersburg eight times this season, with the first stop expected on July 17. According to the Jones Act, which regulates maritime commerce in the United...
January The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration proposed establishing critical habitat areas for humpback whales in three distinct population segments located off Mexico, Central American and the Western Pacific. The Petersburg Borough sent a letter of disapproval to the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding the proposed critical habitat for humpback whales after residents spoke out against the proposal. The Petersburg Borough authorized the hire of Josh Rathmann to fill the...
Lee's Clothing won the business category in Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Petersburg Municipal Power & Light's Christmas decorating contest. Entries were judged based on effort, originality, visibility and appeal. Winners won a $100 gift card....
December 17, 1920 The Petersburg city council met in postponed regular session last Monday night and transacted routine business. The report of the town treasurer showed that the town had a balance of approximately $700 after all bills, amounting to $1,396.82 had been paid. It was reported to the council that the new power plant machinery is consuming 80 gal. of fuel oil and four and a half gallons of lubricating oil every 24 hours. It was estimated that the plant is now costing the city $814 per month to operate the plant, with a gross income...
Public Works staff set up this year's borough Christmas tree on Nov. 13. This year's tree came from 40,000 Rd., about four miles out Mitkof Highway, said Public Works Director Chris Cotta. The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce will be hosting this year's tree lighting ceremony on Friday, Nov. 27. Two separate showings will be held this year, at 5:30 P.M. and 6:30 P.M., to allow for social distancing....
October 29, 1920 A rare treat was given to the lovers of the beautiful when the exhibition of the hand colored photographs of the various glaciers and other Alaskan scenes were placed on exhibition at Howel’s Camera Shop here yesterday. The exhibition was well attended and everyone expressed their delight in the wonderful coloring of the ice of the famous Taku and Dawes glaciers. Mrs. E. Chester Roberts, the artist who did these pictures has her studio in Juneau, and she certainly is an artist in every sense of the word, as she has the c...
Students need your help To the Editor: Since I got into High School the one thing I look forward to every year is volleyball season. For some it might be E-sports, swimming, wrestling, basketball, and many others. At the beginning of the year I was so excited that we could finally go back to school, even though it was only 2 days a week in person. Volleyball season started and we were so excited to go so far this season. Since our team was underclassman we've been waiting for THIS season, in hop...
Unofficial municipal election results show David Kensinger taking one of two 3-year term seats on the Borough Assembly, with Assembly Members Jeff Meucci and Brandi Thynes in a close race for the second seat. Kensinger had 573 votes in the unofficial results, which put him safely ahead of the other three candidates. Meucci has 497 votes and Thynes has 481 votes. There are still four questioned ballots that need to be added in the final number of votes. Plus, the borough has yet to receive 19...
Name: Brandi Thynes Age: 38 Experience: 3 yr term borough assembly 1 yr appointed school board Why do you seek public office? I enjoyed being on the assembly this last term and would like to continue to be an advocate for our community, especially in these odd and trying times. I understand the importance and privilege that comes with being a voice for my fellow constituents. Would you support a borough-wide face masking mandate? No. This has been strongly opposed by the community. The c...
Kodiak has again scored a first debate between candidates in one of Alaska’s most high-profile political races: the U.S. Senate. Kodiak has been hosting debates for congressional and gubernatorial hopefuls since 1999 with a single focus: Alaska’s seafood industry. The date and format for the U.S. Senate faceoff are still being finalized, but it will occur in close proximity to the annual ComFish event on September 17 and 18, bumped by Covid from its traditional dates in March, and now set to be a virtual experience. Republican Senator Dan Sul...
The Southeast Conference released the results of a business survey the organization conducted in June that shows all responding businesses, including those in Petersburg, reporting significant financial losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. "It's basically a snapshot where businesses in the region think the economy is going," said Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Board Vice President Dave Kensinger. "We see the survey, and it's pretty grim." A total of 460 businesses from 23 communities in...
It's simple math To the Editor: Here is some simple math for the local folks who don't want to wear masks because of their constitutional "rights" and because a 1% COVID-19 mortality rate is no big deal. How can a disease with 1% mortality shut down the United States? There are two problems with this question: It neglects the law of large numbers; and it assumes that one of two things happen; you die or you're 100% fine. The US has a population of 328,200,000. If one percent of the population di...
About 1,000 pounds of shells were shot during this year's Fourth of July firework show on Friday, according to Assistant Fire Chief Dave Berg. The fireworks cost about $4,500 and were paid for by donations to the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce firework fund, said Berg. Alaska Marine Lines covered the barge fees for the fireworks....
Mindy Lopez has taken on the role of chamber administrator with the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, a position she said allows her to support local businesses at a time when they may be reeling from the financial setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. "We all go through difficult times in our lives," said Lopez. "Sometimes it feels good to have someone walking with you in those hard times." Before joining the chamber in early June, Lopez had been working with Petersburg Mental Health doing...
The COVID-19 pandemic was able to cancel this year's Little Norway Festival, but the community is still going to host the Fourth of July Festival, though it will look different from past years. This year's theme will be Stay Strong Together to remind families they can persevere through the pandemic together. The games and events that usually take place on July 3 on main st. will now be held virtually from the Lighthouse Assembly of God parking lot. The harbor games have been cancelled, but the f...
June 25, 1920 The warehouse capacity of the Citizens Wharf is being considerably extended by the building of a 50 foot by a 100 foot addition to the present buildings. For some time the space on the dock has been crowded but with the new addition it is expected that there will be ample room to handle all business offered. The old shrimp handling shed on the south end of the dock is being torn out and the new addition will stand in its place. It will be a story and a half in height, the lower floor being used for freight storage and handling...
June 11, 1920 The Petersburg Hospital Association has secured the services of two trained nurses and they are both now on duty at the local institution. Miss Nellie Thomas of Ketchikan and Mrs. Flower of Wrangell are the two who are on duty. Miss Thomas has spent several years in Ketchikan and has recently completed her course of training in the Swedish Hospital training school at Seattle. She comes highly recommended by all of the doctors in Ketchikan. Mrs. Flower is well known here having been in charge of the hospital during the time Dr....
The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce has officially cancelled this year's Little Norway Festival due to uncertainties over how long state health mandates to shelter in place and maintaining social distancing will remain in place. Chamber Administrator Mara Lutomski said the choice to cancel the 62nd Little Norway Festival was a hard decision for the chamber board. "No one wants to cancel a festival that has been such a rich part of Petersburg history," said Lutomski. The chamber of commerce and...
April 9, 1920 The Board of Directors of the Petersburg Cooperative have leased the store building formerly occupied by the Deep Sea Fishermen’s Union in the Sunde Building and work will start at once making the necessary alterations to fix the place up for a store. A competent manager has been selected by the board and he’s to leave for the south on one of the first boats to secure fixtures and stock. April 6, 1945 Fred Hanford, representative from the district who introduced the successful Petersburg hospital bill into the House during the...
If you've got to ride-out a worldwide pandemic, there's no better place than in Petersburg. We're isolated on an island along the edge of the Pacific Ocean, giving us a lot of protection from the spread of COVID-19. With appropriate precautions, followed by all of us, we can get through this. Store managers tell us that shoppers have been respectful of social distancing while in the stores. More and more shoppers are phoning in orders and having them delivered to their homes, avoiding the...