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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...
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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 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 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...
WRANGELL — More than five dozen high school students from around Southeast, along with their art teachers, will be busy painting, inking, printing, beading, knitting and more during Artfest, a four-day series of workshops in Wrangell this week. Artfest will run Thursday through Sunday, April 24-27, at the high school, with an art show open to the public from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday, said Tawney Crowley, the Wrangell School District’s art teacher. The festival for Southeast students started in 1997 when Wrangell art teacher Kirk Garbisch helped or...
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...
Southeast Alaska's golden king crab fishery reached an all-time high value of $5 million in 2025, marking an impressive recovery for a fishery that was struggling just a few years ago. The East Central management area, which includes waters around Petersburg, led the record-breaking season with a harvest value of $2.97 million, according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game data. The unprecedented value comes despite lower harvest volumes than last year. Fishermen landed 177,060 pounds from...
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 federal government has revoked the visas of four international students at the University of Alaska Anchorage, without explanation or prior notice to students or the university, university officials said on Monday. “This week, we learned that the federal government has revoked visas for four individuals affiliated with UAA — one current student and three recent graduates in post-graduation training — without prior notice,” said UA President Pat Pitney in a university wide email on Monday. No students at the University of Alaska Fairban... Full story
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...
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is calling on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow Ukrainians with temporary protected status to remain in the country, following reports people had received an email that their status was revoked and they had seven days to leave the U.S. The agency has said the April 3 notice was issued by mistake, and the Ukrainians' designation under what's known as "humanitarian parole status" has not been terminated. They had been granted the status under the "Uniting for Ukraine" program. But Murkowski... Full story
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...
A constitutional convention along with candid discussions of difficult federal and state issues that have surfaced in recent months are scheduled during the three-day 90th annual Tribal Assembly by the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska starting Wednesday. More than 120 delegates from 21 communities in Alaska, Washington and California are scheduled to gather at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall where they will also consider resolutions and elect some tribal positions. It will be the first constitutional convention by Tli...
A month after the Dunleavy administration put the Juneau Access Road back on the political map, the Alaska State Senate has clawed back $37 million in funds set aside in years past for the project as lawmakers try to scrap together enough funds to pass a balanced budget by next month. The Juneau Access funds are being redirected to the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities as part of the annual capital budget unanimously passed Tuesday by the Senate. Nearly all of the $2.9 billion budget consists of federal funds for...
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...
A Canadian environmental nonprofit group, long critical of the Red Chris Mine in the northern watershed of the Stikine River, has released a new report that cites increasing underground seepage of contaminants from the mine’s tailings pond. The report comes as British Columbia regulators are considering the mine operator’s application to expand ore recovery by changing to underground tunneling instead of open-pit surface mining. The gold and copper mine started operations in 2015 and sits about 50 miles east of the Stikine River community of...
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...
