Local man to be named Elks national president

A Petersburg man is slated to be named national president of a storied fraternal organization that has about 780,000 members.

Mike Luhr is scheduled this July to be installed as national president, or grand exalted ruler, of The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America.

Luhr got his start with the Elks in 1977 at 21 years old. He worked through the ranks, and by 2001 became the president in Petersburg. He moved to the state level in 2004 when he was elected as a trustee, and then he served as president of the Alaska State Elks Association in 2009 for a year.

At t...