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Elks Club expands food service and hours following Marine Bar fire

The Elks Lodge is expanding its food service and hours of operation this fall, making its dining room more available after a fire destroyed the Marine Bar and Hungry Beaver Restaurant. Dawn …
Yesterday at 3:00 AM

Wrangell explores marine voc ed program for possible shipyard jobs

With JAG Marine Group needing to fill a long list of jobs if it develops a shipyard at the 6-Mile Mill industrial site, community leaders are exploring new vocational training pathways to prepare …
Yesterday at 2:30 AM

Several unexpected power outages turned out the lights in October

As the Southeast Alaska Power Agency performs early work to prepare for adding a third turbine next year at its Tyee Lake hydroelectric power plant, transferring between diesel generators and …
Yesterday at 2:30 AM

Alaska Airlines plane grounded in Wrangell after engine failure

An Alaska Airlines aircraft was expected to depart Wrangell on Wednesday after spending six days in town for replacement of a failed engine. The right-hand engine — the starboard side, for …
2 days ago
Grant EchoHawk is running against Rep, Jeremy Bynum for the House District 1 seat.

EchoHawk says his biggest issue is to stop short-funding of schools

Former Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly Member Grant EchoHawk is running for the second time to serve in the Alaska Legislature as the House District 1 representative. The district includes …
2 days ago
Alaska news
California approves plan to build largest kelp farm in the country
California has long been farm country, and its oceans soon could be, too. State coastal officials voted in September to allow a plan to build the United States’ largest kelp farm 6 miles off …
2 days ago
During the four days The Associated Press was on the fishing vessel Progress in the Bering Sea in July, the vessel caught some 210 chum salmon. The captain, who has spent 13 years in the pollock industry, said avoiding salmon is a central part of his job.
The fish behind America’s fish sticks is fueling a fight over trawling in Alaska
The net rose from the heaving Bering Sea swells, packed so tightly with Alaska pollock that their heads squeezed through the webbing. As the catch spilled onto the deck, other dead marine life …
2 days ago
Ketchikan borough assembly removes official after racial remark
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly has voted unanimously to immediately remove Darlene Dollimont-Svenson from the borough planning commission. The motion was put on the Oct. 20 agenda by …
2 days ago
Nyché Andrew places her hand on the soil after bringing flowers to the grave of her relative, Tummassak, at the Lutheran cemetery in Shishmaref on Oct. 5. Tummassak, who died more than 100 years ago while attending the federal Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, was reburied on a grassy knoll. She was among three Alaska Native students whose remains were returned to Alaska this year from Carlisle.
Ketchikan family’s wait continues for remains of Native boarding school student
Healing, joy and new connections filled a Ketchikan family’s journey in September to the Carlisle Barracks Post Cemetery in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where the family’s ancestor, Mabel Stack, died …
2 days ago
Incumbent congressional candidates skip Alaska Native convention forum
Mary Peltola, a Democrat in a tight race that might determine control of the U.S. Senate, stood on stage at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage and threw some barbs at the …
2 days ago
At least 18 early and absentee voting sites in rural Alaska fail to open
At least 18 remote villages where Alaska Natives are a majority of the population failed to open early and in-person absentee voting sites during the first week of early balloting, according to …
2 days ago
Alaska ballot measure supporters want to restate that only citizens can vote
Alaskans will decide on Nov. 3 whether to change state voter qualification language related to the citizenship requirement to vote.  Only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in national and …
2 days ago
Ketchikan needs to raise at least $250,000 to cover travel for student activities
Earlier this year, Ketchikan High School athletics and activities programs were told they would receive no school district funding for travel during the 2026-2027 school year. The drop in funding …
Tuesday, October 20
Ketchikan shipyard workers vote 27-7 to unionize
Workers at the Ketchikan Shipyard have voted to unionize after the new operator, JAG Ketchikan, which began managing the yard in September 2025, declined to recognize the crew’s previously existing …
Tuesday, October 20
Wrangell

Freedom Rock veterans memorial installation postponed to spring

The placement and official community unveiling of Alaska’s first Freedom Rock memorial to veterans have been deferred until spring, primarily due to manufacturing lead times for a protective …

2 days ago

School district will require two more course credits for graduation

High school students will need to earn 26 credits to graduate instead of 24, following final school board approval on Sept. 21. The policy change raises overall graduation requirements without …
Wednesday, October 21

School board elects Powers as new president

The school board reorganized its leadership and officially seated its newest member at its Oct. 12 meeting. The board welcomed newly elected member Jayme Howell, who won the seat previously held …
Wednesday, October 21
Newspaper Archives

View Sentinel archives back to 1898 -- a joint project between the Sentinel and the Irene Ingle Public Library.

Thursday, August 14, 2025

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Police report

Police report for Oct. 28, 2026

Monday, Oct. 19 Traffic stop. Assist: Alaska Wildlife Trooper (2). Assist: Ambulance. Assist: Alarms (3). Tuesday, Oct. 20 Civil dispute. Animal complaint. …

Yesterday at 2:00 AM
About Town
Photos of the week

New medical services building

McGraw Construction workers are laying the foundation for the new SEARHC medical services building in front of the hospital. The 8,000-square-foot building is scheduled for completion by September 2027, a SEARHC spokesperson said last week. The facility will house dental and behavioral healthcare services, with space for visiting optometrists. Workers are completing site preparation and setting forms for the building’s foundation. SEARHC received a building permit for the foundation and will need a separate permit for the structure. The healthcare provider has not decided what to do with its downtown buildings that house dental and behavioral health services. SEARHC declined to share the projected cost of the new building.

Yesterday at 2:00 AM
Photo gallery

Tugboat fire contained

A fire started in the front of the Samson III, a 77-foot steel tug owned by Samson Tug and Barge, on Oct. 8, while the vessel was parked for work at the Marine Service Center. The fire was reported by someone at the yard, and the harbor crew put the first hose in place before the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department arrived on the scene, said Harbormaster Steve Miller. No injuries were reported and there was no damage to the yard or other boats, he said. The Samson III has been at the service center since Oct. 1. Samson Tug and Barge did not respond to a Sentinel call for more information.

Tuesday, October 13
History column

The Way We Were for Oct. 28, 2026

Oct. 28, 1926 A town basketball team with 10 men in practice was organized during the past week under the leadership of John Osborn, captain. The boys are practicing three nights a week in the …

Yesterday at 2:00 AM
Sports

Wrangell wrestlers take Division II title at Southeast Showdown

Senior Jackson Carney, bottom, controls Anchorage’s Dimond High School senior Keller Jackson during their 152-pound championship match under the spotlight at the Southeast Showdown in Juneau’s George Houston Gymnasium on Saturday. Carney won a 15-4 major decision for the title and was selected Boys Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. He is undefeated this season.
The Wrangell High School wrestling team captured the Division II team title at the Southeast Showdown in Juneau on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 23-24, behind three individual champions and a dominant …
Yesterday at 4:00 AM

Lady Wolves go 3-1 in volleyball matches against Petersburg and Haines

The Lady Wolves had a successful weekend against Haines and Petersburg last Friday and Saturday, winning three out of four matches, with extra practice and some “tinkering” making the difference …

2 days ago

Wrangell Wolves put on strong wrestling show at Klawock and Craig

The Wrangell Wolves wrestling team opened the season with overwhelming performances in Klawock on Friday, Oct. 16, and Craig on Saturday, Oct. 17, racking up 106 wins, 38 losses and 94 pins across …
Tuesday, October 20
Opinion
Editorials

Vote only no on unnecessary ballot measure

State law already is clearer than a cloudless day in Southeast; as clear as the March 31 annual filing deadline for an Alaska Permanent Fund dividend; and just as clear as the TSA rule against …

Yesterday at 2:00 AM

Naming the port a fitting honor for former governor Murkowski

Frank H. Murkowski, who turned 93 in March, was governor of Alaska from 2002 to 2006; a U.S. senator for the 49th state from 1981 to 2002; named commissioner of the Alaska Department of Commerce and …

Wednesday, October 21

Thank you to DeRuyter and Mach, and welcome Howell and Privett

With the conclusion of the municipal election, it’s a good time to thank those who have served in elected office in Wrangell — and provide some advice for the newcomers taking their seats. …

Wednesday, October 14
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Reporter's column

The best camera makes you want to work

There is an old, reliable maxim in photography that often gets lost beneath marketing copy: The best camera isn’t the one with the highest price tag or the most advanced technology — it’s the …

Wednesday, September 30
Publisher's column

Stop telling us how to think and how to vote

A U.S. Senate seat in Alaska is worth the same as one from any other state when Democrats and Republicans try counting to 51, the number needed to control the chamber. All 100 senators get an equal …

Yesterday at 2:00 AM
Letters to the editor
Between the three of us, we have had the privilege of serving Alaska as governor for a total of 16 years. We come from different political backgrounds, have different perspectives and have not always …
Yesterday at 2:00 AM
Alaskans are being told they can’t read their own ballots. That’s the premise of the lawsuit the Justice Department filed this week, at President Donald Trump’s direction, to block …
Yesterday at 2:00 AM
Obituaries
Phillip “Phil” Wayne
Longtime teacher Phil Wayne, who helped start wrestling program, dies at 89
Phillip “Phil” Wayne passed away peacefully at his home in Sitka on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, at the age of 89. Phil’s arrival on Feb. 7, 1937, was featured in the Corbin Times as the first …
Wednesday, October 14
Jerimiah ‘Jerry’ Lee Meyers
Surrounded by family and music, Jerimiah ‘Jerry’ Lee Myers passes at age 77
Jerimiah “Jerry” Lee Myers passed away on Aug. 25, 2026, in Absarokee, Montana, at the age of 77. Jerry was born Sept. 26, 1948, in Medford, Oregon.  He was raised all along Southeast …
Wednesday, September 23
Jacqueline ‘Jackie’ Brown (Gross)
Jacqueline ‘Jackie’ Brown (Gross) dies at 79
Jacqueline “Jackie” Brown (Gross) passed away on Aug. 14, 2026, in Glendale, Arizona, at the age of 79. Jackie was born on May 17, 1947, in Wrangell and carried with her throughout her life …
Wednesday, August 26
Patricia Eileen (Lewis) Mork
Lifetime resident Patricia Eileen (Lewis) Mork dies at 92
Patricia Eileen (Lewis) Mork, loving wife, mom, grandmother, great- and great-great-grandmother and friend to many, passed away peacefully on Thursday, July 26, 2026. Patricia “Pat” was born …
Wednesday, August 19
Aurore Marie (Grant) Fickeisen and her husband, Larry, loved driving around the Pacific Northwest in their antique cars. This photo is from 1984.
Aurore Marie (Grant) Fickeisen dies at 83
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of Aurore Marie Fickeisen, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, who died on June 25, 2026, at her home …
Wednesday, August 12
Community Calendar
Calendar of events