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Seven employees of the U.S. Forest Service Wrangell Ranger District were fired last week - more than one-quarter of the district's permanent staffing - as the Trump administration continues to slash the federal workforce. Further terminations in Wrangell are anticipated. In response to the terminations and uncertainty over who's next, community members organized a walk in solidarity with Forest Service employees last Friday. About 30 to 40 people showed up to support the fired workers. They...
Tidal Network is scheduled to break ground for construction of its first permanent wireless internet tower on Feb. 19. Tidal Network is the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida’s broadband internet service company. After receiving a $50 million federal grant to construct 20 towers across Southeast, the company pinpointed Wrangell as the host site for its first tower. The ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the 3-Mile location where the tower will be constructed. The “groundbreaking” ceremony will be mostly symbolic: Tidal Network offic...
The borough assembly on Feb. 11 appointed Phillip Mach and Antonio Silva to fill vacancies on the assembly and port commission, respectively. Both terms will expire in October, when Mach and Silva will have the option to run in the municipal elections. Anne Morrison (assembly) and Gary Morrison (port commission) vacated the seats in January after announcing they plan on leaving town. Candidates needed to submit a letter of interest to City Hall to be eligible for the appointments. While Borough...
The borough assembly on Feb. 11 unanimously approved an ordinance to eliminate the need for the public to approve the sale of borough-owned assets valued at more than $1 million. The decision came after borough attorneys suggested the clause in Wrangell’s charter violated the state constitution, as it allowed the public to usurp the assembly’s appropriations powers. “From a legal standpoint,” borough attorney Rob Luce said, “it’s not good practice to leave … charter sections on the books that aren’t legal or aren’t constitutional. A...
The high school boys varsity basketball team lost both nonconference games on a road trip to Mt. Edgecumbe High School on Feb. 14-15. The Wolves currently sit in a convincing second place in Southeast with a 6-2 record. Their only in-conference losses came at the hands of 8-0 Metlakatla earlier this season. While Wrangell will likely head into next month’s Southeast tournament as the No. 2 seed no matter what happens this weekend, the upcoming Friday and Saturday homestand against 0-8 Petersburg will be a good opportunity for Wrangell to get b...
The high school girls basketball team won the 15th annual Susitna Valley Crowley Classic, held in Talkeetna from Feb. 13-15. While the tournament did not contribute to Wrangell’s Southeast standing, the win will certainly instill some confidence ahead of the homecoming series against Petersburg this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21-22. Alana Harrison, Alexis Easterly and Hailey Cook were named to the all-tournament team. Harrison was also named MVP of the tournament. Sophia Martinsen was awarded the Heart and Hustle award while Christina Johnson w...
After seven years of planning and almost 18 months of construction, Wrangell's state-of-the-art water treatment plant is in the final phases. The $23 million project not only modernizes Wrangell's system but ensures the town is better prepared for future dry spells. The plant will likely go fully online this spring. The current plant started operations in 1999, and many of its pieces are being repurposed into the new plant just next door. While the current plant initially relies on an electrical...
Wondering how changing global temperatures will affect Wrangell? The Nolan Center has you covered. A new exhibit sits just inside the Nolan Center lobby. The display is free to the public and will remain up through the end of the month. It was put together by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research’s (UCAR) Center for Science Education in 2019, though it only began traveling again in 2022 after sitting dormant during the pandemic. Wrangell is the first stop of the exhibit’s Alaska leg. Next up it will travel to Fairbanks, Anchorage,...
The inside of the new sauna is 150 degrees warmer than the outside air this week. Parks and Rec opened a new poolside sauna on Feb. 3. No reservation is required to use the facility, though you will need to have access to either a Parks and Rec membership or a single-day pass. The freestanding sauna seats four people (though it more comfortably seats three), and availability is based on first-come, first-served. Sauna time is limited to 20 minutes, and it is recommended that 15 to 20 minutes is the sweet spot for sauna use. The wooden structure...
The high school boys basketball team played four games over six days Feb. 3-8. They won the first two, both home games against Craig. They then lost the latter two, both away games at Ketchikan. Notably, only the wins count toward the conference standings, as the much larger Ketchikan team competes in Division 4A while Wrangell is in Division 2A. As things stand, Wrangell sits second in Southeast with an in-conference record of 6-2. They are second only to Metlakatla, whose unblemished 6-0...
After the weekend slate of home games was rescheduled to Monday and Tuesday nights, Feb. 3-4, the girls high school basketball team was left with just two days of rest before their next games on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7-8. In an early week homestand against Craig, the Wolves split the series before getting swept by Ketchikan's junior varsity squad on the subsequent weekend road trip. On Feb. 3, Wrangell dropped a close battle against Craig 55-60 before dominating the Panthers the following...
You'll struggle to find anyone who works harder on the basketball court than Trevyn Gillen and Lucas Schneider. Ever competitive and armed with an uncompromising desire to win, the two seniors constantly galvanize the Wrangell High School boys basketball team on both sides of the ball. For their senior project, Gillen and Schneider imparted this same passion on the next generation of Wrangell's basketball players. The two served as assistant coaches for the middle school basketball team, an...
The Wrangell Police Department successfully executed a dual search warrant on Jan. 28 after a month-long investigation into a local drug ring. Cooper Seimears, 39, Jacob Marshall, 29, and McKenna Harding, 29, were charged and arrested following the 8 a.m. search warrant execution. Seimears and Marshall face eight drug-related felony charges and one misdemeanor. Harding faces drug-related charges of one felony and one misdemeanor, though she and Marshall, her fiancée, each face two additional...
“It’s the red house down a ways a bit, yeah the one that Ben used to live in.” That’s a great way to tell someone new in town where your house is, but when it comes to emergency services, it’s far from helpful. City Hall is partnering with DATAMARK, a business solutions company, to update addresses on the houses and buildings in Wrangell. Borough officials hope the changes will increase the community’s emergency and disaster preparedness. The first step in the process will be to update the online maps of the borough’s GIS (geographic informatio...
Start saving today. Wrangell’s first sales tax-free day of 2025 will be on Saturday, May 3. The borough assembly approved the chamber of commerce’s date request unanimously at its Jan. 28 meeting. There may be a second tax-free day in 2025, which the chamber has traditionally scheduled for October. This year, the assembly will consider the chamber’s request for a second tax-free day with a public hearing at its April 22 meeting. Last December the assembly altered municipal code so that the number of tax-free days every fiscal year can be anywhe... Full story
Wrangell is a better basketball team than Craig. They’re better organized, taller, better athletes, better shooters, better rebounders, better playmakers and they understand the sport at a higher level. At one point Wrangell’s Daniel Harrison even told a Craig player where to stand during a pair of three throws. And while the series opener on Monday, Feb. 3, got off to a clunky start, the Wolves eventually found their rhythm, defeating the Panthers on back-to-back nights 74-61 and 73-49. The wins bounce Wrangell up to second in Southeast, jus... Full story
This wasn’t the first time a point guard named Johnson played center when their team needed it. A move made famous by Magic Johnson in the 1980 NBA Finals was replicated by Wrangell’s Christina Johnson 45 years later. In a split series held in Wrangell on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 3-4, the Wolves relied on some unconventional methods to contain a Craig team that had handedly beaten them in the Southeast Alaska Cultural Tournament championship game last month. Wrangell dropped the first game 55-60 but bounced back on Tuesday, winning 52-35. Wra... Full story
During a break in the U.S. Army apology ceremony, Sik'nax̲.ádi clan leader John Martin walked over to a table in the audience, turned and handed U.S. Army Chaplain Phillip Rittermeyer a book. It was "The Sea Runners," by Ivan Doig, a novel about four indentured servants and their quest for freedom in a stolen canoe. Rittermeyer turned to those seated at his table and explained what happened. "We met last night, and he wanted me to have this," the chaplain said, tapping the book to the table. I...
The Wrangell School District could run short of operating funds by 2026 or 2027 if it doesn't receive new revenues or make large cuts to its programs. The school board discussed the first draft of its 2025-2026 budget on Jan. 20. Barring any notable changes between now and when the budget is sent to City Hall for approval by May 1, the district anticipates a deficit of $767,016, requiring a dip deep into the school district's dwindling reserves. This would leave the reserves at an estimated $51,...
The Wrangell girls basketball team took second in the inaugural Southeast Alaska Cultural Tournament, held in Craig from Jan. 23 to Jan. 25. After some back-to-back wins against the Ketchikan junior varsity team and Klawock, Wrangell eventually fell to hosts Craig in the championship game. Wrangell returned home adorned with a silver medal and a chip on their shoulder ahead of the upcoming rematches against Craig on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in Wrangell. Wrangell started off the tournament strong, beating the Ketchikan JV team...
The high school boys basketball team took first place in the inaugural Southeast Alaska Cultural Tournament, hosted by Craig Jan. 23-25. The Wolves won three of their four tournament matches, meaning Wrangell has won seven of their last eight matchups, dating back their out-of-town matches against Petersburg earlier this month. Though the tournament will not contribute to the Southeast conference standings, the win will certainly bolster the boys’ confidence ahead of the two-game home stand against Craig this weekend. The opening contest of the...
For their senior project, Addy Andrews and Aubrey Wynne are helping to coach the middle school girls volleyball team. During their four-year careers playing high school volleyball, they three-peated as Southeast champions, with just as many showings at the state tournament. Now, with their varsity volleyball careers behind them, Andrews and Wynne hope they can help the next generation find the same passion for the sport they love. "We try and make sure that they enjoy it," Wynne said. "We both...
Unique bedrock formations, a thick layer of loose sediment, and a concentrated water drainage system flowing down from the ridgetop were three of the main ingredients that led to the Nov. 20, 2023, landslide that killed six people at 11.2-Mile. These three causes, all benign on their own, became disastrous when heavy rains down poured on Wrangell Island. Though the airport weather station reported rainfall conducive to a "large but not especially large" storm, members of the public who live...
There's a New Mexican spot in town. Nope, not a new Mexican spot, a New Mexican spot. The Wolf Shack, formerly J&W's, officially opened its doors on Jan. 2, ushering in a new era bolstered by the culinary talents of Alisha Mora and Chris Miera. The couple will keep the classic J&W's staples on the menu (Carol Churchill has agreed to keep making her tartar sauce while menu items like "Baby Randy" and "Randy" will maintain their names), but Chris and Alisha are excited to add some New Mexican...
If you need to throw away an old printer, maybe hang on to it just a little longer. On March 8, WCA Tl'átḵ | Earth Branch will host an electronic waste collection event. Time and location are yet to be determined, but the event will allow people to dispose of their old electronics in a sustainable and safe manner. Potential items to discard include computers, laptops, printers, scanners, TVs, monitors, cell phones and tablets. Earth Branch’s Kim Wickman said it’s best to fully wipe the memory from electronics like computers and phones before...
