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The borough’s plans to subdivide the former Wrangell Institute Native boarding school property will wait until a thorough inspection of the site is conducted for cultural artifacts and remains. “We are working with both the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and working with the tribe (Wrangell Cooperative Association),” to ensure the property is searched “before any activity takes place,” Mayor Steve Prysunka said last week. “It is incredibly sensitive that we do it really well,” Prysunka said. “What I care the most a...
State officials say the highly contagious delta variant is likely driving the increase in COVID-19 cases reported in Alaska, plus the fact that more than 40% of Alaskans over the age of 12 still had not received at least their first vaccination shot as of last week. Sitka has reported its worst outbreak in seven months, with 20 new cases reported Tuesday. There were 51 active cases in the community and at least 15 people hospitalized as of Monday evening. Almost all of the recent cases in the community were among unvaccinated people. Sitka...
Despite the pandemic and its hit to the economy, Wrangell’s sales tax collections were higher than expected last year and, though lower this year, still coming in several hundred thousand dollars better than anticipated for the fiscal year that ends June 30. Some of the better numbers likely are due to the federal pandemic relief aid that went to individuals, who spent much of the money in town, and also to the federal assistance that enabled some businesses to catch up on their bills, including sales taxes, Borough Manager Lisa Van Bargen s...
Stephen Dale Urata, 69, died May 24 in Anchorage. Steve was born on Oct. 8, 1951, in Wrangell. He was the second son born to Jack Ichiro and Ann Haruco Urata. He is survived by his older brother Jack and younger sister Angela. He attended grades K-12 in Wrangell and excelled academically, graduating in 1969 as valedictorian. Steve was a young leader and attended the Alaska Boys State Program. A talented trumpet player, he toured nationwide with the National High School Honor Band. He attended th...
A former co-chair of the Alaska Federation of Natives, former board president of the Sealaska Corp. and a retired Democratic state legislator died last Friday at his home in Angoon. Albert Kookesh was 72. Kookesh was fighting prostate cancer. Alaska public radio reported that after being treated at a hospital, he made the decision to return to his home village on the coast of Admiralty Island. In remembrances posted online and shared on social media, he was praised for his work with Southeast Alaska’s regional Native corporation, his efforts t...
TAZLINA — Catholic missionaries first started venturing into Alaskan territory in the late 19th century, not long after Russia sold the land to the United States for two cents per acre. The Catholic Church built missions and churches and, in the 1950s, bought land in the Copper River Valley from the U.S. government at $1.25 an acre for a mission school largely serving Native students. Now, 50 years after the once-thriving school was shuttered, the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau wants to sell the 462-acre property back to its Indigenous i...
Legislators will focus the next few weeks on how to spend $1.02 billion in federal pandemic relief destined for the state treasury, with last week's opening acts of the fiscal play showing somewhat different budgetary scripts from the House majority coalition and the governor. Both proposals would direct money to construction projects, the tourism industry and repairing Alaska's damaged economy, though at differing funding levels. The House plan also would direct funds to communities worst hit by the pandemic. And while House leadership has...
Are toxins from road runoff a threat to salmon in Anchorage’s most popular fishing streams? A GoFundMe campaign has been launched so Alaskans can chip in to find out. The push stems from an organic compound in tires called quinone that was newly identified by researchers at the University of Washington, said Birgit Hagedorn, a geochemist and longtime board member of the Anchorage Waterways Council. “The little flakes that rub off of tires, especially larger truck tires, can be transported into the streams via stormwater. And they leach out the...
Alaska’s economy isn’t getting worse, but it could also be a long way from substantial improvement. University of Alaska Anchorage Institute for Social and Economic Research economist Mouchine Guettabi said many of the indicators showing improvements in recent months are more tied to the normal seasonality of the state’s economy and less about a recovery from the forces of the pandemic. “Our losses ballooned over the summer and then shrunk back down in fall and the winter. That doesn’t mean things are getting better; it just means that we’r...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Health officials have reported a case of a coronavirus variant in Southcentral Alaska first detected in South Africa. The Alaska case was reported as first identified in March in the region that includes Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, according to a report from a consortium of state and university health officials dated April 6. The report did not provide case details such as how the person got the virus or whether others may have been exposed. Five new cases of a variant first identified in the United Kingdom...
The steep drop in visitors to Alaska last year because of pandemic travel restrictions showed up in air, sea and land numbers - and resulting job losses - across the state. Overall, the state lost more than 22,000 jobs between February 2020 and February 2021, according to the Alaska Department of Labor. "Based on my forecast here, I do not anticipate a return to pre-pandemic employment levels until after 2022,"Mouhcine Guettabi, an associate professor of economics at the University of Alaska...
It’s “back to the future” for Alaska canned salmon as more Americans choose it for its health benefits and as an easy-to-use ingredient for sandwiches, salads and more. Salmon canning in Alaska started in the 1870s, and by the early 20th century, it was the state’s largest industry, generating 80% of the territorial tax revenues. Its position in the state economy then is similar to oil today. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed record sales for the pantry-shelf product — canned salmon sales soared by 30.3% in 2020, to $286 million. “Suddenly...
GCI, the largest telecommunications provider in the state, is planning to move all of its call-center operations out of Alaska and will contract with a third-party vendor to provide the service from the Philippines. The move will start this summer, according to a report in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner on Saturday. The company, which provides cable television, internet, cell and wired telephone services in Alaska, has had a hard time filling its call-center jobs, said Heather Handyside, vice...
After an extended period of lay leadership, Island of Faith Lutheran Church has welcomed its new pastor, Sue Bahleda. She and her husband, Bill, arrived in Wrangell about a month ago and have settled into their new roles in the community. "This church was looking for a pastor, I was contacted, and we did the search process together," she said. "It's called 'calling.' They called me to this church then." Bahleda comes to Island of Faith with years of experience behind the pulpit and in Southeast...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Four additional cases of a coronavirus variant first detected in Brazil have been found in Alaska, state health officials said. Two of the cases were from Anchorage and two from Eagle River, health officials announced March 10. One case of the variant had previously been detected in Alaska, but officials last month said additional cases were likely given the person in that case had not recently traveled outside Alaska and did not have a clear source of infection. As of March 9, 15 cases of the variant had been reported in the...
Seal oil has been a staple in the diet of Alaska’s Inupiat for generations. The oil — ever-present in households dotting Alaska coastlines — is used mainly as a dipping sauce for fish, caribou and musk ox. It’s also used to flavor stews and even eaten alone. But when Inupiat elders entered nursing homes, they were cut off from the comfort food. State regulations didn’t allow seal oil because it’s among traditionally prepared Alaska Native foods that have been associated with the state’s high rate of botulism, which can cause illness or de...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy is asking lawmakers to put before voters this summer a $356 million bond issue for projects across the state. The governor wants a special election - rather than waiting until the next statewide vote in 2022 - to get the work out sooner to help the pandemic-tattered economy. "This statewide bond package is essential to stabilizing our economy and putting Alaskans back to work following the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic," Dunleavy said in a statement. "Not only will...
Wrangell businesses and nonprofits received more than $8 million in federal and state CARES Act funds last year. "It absolutely made a difference, but it still wasn't enough," said Carol Rushmore, Wrangell's economic development director. "It's not making them whole, by any means," Rushmore said Jan. 14. "There are some businesses really hurting." For many businesses that rely on tourism, there is hope that visitor traffic will pick up this year. "We will see visitors coming to help," but short...
Jan. 13, 1921 Richard Suratt, who went to New York City some time ago to oversee the coloring of the films he had sent in from here, returned to Wrangell on the steamer Seattle on Friday. Mr. Suratt reports that the great Metropolis is very quiet at this present time. Jan. 11, 1946 Opening of the Mildred Pierce Shoppe, a ladies’ and children’s apparel and men’s and boys’ clothing shop, is announced this week by Mrs. Mildred Pierce and her son, Bob Ferguson, owners. The store, formerly the Wee Moderns Shop, owned by Mrs. Harold Maki, is already...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - The usual transportation difficulties in rural Alaska have presented unique obstacles for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, officials said. Dozens of remote villages lack hospitals and road connections, while ultracold freezers required for storage of specific varieties of the vaccine are essentially nonexistent, Alaska Public Media reported. Tribal health care providers responded by mobilizing a massive effort delivering thousands of doses to remote areas. Providers airlifted vaccine to villages using a fleet of...
Siguard Vernon Decker (March 3, 1999 – July 27, 2020) and Helen Francis Decker (May 10, 2001 – July 27, 2020) packed more living into their short lives than most others do. While their lives ended too soon in a tragic car accident in Petersburg, Sig and Helen's lives remain great examples of "living beautifully". Sig was born in Ketchikan, and raised in Wrangell, Alaska; he loved fishing, wrestling, basketball, music, hunting, and his friends and family. During his years at Wrangell High Sch...
Former Wrangell Sentinel owner Larry Persily has agreed to buy the weekly newspaper from Petersburg couple Ron and Anne Loesch, who have owned it for 17 years. Depending on the schedule for the closing agreement and transition details, Persily will take over Jan. 1 or Feb. 1. "My wife and I started in Alaska journalism with the Sentinel in 1976, and it just feels right to buy the paper at this time and help build on its 118-year history," Persily said. Sentinel staffers Caleb Vierkant and Trish...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The first shipment of a COVID-19 vaccine could arrive in Alaska within a few weeks, state health officials said. Early batches of vaccine will be prioritized for essential workers in health care, assisted living and emergency medical settings, The Anchorage Daily News reported Monday. Vaccines initially will be issued in limited quantities and likely will not be available to the general public until March or April. The state continues to work on plans to distribute supplies after the vaccines become broadly a...
Frozen sockeye salmon strips bring tasty nutrition and relief to teething babies. The lightly seasoned salmon strips, made mostly from Bristol Bay reds, are the third product made by Bambino’s Baby Food of Anchorage that is aimed at getting more seafood into the mouths of babes. “I always kind of giggle because it’s not going to be just for the little ones. I’m sure mom and dad and elder brother or sister are going to be gnawing on those as well,” said Zoi Maroudas, Bambino’s founder and operator. “I also wanted to honor our indigenous fa...
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...