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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...
Snacks that are good for people and the planet now come in the form of crispy chips that are made from Bristol Bay sockeye salmon skins. The new, flash fried snack was spawned by a Los Angeles-based company called Goodfish, which aims to “propel sustainable seafood into our mass-market consumer culture.” It is the second venture for partners Justin Guilbert and Douglas Riboud, a well-financed duo who are committed to trailblazing brands that have “higher standards of sourcing, manufacturing, and social ethos.” A decade ago they co-foun...
It got little attention from the mainstream media but seafood netted some historic firsts in the nation’s new dietary guidelines. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee submitted a report in July to the Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services that recommends what Americans should include in their diets from 2020 through 2025, a task it has undertaken every five years since 1980. “This is by far the strongest they’ve come out for seafood in all of the U.S. dietary guidelines history, and at virtually every point in the lifecy...
Most Alaskans are surprised to learn that seafood is by far Alaska’s top export, the source of the state’s largest manufacturing base and its #1 private employer. More surprising is that those simple to find facts are not included in the official trade sheet for Alaska provided by the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The information on the USTR website, for example, incorrectly claims that petroleum and coal were Alaska’s top exports in 2018. But seafood has been state’s top export by far for decades. “Seafood comprises...
Governor Dunleavy’s controversial selections to the state Board of Fisheries (BOF) will get a legislative hearing in early fall and the call is out for public comments. The board oversees management of the state’s subsistence, commercial, sport and personal use fisheries. Appointments were made on April 1 and would normally go through a vigorous vetting process by the Alaska legislature with public input. But COVID-19 sent lawmakers home early from the last session, leaving the confirmation process in limbo. Now, Representative Louise Stutes (R...
Thank you to everyone who participated in the public testimony meeting last week hosted by the University of Alaska Board of Regents. As many of you are already aware, the University is considering merging the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) into either University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) or University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). This idea comes after many years of financial struggle. If this idea is adopted, it certainly would have a negative long-term impact on our local and Southeast regional economy. The University budget has been cut...
Local writer Vivian Faith Prescott recently announced the publication of her newest book, Silty Water People. The book is a collection of some of her oldest poems, she said, and is a look at "the effects of assimilation" on Wrangell families and the community as a whole. The poems range from the serious, to the humorous, to the intimate. The ideas of identity and culture have always fascinated her, Prescott said. She holds a doctorate in cross cultural studies. Silty Water People, she said, is...
Strict new rules are now in place for Alaska fishermen and their vessels to protect against and prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the 2020 salmon season. Effective April 24, Governor Dunleavy provided 11 pages of mandates that specifically apply to those who have not “agreed to operate under a fleet-wide plan submitted by a company, association or entity” representing them. Among other things, each independent skipper must sign a “Health Mandate Acknowledgement Form” prior to going fishing. They are required to maintain a written or time...
Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan held an electronic town hall meeting last week to talk about the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and what kind of aid it provides to small businesses. In their town hall meeting, the senators focused on several key provisions. One was the Paycheck Protection Program. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, the program offers a loan designed to provide an incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on payroll in...
Genetically tweaked salmon that grows three times faster than normal fish…fillets grown in labs from fish cells…now plant-based seafoods such as “vegan shrimp,” or “Toona” are gaining footholds in the marketplace - and confusing customers. A new study by FoodMinds for the National Fisheries Institute showed that about 40 percent of consumers believed plant-based imitations contain actual seafood. Up to 60 percent thought the products had similar nutritional content as real fish. Still, fake seafood producers are pushing back against mor...
