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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...
JUNEAU (AP) – A Petersburg woman who was adopted found her biological brother through the genetic testing company 23andMe. Sara Hadad-Dembs received a Facebook message recently from a man in Illinois that read, “Hi, I know this is super out of the blue, but I think I’m your brother,” the Juneau Empire reported March 4. Hadad-Dembs had received a 23andMe test kit from her adoptive brother in 2019. The man who ended up being her birth brother received a DNA test kit as a birthday present about a year later. In December, Hadad-Dembs receive...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has begun to raffle permits for some of its most desirable hunts to help raise money toward covering a nearly $2 million revenue loss due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s called “Alaska’s Super Seven Big Game Raffle.” The permits will allow buyers to hunt species such as brown bears, caribou or musk ox. One of the seven hunts is in Southeast Alaska — the Revilla (Revillagigedo) Island mountain goat hunt — and the rest are in the Interior or Aleutian Islands. “We saw close to $2 million re...
JUNEAU (AP) - The governor sent a one-sentence letter to legislative leaders last week, notifying lawmakers that he has withdrawn his request to split the Department of Health and Social Services into two departments. Multiple groups had questioned the split, including tribal organizations, advocates for foster children and the largest state employee union. And a lawyer for the Legislature said portions of the executive order that would have split the department appeared to conflict with state law and faced potential legal challenges,...
JUNEAU (AP) – The Sealaska Heritage Institute and luxury department store Neiman Marcus have settled a lawsuit over the sale of a coat with a copyrighted, geometric design borrowed from Indigenous culture. The Southeast Natives cultural organization said in a statement March 3 that both sides, including 10 other named defendants besides Neiman Marcus, agreed to terms "to resolve all disputes between them under U.S. and Tlingit law," Juneau public radio station KTOO reported. The institute is the...
A new case of COVID-19 was announced in Wrangell on Wednesday night , but the residency of the new case was not reported. According to the city, the patient has been notified and is in isolation. The initial interview of the patient had not been conducted as of 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. This case is one of two currently active in the community, and the only one whose residency is currently unknown. Of the 35 cases Wrangell has seen since the start of the pandemic, 24 have been locals, eight non-locals, and two residents who were not in town at 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...
The city announced a new COVID-19 case Monday afternoon. “This individual is a local resident, is asymptomatic, and is now in isolation. There is no other information available at this time,” the city announcement said. Of the 36 cases Wrangell has seen since the start of the pandemic, 25 have been locals, eight non-locals, two residents who were not in town at the time and one residency unknown. The city continues to advise that people “keep close interactions to a very small group of people, ideally just within your household,” and staying si...
A new case of COVID-19 was reported by the city Wednesday afternoon, making three active cases in the community. According to the city, this case is travel related. The patient is asymptomatic, and is currently in isolation. There is no additional information at this time, the press release says. This makes 37 total cases in Wrangell since the start of the pandemic. Of these, 25 were locals, eight non-locals, two locals who were out of town at the time, and two whose residency is currently unknown. All cases except the currently active ones...
The Wrangell School Board has unanimously selected Bill Burr as schools superintendent. He will start in July, replacing Debbe Lancaster, who has been in the job since 2018. Lancaster resigned last year, effective in July. Burr is coming to Wrangell from the Delta/Greely School District, where he has worked as assistant superintendent since 2014. He has also served as director of technology and as fill-in principal at the district in Alaska's Interior, according to the Wrangell School District....
A state Senate subcommittee had asked the Department of Transportation what it could do if it had more money to cover some of the gaps in the Alaska Marine Highway schedule. Part of the answer would be improved winter service to Wrangell - if the Legislature appropriates the money and the governor accepts it. An additional $4.5 million in state dollars - separate from passenger and vehicle revenues - could improve service for "those communities that were struggling this winter," Matt McLaren,...
Federal pandemic relief aid, one-time funding sources - some of doubtful legal authority - and other salves to ease the state budget pain in the fiscal year that starts July 1 only mask the underlying illness, the Legislature's chief financial analyst told senators. Filling the holes with ongoing state dollars in subsequent years - regardless of the size of the Permanent Fund dividend - could take about $250 million more than the governor proposes in his budget, Alexei Painter, director of the L...
Wrangell's 34th case of COVID-19 was reported Tuesday afternoon. The city reported this latest case is a Wrangell local, who had not recently traveled. The person is not exhibiting any symptoms, the city said, and is in isolation. The city also reported that Public Health has completed its initial contact tracing interview with the individual. The case is the only one active of the 34 infections reported since the pandemic started. Of those, 24 cases were identified as Wrangell residents and...
Wrangell can anticipate receiving about $500,000 in direct federal aid as part of this month's COVID-19 relief package, according to the city's lobbyist in Washington, D.C., Sebastian O'Kelly. The state will receive a little over $1 billion, he said at a Wrangell Borough Assembly workshop Tuesday evening. The $1.9 trillion aid package has passed the Senate and was scheduled for a House vote on Wednesday, with President Joe Biden expected to quickly sign the measure. "It's probably going to pass...
A ship built especially for laying fiber optic cable on the ocean floor was in front of Wrangell this week, moving GCI's Seafast communications cable into a safer position away from underwater power lines and the risk of sediment avalanches. The 477-foot-long, 78-foot-wide Cable Innovator, built in a shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, in 1995, will relocate about 14 miles of cable from its old starting position near Cemetery Point in Wrangell. From there, it wrapped around and down the west side of...
The Shamrock Shuffle, a St. Patrick's Day tradition in Wrangell, is set for Sunday afternoon at the covered basketball court. This will the eighth-annual fun run, said organizer Lucy Moline-Robinson. Not only will it be a good opportunity to get some exercise, she said, but also to help raise money for the high school shop class. Robinson, with running group Southeast Beasts, said they are anticipating a good turnout for the run. As such, she wanted the public to remember several safety...
Water quality samples taken in front of Wrangell Island last summer passed the test. The samples collected at six sites were tested by state researchers for fecal coliform and other bacteria, ammonia and various metals. All tested within safe water quality standards-but the same cannot be said for all Southeast communities. Two water samples taken near Petersburg, in the Wrangell Narrows, exceeded the standard for fecal coliform. The state Department of Environmental Conservation will return to...
Tax season is not commonly thought of as an enjoyable experience. There is complicated paperwork, the stress of reviewing personal finances, the headache of doing math. Fortunately for Wrangell residents, there are people who not only are willing to help with tax preparation, but also enjoy it. "I like helping people," said Paula Rak. "It's fun for me." Rak, and Nancy McQueen are volunteer tax counselors with the American Association of Retired Persons' tax aide program. McQueen said this is...
Alaska officials and authorities in British Columbia announced they have completed and will not continue data collection on three transboundary watersheds, including the Stikine River, despite concerns from fishing and tribal interests that the effort does not go far enough. The work stemmed from concerns about possible damage that mining activity in Canada could inflict on waters that cross into Alaska. A 22-page final report released Feb. 25 culminated two years of data collected from water, sediment and fish tissue from the three waterways:...
JUNEAU (AP) - Gov. Mike Dunleavy has said he is feeling better after contracting the coronavirus last month. Though his voice still gets slightly hoarse if he talks for too long, his other symptoms are now mild, he said Friday. He had a bad headache, fever, chills and body aches for a several days, said the governor, who finished his isolation period Saturday. There have been more than 56,000 coronavirus cases and 301 virus-related deaths in Alaska as of March 5, according to data from the state Department of Health and Social Services. The...
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Anchorage will lift its coronavirus-related capacity restrictions on many businesses and will ease limits on other places where people gather under a new emergency order set to take effect March 8. City officials announced the changes March 4, saying retailers, bars, restaurants and other businesses will have their capacity restrictions eliminated. Requirements for wearing masks and maintaining distance will remain in effect. Businesses must operate in ways that allow consumers to stay six feet apart from people outside of...
JUNEAU (AP) – In a move intended in part to encourage a COVID-conscious visitors to Juneau, city leaders have approved changes to local testing requirements for travelers. Those include waiving a $250 COVID-19 testing fee for non-resident travelers who are tested at the airport and exempting “fully vaccinated” individuals from strict social distancing after testing. The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly approved the changes March 1. The rules define fully vaccinated as people who have gone more than two weeks since receiving a second dose...
In response to new COVID-19 cases in town, and with 85 reported cases in Petersburg in the past two weeks, the Wrangell Borough Assembly adopted three emergency ordinances by wide margins Tuesday night, including reinstating a community mask mandate. The ordinances also require COVID-19 testing for interstate and intrastate travelers to Wrangell. The community had two active cases as of Tuesday, Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen told the assembly. Petersburg had 65 active cases as of Tuesday eveni...
It was an international effort that started on a long journey about 10,000 years ago through what is now a cave on the mainland, across Blake Channel from Wrangell Island. A bone chip smaller than a dime, found almost 25 years ago by a University of South Dakota researcher, was being held at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Museum of the North. It was examined again by scientists with the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, who published their study last month in the...
The school district's draft budget for next year proposes $660,000 in total reductions in teacher payroll, funding for special education instruction, supplies and materials for the classroom, student activities and other categories to bring spending closer to projected revenues. Projected revenues for the 2021-2022 school year are roughly $4.88 million in state, municipal and federal funds, a decrease of about $800,000 from the approved budget for the current school year. The drop in revenue...