Just before it gaveled out on Friday, five days late, the Alaska Legislature passed a bill of particular importance to Sitka: Senate Bill 99, which includes language authorizing the city to apply for a low-cost state loan to complete the Blue Lake dam hydroelectric project.
Read More
A little more than a week after running aground on a stormy beach in Sitka Sound, the Mirage has been refloated. The 52-foot steel-hull troller went ashore in surf and heavy seas last Sunday evening on Low Island, a windswept mound of rock off the coast of Kruzof Island, about 8 miles west of Sitka.
Read More
Before statehood and the advent of scientific management, Southeast Alaska’s herring populations were harvested -- and depleted -- without much thought for the future. Herring reduction plants were numerous in the region in the early twentieth century, but the industry was short-lived. Many believe the herring population in Sitka Sound now is a fraction of what it was in those days, and wonder if herring stocks -- like salmon -- can be restored. A recent grant intends to launch that effort.
Read More
In recognition of National Infant Immunization week Sharon Bergman, Shannon Haugland, and Penny Lehman discuss how they are raising awareness about the need for polio eradication today.
Read More
Sealaska and the Sitka Tribe received a grant to figure out how to restore the herring population throughout Southeast. An update on Ketchikan's new student nutrition and physical activity guidelines. Tlingit elder Cyril George Sr. of Angoon died at the age of 92.
Read More
Breaking news, features -- or just a few laughs. KCAW News won top honors in the 2014 Alaska Press Club Awards. Robert Woolsey, John and Finn Straley, and Rachel Waldholz brought home four 1st-place awards and one 2nd-place, including two "All Media" awards.
Read More
The 13th Annual Parade of the Species took place today, starting at Pioneer Square and ending at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Participants (both kids and adults) dressed up as their favorite animals and took to the streets in celebration of Earth Day.
Read More
Good reporters are made, not born. Once a year journalists across the state convene at the Alaska Press Club conference to discuss literally everything under the bright Anchorage sun. This year, NPR's Western Bureau chief Jason DeRose and business reporter Sonari Glinton spent two days in workshops with reporters teaching the craft of broadcast journalism. KCAW's Rachel Waldholz and Emily Forman were at the head of the class!
Read More
The reliability of the food supply is not something most communities devote much thought to. Agriculture, transportation, and grocery stores all work pretty well -- even in relatively isolated parts of Alaska like Sitka. And depending on where you live, there can be abundant wild foods. But a recent report called “The Sitka Community Food Assessment” reveals that our food system is vulnerable -- especially to the unpredictable costs of fuel.
Read More
A researcher with the Alaska Center for Energy and Power in Fairbanks is visiting Sitka and Angoon this week (Apr 21 - 25) to test student-built wind turbines. Chris Pike will be working with students studying turbine technology in a program called “KidWind,” a school curriculum originally funded by the National Renewable Energy Lab.
Read More
