Local News

June 23, 2026: What’s on the agenda when the Sitka Assembly meets tonight?

by KCAW News | Jun 23, 2026

At their regular meeting tonight (6-23-26), Sitka Assembly members will consider a new ordinance that clarifies the sales tax responsibilities of local business owners.

Sitka Fire Department rescues lost hiker on Mount Verstovia

by Lauren Salemo | Jun 22, 2026

According to a Fire Department Facebook post, the visitor lost sight of Verstovia Trail and wandered off the maintained path on Saturday (6-20-26)

As bear season kicks off in Sitka, ADF&G biologist lays out management protocol

by Lauren Salemo | Jun 18, 2026

Law enforcement euthanized two more bears in Sitka, bringing the total to five this season. KCAW’s Lauren Salemo sat down with Steve Bethune, a wildlife management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, to discuss bear season so far and how the decision to dispatch a bear is made.

‘The Kool-Aid is very strong’: How one class sparked a 20-year career for archeologist in Sitka

by Lauren Salemo | Jun 17, 2026

This summer, Sitka’s downtown pedestrian seawalk is growing longer, extending from the library to the O’Connell Bridge. But before excavators and dump trucks can get to work, one expert needs to examine what’s underground.

The Morning Interview

Casting for Recovery invites Alaska Native women with breast cancer to fly fishing retreat

Jun 23, 2026

Carol Butler, a volunteer with Casting for Recovery, joins KCAW to talk about the upcoming Alaska Native Women’s Retreat that seeks to create community and foster emotional healing.

Sitka Fine Arts Camp to commemorate Motown with sold-out fundraiser

Jun 22, 2026

Sitka Fine Arts Camp will host Jazz on the Waterfront on June 27. The sold-out event looks to fundraise for the restoration of North Pacific Hall where campers stay on the Sheldon Jackson campus.

ALFA’s first hybrid electric boat is no illusion. Sitkans invited to see The Mirage for themselves this weekend.

Jun 17, 2026

Lauren Howard, a policy coordinator at ALFA, and Ben Matthys, a marine electrician at Southeast Sparks, join KCAW to discuss how the hybrid engine came to be and the changes it's already making.