Hope McKenney, Author at KCAW

Dunleavy vetoes $123k for Mt. Edgecumbe maintenance position

Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed about $123,000 from the state budget Wednesday that was earmarked for a maintenance position at Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka.

City clarifies sales tax responsibilities for Sitka business owners

The Sitka Assembly approved a new ordinance Tuesday night (6-23-26) that clarifies the sales tax responsibilities of local business owners.

Military agency prepares to exhume remains of unidentified WWII soldier in Sitka cemetery

Officials with a U.S. Department of Defense agency are preparing to exhume the remains of an unidentified WWII soldier known simply as "X-3" who is buried in the Sitka National Cemetery.

Assembly suggests $1M plan to tackle Sitka’s childcare shortage

The City of Sitka is continuing to brainstorm solutions to the island’s childcare shortage. In a special work session Tuesday night (6-16-26), the assembly decided to move forward with an option from a recently completed childcare study. It’s estimated to cost about $1 million a year. But assembly members still need to refine what they want in the plan before figuring out how to pay for it.

City aims to make public records requests more efficient for Sitkans and staff with launch of new online portal

Sitka’s city hall rolled out new public records request software Friday (6-12-26). Up until the launch, city staff managed requests through emails, a spreadsheet, and sticky notes, and they say the update will make the process more efficient for the clerk’s office and the public.

Assembly approves agreement with Sitka police union

Sitka’s police force will see pay increases over the next three years. That’s after the Sitka Assembly on Tuesday (6-19-26) approved the new collective bargaining agreement with the Public Safety Employees Association (PSEA).

Sitka Assembly greenlights $1.1 million in federal funds for school district

The Sitka Assembly voted to allocate more than $1.1 million in retroactive federal funding to the Sitka School District at its meeting Tuesday night (6-9-26).

‘What we’re seeing is adaptation’: scientists study influx of gray whales into Sitka Sound during herring spawn

Scientists are looking at the relationship between gray whales and herring around Sitka. The baleen whales have had a massive population decline in the past decade. But their presence in the Sitka Sound has skyrocketed in recent years, coinciding with the Pacific herring spawn. Now, scientists and community collaborators are asking why that is and what the downstream effects might be.

Sitkans send off ‘Ancestral Echoes’ canoe headed to Celebration

More than 100 Sitkans gathered at the Starrigavan boat launch Thursday morning for a blessing and send-off of the “Ancestral Echoes” canoe heading to Celebration in Juneau.

Sitka voters to weigh in on assembly’s special election discretion

Sitkans will consider amending the city’s Home Rule Charter in the upcoming municipal election. At its meeting Tuesday night (5-26-26), the Sitka Assembly voted to put a question to voters this fall that would give the assembly more discretion over when to schedule a special election.