Author: Katherine Rose

Flooding in Juneau has affected the National Weather Service’s ability to update weather forecasts on its website and marine weather radios in the region. That affects forecasts in Sitka, but there is a backup.

A local group has gathered signatures for a ballot initiative that would require future citizen initiatives to include economic impact studies.

A former Outer Coast student and recent staff member is leaving Sitka this weekend to compete in back-to-back national Scrabble championships. KCAW’s Katherine Rose spoke with the recent college graduate who is ranked 14th nationally in the competitive Scrabble circuit.

Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka has a new superintendent, and so does Angoon, about 60 nautical miles away. It’s the same person, a former MEHS teacher, and longtime education consultant.

Tragedy was narrowly avoided on Tuesday (7-22-25) when several good Samaritans discovered and quickly put out a house fire in Sitka.

Southeast Alaska’s king salmon troll fishery will open for a second time in August, but the late summer opener will not be competitive. In a press release last week (7-16-25), the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced it would instead allow trollers to take an equal share of the remaining allocated summer kings. 

The filing period to run for local office in Sitka opened on Monday (7-21-25).

City officials are close to wrapping negotiations with the contractor set to run the city’s new marine haulout, allowing Sitka’s fishing fleet to haul boats and make repairs locally for the first time in several years.