Katherine Rose, Author at KCAW

City settles lawsuit with former police sergeant over $300K

The City of Sitka has settled another lawsuit against the Police Department – it’s the fourth in six years involving a complaint by a former member of the department. And like those suits, this latest was also costly. The settlement with former Sergeant Gary Cranford is for $320,000.

Researchers plan installation of new SNOTEL stations throughout Southeast

Researchers are hoping to collect more snowpack data throughout Alaska that will help with everything from avalanche monitoring to cross country ski access.

Assembly approves general, enterprise fund budgets for FY26

This year’s budget cycle has had its ups and downs– anticipating a deficit early in the process, in March the assembly tasked department heads with finding areas where the budget could be trimmed. Ultimately a few cuts plus a $400,000 increase in property tax revenue left the city with over $200,000 surplus in the general fund.

Gov. Dunleavy’s BSA proposal could mean more cuts for Sitka’s schools

Governor Dunleavy has proposed a $560 per-student increase. That’s lower than the $680 the governor approved last year, and which Sitka’s school board was counting on in its most recent draft budget.

Attorney, administrator earn ‘exemplary’ reviews from assembly

The Sitka Assembly is happy with the work the city administrator and attorney have done over the last year. When it met in a special session on Tuesday (4-15-25), the assembly gave “exemplary” performance reviews to the only two city employees who report directly to the assembly.

Assembly gives first ‘thumbs up’ to budget for FY26

Sitka has a budget for next year – almost. After months of work ironing out the wrinkles, at least one past- and one present assembly member voiced strong objections to the 139-page document when it was introduced on first reading Tuesday night (4-8-25).

City will not close Lincoln Street in May trial run

The City of Sitka won’t close downtown’s main thoroughfare on high cruise traffic days in May.

It’s plucks, not clucks, at Sitka’s ‘Instrument Petting Zoo’

The Juneau Symphony is in town this weekend to perform classic orchestral pieces on Sitka’s biggest stage. But it’s not the only highlight of their visit. The afternoon before their highly anticipated concert, musicians visited the Sitka Public Library to open their violin and trumpet cases for an “Instrument Petting Zoo.”

Chinook harvest limit down nearly 40 percent from last year

The harvest allocation for king salmon in Southeast Alaska is lower than the region’s commercial trollers expected.

As world TB cases rise, a former Sitka nurse recalls Alaska epidemic

Like many infectious diseases, tuberculosis was never eradicated, just suppressed – by a global public health effort that began shortly after the Second World War. Sitkan Brownie Thomsen is a former tuberculosis nurse who recently celebrated her 100th birthday. KCAW’s Katherine Rose visited Thomsen on the occasion of World TB Day (March 24) to discuss her role in Alaska’s battle against TB, and her fears that changes in US foreign policy will allow the disease to bounce back.