KFSK Midday Magazine

An organization working to reduce the cost of trash disposal in Southeast Alaska has won a $500,000 grant; a federal grand jury has indicted a man who allegedly stabbed multiple people aboard a cruise ship passing through the region; and an Indigenous-led group in Sitka celebrated after being gifted a few parcels of land outside town.

The Petersburg School District and the teachers union reached a tentative agreement earlier this month; a bill that aims to help ease Alaska's teacher shortage is awaiting Gov. Mike Dunleavy's signature; dozens of people visiting Haines this weekend for Beerfest were stranded when the LeConte ferry canceled two sailings due to mechanical issues.

The U.S. Coast Guard shared their report on a charter vessel that went down in Sitka Sound last year; Kodiak Island fishermen can expect a smaller pink salmon harvest and mixed sockeye runs compared to last year; folks from Kasaan are paddling to Celebration in Juneau using paddles and canoes they carved themselves.

Money for Petersburg's new hospital didn't make it into the Alaska Senate's capital budget this year; the Petersburg Community Foundation gave out nearly 30 thousand dollars in grants this past weekend; Alaska's commercial vessel owners will no longer be required to pay for registration with two separate agencies.

The U.S. Forest Service is proposing higher cabin fees in the Tongass and Chugach Forests; three Petersburg High School athletes became champions at the Region V track and field meet last weekend; Wrangellites participated in a workshop to make traditional Tlingit paddles, which they'll use to canoe to Juneau for Celebration in June.

Senate Finance Committee co-chair Senator Bert Stedman talks with KFSK's Shelby Herbert about Alaska's budget; the Petersburg Indian Association voted to appoint Christine Yatchmenoff to the council's sixth seat; a 91 year old cruise tourist is suing the Ketchikan Borough for negligence after his mobility scooter tipped over on a public bus.

The Petersburg Borough Assembly will consider raising the maximum taxable single purchase from $1,200 to $5,000 at their meeting tonight; the Ketchikan School District delivered lay off notices to 52 teachers last week, but expects to recall most of the if state and local funding for education comes through; Alaska Congresswoman Mary Peltola continues to be one of the Democrats most likely to vote...

Lawmakers in Juneau have finished their session, passing dozens of bills and finalizing the state's operating budget; classical musicians The Rice Brothers will perform tonight in Petersburg; Ketchikan's only 24 hour public homeless shelter stopped offering overnight services Wednesday.

The Stikine River federal subsistence Chinook salmon fishery closed yesterday and will remain closed for the next month; the Ketchikan Borough was scammed out of more than half a million dollars earlier this month; Petersburg residents work together in an attempt to finish the biggest puzzle in the world.

Alaskans will likely receive roughly $1,650 each this fall for their Permanent Fund dividend; Petersburg High School's track and field team has been training hard ahead of their Region V meet in Ketchikan this weekend; Petersburg volunteer fire department Captain Dan Bird was named the winner of a state fire fighter award last week.

The Petersburg School Board will look at a second draft budget for the coming year at tonight's meeting; researchers look at whether a hatchery-only king salmon sport fishery would be possible in Southeast Alaska; a Senate bill signed into law last month gives injured commercial fishermen and boat owners in Alaska access to higher insurance reimbursements.

Alaskans who sued the state last year over long wait times for food assistance are asking a federal judge to order the state to speed up processing; a farm near Kodiak is planning to test the feasibility of growing three kinds of kelp; a looks at what people can expect during Petersburg's Little Norway Festival this week.

The Alaska Legislature shot down one of Gov. Mike Dunleavy's nominees to the state Board of Education this week; Alaska officials announce the launch of a campaign aimed at combating fentanyl; late last month, the U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned the Anacapa. The cutter was stationed in Petersburg for more than three decades.

Goldmines in Canada near the border of British Columbia can negatively impact fisheries downstream in Alaska. A report from a nonprofit says some operate like a Ponzi scheme; The FBI arrested a cruise ship employee in Juneau after he allegedly stabbed people with scissors aboard the Norwegian Encore; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for women, infants and children, known as WIC, will now...

GCI customers in Bethel and across the state have been complaining of interruptions in phone services; a look at how the sale of Peter Pan's seafood processing plant in King Cove will affect this year's salmon season in the region; Petersburg residents marched downtown Sunday in observance of Alaska's first Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Awareness Day.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate are racing to craft a bill that would allow homeschool programs in Alaska to continue; Petersburg High School students got a taste of reality at a financial fair on Friday; a commentary about teacher salaries and education funding from Rachel Kandoll.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a man in Keku Straight near Kuiu Island earlier this week; a ruling that declared two laws key to Alaska's homeschool system unconstitutional will be put on hold through the end of July; the Petersburg School District is preparing for possible measles cases in the face of ongoing outbreaks in the Lower 48.

The Alaska Senate passed its version of the state's operating budget yesterday; groups in Petersburg have different views when it comes to how much Narcan helps with opioid overdoses; Senate lawmakers are pushing for a return to a pension-style retirement system for state and local government workers.

A proposed management plan for Crystal Lake Hatchery king salmon will be considered by the Alaska Board of Fisheries next year; the U.S. Forest Service is seeking 10,000 handmade ornaments from Alaska to decorate the capital's christmas tree, which will be from the Tongass National Forest; opioid overdose deaths are up in Alaska.

The Sea Lion docked in Petersburg on Saturday, marking the beginning of cruise ship season; the Alaska House passed a bill last week that would standardize the property assessment process in the state; last month a whale biologist spotted a juvenile bowhead whale in Sitka Sound.

The Petersburg School District has joined a group that is planning to sue the state for failure to properly fund education; a ban on social media accounts for children under 14 passed the House on Friday; Ketchikan students are rehearsing a play adapted from a traditional Tsimshian origin story.

Communities in Southeast Alaska lost power for a few hours yesterday due to a failure along the power grid in Ketchikan; the Alaska House of Representatives approved a proposition on Wednesday that would ban children under 14 from creating social media accounts; three men are charged in federal court for illegally transporting Alaska crab to sell in Washington; communities in Southeast Alaska lost...

Petersburg residents marched in support of increased state funding for education yesterday; the Alaska House is weighing in on a court decision that threatens key elements of the state's homeschool system; Petesrburg's track and field team competed at the first meet of the season last weekend in Ketchikan.

Negotiations are stalled between Petersburg's teachers union and the school board; flat state education funding is causing drastic cuts in programming and workforce at Sitka's school district; House lawmakers removed an amendment from a bill that would have raised the age of consent from 16 to 18 in some situations.

The Alaska Senate's draft budget includes a roughly $1,300 Permanent Fund dividend; the Alaska Senate passed a bill yesterday to tighten residency requirements on hunting and fishing licenses; a group of Petersburg High School students visited Washington D.C. and New York City this month, and got a look at how the government works.