KRBD Evening Report

Invasive green crabs have expanded from the waters off Metlakatla; Southeast Alaska’s May weather was a little wetter and colder than some were hoping for; and a look at local farming in Wrangell.

Training Southeast Alaska healthcare professionals on handling assault. The saltwater king sport fishery south of Petersburg is limited to one fish this weekend. Chemists, museum curators, and Alaska Native weavers team up to solve an ancient mystery.

Day 3 of the search for a missing Ketchikan woman but no leads. A regional economic development organization secures funding to install heat pumps on Prince of Wales Island. A mountain lion shows up in Wrangell. 

The search continues for a missing Ketchikan woman. Silver Bay seafoods acquires another former Trident processing plant. And an animal rescue in Juneau acquires a lot of cats. 

A flipped car in the Water Street tunnel blocked traffic today; a search is underway for a Ketchikan woman who went missing near Ward Lake yesterday; a Ketchikan man was sentenced for running an online child pornography group; a conversation with one of the lead dancers at the Celebration festival last week; and a look at why thunderstorms are so rare in Southeast Alaska.

After 16 years of operation, Ketchikan’s First City Haven homeless shelter announces it’s shutting down; a federal lawsuit over fishing rights in Metlakatla appears poised for trial; and a look at what an endangered species designation of king salmon might mean for Alaska fishermen.

The Ketchikan borough passes its budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Dispatches from Celebration.

Part two of our funding conversation with Sen. Bert Stedman. Good news for seniors that collect benefits. Fish and Game deals with a bear that has been killing dogs in Sitka. 

We chat with Alaska senator Bert Stedman about education funding. A fatal boating accident near Petersburg. Canoes are landing in Juneau for Celebration. 

After weeks of public outcry, the owner of a prominent Water Street property has agreed not to raise a pair of fake totem poles in front of his shops. An update on the Ketchikan businesses charged by the state with selling fake gold. A Ketchikan fugitive is arrested in Indiana. 

WISH executive director Agnes Moran has entered the race for the District 1 House seat; a Juneau inventor hopes to revolutionize tidal energy; and paddlers make their way to the Celebration festival in Juneau this week.

Grant EchoHawk has reentered the House race against his fellow Borough Assembly member Jeremy Bynum; Juneau finalizes an agreement to limit cruise passengers; and some people think wooly mammoths could one day again roam in Alaska.

Ketchikan independent Rep. Dan Ortiz discusses his decade of service in the state legislature; a grand jury indicts a man for an alleged cruise ship stabbing incident; the Sitka Assembly backs a policy to limit halibut bycatch; and the festival known as Celebration comes to Juneau next week.

Ketchikan independent Rep. Dan Ortiz announces he’s no longer seeking reelection; the Juneau Assembly considers how to proceed with lower property taxes; a new bill will help finance renewable energy projects around the state; and a Southeast Alaska group is looking for a cheaper way to get rid of trash.

A Ketchikan jeweler is sued by the state for selling fake gold. Dozens of festival goers were stranded in Haines over the weekend when an AMHS ferry broke down. A petition seeks to list Alaska king salmon as endangered. Protesters target Denali National Park over what officials say was a bogus rumor. 

The governor eyes establishing a task force to look at the states seafood industry turmoil. Solving the mystery of a shipwrecked charter vessel. 

The Ketchikan School Board recalls some pink slips. Mary Peltola attempts to tackle bycatch. A Southeast Alaska Coast Guard pilot makes his Jepoardy! debut.

The village of Kasaan prepares to paddle to Juneau for Celebration, for the first time ever. A bill affecting marijuana sales dies on the floor. A Southeast Alaska-centric update from Senator Lisa Murkowski. Petersburg puts the pieces together. 

The Ketchikan Borough Assembly voted last night to approve the school district’s budget with additional funding; Indigenous leaders speak out against fake totem poles in downtown Ketchikan; and state Sen. Bert Stedman, who represents most of Southeast Alaska including Ketchikan, reflects on this year’s budget process.

Ketchikan’s public electric utility is grappling with aging infrastructure, short staffing, and underfunding; the family of a man fatally shot by Anchorage police is calling on the city to release body camera footage; and repatriated Native objects are unveiled at the Nolan Center in Wrangell.

State government reporter Eric Stone breaks down what happened this session with education funding and what it means for Ketchikan; Troopers charge two juveniles who allegedly stole a vehicle after running away from a Prince of Wales-based camp for troubled youths; a Sitka aquaculture organization looks to expand its footprint; and a bill to ban “forever chemicals” in firefighting foams is headed...

The Ketchikan School District notifies 52 teachers and administrators of potential layoffs; the Juneau School District changes start times to accommodate their consolidation plan; Sitka high schoolers are awarded for their work in Indigenous science; and a new study examines the threat avalanches present to mountain goats. 

An elderly tourist sues the borough for injuries he says he sustained on a public bus in Ketchikan. Klawock gets its first cruise ship. The US Forest Service plans to raise cabin fees in the Tongass, in exchange for building a few more cabins. The subsistence fishery for chinooks in the Stikine River closes for the eighth year in a row. 

The Prince of Wales city of Craig is considering raising sales taxes to help cover education budget shortfalls; Alaska lawmakers add several Indigenous languages to the state’s official list of languages; a bill regulating community solar projects is poised to pass in the Legislature; and a look at why the pre-statehood executions of two Black men should be remembered. 

The Ketchikan borough is the victim of cybercrime. The shocking similarities between gold mines in Canada and Ponzi schemes. Inflation in Alaska is going down but so is the population - and there may be a connection.