Eric Stone, KRBD - Ketchikan
Ketchikan’s assembly to consider asking voters to cut library funding in response to drag queen event
Former Assembly member John Harrington cites the library’s decision to host a drag queen for a children’s storytime in a letter requesting the cut.
Alaska Senate approves budget that includes $5,500 payments to residents
Sen. Mike Shower, R-Wasilla, said the proposal would give the Senate room to negotiate the final figure with the House.
Ketchikan advocates call for local, state and federal action to address opioid crisis
Deborah Asper, with the Ketchikan Wellness Coalition, says one part of the issue is the rise of strong, synthetic opioids.
The Roadless Rule is supposed to protect wild places. What went wrong in the Tongass National Forest?
The Tongass has been the heart of the logging industry in Alaska for decades, starting in the 1950s with the arrival of pulp mills.
Cruise ships visiting Alaska this summer will require most passengers to be vaccinated
Under a proposal from Royal Caribbean, 95% of crew and all eligible passengers 12 and older are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Federal investigators outline circumstances of fatal August 2021 Misty Fjords crash
Investigators have not yet pointed to a cause for the crash.
The Malaspina ferry could be reborn as a museum for the Alaska Marine Highway
State transportation authorities announced Monday that they’d entered negotiations to sell the Malaspina to the owners of a private cruise ship dock in Ketchikan’s Ward Cove.
Alaska Marine Highway to resume Prince Rupert ferry link after 2-year hiatus
A dispute over whether U.S. border guards would be allowed to carry guns on Canadian soil led authorities to pause sailings in 2019. Then the pandemic hit.
US and Russian scientists are still working together to solve salmon mysteries
Tensions continue to simmer in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the United States and Russia are still working together on at least one issue: salmon.
Don Young floats bill that would seize Russian yachts and merchant ships
Young’s proposal wouldn’t just require the seizure of pleasure yachts — it includes Russian commercial vessels as targets for seizure.
Ketchikan school district apologizes for racist remarks by students at basketball game
Some Ketchikan students hurled “racist remarks and sounds” at players from Metlakatla during a high school basketball game, according to the investigation.
Two, two-two, two-two… tutu? Ketchikan residents celebrate a very special Tuesday.
"The girls were all like, did you you know it's two two-two two-two?" Romanda Simpson said. "And so they laughed and said, 'Let's do a tutu event!' And it was born."
Friday night in Ketchikan, a mail truck went up in flames
“It started in the front, it blew out the windshield, it popped the tires. The fire was so intense that it actually burned holes in the sides of the door,” said Jeff Fitzwater, the photographer who captured spectacular images of the fire.
Students speak out about allegations of racism at Ketchikan-Metlakatla basketball game
Students spoke out Wednesday about allegations of racism in the stands at a recent Ketchikan High School basketball game.
The school district has launched an investigation into what it described as “racial insensitivity” after photos circulated...
Ketchikan’s school district is investigating allegations of racism at a basketball game against Alaska’s only Native reservation
Some Ketchikan High School students dressed up as cowboys during a basketball game against its rivals from Alaska’s only Native reservation. The Ketchikan school district is investigating.
Former PeaceHealth nurses accuse hospital system of culture of retaliation against employees
It’s not the first time PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center has been scrutinized by federal labor officials for allegedly retaliating against its workforce. The hospital was accused of violating federal labor laws on retaliation four times in 2015.
Biden administration pledges $500K to design new mariculture facility on Prince of Wales Island
USDA Undersecretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small said the initiative goes hand-in-hand with the Biden administration’s plans for new economic opportunity in an area that’s been in transition as the timber industry shrinks.
Winter storms stress Hydaburg Dam, imperiling Southeast Alaska city’s water supply
An eight-foot dam on Prince of Wales Island is at risk of failing. Officials said Thursday there’s minimal risk to life and property but a breach could knock out the city of Hydaburg’s water supply.
The 750-mile Race to Alaska is back on after a 2-year pandemic hiatus
The unpowered boat race from Port Townsend, Wash., to Ketchikan will start June 13 after two years of cancellations because of pandemic-related border closures.
Metlakatla takes fishing rights dispute to federal appeals court
Metlakatla Indian Community is asking the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to rule that Metlakatla’s tribal members don’t need state permits to fish in their traditional waters.