Margaret Friedenauer

With a partial government shutdown looming, state agencies are making plans for what services might be reduced without a budget deal by July 1. But salmon don’t care about budgets and money. The fish are coming to Alaska waters whether or not the Alaska Department of Fish & Game has its usual resources to manage them.Download Audio:

Haines has the lowest cruise ship docking fee of any Southeast port. The Haines Borough thinks waiving that fee could lure even more ships here. Economists say it’s hard to know if that strategy will work. But industry officials say it could open the door for more ships to take a look at Haines as a destination.

A skier who was testing slopes near Haines for an international ski competition this weekend was injured in an avalanche Wednesday morning, according to state troopers. The person is alive but did not have any information about their identity or condition, according to Trooper spokesperson Megan Peters. The victim was partially buried by the avalanche and was able to be found quickly, she said. The skier was being treated at the Haines clinic.

A recent episode of the popular PBS show “Antiques Roadshow” caught the attention of some Southeast residents when a couple of 200-year-old Tlingit masks from Haines appeared on screen.Download Audio

A strong and freezing cold wind cut through Haines and Skagway on Thursday and Friday. Gusts reached up to 100 miles per hour. And with temperatures in the single digits, the wind chill was at least 20 below. Download Audio

While it’s raining in most of Southeast today, there’s another large, warm and wet weather system just offshore, waiting to plow into the region. It’s expected to bring heavy rainfall and high winds through the week.

Haines seems like a quintessential Southeast Alaska town. There are eagles, bears, salmon, big mountains and rough water. It’s a picture-book no stoplight, no movie theater, low crime type of community. But there’s a seedier and eclectic side of Haines that emerged late this winter: the underground puppet scene.Download Audio

It will cost passengers more to ride the state ferry starting in the summer. That’s when fares for most Alaska Marine Highway will increase by 4.5 percent.Download Audio

Thousands of rural Alaskans will see their power bills go up after the first of the year. That’s because the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, or RCA, approved an 11 percent rate increase last week for Alaska Power Company customers. That’s lower than the hike the company asked for. But it’s still more than many residents in Southeast and the Interior say they can afford.Download Audio

A Canadian company is exploring copper and zinc deposits at the Palmer Project site north of Haines. It’s not even a proposed project yet – but it’s is already dividing the community of Haines. One group having a hard time forming consensus on the issue is the commercial fishing fleet in the Northern Lynn Canal.Download Audio