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Most read stories

Taxi, Tour Drivers Share Views on Ordinance

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

Thursday, October 22

Fond Memories

Wednesday, October 21

Data Center Control New Issue for Sitka

By ANNA LAFFREY
Sentinel Staff Writer

Tuesday, October 20

Sitkans Share Ideas for 20-Year Recreation Plan

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

5 days ago

Hyperphagia

2 days ago

Today's top stories

Little Potatoes

Taryn Kinney, 6, holds up Tlingit potatoes she harvested alongside fellow Xóots Elementary School first-graders in the Pacific High School garden Wednesday morning. The children planted the potatoes in April when they were kindergartners.
LITTLE POTATOES - Taryn Kinney, 6, holds up Tlingit potatoes she harvested alongside fellow Xóots Elementary School first-graders in the Pacific High School garden Wednesday morning. The children planted the potatoes in April when they were...
7 hours ago
Ahl’lidaaw Gitnack’angeak stands inside a waiting tent at the Carlisle Barracks Post Cemetery on Sept. 25 as Army officials disinter the remains beneath the headstone belonging to Mabel Stack, of Loring, who died in 1904 as a young girl attending the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

Search Continues for Ancestor at Carlisle

Healing, joy and new connections filled a Ketchikan family’s journey in September to the Carlisle Barracks Post Cemetery in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where the family’s ancestor, Mabel Stack, died in 1904 as a young girl attending the Carlisle...
ANNA LAFFREY for the Ketchikan Daily News
7 hours ago

Assembly Decisions: Some Easy, Some Hard

The vast majority of city boards, commissions and committees have a quorum of members, the city clerk’s office reports, but most need one or more volunteers to fill all positions. At tonight’s meeting the Assembly will consider four applicants...

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

7 hours ago
Blatchley Middle School student Harrison M. Mayasich, 13, holds up a portfolio of his comics in the Sentinel newsroom recently.

BMS Student Shares Comic with Sitka

Thirteen-year-old Sitkan Harrison M. Mayasich is sharing comics with the Sentinel drawn from his experiences in daily life. The comic strip series, called "What The?" captures the unpredictability that comes with being a Blatchley Middle...
By ANNA LAFFREY and MARSHALL BARG
7 hours ago
Catherine Grant, Youth Advocates of Sitka office administrator, holds up a poster for the "Safeguarding Youth of Alaska" two-day conference which kicks off Tuesday in Harrigan Centennial Hall.

YAS Alerts Public on Youth Exploitation Danger

Safeguarding vulnerable young people from sex trafficking and online exploitation is the focus of a free, public education series at Centennial Hall and online Tuesday and Wednesday. Youth Advocates of Sitka is host of the Safeguarding Youth of...

By ANNA LAFFREY
Sentinel Staff Writer

2 days ago

Child Care Tax Vote On Assembly Agenda

At it regular meeting Tuesday, the Assembly will consider having a special election on a ballot question that would, if passed, raise the seasonal sales tax to help stabilize child care in Sitka. The ordinance is on the agenda for first reading...

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

2 days ago
Sports

Sitka Celebrates Volleyball Seniors with Win Over Kayhi

With a “Construction” theme on Friday night and a “Fishing” theme on Saturday, the Sitka High School student body, dressed in hard hats, colorful, reflective vests, and waders with a few fishing poles, loudly cheered the Sitka High School girls’...

By LYLE SPARROWGROVE
Special to the Sentinel

7 hours ago
Six-year-old Silas Rear keeps the ball alive on The Who's Tommy table in Saturday's Flipside Arcade tournament, while fellow competitor Ricky Urias looks on. (Sentinel Photo by Shannon Haugland)

Sitka Flippers Compete Head-to-Head in Pinball

Eighteen pinball players of all ages and experience levels challenged each other in four hours of spirited play Saturday at Flipside Arcade. When the dust settled over Godzilla, it was Scott Bowen who emerged as winner in the progressive...

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

7 hours ago
From left, Sitka High Wolves varsity volleyball players Jeeya Agullana, Bristol Clifton, Maleah Partido, Eva Miller, Kailee Brady and Addie Marx, smile as they huddle after scoring a point during senior night against the Ketchikan Kings. Sitka High seniors Jeeya Agullana, No. 6, and Bristol Clifton, No. 3, were celebrated for their commitment and time with the team.

Sitka Wolves Outshine Kayhi Kings

The Sitka High School girls varsity volleyball team outplayed the Ketchikan High School Kings to win 3-0 in matches Friday and Saturday at the Sitka gymnasium. On Friday night, SHS defeated visiting Ketchikan in three games with scores of 25-13,...
By Sentinel Staff
2 days ago
Mt. Edgecumbe senior Benjamin Balluta reverses on Haines freshman Asher Jimenez during their 119-pound championship match under the spotlight at the Southeast Showdown in Juneau's George Houston Gymnasium, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. Balluta won by fall at 0:32 of the second period.

MEHS, SHS Wrestlers Show Out at SE Showdown

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé wrestling team honored its senior grapplers on Saturday and proceeded to sweep the team titles in the Southeast Showdown. Mt. Edgecumbe High School and Sitka High boys and girls squads earned their...
By KLAS STOLPE
Juneau Independent
2 days ago

City League Basketball Update: 10/26/26

Keith Shelton sent the Hard Tacos into overtime Sunday with a deep 3-pointer with less than 15 seconds on the clock Sunday night, cutting a three-point deficit to Ludvig's Layup. Shelton's shot set up the Hard Tacos' 66-64 win at the Blatchley...
2 days ago
Community News

STA Citizens To Join Artist

8 hours ago

Enrolled Sitka Tribe of Alaska citizens ages 10 and older can join Lingit cultural artist and educator Kaaljáakw-Claire O’Halloran Hill in making mini-octopus bags. Sessions are 5:30-7:30 p.m. every Tuesday from Nov. 10 to Feb. 23 at Harrigan...

Police blotter

Police Blotter
October 26, 2026

Police Blotter Sitka Police Department logged the following calls over the weekend Friday, October 23 At 1:13 p.m. a caller asked for a welfare check at Pioneer Park. Police found a mother napping in a car with kids were in it. Police...

2 days ago
Obituaries
Aaron D. Wrenn Dies at 59; Was Former Sitka Resident
Aaron D. Wrenn, of Wasilla, Alaska, died on August 7, 2026 from a long battle with cancer, he was 59 years old. Aaron was born June 20, 1967 at Mt. Edgecumbe hospital, he was the 8th child of Wayne and Selina Wrenn. He attended Sitka High School...
8 hours ago
Screenshot
Wayne C. Bowers Dies; Business Owner was 69
Wayne Cameron Bowers, a construction company owner, fisherman, and a 24-year Sitka resident, died August 11 of a heart condition in Burien, Washington. He was 69. No services are scheduled at this time. Wayne was born June 22, 1957, in Chapel...
5 days ago
Dr. Thomas Edwin Jacobsen, DDS
Dr. Tom Jacobsen Dies; Service to Be on Nov. 8
Dr. Thomas Edwin Jacobsen, DDS, age 79, of Sitka, died September 7, 2026. Tom was born December 27, 1946, in Sioux City, Iowa, the son of Donald and Marian Jacobsen. He earned an undergraduate degree in general science from the University of Iowa...
Friday, October 16
Former Sitkan Mackenzie Clarke Dies in Seattle
The family of Mackenzie Augustus Clarke, 37, with profound sadness writes that he died unexpectedly on September 16 in Seattle. The former Sitkan, a Sitka High graduate, was the beloved son of David and Raine Clarke, brother of Kelsie and Zachary...
Friday, October 9
Alaska News
President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump returning to Texas for a high-stakes push to keep the state in Republican hands

President Donald Trump is heading back to Texas to support Republican Ken Paxton's U.S. Senate campaign against Democrat James Talarico. Trump will appear in Corpus Christi and Lubbock on Tuesday. …
By STEVEN SLOAN and JESSE BEDAYN
5 hours ago

Murkowski and Murkowski endorse Alaska’s Democratic governor candidate

Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and her father, Republican former Sen. Frank Murkowski said Tuesday that they are endorsing the election of Democratic candidate for governor Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins. Kreiss-Tomkins and three Republicans — Dave Bronson, Treg Taylor, and Bernadette Wilson — are running to replace incumbent Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who is term-limited and cannot […]
By James Brooks
7 hours ago

In Homer, an established Republican in the Alaska House is facing a challenge from an independent

For the past eight years, Sarah Vance has been a reliable member of the Republican caucus in the Alaska House of Representatives, winning election four different times in a district covering the southern Kenai Peninsula. But in this August’s primary election, something unusual happened: An independent challenger, Brent Johnson of Clam Gulch, beat Vance by […]
By James Brooks
11 hours ago
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Sitka Yesterday
October 26, 2026

20 YEARS AGO

October 2006 

Former state Sen. Richard I. Eliason has become the first Alaskan to be recognized by a Northwest organization for his contributions to the health of wild salmon. Eliason, a lifelong commercial fisherman, said he felt honored not just as an individual but for the state of Alaska. He is the first Alaskan to have been nominated to the hall of fame.

50 YEARS AGO

October 1976

In the Alaska Day races, 7-mile winners were Veronica Howard and Walter Gilmour, pre-high school; Heather Oen and David Licari, high school; Jan Turner, Roger Adams, post high school; and Albert R. Duncan, over 30.

2 days ago
From the Associated Press
National news
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accompanied by his wife, Sara, waves to supporters at Likud party headquarters in Jerusalem after the release of the first exit poll results in Israel's general election, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

The Latest: As votes are counted, no clear winner emerges in Israel's election

Votes were being counted as dawn broke in Israel on Wednesday morning, but exit polls suggested that its momentous national election left no clear winner. That likely meant the beginning of weeks of …
By The Associated Press
21 minutes ago
Tampa Bay Rays' Ben Williamson celebrates the game winning hit during the 12th inning of Game 4 of baseball's World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Rays stun Brewers with 2-run rally in 12th inning and force World Series Game 5 with 4-3 win

Jonny DeLuca and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson singled home runs in a stunning 12th-inning rally, and the Tampa Bay Rays staved off World Series elimination with a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers …
By RONALD BLUM
31 minutes ago
Serbian gendarmes guard the Israeli Embassy after an unidentified assailant attacked a guard with knives in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbian police say assailant killed after attacking a guard outside the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade

Serbian police say an unidentified assailant attacked a guard with knives outside the Israeli embassy in Belgrade and was killed just after midnight Wednesday. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic says …
32 minutes ago
Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Gallagher speaks during a press conference at the Foreign Press Association's headquarters in Rome, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, in Rome, France. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Top Vatican official says pope's cancer diagnosis a 'game-changer' for the papacy

A top Vatican official says that Pope Leo XIV's lung cancer diagnosis is “a bit of a gamechanger” for the Vatican.Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s foreign minister, said there …
By NICOLE WINFIELD
2 hours ago
International
FILE- Emergency workers and survivors at Bondi Beach following a shooting in Sydney, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker,File)

Man charged with posing as Sydney Hanukkah massacre victim to get compensation

A man has been charged with lying about being injured during the massacre of 15 people at a Sydney Hanukkah celebration last year in a bid to gain financial compensation for victims of crime. Police …
By ROD McGUIRK
9 minutes ago
FILE - Al-Shabab fighters display weapons as they conduct military exercises in northern Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)

Islamic militants kill at least 20 Somali soldiers in ambush, officer says

A Somali military officer says Islamic extremist militants killed more than 20 soldiers in an ambush, with others still unaccounted for. The government said the confrontation Monday was an assault on …
By OMAR FARUK
11 minutes ago
People use umbrellas to shield themselves from strong winds as Cyclone Arnab approaches the Andhra Pradesh coast, in Visakhapatnam, India, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo)

Cyclone Arnab hits India's Andhra Pradesh state as tens of thousands evacuate

Officials say Cyclone Arnab crossed India’s Andhra Pradesh coast in the early hours of Wednesday, a day after tens of thousands of people were forced to evacuate from vulnerable coastal areas in …
By OMER FAROOQ
31 minutes ago
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a "strong, right-wing" government in a defiant speech after Israel's elections. Exit polls suggested neither Netanyahu's bloc, nor his opponents, earned enough seats for a parliamentary majority.

Israelis await final election results as Netanyahu remains far from defeated

Israelis are closely awaiting final election results after their voting delivered a rebuke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government. Exit polls suggest no clear winner, leading to …
By MELANIE LIDMAN and CARA ANNA
38 minutes ago