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Most read stories

Missing Boater Found Dead

By Sentinel Staff
Thursday, October 29

FBI Visits Sitka Home In Senate Race Probe

By ANNA LAFFREY
Sentinel Staff Writer

Yesterday at 8:32 PM

Spooks on The Street? It's Just the Stardust Ball

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

5 days ago

Early Voters Flock to Polls Ahead of Election Day

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

Yesterday at 8:14 PM

Sample Ballot Viewable Ahead of Nov.3 Election

From the Editor
Yesterday at 8:27 PM

Stratton Courthouse Hearing Set for Nov. 4

By SHANNON HAUGLAND and ANNA LAFFREY Sentinel Staff

5 days ago

Today's top stories

Electronic Voting Debuts For STA Tribal Election

Ryan Cotter, Sitka Tribe of Alaska communications and event specialist, shows tribal election materials available at the STA front office on Siginaka Way this afternoon. The election takes place November 10.
For the first time, Sheet’ká Ḵwáan Sitka Tribe of Alaska voters can go online to cast ballots in the STA Tribal Council election to be held Nov. 10. The e-voting option is user-friendly, and sure to boost voter turnout, STA election official Yákw'tsaa Rachel Roy said during STA's candidate forum last month.

By ANNA LAFFREY
Sentinel Staff Writer

4 hours ago

Fire Department Reports Busy Quarter to Assembly

Sitka’s fire department stayed busy in the last quarter providing emergency medical care for local population but saw a small drop in services requested for cruise and other visitors. “EMS calls locally have been fairly consistent, same with...

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

4 hours ago
A yard sign stands outside the home of Dan J. Sullivan, a candidate running to unseat Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, R-Alaska, in Petersburg, Ala., on Saturday. (AP Photo/Joshua Goodman) Photo taken with smartphone.

FBI Visits Sitka Home In Senate Race Probe

Two FBI agents on Friday showed up unannounced at a home in Sitka—and at several homes and businesses in Petersburg—and questioned residents about campaign donations made to U.S. Senate candidate Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg.

By ANNA LAFFREY
Sentinel Staff Writer

Yesterday at 8:32 PM

Sample Ballot Viewable Ahead of Nov.3 Election

From the Editor In the leadup to state elections the Alaska Division of Elections usually publishes sample ballots in newspapers throughout the state. This year the Sentinel did not receive an order from the state for putting a sample ballot...
From the Editor
Yesterday at 8:27 PM
Bethany Goodrich smiles as she and other Sitkans wait in line to cast early ballots in the midterm election today. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Harrigan Centennial Hall for the regular election Tuesday.

Early Voters Flock to Polls Ahead of Election Day

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close 8 p.m. at Centennial Hall for Tuesday’s general election to pick candidates for U.S. and state offices. Voters are also asked to vote on ballot measures related to campaign finance and ranked choice voting; and...

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

Yesterday at 8:14 PM

Ferry Columbia Gets Repairs In Ketchikan

The state ferry M/V Columbia is delayed in Ketchikan because of a mechanical problem with the port main engine of the vessel, the Alaska Marine Highway System reports. Engine repairs are scheduled to begin Thursday morning once a technician...

By ANNA LAFFREY
Sentinel Staff Writer

Yesterday at 8:10 PM
Sports

Efforts Add Up for Wolves SE Swimming Success

The boys’ win by four points and girls’ second place finish at Southeast swimming champs required not only best swims, but contributions from everyone, swimmers and coaches said. Sitka High boys captured first, edging out Juneau Douglas High...

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

4 hours ago

ASAA Region V Volleyball Play Tips Off Thurs.

Sitka High Wolves volleyball players are readying to face Mt. Edgecumbe High School in ASAA Region V Volleyball Championship games at 5:15 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Nov. 5-6. An "if" game is to be held Saturday . Juneau-Douglas High School will...
4 hours ago

Sports Calendar: 11/3/26

Tuesday, Nov. 3 6 p.m. Pick-up water polo with players of all levels begins at Mt. Edgecumbe High School Aquatic Center at 6 p.m. sharp, and runs one hour; standard pool entry is $10. 7:45 p.m. Sitka Sea Level Adventures vs. Yuyo’s Edge 8:45...
4 hours ago

City League Basketball Update: 11/3/26

Tlingit Hustlers opened the week with a 57-49 win over Good Guys on Monday night in City League basketball at the Blatchley Middle School gymnasium. Asa Demmert led all scorers with 16 points. City League games at Blatchley are free and open to...
4 hours ago
Sitka sophomore Cedar Powers, senior Corin Colliver, junior Tommy McCarthy and senior James Nellis start the boys 100 yard freestyle final during the 2026 Region V Swim and Dive Championships at Juneau's Dimond Park Aquatic Center, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. Colliver won the race, McCarthy finished second and Powers third.

SHS Wolves Boys Win Region V Team Title, Girls Take Second

The Sitka High School Wolves boys earned their first Region V Swim and Dive team title since 2015 this weekend, edging out by four points the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé boys who have claimed the region championship the past two...
By KLAS STOLPE
Juneau Independent
Yesterday at 8:32 PM
Community News

Fall Art Walk Listed Saturday

4 hours ago

Downtown businesses, musicians and artists will participate in the Fall Art Walk from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday.  Sponsor Sitka Arts Council says 17 businesses will open their doors to host artists and musicians for the community event. ‘‘Kick...

Harp Sing Sunday
4 hours ago
Girls on the Run
4 hours ago
ANB to Meet
Yesterday at 7:54 PM
School Board Meets Tuesday
Yesterday at 7:54 PM
Trivia Jeopardy Set for Teens
Yesterday at 7:54 PM
Police blotter

Police Blotter
November 3, 2026

Police Blotter Sitka Police Department logged the following calls Monday. Monday, Nov. 2 A vehicle was reported blocking a driveway in the 200 block of Marine Street at 8:19 a.m. A voicemail was left for the vehicle's owner. Two people were...

4 hours ago
Obituaries
Dennis C. Bernhoft Dies; Service to be Wednesday
Dennis Charles Bernhoft, a longtime Sitka psychologist, passed away in Sitka on Oct. 20, 2026. A potluck service will be held Wednesday, Nov. 4, celebrating what would have been his 67th birthday. It will be noon to 2 p.m. at 700 Katlian St. Suite...
Yesterday at 7:54 PM
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...
Thursday, October 29
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...
Friday, October 23
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
Alaska News

US Department of Justice sends election monitors to urban and rural Alaska

The U.S. Department of Justice said federal election monitors will be deployed to Anchorage and the Dillingham and Kusilvak census areas on Election Day, according to an agency announcement on Tuesday morning. The DOJ monitoring initiative, announced last week, is larger this year than previous years, with approximately 1,000 monitors posted across all 50 states.  […]
By Corinne Smith
4 hours ago

Alaska elections officials say most rural early voting sites flagged by lawsuits opened Monday

Alaska elections officials told a state Superior court judge on Sunday that 13 of the 18 rural early and absentee-in-person voting locations that were flagged in lawsuits filed late last week for failing to open as scheduled would be open on Monday — one day before Election Day. The remaining five communities were not able […]
By Corinne Smith
9 hours ago

Alaska’s U.S. Senate race draws significant donations from AI company employees

Alaska’s U.S. Senate race has drawn more money to campaigns from employees of AI companies than any other 2026 Senate race, an analysis of Federal Election Commission records shows.  The actual numbers of donors are small, but at least 19 employees contributed approximately $119,000 to the campaigns of Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and his Democratic […]
By Arshya Gaur, Bridget Stuebner
9 hours ago
Find us on Facebook

Sitka Yesterday
November 3, 2026

20 YEARS AGO

November 2006 

Ads for Tuesday election: Diane Benson: a True Alaskan running for Congress  Alaska needs a gas pipeline. Vote No on Ballot Measure 2  Re-elect Peggy Wilson  Alaskans for Don Young  Vote for Jay Stelzenmuller for House! 

50 YEARS AGO

November 1976

Alaskans voted Tuesday to build the new state capitol in Willow, the proposed site that was closest to Anchorage and also the least expensive to develop. Gov. Hammond said it’s now up to the Legislature. “They’ll have to come forward with a plan and funding.”

4 hours ago
From the Associated Press
National news
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand smiles at his son, Tait Sand, while casting his ballot on midterm Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Democrats press to win a majority of governors' offices in midterms after power struggles with Trump

Votes are being counted in high-profile contests for governor in the midterm elections, with Democrats hoping to take over a majority of executive office suites for the first time in two decades. In …
By MARC LEVY
3 hours ago
A person walks to the City of Arlington South Service Center ahead of the polling place opening on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

The Latest: Voters will decide control of Congress in major test of Trump's second term

Election Day is here. Voters nationwide will decide control of the U.S. House and Senate. Democrats must flip four Senate seats and three House seats to wrest control of the chambers from …
By The Associated Press
3 hours ago
Elizabeth Warren and Deb Haaland visit a daycare in Albuquerque, N.M., Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Savannah Peters)

Midterms may bring in wave of historic firsts for some states and the country

Featuring one of the most diverse slates of both Democratic and Republican candidates in recent years, this midterm election has set up a possible wave of historic leadership firsts across the …
By TERRY TANG
3 hours ago
Florida Democratic candidate for governor David Jolly speaks at a campaign event, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, in Hollywood, Fla.(AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Jolly tests Florida's status as conservative stronghold in governor's race against Donalds

Florida voters are choosing between Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly in a surprisingly competitive governor's race. Jolly, a former Republican congressman, switched parties to run as …
By STEVEN SLOAN
3 hours ago
International
FILE - In this Friday, April 26, 2019 file photo, SAS planes are grounded at Oslo Gardermoen airport during pilots strikes, in Oslo, Norway. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix via AP, File)

Flights across Europe face disruption after false bomb threats

Several flights across Europe received bomb threats Tuesday, causing searches and diversions. Officials say these threats turned out to be hoaxes. Impacted airlines included LOT, Scandinavian …
By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER, STEFANIE DAZIO and DAVID BILLER
3 hours ago
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Roy Cooper thanks supporters after casting his ballot on the first day of early voting at John Chavis Memorial Park in Raleigh, N.C., on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

Roy Cooper looks to flip North Carolina Senate seat by defeating Republican Michael Whatley

North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race Tuesday is a clash of political trends. Democratic nominee Roy Cooper has never lost an election through a long career as governor, attorney general and state …
By BILL BARROW
3 hours ago
In this photo provided on Oct. 30, 2026, by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un speaks during his visit to an exhibition of a variety of attack and other drones at the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist area, North Korea, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korea launches unidentified projectile toward the sea, South Korea says

South Korea says North Korea has launched an unidentified projectile toward the sea. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff say the launch happened Wednesday off North Korea’s east coast without …
3 hours ago
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addresses supporters during a victory rally after winning a fourth term in the presidential runoff on Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Brazil’s Senate approves Lula’s main bet to tackle criminal gangs

Brazil’s Senate has approved legislation that strengthens the government's power to fight criminal gangs. The constitutional amendment will be sanctioned later this week. It's another victory for …
By MAURICIO SAVARESE and ELÉONORE HUGHES
4 hours ago