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DV Awareness

In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Sitkans Against Family Violence Shelter workers plant flags in the Sitka Courthouse lawn Wednesday. The flags represent statistics at the shelter including the number of bed nights provided over the year, 5,415; the number of women at the shelter, 43; the number of men at the shelter, 10; the 13 children at the shelter; and the 35 domestic disturbance calls made to the Sitka Police Department. Pictured are, from left, Martina Kurzer, Jackie DeBell and Susan Cross.
DV AWARENESS - In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Sitkans Against Family Violence shelter workers plant flags in the Sitka Courthouse lawn Wednesday. The flags represent statistics at the shelter including the number of bed...
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Today's top stories
Cascadia Works: Tend Gather Harvest Restore, co-edited by Tele Aadsen and Jessica Gigot, is out now from Empty Bowl Press. Cover art is by Carly Brock.

Sitkans Are Writers, Subjects of New Anthology

Sitka locals share stories from the sea in Cascadia Works: Tend, Gather, Harvest, Restore, an anthology of literary and artistic pieces co-edited by Tele Aadsen, a Southeast Alaska troll fisherman, and Jessica Gigot, a Skagit Valley farmer, and...
SEARHC workers look over the new SEARHC Medical Center on Japonski Island during a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday, April 23, 2026.

Southeast Leads Rise In Respiratory Infections

Alaska Department of Public Health testing shows that the flu is the main driver of statewide respiratory illness this month. The department confirmed 272 flu cases across Alaska in the week ending on Oct. 3, up from 233 the week prior, and down...
PASSING THE TORCH - Retiring executive director of the Sitka Community Land Trust, Randy Hughey, left, stands with the non-profit's new director, Amy Kramer Johnson, Saturday night during a celebration honoring the two at Stevenson Hall on the SJ campus. The event also served as the closing gathering of the Northwest Community Land Trust Coalition Annual Conference.

Passing the Torch

PASSING THE TORCH - Retiring executive director of the Sitka Community Land Trust, Randy Hughey, left, stands with the non-profit's new director, Amy Kramer Johnson, Saturday night during a celebration honoring the two at Stevenson Hall on the SJ...

Planners Approve Subdivision, Replat

The Sitka Planning Commission at its regular meeting Wednesday night approved a preliminary plat for a minor subdivision resulting in two lots at 1403 Halibut Point Road, and a final plat merging the three lots at 3317, 3319 and 3321 Halibut Point...
Assembly candidate Sherri Blankenship, right, and mayoral candidate Kevin Mosher, center, watch as election results are posted in Harrigan Centennial Hall Tuesday night.

Voters Elect Mosher, Reject Ballot Prop. 1

Assembly member Kevin Mosher was elected mayor in Tuesday’s municipal election with more than 58% of the vote, over his two opponents. “I’m very grateful, I’m very humbled,” Mosher said, just after the unofficial results were posted in the...

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Community news
Community Calendar
October 9-13, 2026
FRIDAY Noon AA, St. Peter’s basement, call AA hotline 907-747-8866 for information  5:30 p.m. NA Meeting, St. Peter’s Church basement 7 p.m. American Documentary and Animation Film Festival opening night, Sitka Performing Arts Center,...
Ries Plescher. (Photo provided)
Oct. Scientist in Residence At Work at Science Center
Ries Plescher, third-year doctoral student at University of Oregon in Eugene, is October’s Scientist in Residency Fellow at Sitka Sound Science Center. The SIRF program offers scientists four weeks to focus on their research while connecting with...
Historical Society Alaska Day Events Are Scheduled
Sitka Historical Society and Museum has announced events for the upcoming Alaska Day Festival. –6:30-9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, Harrigan Centennial Hall rooms 1 and 2: "Alaska Day Festival Years Past: Through the Lens of Sentinel Photographer James...
Quilt Sale Slated For Alaska Day
The Alaska Day quilt sale will be held 10 a.m. until after the parade on Alaska Day, Sunday, Oct. 18, at Sitka Lutheran Church. Cash and checks will be accepted. The sale is a fundraiser for Lutheran World Relief.
Training for Board, Superintendent
Sitka School Board and Superintendent Deidre Jenson will receive training Oct. 16-17 in the District Office Board Room, with Katie Oliver, from Alaska Association of School Boards. No business will be conducted at the training.
Sewing Taught On Saturday
Professional sewist Iris Nash of Iris Addie Designs will teach introductory sewing theory and sewing machine instruction 2-5:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at Sitka Public Library.  Participants can develop skills through the process of creating...
New School Board Members Sworn In
Sitka School Board will hold a special meeting 4:30 p.m. Oct. 14, followed by a Policy Meeting at 5 p.m., in the District Office board room. Newly elected board members will be sworn in. The special meeting will be followed by the regular...
‘No Kings’ Day of Action on Oct. 17
Community members are invited to join the fourth No Kings National Day of Action, 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at Crescent Harbor shelter and march to the roundabout for a noon rally to support voting rights, early voting, and election...
Rising Tides Celebration Listed Nov. 10
Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust will host the Rising Tides Celebration 5:30 p.m. Nov. 10 at Harrigan Centennial Hall. The event will honor the people, fisheries, and coastal communities that make Southeast Alaska so special, a news release...
Community Calendar
October 8-10, 2026
THURSDAY 6-8 a.m. MEHS Aquatic Center Pool Open 10:30 a.m. SAIL’s Senior Hiking Club, Whale Park hike 11-2 Salvation Army Little Store open Noon AA, St. Peter’s basement, AA hotline 907-747-8866 for information Noon Alanon Zoom,...

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Police blotter

Police Blotter
October 8, 2026

Police Blotter Sitka Police Department logged the following calls Wednesday. Wednesday, October 7 A bear was reported sighted at 5:17 a.m. in the area of Rudolph Walton Circle. A welfare check was requested on a woman with mental...

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Obituaries
 SE Alaskan Harlan Adams Dies at 86
Harlan J. Adams passed away on May 26, 2026, at Swedish Hospital, Cherry Hill Campus, Seattle, Washington. Harlan was born on February 9, 1940, in Yakutat, Alaska. He and his family moved to Kake, Alaska in 1953. Harlan married Lavina on May 13,...
Max Edmund Williams Dies; Life-long Alaskan Was 81
Max Edmund Williams, whose Tlingit name was K’wanee, was born in Yakutat, Alaska, on September 9, 1944, to Ned and Emma Williams. He passed away peacefully at home in Sitka on August 11, 2026, leaving behind a life filled with adventure, family,...
Burgess Bauder with LuvBug, left, and Ralph the white greyhound. (Photo provided)
Burgess Bauder's Full Life to be Celebrated
Please print the week of September 28—October 2 Obituary for Burgess Bauder Burgess Bauder finally died… he loved pink. But before he died… he survived. Burgess survived growing up in Tacoma, Washington, as an only child, born December...
Life of Deborah Vilandre To be Celebrated Sept. 20
In the presence of her loving family, Deborah Suzanne (Bernhardt) Vilandre passed away on June 11, 2026, at her home in Cheney, Washington, after a two-year battle with ALS.  She was 63 years old. A celebration of her life will be held 2-4...

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Sports

Wolves Post High Scores at Tri-meet

Sitka High School's Taryn Fleming swims the girls 100 yard butterfly during the Juneau Invitational at the Dimond Park Aquatic Center on Friday, September 4. Fleming placed first in both the 200IM and 100 back at the tri-meet in Anchorage, Friday October 2.
Sitka High swimmers posted competitive times and results in Friday’s tri-meet with Dimond and East High School in Anchorage. Sitka boys scored the most points in the meet with 105 followed by Dimond with 76 and East High School with 36. On the...

City League Basketball Update

The 2026 City League basketball season continued Wednesday night at the Blatchley Middle School gymnasium, with The Real Allen Marine defeating Harry Race 81-45 in a matchup between two masters teams. Jeremy Plank led all scorers with 16...

SHS Swimmers Best the Competition in Anchorage

Sitka's Zach Martens swims the butterfly in the boys 200 yard IM on Friday October 17, 2025, during the Juneau Invitational at the Dimond Park Aquatic Center. Martens swam fly in the 200-yard medley relay, the 50 free, the 100 fly and the 400 free relay this past Friday, during the "tri-meet" at Bartlett pool in Anchorage.
Sitka High swimmers at a meet Friday in Anchorage faced down the competition from larger schools, while keeping their eyes on the season’s goals. “We’re about a month out and getting to the heart of our work,” said coach Robby Jarvill, at a...

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Sitka Yesterday
October 8, 2026

20 YEARS AGO

September 2006

It’s the Coast Guard to the rescue. The Army wrote the Alaska Day Committee that the 9th Army Band couldn’t come to Sitka this year because it couldn’t provide transportation. But Alaska Day Committee member Mary Lou Vilandre says the Coast Guard has offered to transport the band from Fairbanks for the Sitka celebration.

50 YEARS AGO

September 1976

Sitka High swimmers defeated Ketchikan High at Blatchley pool. L. Williams, C. Funk, A. Funk and L. Higbee tied the previous Sitka Southeast record in the 200 medley with a time of 2:12.8. C. Funk won the 200 I.M. with a time of 2:25.3.

Read previous Sitka Yesterdays

Around Alaska

Trump administration cuts environmental reviews to fast-track Alaska oil exploration

Seismic surveys, well drilling, ice road construction and other wintertime oil exploration activities on federal lands on the western North Slope will no longer be subject to case-by-case environmental evaluation, under a new rule the Trump administration announced on Thursday. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management issued the rule for exploration activities in the National […]

Crew members haul in a catch aboard the F/V Progress in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

The fish behind America’s fish sticks is fueling a fight over trawling in Alaska

The nets for Alaska’s massive pollock fishery also catch salmon and other marine life. As salmon runs collapse across western Alaska, Indigenous communities and smaller commercial fishers say …

New Alaska sea sponge species fuel debate over fishery practices

The vast and largely unexplored seafloor off Alaska’s coastline produces occasional startling discoveries. The latest concerns the sponges that line the bottom of the ocean and contribute to an ecosystem that supports some of the nation’s biggest seafood harvests. Scientists have now identified nine previously unknown species of sea sponges that dwell there, including one […]
Crew members work on deck after hauling in a catch aboard the F/V Progress in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Takeaways from AP’s report on Alaska’s growing fight over trawling and bycatch

Alaska’s massive pollock fishery supplies everything from McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwiches to fish sticks and imitation crab, but its nets also catch salmon and other marine life. As salmon …

Deckhand Justin Schramm lifts trawl doors, which help spread the mouth of the net open, from the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Trawl fishing catches huge amounts of seafood. It also devastates the seafloor

Trawling is a fishing method using large nets to catch fish and shellfish in bulk. Bottom trawls scrape the seafloor for species such as cod and shrimp, while pelagic trawls target fish higher in the …

President Trump to campaign for Alaska Republicans on Oct. 13 in Wasilla

President Donald Trump is planning to fly to Alaska next week for a rally intended to boost the re-election campaigns of U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and Rep. Nick Begich III. According to the Trump 47 Committee, an operation of the Republican National Committee and Trump’s Save America PAC, Trump will speak at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday […]

Alaska ranks near the middle for access to mental healthcare. Here's how to find help

LifeStance Health reports on mental healthcare access in Alaska.

Most candidates for Alaska governor pledge to live in Juneau if elected

Three of the four Alaska candidates for governor told a Juneau crowd they would live and maintain the seat of government in the state’s Southeast Alaska capital city at a forum in Juneau on Wednesday.  The candidates’ commitment signals the potential for a significant shift. Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who has served for eight years and […]

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From the Associated Press
National news
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani talks during a news conference near the scene of a shooting on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

The Latest: NYC Mayor Mamdani calls on Trump to halt ICE operations in the city after man is shot

Officials say a federal immigration officer shot a Dominican man in the neck as he drove in a car with a 5-year-old boy. An irate New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the shooting an outrage, and …
FILE - Former NFL coach and University of Pittsburgh alumnus, Mike Ditka speaks at a news conference for the retirement of the No. 75 jersey for former Pittsburgh offensive lineman Jim Covert before an NCAA football game between the Pittsburgh and the Notre Dame, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015 in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

Mike Ditka, the quintessential Chicago Bear, dies at 86

Mike Ditka, who won NFL titles as a player and coach with the Chicago Bears, has died. He was 86. Nicknamed “Iron Mike” as a player, Ditka helped revolutionize the tight-end position, then moved …
A screen shows the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. Dollar and South Korean Won, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics Co. stock price at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Asian shares are mixed and crude prices fall after an unsettled day on Wall St

Asian shares are mixed in holiday-thinned trading while oil prices have fallen back from recent gains. U.S. futures edged higher. Markets were closed Friday in South Korea and Taiwan.  The S&P 500 …
FILE - This 2006 photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a female Aedes aegypti mosquito in the process of acquiring a blood meal from a human host. (James Gathany/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via AP, File)

Florida's dengue outbreak is now the largest in the continental US in decades

Florida is experiencing its largest dengue outbreak in decades, with over 250 locally acquired cases reported this year. Most cases are in Hillsborough County, home to Tampa. Officials declared local …
International
A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Panama on Friday morning, shaking buildings as far away as the capital and prompting evacuations, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Workers in downtown areas of the capital evacuated buildings as a precaution and waited in squares and parks. (AP video by Alna Solís)

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake shakes Panama, prompting evacuations

A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes Panama, shaking buildings as far as the capital and prompting evacuations. The U.S. Geological Survey reports the quake hit Friday morning near Pitaloza …
A FlyDubai aircraft carrying Israelis who experienced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia arrives at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

FlyDubai co-pilot intended to crash plane into Tel Aviv airport, UAE prosecutor says

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates say a FlyDubai co-pilot attacked the captain of a flight to Tel Aviv last month intending to crash the plane into Israel’s main airport terminal. The Omani …
FILE - Lufthansa aircraft are parked at an airpor in Munich, Germany, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

Saudi authorities say 3 killed in Houthi-claimed attacks on Riyadh airport

Saudi aviation authorities say three Saudi citizens including a pilot were killed and several other people wounded in two attacks Thursday that were claimed by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The attacks …
FILE - A Nobel diploma and medal are displayed, Dec. 8, 2020, during a ceremony in New York. (Angela Weiss/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded in Norway

The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded Friday. The Norwegian Nobel Committee received 287 candidates and just over a quarter of them are organizations. Experts say the committee typically focuses on …
National Sports
Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty (2) runs the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ella Hall)

Raiders' Ashton Jeanty questionable with ankle and foot injuries for Patriots game

Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty is questionable for Sunday’s game at New England with ankle and foot injuries. Wide receiver Jalen Nailor has a concussion and backup offensive lineman …

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) talks to team personnel on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans in Baltimore, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Ravens rule out injured stars Lamar Jackson and Trey Hendrickson for game vs. Falcons

The Baltimore Ravens have ruled out quarterback Lamar Jackson and edge rusher Trey Hendrickson for their upcoming game at Atlanta because of injuries. Tyler Huntley will take Jackson’s place on …

Friday's Transactions

FOOTBALL National Football League NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Activated S Brenden Schooler from the NFI list. HOCKEY National Hockey League LOS ANGELES KINGS — Recalled F Jared …
Entertainment
FILE - Pitbull performs in concert in London on June 9, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

Music Review: Pitbull's 'Pitcoin' keeps the party going but is short on standouts

Pitbull's latest album, “Pitcoin,” is full of his infectious, motivational enthusiasm. Known as Mr. 305 and Mr. Worldwide, Pitbull fills the album with joy and energy across 24 tracks. The recent …

Valeria Ratnikova appears in a scene from "My Undesirable Friends: Part II - Exile." (Julia Loktev via AP)

Who’s afraid of a 6-hour documentary about exiled Russian journalists?

Julia Loktev has released a new documentary, “My Undesirable Friends: Part II — Exile,” capturing the lives of Russian journalists who fled the country after Russia invaded Ukraine. Loktev …
From left, Joe Hahn, Brad Delson, Mike Shinoda, Emily Armstrong, Colin Brittain and Dave Farrell of the band Linkin Park pose together at the premiere of the documentary film "Linkin Park: Unshatter" on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, at AMC The Grove 14 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Linkin Park documentary 'Unshatter' tracks band's emotional return to recording, touring

Linkin Park is revealing the uncertainty, grief and creative risk behind its return in the new documentary “Linkin Park: Unshatter.” The film captures the band as it grappled with what came next …
Health
A sculpture of an angel stands at a memorial for survivors and lives lost to suicide dedicated by the Archdiocese of Chicago at Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery in Hillside, Ill., on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)

First suicide memorial by a US archdiocese signals a compassionate shift by the Catholic Church

A memorial for lives lost to suicide and their surviving families who grieve them was dedicated by the Archdiocese of Chicago earlier this year at Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery. The archdiocese …

Chenai Mukucha reacts as a birth control implant is administered inside a caravan at Epworth Poly Clinic in Epworth, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Ufumeli)

Stigma, funding cuts and the Iran war put contraception out of reach for Africa’s girls

Zimbabwean teenager Kelly Nhedega once dreamed of finishing school and starting a career before having a family. But she became pregnant and dropped out of school due to stigma around accessing …
Kris Williams Carroll, director of the Caretta Research Project, holds three loggerhead hatchlings found during the excavation of a nest on Wassaw Island, Ga., July 18, 2026. (Justin Taylor/The Current GA/CatchLight/Report for America via AP)

Peek inside Georgia’s record-setting sea turtle nesting season

Loggerhead sea turtles have laid a record 4,292 nests on Georgia beaches this year, a significant rebound from 358 nests in 2004. Volunteers and professionals, including those from the Tybee Island …
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