A home-owned newspaper serving Sitka, Alaska since 1940

Voters Elect Mosher, Reject Ballot Prop. 1

Assembly candidate Sherri Blankenship, right, and mayoral candidate Kevin Mosher, center, watch as election results are posted in Harrigan Centennial Hall Tuesday night.

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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Variety is Theme of Sitka AmDocs Film Festival

A still from the documentary short film "My Ride Or Die" directed by Charlotte Percle. The film will be screened during program 2 on October 10, starting at 11:30 a.m. at the Coliseum Theatre.

Artists, scientists, Indigenous stewards and culture-bearers, athletes, animals and best friends will meet on the biggest screens in Sitka in 33 documentaries airing Friday through Sunday for Sitka's second annual American Documentary and Animation Film Festival.

City officials late Tuesday posted unofficial election results for the 2026 municipal election.

City Election Results Announced

BULLETIN -- Kevin Mosher was elected mayor in Tuesday’s municipal election with over 58% of the vote, over his two opponents. In the race for two Assembly seats, incumbent JJ Carlson and Sherri Blankenship were the top vote getters. In the school...

Planners to Consider Waterfront Subdivisions

The Planning Commission has two minor subdivision requests on it Wednesday night meeting agenda, both of related to large Residential- zoned waterfront tracts on Halibut Poont Road. .

A golden retriever named Apollo stands by as its owner, Beth Miller, uses a tablet to cast her vote in today's election at Centennial Hall this afternoon. Polls are open till 8 p.m. tonight as Sitkans choose a mayor, Assembly members, school board members and consider a change to voter initiatives.

Turnout Steady in City Election

Sitka voter turnout in today’s municipal election ranged from slow to steady in the first few hours polls were open at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Polls are open until 8 p.m. at the two precincts, located in separate rooms at Harrigan Centennial...

Lincoln Street around St. Michael's Cathedral is closed to traffic today as Sitka Public Works and SECON workers prepare to make repairs to a three-inch galvanized water line servicing the Cathedral Arms apartment building. Through traffic is diverted up American Street until the work is completed October 15. The next section of pipe to be replaced is beneath Maksoutoff Street seaward of Harbor Drive.

Detour

DETOUR - Lincoln Street around St. Michael's Cathedral is closed to traffic today as Sitka Public Works and SECON workers prepare to make repairs to a three-inch galvanized water line servicing the Cathedral Arms apartment building. Through...

Police Blotter
October 7, 2026

Police Blotter Sitka Police Department logged the following calls Tuesday. A caller asked about follow-up on a recent hit and run in the 300 block of Lincoln Street. A caller asked for information on a fraud case. A medical alert sounded near...

Read previous police reports

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...

More obituaries

Sports

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...

City League Basketball Action Update

The 2026 City League basketball season is getting underway this week, with city Parks and Recreation staff running games Sunday through Thursday evenings each week at the Blatchley Middle School gymnasium. Tuesday night, Designated Drivers...

Mt. Edgecumbe High School senior Charity Mila bumps a Sitka High School serve Tuesday night at Mt. Edgecumbe High School.

MEHS Braves Volleyball Builds Team Bond

The Mt. Edgecumbe High School girls volleyball team is working every day to get better as a team, and continuing to build on their already strong cohesiveness, the coach says. More than halfway through the regular season, head coach Margo...

Sitka Yesterday
October 7, 2026

20 YEARS AGO

September 2006

Sitka Native Education Program is congratulating the newly elected officers of the Gajaa Heen Dancers: May Miller, Lakrisha Brady, Marki Jackson, Brendan Hoffay, Benjamin Breece, Rachelle George, Adam Larsen and Victor Jones Jr.

50 YEARS AGO

September 1976

In Classic League bowling Lakeside Grocery took three from the Sitka Bazaar, the Nugget took three from Trophy House, and Columbia Bar took three from Stedman Insurance. High individual games were Nora Arries and Candi Barger 192.

Read previous Sitka Yesterdays

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.

Alaska gubernatorial candidate settles campaign finance complaint with state regulators

Alaska gubernatorial candidate Treg Taylor has agreed to pay a fine and update his campaign disclosure reports as part of a settlement with state regulators to resolve a campaign finance disclosure complaint. The complaint challenged Taylor’s failure to disclose details of more than $187,000 in expenditures to a handful of campaign consulting businesses. Commissioners with […]

You shouldn’t need a law degree to hunt moose in Alaska

The last thing a hunter needs to pack before a moose hunt is a crash course in federal regulations and bureaucracy. We shouldn’t need to spend the days before a hunt refreshing federal websites, comparing land-status maps, deciphering emergency action, and trying to determine whether our regular hunting spot is suddenly subject to a different […]

Where do Alaska’s gubernatorial candidates stand on the gas pipeline and energy?

All four of the candidates in Alaska’s gubernatorial election this year support construction of a trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline and increased, state-backed drilling for natural gas in Cook Inlet. But in a pair of forums held Sept. 21 and Oct. 2 in Anchorage, the four differed on a variety of other topics pertaining to the […]

The right to repair is a model for DIY Alaska

Here in Alaska, if you need something done, you do it yourself. That’s why the right to repair is so important. If a plow breaks down in the snow, the nearest garage could be hundreds of miles up an ice road. If a truck engine dies, remote roads and blinding weather mean it’s not always […]

Alaska’s congressional elections pit “thousandaires” against millionaires and “billionaire buddies”

One of the starkest contrasts in Alaska’s federal races for Senate and House this election season is about money. Two of the candidates, from rural Alaska and running to the left of two Republican incumbents, have few assets to their name. Mary Peltola, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan, […]

Voters Elect Mosher, Reject Ballot Prop. 1

Variety is Theme of Sitka AmDocs Film Festival

City Election Results Announced

Planners to Consider Waterfront Subdivisions

Turnout Steady in City Election

Detour

Police Blotter
October 7, 2026

SHS Swimmers Best the Competition in Anchorage

City League Basketball Action Update

MEHS Braves Volleyball Builds Team Bond

Sitka Yesterday
October 7, 2026

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

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

Alaska gubernatorial candidate settles campaign finance complaint with state regulators

You shouldn’t need a law degree to hunt moose in Alaska

Where do Alaska’s gubernatorial candidates stand on the gas pipeline and energy?

The right to repair is a model for DIY Alaska

Vice President Vance flies to Fairbanks to stump for incumbent Alaska senator

Alaska’s congressional elections pit “thousandaires” against millionaires and “billionaire buddies”

Lufthansa, Indian airlines suspend Riyadh service after explosions hit Saudi capital

One Tech Tip: Lake America backlash fuels interest in Google Maps alternatives

Man with a gun and knife is fatally shot by security at Nashville federal courthouse, police say

Failed executions troubled other states before Christa Pike. Here's what happened

Permanent daylight time brings quirky NHL start times to Western Canada

Strike on Ukrainian public buses leaves 30 dead as blackouts worsen in Kyiv

Brent crude jumps over 4% as Middle East tensions flare, while share prices retreat

Deported to Central African Republic, a transgender woman who lived openly in Miami is hiding again

Kenneth Walker's fast start with the Chiefs comes after uncertain offseason for the Super Bowl MVP

Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis sheds no-contact jersey in recovery from shoulder surgery

With confident Penix at QB, Falcons will look to continue turnaround against Ravens

In ‘Always Lalisa,’ K-pop superstar Lisa comes of age and embarks on a new career in acting

Media attorneys ask court for help in preventing White House ban until legal case is resolved

US-Best-Sellers-Books-PW

The cost of drugs from Canada is set to soar for millions of Americans because of a federal rule

Russia's public health watchdog denies a second infection in suspected pneumonic plague case

US, Zambia sign $2.49B health financing pact after removing data and specimen-sharing terms