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Missing Angoon Boater Found Dead on Oct. 28

By Sentinel Staff
Thursday, October 29

Stedman Staying Out Of Majority Coalition

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

4 days ago

From Sitka to Juneau, JKT's Remarkable Rise

By ANNA LAFFREY
Sentinel Staff Writer

Wednesday, November 4

Tree Down

4 days ago

Sitka Planners Reject Courthouse Proposal

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

Friday, November 6

Today's top stories

Superstition Is Theme for Radio Adventure Hour

Sitka Community Theater troupe members rehearse one of four radio plays Wednesday night at the Performing Arts Center. The short radio theater plays with live sound effects will be presented live 7 p.m. Friday. This year's theme is "Very Superstitious," in recognition of Friday the 13th.
"There are cats. There is a sprinkler sound." "We have organ sounds, creaky doors, and of course, a villain mask being pulled off." "It's metal, glass, and wet." Writers, directors and actors searched for words to describe the auditory...

By ANNA LAFFREY
Sentinel Staff Writer

2 hours ago

Online Voting Doubles STA Election Turnout

Four candidates won seats on the Sitka Tribe of Alaska Tribal Council in an election that drew a record number of voters, with the introduction of online voting helping boost participation. Daas.óox Rachel Kay Moreno led the field with 204 votes,...

By ANNA LAFFREY
Sentinel Staff Writer

2 hours ago
Incoming municipal administrator Gerrie Cotter is pictured this afternoon in the administrator's office at city hall.

Assembly Advances Childcare Tax Vote

With little debate, the Assembly voted Tuesday night in favor of having a special city election Feb. 2 on the question of increasing the summertime 6 percent sales tax to 6.5 percent, with the increase to subsidize childcare in Sitka. There were...

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

2 hours ago

Staff Reorganization On Assembly Agenda

The Assembly on Tuesday will consider setting a special election on a ballot question that, if passed, would increase the seasonal sales tax by a half-percent to help stabilize child care in Sitka. The ordinance calling a special election for...

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

3 days ago
Sitka Tribe of Alaska Chair Yeidikook'áa, Dionne Brady-Howard, second from left, speaks during the government-to-government meeting between the tribe and the Sitka Assembly Monday night at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Pictured are, from left, Kevin Mosher, Brady-Howard, Scott Saline, Martha Moses, JJ Carlson and Gerrie Cotter.

City, STA Share Views at Dinner Discussion

The city and Sitka Tribe of Alaska elected officials shared information with each other, and asked for help on a few items, at the semi-annual dinner Monday at Centennial Hall. Topics included updates on work that overlaps between the two...

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

3 days ago
Amos Philemonoff, a traditional foods assistant for the Sitka Tribe of Alaska, holds a rack of moose ribs while processing two illegally-harvested moose in STA's commercial kitchen at 4608 HPR. Philemonoff, of St. Paul, is a graduate of Mt. Edgecumbe High School.

Sub-legal Moose Boon for STA Traditional Foods

Two Kuiu Isand moose are tucked away in Sitka freezers after state wildlife troopers carried them from Petersburg to Sitka last month for Sitka Tribe of Alaska's traditional foods program. Eight to ten Sitkans -- including Resource Protection...

By ANNA LAFFREY
Sentinel Staff Writer

3 days ago
Sports

SHS Wrestlers Top Braves at Dual Meet

Sitka High Wolves wrested a dual meet win from Mt. Edgecumbe High School on Tuesday at Sitka High, finishing on top as a team, 45-36 over the visiting Braves. Sitka sophomore Peyton Bergman won both her matches over Mt. Edgecumbe competitors. At...

By ANNA LAFFREY
Sentinel Staff Writer

2 hours ago
Sitka sophomore Addie Marx (7) watches as her spike goes between Mt. Edgecumbe junior Kasia Barnes (6, from Koliganek) and senior Marliee Chris (16, from Big Lake) in the Alaska Airlines Region V 3A Championship game in Juneau's George Houston Gymnasium, Friday, Nov. 6, 2026.

Sitka Volleyball Readies For State Championship

Just after taking home the Region V title, Sitka High volleyball players jump back into action again this afternoon, playing the best teams in the state. “I’m just excited to play more,” said Wolves senior Bristol Clifton. The sixth-seed Wolves...

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

2 hours ago
FOR THE RECORD - Sitka High's speedy 400 free relay hold up their medals after their win Saturday at the state swimming champions, where the Wolves boys team placed second overall and set a new school record at 3:10.93. They are, from left, Corin Colliver, Zach Martens, Ben Lihou and Tommy McCarthy.

For The Record

FOR THE RECORD - Sitka High's speedy 400 free relay hold up their medals after their win Saturday at the state swimming champions, where the Wolves boys team placed second overall and set a new school record at 3:10.93. They are, from left, Corin...
2 hours ago
Women’s Pistol League award winners from left are Sadie Maher, second place in the Optical Sights Division; Elise Shepard, second, Open Sights Division; Jasmine Bak, first, Open Sights Division; Bella Schmidt, third, Open Sights Division; and Nova Schmidt, Most Improved Shooter. Not pictured are Laura Ramp, first, Optical Sights Division; and Jeren Schmidt, third, Optical Sights Division.

Women’s Pistol League Event Winners Told

Sitka Sportsman’s Association recently finished its 12th annual Women’s Pistol League event. Sixteen women competed in two divisions, Open Sights and Optical Sights. Winners were determined by averaging each shooter’s top 10 scores. In the...
By Sentinel Staff
2 hours ago

Sports Calendar: 11/12/26

Today, Nov. 12 1:30 p.m. Sitka High girls take on Monroe in the first round of the 2026 ASAA 3A Volleyball State Championships @ the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage Friday, Nov. 13 Sitka High wrestlers compete @ Palmer Drama, Debate and...
2 hours ago
Community News

Sitkans Step Out Saturday To Show They Can Dance

NOEMI NEJEDLA
Special to the Sentinel
2 hours ago

Sitka Studio of Dance will showcase 17 performances in its fall show “Sitkans Can Dance” at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Sitka Performing Arts Center “We’re just really excited to have all the community come on stage to share with their friends and...

Death Notices
2 hours ago
Tlingit Culture Holds Solutions To Changing Climate
IRIS SEGAL
Special to the Sentinel
3 days ago
Police blotter

Police Blotter
November 12, 2026

Sitka Police Department logged the following calls Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday, November 10 A vehicle left parked near Sitka High was tagged as abandoned. An issue arose on Price Street over property lines. Those involved were advised of...

2 hours ago
Obituaries
Dave Turcott Dies at 81; Memorial to Be Nov. 8
Long-time Sitka resident Dave Turcott passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of August 29, 2026, at the age of 81. Although he had been diagnosed with cancer and was in treatment, he was responding well and had a good prognosis....
Thursday, November 5
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...
Monday, November 2
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
Alaska News

In Alaska’s legislative elections, a handful of races remain undecided nail-biters

In the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, candidates in two different Alaska House of Representatives elections are separated by five votes, according to preliminary, partial ranked choice runoff data published by the Alaska Division of Elections on Wednesday night. The winners of those two races are not expected to change the balance of power in the Alaska House, […]
By James Brooks
4 hours ago

Weeks before Alaska gets a new governor, its economic development arm goes on a spending spree

A $25 million investment in a nuclear energy startup. Another $36 million for a controversial mining road. And up to $75 million for a new state-owned company promoting broadband. Those are among the multi-million-dollar decisions that GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s appointees and state officials have made as part of a spending blitz by Alaska’s economic development […]
By Max Graham, Anchorage Press
6 hours ago

Alaska education funding task force seeks input on plans to boost schools

After a nearly 18-month investigation, a joint legislative task force on education funding seeks not only to boost state spending on schools but to change the way Alaska allocates funding to support its troubled K-12 education system. Among the key recommendations in the draft report released Monday is the finding that annual education spending should […]
By Corinne Smith
11 hours ago
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Sitka Yesterday
November 12, 2026

20 YEARS AGO

November 2006 

The Greater Sitka Arts Council will host a reception for and a reading by newly installed state writer laureate John Straley at Kettleson Memorial Library. Straley, a Sitka writer and poet, will present both new and previously published works.

50 YEARS AGO

November 1976

The Sitka City and Borough Assembly affirmed Tuesday night a contract to provide municipally-generated electrical power to the Coast Guard Air Station on Japonski Island. The contract calls for power delivered at the prevailing rate for other volume users.

2 hours ago
From the Associated Press
National news
Mississippi Democratic Senate candidate Scott Colom speaks at an election event in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

The Latest: Mississippi elects Scott Colom as state’s first Black US senator since Reconstruction

Democratic nominee Scott Colom has defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s closely contested U.S. Senate race after a prolonged ballot-counting process, giving the state its …
By The Associated Press
3 hours ago
This image released by Heritage Auctions shows a lightsaber used by the character Darth Vader in the film "The Empire Strikes Back." (Heritage Auctions via AP)

Darth Vader's light saber used in ‘I am your father’ duel sells for nearly $5 million

A light saber used by Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” movies “The Empire Strikes Back” and ”Return of the Jedi” sold Thursday for nearly $5 million in an auction. Heritage Auctions said …
Associated Press
3 hours ago
About 250 firefighters and emergency personnel responded to the scene at 1321 Flatbush Avenue, using power tools, drones and search dogs to look for survivors. At least 17 people were hospitalized, including four in critical condition, officials said. The cause of the collapse remains under investigation.

Death toll rises to 8 in Brooklyn building collapse as rescuers dig through rubble

At least eight people have died after a three-story building in Brooklyn collapsed at the edge of a construction site. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the death toll Thursday morning as …
By YUKI IWAMURA
3 hours ago
A view of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge after a cargo ship struck the bridge, in Philadelphia, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Cargo ship strikes bridge between New Jersey and Philadelphia, causing traffic backup

A cargo ship has struck a bridge between Palmyra, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, according to a Pennsylvania lawmaker. The collision left the 3,659-foot-long Tacony-Palmyra Bridge across the Delaware …
By TASSANEE VEJPONSA and CHRIS SZAGOLA
3 hours ago
International

Canada threatens to sue Stellantis over auto plant sale as Trump’s trade war shifts production south

Canada threatened to sue automaker Stellantis and recover hundreds of millions of dollars in government funding after the company shifted planned vehicle production to the United States during U.S. …
3 hours ago
U.S. envoy Jared Kushner speaks at a briefing during U.S.-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine, alongside U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, left, and Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, second from right, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

US envoys in Moscow for meeting with Putin following talks in Abu Dhabi

Envoys for U.S. President Donald Trump have arrived in Moscow to discuss U.S.-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine. Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff attended negotiations in Abu Dhabi which ended …
By HARRIET MORRIS
3 hours ago

US officer accused of Russian spying is set to be charged in UK, official says

An American Army officer who was arrested in the United Kingdom on suspicion of spying for Russia had not handed over any information to Moscow and he's expected to be charged in Britain in the …
By EMMA BURROWS and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN
4 hours ago
Netherland's Prime Minister Rob Jetten speaks with the media as he arrives for the EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Dutch prime minister concedes his coalition needs 'serious fresh start' after anger at tax deal

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten concedes that his struggling three-party minority coalition needs a “serious fresh start.” This comes after a tax plan deal angered a coalition partner. Jetten's …
By MIKE CORDER
5 hours ago