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Most read stories

Missing Boater Found Dead

By Sentinel Staff
5 days ago

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

4 days ago

Stratton Courthouse Hearing Set for Nov. 4

By SHANNON HAUGLAND and ANNA LAFFREY Sentinel Staff

4 days ago

Hyperphagia

Monday, October 26

Sample Ballot Viewable Ahead of Nov.3 Election

From the Editor
Yesterday at 8:27 PM

Today's top stories

FBI Visits Sitka Home In Senate Race Probe

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.
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
Randy Ferguson and Susan Brandt-Ferguson arrive at Harrigan Centennial Hall for the 2024 Stardust Ball dressed as green and red buoys. This year's ball takes place Saturday.

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

The day of the annual Stardust Ball on Saturday, you’re apt to run into someone putting the finishing touches on a Sitka-theme get-up for the costume contest. Or just as likely combing thrift stores for inspiration hours before doors...

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

4 days ago
The Stratton Library building on the SJ campus is pictured today. The Sitka Planning Commission is set to consider a conditional use permit to allow use of the building as a courthouse.

Stratton Courthouse Hearing Set for Nov. 4

Sitka Planning Commission on Wednesday will consider a conditional use permit to convert the first floor of the Stratton Library into a new courthouse for Sitka. The property is the Residential-2 zone which requires a conditional use permit for...

By SHANNON HAUGLAND and ANNA LAFFREY Sentinel Staff

4 days ago
Sports

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

Wrestlers Hit the Mats in Anchorage

Sitka High Wolves boys landed in 11th place and Mt. Edgecumbe High School Braves boys were 15th among the 44 Alaska teams grappling in the Mountain City Christian Academy Rich Hofacker Wrestling Invitational in Anchorage on Friday and...

By SHANNON HAUGLAND and ANNA LAFFREY Sentinel Staff

Yesterday at 8:32 PM
The Braves get pointers from coach Deedee Creed at practice on Tuesday.

MEHS Braves Reflect on Tourney Play in Juneau

Sitka High and Mt. Edgecumbe High School wrestlers got their first taste of tournament competition this season at the Southeast Showdown in Juneau over the weekend, where the Wolves and Braves came away with several strong finishes and an early...

By ANNA LAFFREY
Sentinel Staff Writer

4 days ago

Sports Calendar: 10/30/26

Today, Oct. 27 Sitka High and Mt. Edgecumbe High School musicians participate in Honor Music Festival @ Haines Friday, Oct. 30 5:15 p.m. SHS Swim & Dive competes in ASAA Region V Championship preliminaries @ Dimond Park Aquatic Center in...
4 days ago
Sitka High School's Tommy McCarthy swims the boys' 100-yard freestyle during the Juneau Invitational at the Dimond Park Aquatic Center on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026.

SHS Wolves Swimmers Prepare for Regionals

The tapering may continue, but Southeast Alaska’s high school swim and dive athletes will be striving to post top state qualifying times at the Dimond Park Aquatic Center. Sitka High Wolves swimmers are traveling for the region meet hosted by the...
By KLAS STOLPE
Juneau Independent
5 days ago
Community News
Police blotter

Police Blotter
November 2, 2026

Police Blotter Sitka Police Department logged the following calls over the weekend. A laundry machine was damaged at Sitka Laundry. Police have a case on the incident. A dog running at large in the 800 block of Lake St. was returned to its...

Yesterday at 7:54 PM
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...
5 days 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...
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

Alaska North Slope crude oil records fifth-highest monthly average price in history

The average price of a barrel of Alaska North Slope crude oil in October was $122.21, according to figures published Monday by the Alaska Department of Revenue. That figure is the fifth-highest nominal average on record, according to the department’s regular tracking, and foretells millions of dollars in extra revenue for the state in the […]
By James Brooks
3 hours ago
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks during a rally at Ginger's Restaurant, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Soldotna, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Voters to decide Alaska Senate race roiled in final days by litigation, allegations of dirty tricks

Alaskans are deciding one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races in the country. Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan is seeking to fend off a challenge from Democratic former congresswoman Mary …
By BECKY BOHRER
12 hours ago

Commentary: Alaska fishers need clean energy solutions to lower fuel costs

I have fished out of Sitka, Alaska, for more than 40 years. I know the challenge of running a business where every cost increase is a risk to my bottom line. This past summer, the rapidly escalating cost of fuel added stress to an increasingly unpredictable business. For a fisherman, fuel is not optional. It […]
By Linda Behnken
Yesterday at 10:21 PM
Find us on Facebook

Sitka Yesterday
November 2, 2026

20 YEARS AGO

November 2006 

Dirk White has been named the 2006 Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year by the National Community Pharmacists Association. ‘‘You think you’re doing just a normal job, and even still, how did someone find us up here in Alaska?’’ White said in an interview.

50 YEARS AGO

November 1976

In a mock election Monday, Blatchley students voted Gerald Ford over Jimmy Carter for president; Don Young over Hopson for U.S. House; Pete Meland over Oines for state senator; and Dick Eliason over Dapcevich for state House. (Editor’s Note: Jimmy Carter was elected president; Don Young U.S. Congressman; Pete Meland state Senator; and Dick Eliason state Representative. Also approved was Limited Entry.)

Yesterday at 7:54 PM
From the Associated Press
National news
A woman holds a sign calling for the killing of U.S. President Donald Trump and a poster depicting, from left, Iran's supreme leaders Ruhollah Khomeini, Ali Khamenei and Mojtaba Khamenei during an anti-U.S. gathering beneath a billboard depicting Trump in central Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran's chief negotiator says the US must act to prevent renewed war, and other Mideast news

Iran’s chief negotiator says it's up to the United States to prevent renewed war after Tehran's “firm and rational response.” Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf made these comments after the U.S. …
The Associated Press
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
A volunteer places a "Vote Here" sign at the Brooklyn Museum in New York on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Photos of Americans voting on midterm Election Day

Americans head to the polls Tuesday in midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Democrats are seeking to win the House and Senate, which would give them greater power to challenge …
By The Associated Press
3 hours ago
Aleksandar Vucic, leader of the right-wing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) leaves after casting his vote in a parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Detentions, resignations, probes shake Serbia after students toppled strongman Vucic in election

Detentions, resignations, switching of sides, attempts to destroy evidence of wrongdoing. News has been coming in at such a pace in the wake of former Serbian strongman Aleksandar Vucic’s electoral …
By JOVANA GEC
4 hours ago
International
Demonstrators speak to police officers during a protest in front of the Polish Constitutional Court in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)

What to know about the crisis around Poland's Constitutional Tribunal

Judges at Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal are meeting to decide its future after the court president was suspended in a dispute with the government. Protesters have gathered outside the court in …
By CLAUDIA CIOBANU
3 hours ago
FILE - Asia Football Confederation President Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, left, poses with FIFA President Gianni Infantino during an inauguration ceremony for the new building of the Asia Football Confederation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)

Asian Football Confederation postpones the 2027 Asian Cup because of conflict in the Middle East

The Asian Football Confederation has postponed the 2027 Asian Cup by almost a year because of the conflict in the Middle East and recent deadly attacks on Saudi Arabia by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in …
3 hours ago
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit in Turkmenbasy, Turkmenistan, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (Sergei Bobylev/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Belarus hosts trans-Atlantic security group's chief, part of efforts to improve ties with the West

The chief of a top trans-Atlantic security grouping has visited Belarus for the first time in years. The country’s authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has sought to normalize ties with the …
By YURAS KARMANAU
3 hours ago
The headquarters of Ueno bank, a major digital lender, stands in Asuncion, Paraguay, after the nation's Central Bank seized it due to its solvency ratio, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Paraguay seizes major digital bank tied to president, leaving millions of customers in limbo

Paraguay’s central bank has seized a major digital bank with ties to President Santiago Peña. The takeover Tuesday came after regulators found Ueno’s financial cushion against losses had fallen …
3 hours ago