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Keystone Kops

Alaska State Trooper Bryce Schwartz shakes hands with Laurie Nesheim as this year's contingent of Keystone Kops look on in front of the Prospector statue Sunday morning. Trooper Schwartz swore-in the group of merrymakers who officially kick off the Alaska Day Festival. The Keystone Kop volunteers have been a part of the festival ever since the celebration began in the 1950s. A schedule of events is published on page of today's Sentinel.
KEYSTONE KOPS - Alaska State Trooper Bryce Schwartz shakes hands with Laurie Nesheim as this year's contingent of Keystone Kops look on in front of the Prospector statue in front of the Pioneer Home, Sunday morning. Trooper Schwartz swore-in the...
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Today's top stories

Police Chief Hall Warns of Fentanyl Danger

Sitka police today show evidence gathered at a recent drug bust.
As law enforcement agencies across Alaska coordinate to combat the state's ongoing fentanyl crisis, Sitka Police Chief Mike Hall said that the crisis exists at a local level. Sitka police last week arrested three people for carrying suspected...
Left, Kevin Mosher, JJ Carlson, Sherri Blankenship and Darrell Windsor recite their oaths of office as newly elected city officials during Tuesday’s Assembly meeting. Mosher was sworn in as Sitka’s new mayor. Carlson and Blankenship won their seats in the municipal election, while Windsor was appointed by the Assembly to fill the seat vacated by Mosher.

New Assembly Picks Windsor for Open Seat

Sitka’s newly elected mayor Kevin Mosher, Assembly incumbent JJ Carlson and newly elected Assembly member Sherri Blankenship were sworn into office at Tuesday’s regular meeting. The swearing in by City Clerk Sara Peterson followed the...
Ashley Eisenbeisz, front, plays R.C. and Kelly McElligott plays Agnus White in the psychological thriller "Bug." The play opens 7 p.m. Thursday in Odess Theater and runs through Saturday.

'Bug' Brings Suspense to Sitka Stage

Audiences coming to the psychological thriller BUG, opening Thursday, will see something  “a Sitka audience has not really seen,” director Rach Roach said. “The show is meant to be unsettling,” Roach said Tuesday, before a dress rehearsal....
Mt. Edgecumbe High School student Annmarie Sakar performs with fellow members of the Yup'ik Dancers Monday night during the Sheet'ka Indigenous Peoples Day celebration at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Outer Coast students and faculty organized the event that included a fish and fry bread dinner as well as dance performances by Tlingit dance groups and Mt. Edgecumbe High School Native dance groups. More than two-hundred people turned out for the four-hour-long event.

Indigenous Peoples Day

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY - Mt. Edgecumbe High School student Annmarie Sakar performs with fellow members of the Yup'ik Dancers Monday night during the Sheet'ka Indigenous Peoples Day celebration at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Outer Coast students and...
Sally Stockhausen, chair of the State Board of Education & Early Development, gets a tour of the Mt. Edgecumbe High School campus this morning from Korben Hollenbeck, at front, Lorne Foruria, at right, and Rylan Clark-Pruitt, in back.

Education Board Visits, Takes Up MEHS Issues

Alaska State Board of Education members are in Sitka for a regular meeting today and Wednesday at Mt. Edgecumbe High School, with a number of business items focused on operations at MEHS. State Education Commissioner Deena Bishop and Deputy...

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Community news
Open House At Fire Department
Sitka Fire Department will host an Alaska Day open house 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17. The Seattle Bagpipers will drop by to perform.
Trick-or-Treat Event by STA
Sitka Tribe of Alaska will hold a post trick-or-treating event 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Oct. 31 at the Sheet'ka Kwaan Naa Kahídi. Snacks and warm beverages will be provided. The free substance-free event is open to all families and community members....
Alaska Pioneers Meet Postponed
The regular October meeting of the Sitka Pioneers of Alaska has been postponed until later in the month. The organization said the exact day, location and time will be announced in the near future. Question can be answered by contacting President...
ANS to Meet On October 17
Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp 4 will hold a regular business meeting 12:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at the ANB Founders Hall. On the agenda are the Grand Camp report, election and installation of officers, and other business. New members of all genders are...
Auction Being Held Online for SEDA
Sitka Economic Development Association has an online auction now through 5 p.m. Oct. 18 for a six- to eight-night Royal Caribbean cruise for two in an ocean-view state-room. The winner will be announced at Brewfest. Details and the links are at...
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...
City Utility Payment Counter Closure Set
The city utility and payment office, located on the first floor of City Hall,  will be closed Friday, Oct. 23. It will reopen on Monday, Oct. 26, with regular business hours beginning at 9 a.m. During the closure, customers may make utility...
Community Calendar
October 13-15, 2026
TUESDAY 6-8 a.m. MEHS Aquatic Center Pool Open  Noon AA, St. Peter’s basement, call AA hotline 747-8866 for information  Noon Rotary Club, UAS-Sitka Campus Room 230 1:30 p.m. Free Strong & Steady senior exercise class, Swan Lake...
Unitarians Gather
"The Call for a New Economy" will be the topic of Sunday’s meeting of the Sitka Unitarian Fellowship.  The discussion will follow the showing of the video "Closer to Home – Voices of Hope in a Time of Crisis." Gathering is at 10:30 a.m....
Sitka Chamber Sets Fall Speaker Series
The Sitka Chamber of Commerce Fall Speakers Series speaker Oct. 21 will be Monique Anderson. Anderson will tell about the master plan for Sitka’s Parks and Recreation. Other members of the foundation will speak, and invite conversation with...

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Police blotter

Police Blotter
October 14, 2026

Police Blotter Sitka Police Department logged the following calls Tuesday. A protective services report was received, and assigned to an officer to follow up. A welfare check was requested after a photographer for school photos failed to show...

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Obituaries
 Former Sitkan Mackenzie Clarke Dies in Seattle
The family of Mackenzie Augustus Clarke, 37, with profound sadness writes that he died unexpectedly on September 16 in Seattle. The former Sitkan, a Sitka High graduate, was the beloved son of David and Raine Clarke, brother of Kelsie and Zachary...
Wrangell Teacher, Coach Phil Wayne Dies in Sitka
Phillip I. Wayne passed away peacefully at his home in Sitka on Monday, September 27, at the age of 89. Phil’s arrival on February 7, 1937, in Corbin, Kentucky, was prominently featured in the Corbin Times as the first Caesarean birth in Laurel...
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,...

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Sports

Huge Mt. Edgecumbe Braves Team Ready to Start New Season

A roster of 90 Mt. Edgecumbe High School students -- 49 girls and 41 boys -- is the largest that the Braves wrestling program has seen in at least five years, coaches Deedee Creed and Aaron Routon said during a regular practice on Thursday.
Mt. Edgecumbe High School wrestlers are starting the season with a large squad of newcomers and returners who represent about a quarter of the student body, and are leaning on each other to build a competitive squad by the end of the...

City League Basketball Update

The 2026 City League basketball season continued Monday night at the Blatchley Middle School gymnasium, with Tlingit Hustlers defeating Ludvig’s Layups 44-31. Sunday’s games saw Vangreens beat Ludvig’s Layups 69-54, with Marjo Vidad scoring a...

Sports Calendar: 10/13/26

Volunteer judges are needed for the Drama, Debate and Forensics tournament at Sitka High, Oct. 16 and Oct. 17. Contact christian.litten@gmail.com Tuesday, Oct. 13 Si Wednesday, Oct. 14 9 Thursday, Oct. 15 1 p Friday, Oct. 16 Sitka High and...

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Sitka Yesterday
October 14, 2026

20 YEARS AGO

October 2006 

John Straley, the new Alaska State Writer Laureate, can point to a person who inspired him most in his work. His eighth-grade English teacher encouraged Straley to read his first story aloud to his class. Although Straley had struggled with dyslexia, he found he could read his material aloud. “People enjoyed it, people laughed,” Straley said.

50 YEARS AGO

October 1976

The two incumbents in Tuesday’s municipal election, Earl Richards and Norm Wilson, were the top vote getters in their respective races for Assembly and School Board. ... The $125,000 Sitka High art facility bond issue passed 721 to 455.

Read previous Sitka Yesterdays

Around Alaska

At Alaska rally, Trump endorses Wilson and seeks to boost Sullivan and Begich

In a surprise announcement Tuesday, President Donald Trump said he is endorsing Republican Alaska gubernatorial candidate Bernadette Wilson in the four-way race to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Polls indicate Wilson and two other Republicans — Dave Bronson and Treg Taylor — are trailing the lone Democratic candidate, Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins. In a rally at […]

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, as he speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Washington, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright applaud. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump is heading all the way to Alaska in a sign of just how close its Senate race may be

President Donald Trump is making an unusual campaign trip with the midterm elections looming. He's heading to Alaska to support Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, holding a Tuesday rally in Wasilla. The …

Trump rally puts Wasilla in national campaign spotlight

The bedroom community made famous during former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s 2008 vice presidential run took center stage on Monday in the national fight for control of Congress. President Donald Trump came to Wasilla to campaign for U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican facing a stiff challenge from former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat. […]
President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Covelli Centre, in Youngstown, Ohio, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The Latest: Trump’s diesel deal with Putin draws criticism from a frustrated Congress

Republicans and Democrats alike are criticizing President Donald Trump’s diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They're saying it's fueling Russia’s war against Ukraine and violating …

U.S. presidents in Mat-Su: A history of unlikely encounters of the Valley kind

The history is clear, especially in more modern times. If a sitting U.S. president visits Alaska, it tends to mean a quick few hours in Anchorage, with as much refueling as anything else. Donald Trump in 2019 and 2025. Joe Biden three times from 2022 to 2023. George W. Bush in 2002 and 2005. Bill […]

Alaskans should consider candidates’ records on childcare and affordability at the polls

For Alaskan voters this election, we may not have a candidate we love in every race, but we do have candidates who are much better poised to improve our lives in concrete ways. For families in Alaska, our biggest expense after our mortgage or rent is childcare. This recent article in the Beacon covers past […]

As King Cove road issue heads to federal appeals court, Peltola reiterates her support

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola reiterated her support for construction of the proposed Izembek road between Cold Bay and King Cove during a visit to King Cove this month. Peltola’s position is identical to the one held by incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, whom Peltola is challenging in the November general election. In […]

Indigenous Peoples Day event at Alaska college showcases tradition, food and fellowship

Alaska has for years designated the second Monday of October as a holiday to honor the nation’s Indigenous cultures and acknowledge the harms of colonialism instead of observing Columbus Day. In Alaska, Indigenous Peoples Day has been an official holiday since 2015. Gov. Bill Walker’s  yearly proclamations were followed by a 2017 bill passed by […]

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From the Associated Press
National news
President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at Harry Reid International Airport, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nev. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump campaigns in Arizona and Montana on 2nd day of Western swing to help boost GOP candidates

President Donald Trump’s midterm roadshow to rally the GOP is stopping in swing-state Arizona and a Republican-leaning U.S. House district in Montana. Wednesday's visits come as the Republican …
President Donald Trump arrives at Harry Reid International Airport, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nev. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The Latest: Battle lines as Republicans retreat from front-line House districts

Republicans are retreating from some battleground U.S. House races, while Democrats are racing to raise money to boost candidates who once seemed like long shots. It points to an increasingly …
Demonstrators march from the Washington Monument to the White House during a "Stop Sexual Violence" protest in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Cornell president admits he never followed up on gang rape allegation ahead of no-confidence debate

Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff acknowledged he never followed up on a student’s report of being gang raped at a fraternity house in 2024. The admission came Wednesday as faculty …
An elderly woman cleans up the mess in her damaged apartment after a missile strike during Russia's night air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

The top photos of the day by AP's photojournalists

From front page news to powerful moments you may have missed, this gallery showcases today's top photos, chosen by Associated Press photo editors.
International
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, attends a ceremony to sign a decree regulating the video game industry in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Brazil's Senate approves a shorter workweek in major win for Lula ahead of runoff

Brazil’s Senate has approved a constitutional amendment to reduce the maximum workweek from 44 to 40 hours without cutting salaries. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva supports the move, which …
Ice cream vendor Alicia Caso touches a life-size statue of Pope Leo XIV standing on display outside a church in the Barranco neighborhood of Lima, Peru, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, a month before the pope's visit to Peru. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

South Americans pray for Pope Leo’s recovery as uncertainty hangs over his visit

Catholics across South America are praying for Pope Leo XIV’s recovery from lung cancer surgery as uncertainty grows over his planned visit next month. Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori said …
Pope Leo XIV arrives at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, where doctors expect to remove a lung nodule. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo spent 'a tranquil night' in the hospital after cancer surgery, Vatican says

The Vatican says Pope Leo XIV spent a tranquil night in the Gemelli hospital following an operation to remove the lower lobe of his right lung and a confirmed cancer diagnosis. In a statement …

Residents in Saudi Arabia's capital say they have heard new explosions in Riyadh.

Residents in Saudi Arabia's capital say they have heard new explosions in Riyadh.
National Sports
FILE - Miami tight end Alex Bauman (87) looks for yards after a catch against Texas A&M defensive end Rylan Kennedy (15) during the first quarter in the first round of the College Football Playoff Dec. 20, 2025, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Craft, File)

Michigan judge rules that 2 Wolverine football players are eligible to play this season

Michigan’s football team might have some help on the way this season. A judge granted a temporary restraining order for former Miami tight end Alex Bauman and former Boise State defensive back …

NFL Injury Report

The National Football League injury report, as provided by the league. (OUT: Player will not play; DOUBTFUL: Player is unlikely to play; QUESTIONABLE: Player is not certain to play; DNP: did not …
FILE - The Chow's Gymnastics & Dance Institute is seen Aug. 4, 2025, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Scott McFetridge,File)

US coach who recorded young gymnasts undressing is sentenced to 90 years in prison

A former youth gymnastics coach has been sentenced to 90 years in prison for secretly videotaping young female students undressing and using the bathroom at a Mississippi gym. U.S. District Judge …
Entertainment
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Questions swirl about new White House press secretary's resume

The new White House press secretary is facing mounting questions about her background and resume as she transitions into her role as the public face of the Trump administration. Katie Zacharia has …

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia walks out to speak with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

From behind the podium, White House press secretaries had some memorable moments

Katie Zacharia has started as President Donald Trump's new press secretary, taking over from Karoline Leavitt. The role of White House press secretary is high-profile and involves more than just …
A customer browses for books at a bookstore in Harare, Zimbabwe, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Ufumeli)

Zimbabwe’s Caine Prize winner rejects claim he used AI to write his story

Zimbabwean author Simbarashe Kundizeza denies using AI to write his short story, "The Blue Fighter," which won the $10,000 Caine Prize for African Writing. Allegations surfaced after an AI detection …
Health
At Holy Name Cathedral in the pope's hometown of Chicago, Catholics attended a votive mass, a service which has a special intention, and prayed for Leo and his health after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. (AP video: Laura Bargfeld)

Chicago Catholics rally for prayer in Pope Leo’s hometown after his lung cancer diagnosis

Catholics in Chicago and worldwide are rallying behind Pope Leo XIV after his lung cancer diagnosis. The 71-year-old pope, born in Chicago, announced he has lung adenocarcinoma and underwent surgery …

New York City police released CCTV footage which showed the moment federal immigration officers opened fire on a Dominican man while making an arrest in New York on Thursday. ICE officials shot Oscar Belgal in the neck as he drove in a car with a 5-year-old boy Thursday afternoon, officials said.

Lawyers for NY man shot by ICE say officer fired into car without warning

Lawyers for a New York man shot and wounded by federal immigration officers while in a car with his young son say the officers never identified themselves or showed a warrant. Instead, the lawyers …

AP News Digest 12 p.m.

Here are the AP’s top stories and promotable content. All times U.S. Eastern. For up-to-the minute information on AP’s coverage, visit AP Newsroom’s Coverage Plan. …
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