Deadly Backcountry Accident Likely Caused By Cornice Failure
A few new details have emerged in the backcountry skiing accident that caused the death of one person and injured two others over the weekend near Haines. Alaska State Troopers were in Haines on...
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Haines Breaks Ground On Veterans Home
Sketch of Veterans home. Photo courtesy Soboleff-McRae Veterans Village Sarah McRae, widow to CSM Howard McRae, breaks ground at the new Soboleff-McRae Veterans Village in Haines Saturday. Photo by...
View ArticleMan Arrested In Haines In Connection To Utah Cold-Case Murder
A man accused in a cold-case Utah murder was arrested in Haines on Wednesday. Haines police and Alaska State Troopers assisted Ogden, Utah police in apprehending Stephen Ellenwood after he eluded law...
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Renowned Tlingit Carvings To Be Publicly Displayed
Photo courtesy of the Alaska State Library – Historical Collections. A Tlingit clan has decided that a collection of renowned carvings will be publicly displayed in the village. The decision will...
View Article9 Rescued After Boat Runs Aground Near Auke Bay
Nine passengers were rescued from a boat that ran aground near Juneau on Monday evening. The 36-foot motor vessel Islander ran aground at Shelter Island just outside Auke Bay. Coast Guard Petty Officer...
View ArticleChilkoot Watershed Closed To Sockeye Sport Fishing
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game issued an emergency order Monday, closing the Chilkoot watershed near Haines to sockeye sport fishing because of low escapements. Download Audio The post Chilkoot...
View ArticleCruise Ship Fails Surprise Health Inspection In Skagway
A cruise ship that failed a surprise health inspection while in Alaskan waters is making national news after it was discovered food was being stored in unsanitary conditions. The Centers for Disease...
View ArticleSkagway Sees Abundance Of Kings
An abundance of King salmon is not a phrase heard very often in Alaska this season, but abundance is exactly what the small Southeast community of Skagway has this summer at the mouth of a little pond...
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AK: Home Grown Garlic
Photo by John Hagen. The Chilkat Valley near Haines in Southeast is known as the Valley of the Eagles. But some residents are trying to bring the valley back to its roots, literally. Agriculture is...
View ArticleHaines Highway Progress Slows
The Haines Highway is a stretch of road north of Haines to the Canadian border and toward Alaska’s Interior. The two-lane road follows a prolific salmon river, travels through the Alaska Chilkat Bald...
View ArticleHaines Voters Opt To Change Boroughs Charter Preamble, Bill of Rights
Three write-in campaigns slowed the ballot counting in the Haines Borough on Tuesday. But when results did come in, just after midnight, it was clear Haines voters do not support so called...
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Sunken Tender Neptune Closes Haines Harbor
That state and Coast Guard are responding to a sunken vessel in the Haines Harbor and fuel leaking from the boat is hampering the commercial gillnet fleet that homeports in the harbor. The 76-foot...
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Haines Harbor Reopens As Cleanup Efforts Continue
Fuel from a sunken vessel in the Haines Small Boat Harbor has been contained, although it could still be several days until clean-up is complete and the boat is salvaged. Download Audio The 76-foot...
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Salvage Efforts Continue For Sunken Tender In Haines
A salvage operation and clean-up efforts are still underway in Haines, where a 78-foot tender sank last weekend in the boat harbor. Download Audio The tender Neptune is being raised from the bottom of...
View ArticleHaines Hunting Guide Sentenced After International Investigation
A multi-year, international investigation into illegal bear and goat hunts has resulted in the sentencing of a longtime big game guide from Haines. Seventy-two-year-old Ronald Martin pled guilty and...
View ArticleSkagway Residents Concerned About Short-Staffed Postal Service
Rural Alaska communities rely on mail service more than most. For many, it is a source of not just communication, but a supply line for things like medication and other necessities. That’s why Skagway...
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Former Haines Rep. Thomas Files To Run For State Office In 2014
Former Haines Representative Bill Thomas has filed a letter of intent to run for state office in 2014. Thomas filed late Friday. He did not indicate which office he will seek, but he is eligible to run...
View ArticleJustice Department Files Charges Against Heli-ski Company
The Department of Justice last week filed criminal charges against a Haines heli-skiing company for repeatedly operating tours on federal land without a permit. The violations came to light because of...
View ArticleAK: Connecting
Rural Alaska communities are not known for having good internet connections, cell phone reception or, really, many good ways of connecting to people and programs outside their area. But rural public...
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Glacier Bay Landslide Excites Scientists
Photo courtesy of Drake Olson. A massive landslide in Glacier Bay National Park more than a week ago is exciting scientists around the world for the way it was the detected, the images of the slide and...
View ArticleGuide Critically Injured In Avalanche Near Haines
A heliskiing guide was critically injured in an avalanche near Haines over the weekend, the third avalanche in as many years to injure or kill extreme mountain skiers in the area. Download Audio Alaska...
View ArticleHeliskiing Guide Caught In Haines Avalanche Dies
A heliski guide caught in an avalanche over the weekend near Haines died late Monday according to a statement posted online by his family. Aaron Karitis was guiding a group of skiers with Haines...
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AK: Puppet Town
(Photo by John S. Hagen) Haines seems like a quintessential Southeast Alaska town. There are eagles, bears, salmon, big mountains and rough water. It’s a picture-book no stoplight, no movie theater,...
View ArticleHaines Residents Pursue Railroad Link
Some residents in Haines are pursing the dream of a railroad that may one day link the community to Interior Alaska, Yukon mines and to a future port facility. The state and other stakeholders aren’t...
View ArticleFerry Workers Considering Strike If Contract Negotiations Don’t Move Forward
Contract talks between the state and Alaska’s ferry workers are heating up as each side disagrees on how to make up the gap between revenues and the cost of operating the ferry system. Workers are now...
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Crews Work To Refloat Sunken Skagway Ferry Dock
The community of Skagway in northern Southeast remains cut off from ferry service as the state works to figure out why the dock sank late last week. Download Audio The state Department of...
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Skagway Ferry Dock Is Floating Again
Western Marine Construction began working early Tuesday to refloat the dock. (Photo courtesy Jeremy Stephens, Alaska DOT&PF) The Skagway ferry dock is floating again after a contractor hired by the...
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Burst Water Pipe Likely Cause For Skagway Ferry Dock Sinking
Western Marine Construction began working early Tuesday to refloat the dock. (Photo courtesy Jeremy Stephens, Alaska DOT&PF)State transportation officials agree that a burst water pipe likely...
View ArticleSkagway Ferry Service Will Resume Sunday
State ferry service to Skagway resumes on Sunday. Alaska Marine Highway ferries have not been running to Skagway since the ferry dock there sank on April 24th. The state was able to contract with a...
View ArticleSkagway Man In Custody After Slashing Police Car Tires
A Skagway man is in custody after allegedly on a vandalism spree and slashing the tires of most of the squad vehicles on the town’s police force and setting a police dispatcher’s car on fire....
View ArticleFerry Workers Approve Strike Authorization
Download Audio Alaska Marine Highway workers approved a strike authorization this week, meaning the Inlandboatmen’s Union could call for workers to strike within the next month if the union and state...
View ArticleState Hires Ferry Security Officer With Questionable Past
A former Haines Police officer with a questionable work history was recently hired by the state for a high level security position, but the state is not releasing much information about the hiring...
View ArticleFormer Haines Police Dispatcher Speaks Out On Alleged Harasser
Governor Sean Parnell wants the hiring process for state employees examined after it was revealed a former police officer hired with the ferry system has a checkered past. Several people who talked...
View ArticleLegislation Opens Doors For Medevac Providers
A piece of state legislation passed this spring opened the door for more competition among medevac providers in the state, and one company has taken advantage of that opportunity. Download Audio The...
View ArticleTourist Train Derails in Skagway; Injuries Minor
A tourist train derailed Wednesday afternoon north of Skagway and initial reports stated some passengers received minor injuries. The White Pass Yukon Railroad runs scenic train tours between Skagway...
View ArticleInvestigation Continues Into Tourist Train Derailment
An investigation continues into what caused a tourist train to derail along a mountain pass north of Skagway yesterday, injuring 19 passengers. Download Audio The post Investigation Continues Into...
View ArticleEarthquake Rattles Southeast Alaska, Likely Damaging Communications Network
Mother Nature rattled Northern Southeast this morning with and magnitude 5.9 earthquake and several dozen aftershocks. The quake appeared to have damaged internet and cell service to thousands of...
View ArticleCharges Filed In Haines Bear Shootings
Charges were filed against two Haines men for the shooting brown bears recently in cases that highlight the challenges of bear and humans coexisting. Download Audio: Forty-eight-year-old Kevin Shove is...
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Haines Songwriter Dreams Big, Courts Her Inspiration’s Ear
It’s hard not to dream big among the tall mountains and wild sea in Southeast Alaska – especially in Haines where Christy Tengs serves dreamers and misfits alike in her family’s downtown institution,...
View Article25-Year-Old Rescued After Fishing Boat Sinks
One man is reported safe after his fishing boat sank in Lynn Canal on Sunday night. Twenty-five-year-old Woody Paul of Haines was rescued by another fishing boat in William Henry Bay north of Juneau...
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Fishermen Debate Merits of Possible Southeast Mine
The Klehini River valley near the Palmer Project north of Haines. (Photo by John S. Hagen) A Canadian company is exploring copper and zinc deposits at the Palmer Project site north of Haines. It’s not...
View ArticleAlaska Power Company Customers Will See 11 Percent Rate Hike
Thousands of rural Alaskans will see their power bills go up after the first of the year. That’s because the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, or RCA, approved an 11 percent rate increase last week for...
View ArticleAlaska Marine Highway Prices To Rise Next Summer
It will cost passengers more to ride the state ferry starting in the summer. That’s when fares for most Alaska Marine Highway will increase by 4.5 percent. Download Audio According to the Department of...
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AK: Puppet Town (Archive)
(Photo by John S. Hagen) Haines seems like a quintessential Southeast Alaska town. There are eagles, bears, salmon, big mountains and rough water. It’s a picture-book no stoplight, no movie theater,...
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Heavy Rains Prompt Landslide Warning
While it’s raining in most of Southeast today, there’s another large, warm and wet weather system just offshore, waiting to plow into the region. It’s expected to bring heavy rainfall and high winds...
View ArticleHigh Winds, Low Temperatures Cut Through Southeast Alaska
A strong and freezing cold wind cut through Haines and Skagway on Thursday and Friday. Gusts reached up to 100 miles per hour. And with temperatures in the single digits, the wind chill was at least 20...
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Tlingit Masks On ‘Antiques Roadshow’ Draw Questions From Southeast Alaska
Appraiser Tim Trotta with the unidentified owner of the masks. (PBS Antiques Roadshow image.) A recent episode of the popular PBS show “Antiques Roadshow” caught the attention of some Southeast...
View ArticleSkier Injured in Avalanche Near Haines
Download Audio A skier who was testing snow conditions near Haines for an international ski competition was injured in an avalanche Wednesday morning, according to state troopers. Scott Sundberg of...
View ArticleHaines wants to waive dock fees to lure more cruise ships. But will it work?
Haines has the lowest cruise ship docking fee of any Southeast port. The Haines Borough thinks waiving that fee could lure even more ships here. Economists say it’s hard to know if that strategy will...
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State Shutdown Could Mean ‘Conservative’ Fishing Season
Boats docked at Haines small boat harbor. (Emily Files) With a partial government shutdown looming, state agencies are making plans for what services might be reduced without a budget deal by July 1....
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