(Rashah McChesney/Chilkat Valley News) Joe Parnell, candidate for Haines Borough planning commission on Monday, September 15, 2025, in Haines, Alaska.

Joe Parnell is a lot of things: a world traveler, a writer who has covered everything from dream interpretation to sports, a state pickleball champion, a felt artist – and he’s also a longtime Haines resident who desperately wants to see the town improve its image. 

This is Parnell’s second year running for planning commission…

Rashah McChesney is a multimedia journalist and editor who has reported and edited newsrooms from the Deep South to the Midwest to Alaska. For the past decade, she has worked in collaborative news as the...