As the borough’s school district warns of potential “insolvency,” higher state oil revenue has increased the likelihood of a lifeline. For years, the state’s school funding formula has stagnated, decreasing 26% in real dollars from 2011 to 2025 if adjusted for inflation. Last year, the legislature closed some of that gap by increasing the base […]
Posted inAlaska Legislature, News
Exemption bill could give borough more power
Proposed state legislation could give borough assemblies more power to exempt specific property from taxes; lawmakers and the public disagree on how that power should be used. Under current state law, when municipalities like Haines implement property tax exemptions, it must be from a menu of pre-approved exemptions in state statute. House Bill 291, introduced […]
Posted inDuly Noted
Duly Noted: Beads, burritos and Baja
The New Hope Fellowship Church has raised $35,285 for its scholarship award since 2016. Paul Rogers explained that the money has been distributed to 11 Haines students since that time. In 2024, there were no applicants, so in 2025, the church awarded two scholarships. Rogers and Sage Thomas started the recent fundraiser night by introducing […]
Posted inNews, Local News, Business & Commerce
Alpenglow closes as lease talks collapse
On March 30, Alpenglow Woodfired Pizza – one of Haines’ few year-round restaurants – announced it would be closing its doors. In a social media video, owner Nolan Woodard said the restaurant would close for the week but open one final time on Saturday for a combined three-year anniversary and goodbye party. The move came […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Fifty-one-year-old piano to be center of May concert
The Steinway Model B piano has resided in the Chilkat Center for 33 years and will soon be the center of an entire concert, “A Night on the Steinway.” Michael Marks, a board member of the Foundation for the Chilkat Center for the Arts, first had the idea for a concert when he noticed community […]
Posted inSoutheast News
Goat disease resurfaces in Juneau, officials urge caution
It has been 15 years since Haines had a reported case of a highly contagious skin infection in local mountain goats. But state wildlife officials are raising the alarm in neighboring Juneau, which has seen three dead mountain goats and at least five reports of animals showing the disease since the beginning of winter. Alaska […]
Posted inMosquito Lake, Haines, News
Nearly a year after the raid, 20 animals remain at Kroschel’s wildlife facility
Ten months after the state raided a Chilkat Valley wildlife facility, and owner Steve Kroschel left for Russia, the fate of some 20 animals left behind by state troopers and wildlife regulators has still not been resolved. The animals are part of a long-running dispute between the state and Kroschel over how he managed the […]
Posted inNews, Energy
A giant lease sale could launch a new era of oil on Alaska’s North Slope
HOUSTON — Global energy leaders have convened here this week, spiffed up in dark suits and polished shoes, to discuss the industry’s most pressing issues: war in the Middle East, Venezuela, artificial intelligence. But behind the scenes at this annual conference of industry executives — known formally as CERAWeek by S&P Global but nicknamed the “Super […]
Posted inNews
Alaska mayors say governor’s proposed tax break for $46B gas line ‘needs a lot of work’
Five Alaska mayors voiced concerns about how a proposed tax break for the Alaska LNG gas line project would impact their communities. Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed eliminating property taxes and other local taxes for the $46 billion megaproject. Instead, his bill would impose a volume-based tax when substantial quantities of gas are delivered from […]
Posted inNews
Trump signs order seeking to curb vote-by-mail in bid to control state election laws
President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order on Tuesday that attempts to restrict mail-in voting, a White House priority certain to face significant legal challenges. The order directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security along with the Social Security Administration to compile a list of voting-age American citizens in each state and share it with […]