When a young Sealaska intern walking a beach in July 2022 found the first evidence of European green crab presence in Alaska – a discarded shell on a beach on Annette Island in the state’s far southeast corner – it was an ominous sign about the invasive species’ northward spread. Since then, the Metlakatla Indian Community, the tribe […]
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Posted inEnvironment & Natural Resources, Local News
24-mile boat launch could shut down
The popular 24 Mile boat launch could be shut down, Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials say, after an inspection showed the launch area and its access road run through salmon spawning habitat. The area has been used as a boat launch for decades — at least 40 years, local sportsmen say. It’s not […]
Posted inObituaries
Olerud left his mark on Haines
Dave Olerud, 88, died Oct. 3 at home of natural causes. He was born Oct. 17, 1936, in Boyd, Minn., and came to Haines in 1964 to teach school. Olerud founded the Alaska Bald Eagle Foundation and the family owns Olerud’s Market Center and the Alaska Sport Shop on Main Street, businesses that he and […]
Posted inLocal News
Assembly Briefs: heated debate, new appointments, Lutak Dock, and Mosquito Lake School
Morphet chooses committee member Diana Lapham was appointed by mayor Tom Morphet to fill a vacant seat on the Ports and Harbors Advisory Committee, but only after lengthy and heated debate. Lapham, who previously served six years on the committee, was one of two candidates who expressed interest in the open seat, which was previously […]
Posted inLocal News
November bald eagle festival returns
The 29th Alaska Bald Eagle Festival will draw raptor enthusiasts to Haines in early November, though it’s not clear how many people will show up as organizers say event registrations are slow. The Chilkat Valley is known as being home to one of North America’s largest congregations of bald eagles due to a late chum […]
Posted inLocal News
Haines sales tax dispute with Tlingit & Haida heads to court
Mayor Tom Morphet will meet with Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska president Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson this week about a dispute that has the borough and tribe headed to a hearing in Alaska Small Claims Court. The stakes, at least in court, are relatively small: roughly $7,500 in sales tax […]
Posted inLocal News
Working group discusses lack of childcare options in the Chilkat Valley
A childcare working group facilitated by the Haines Economic Development Corporation met for the second time on Tuesday for a discussion about the state of childcare in Haines and efforts to improve access. Haines Mayor Tom Morphet chaired the meeting, which featured a roundtable of around five people, including local business owners and stakeholders from […]
Posted inLocal News
State information session recalls decades of Juneau Road debate
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration this year revitalized a long-running proposal for a road up the Lynn Canal, pitched as a way to better connect the state capital in Juneau to the surrounding region. The proposal has, over the span of multiple decades, proved extremely resilient. It has returned again and again in the wake […]
Posted inLocal News
Friends of Eileen Wafer again seek memorial for her near the cruise ship dock
Friends of a teenage murder victim whose case has remained unsolved in Haines for decades are again asking for a memorial to be placed where her body was found. Midge McClellan Clark sent a letter to Mayor Tom Morphet in August, asking him to help find a memorial spot for Eileen Wafer, a 14-year-old who […]
Posted inLocal News
For the first time in 3 years, bald eagle preserve advisory council to meet
There are still two vacant seats, but the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Advisory Council is scheduled to convene in mid-October. At minimum, the 12-member council is supposed to meet quarterly, but it hasn’t had a meeting since 2022 according to a state meetings database. The governor appoints people to the council, which is made […]