KCAW

November is Native American Heritage Month. Sitka Tribe of Alaska Communications Manager Cara Crain joins KCAW for the Morning Interview to discuss what events STA has planned for November. STA’s calendar will be updated throughout the month. You can see the most up-to-date version linked here. Listen to the conversation here:

Sitka’s Fall Art Walk is this Saturday, November 7, from 4-7 p.m. Eighteen local businesses in Downtown Sitka will feature artists and their work, have refreshments, and live music, as part of this twice-a-year event. Attendees can pick up an Art Walk Passport, which details all of the participating locations and artists. Bette Gray, with Greater Sitka Arts Council, and participating artist Adrienne Wilber, joined KCAW on the Morning Interview to discuss the upcoming event. Listen to their conversation here:

Lone Democratic candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins remains in the lead in the race for Alaska governor. The former state representative from Sitka spent election night in Downtown Anchorage, watching results roll in with a crowd of 350 family members, friends, and supporters.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Kreiss-Tomkins had 49.1% of the vote, with nearly all precincts reporting. Republican Bernadette Wilson trails behind at 29.2%. Kreiss-Tomkins would need more than 50% to avoid going to a second round of voting, under Alaska’s ranked-choice system. 

KCAW’s Hope McKenney sat down with Kreiss-Tomkins Wednesday afternoon to talk to him about election night and how he’s feeling about his bid for the governor’s seat. Listen to the conversation here:

TRANSCRIPT:

KCAW: As of this afternoon, you’re leading in the polls. How are you feeling? Are you feeling optimistic?

KREISS-TOMKINS: Yes, we think there’s a pretty decent chance that as additional outstanding ballots are counted, given where those ballots are coming from, that we will push north of 50% in the polls, and that’s always been our reach goal: is to crack 50% in the first round so that ranking isn’t required. [I] feel cautiously optimistic we’re on track to do that. 

KCAW: And so people are talking about this kind of “blue wave” that swept across the country on election night. Democrats flipped Congress, won races in historically conservative states. Now, Alaska could have its first Democratic governor in more than two decades. What’s your reaction to all of that?

KREISS-TOMKINS: I feel we were building a big tent campaign that had the ability to win this race in Alaska no matter what the national climate was. I think there is a lot of fundamental strength in our campaign, and that we will see in the numbers, when all the votes are counted, that suggest that to be the case. And also, I think the national climate, the national dissatisfaction with I think the president, to some extent, and just the state of the country, it definitely put wind in our sails with this race on the state level.

KCAW: So, if you do become governor, what are the biggest priorities you’d want to tackle first?

KREISS-TOMKINS: Just as I campaigned, [I’m] really focused on the basics and finding common ground and solving problems that most Alaskans can agree on. Very high on the list is public education and reinvesting in K-12 education and forward funding education, as well as passing retirement for teachers as well as public employees. So, you know, those are two immediate legislative pushes, both of which have broad legislative support, but have just been frustrated by vetoes from Governor Dunleavy in the last year. And then also tackling cost of living, whether it’s housing or energy and electricity, or childcare. So there’s a lot of work to be done, but those are a couple of issues that really jump first to mind.

KCAW: So yesterday I spent some time down at the polls talking to people, and you have widespread support here in Sitka. I think that we’re at like 66, 67 percent of folks voted for you in the election. Do you have anything you’d like to say to Sitka voters who really turned out for you on election day?

KREISS-TOMKINS: Well, I’m just so grateful. Sitka and my old district at large in Southeast Alaska, even more broadly, were key reasons why we won the primary election out of 17 candidates. And the extraordinary support from home means the world to me on a personal level and was materially significant on a statewide level in the primary. And continuing to see that support going forward in the general election just means a lot. This community made me who I am, and I, you know, won’t ever forget that. And it’s always home, and I’m just very grateful to have that support from home, and it’s been there every step of the way from this campaign, including when we launched it in the Sheet’ká Ḵwáan Naa Kahídi on on February 4.

Sitkans Against Family Violence Director Natalie Wojcik and Board Chair Emma Bruhl join KCAW to talk about their organization’s services and upcoming fundraiser. SAFV is hosting its second annual fall family dinner and dessert auction this Sunday, Nov. 8, at ANB Founders Hall. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and dinner starts at 6 p.m. Listen to the conversation here:

This weekend marks the 30th anniversary of Sitka Whalefest. The event kicks off Thursday evening with a film festival and runs through Sunday. Phyllis Hackett, Lauren Wild, and Lauren Bell joined KCAW on the Morning Interview to discuss how the event has changed over the past three decades, and what to expect from this year’s event. Listen to their conversation here:

Every other year, Sitka Studio of Dance hosts a dance showcase, where Sitkans show off their ballet, jazz, Zumba, and contemporary talents. Sitkans Can Dance! will take place on Saturday, November 14, at 7 p.m. at the Sitka Performing Arts Center. Melinda McAdams, Ella Branch, and Kincaid Parsons joined KCAW on the Morning Interview to discuss the upcoming showcase. Listen to their conversation here:

Early voting for Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s Tribal Council election kicked off Wednesday (10-28-26). STA General Manager Bert Adams and election supervisor Rachel Roy join KCAW to discuss the upcoming election and a new electronic voting system. Seven candidates are running for five open seats. The Tribal Council election is Tuesday Nov. 10. Listen to the conversation here:

After a year off, spurred by the government shutdown, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kukui is once again a haunted ship. Here’s how the crew was preparing for the return of Sitka’s long-standing Halloween tradition: 

At the stern of the Kukui, four Coast Guard crew pour fake blood onto a white sheet. Gabe Fortin’s hands are stained with the red goo he’s using to draw a ring around a big X, like a cult circle. 

“We’ve been trying it for a long time, and so you can see there’s all kinds of dead bodies everywhere,” Fortin says.

A Tyvek suit stuffed with rags lies flat on the deck. The protective coveralls are splattered with blood made from beet juice.

“He was late to his [midnight] watch, so he got punished,” Fortin jokes. “My idea is like a cult execution theme where we’re doing a ritual to do something, maybe to give us power.”

Fortin says crew members will circle around him while he chants into a microphone. He’s still workshopping what he’ll say as the cult leader.

“I have to come up with an appropriate chant,” he says.

That’s just one scene that will be featured on the Kukui for Sitka’s annual haunted ship. Down on the buoy deck, black plastic tarps line the sides to prevent any passerby from peering in.

“We’re going for somewhat of a chainsaw massacre theme down here,” says Steven Calcaterra who’s in charge of the scene on the buoy deck. As people make their way past coffins and dummy corpses, they’ll be running from scare actors wielding chainsaws.

It’s still a work in progress. The crew has just two days to throw everything together.  

“I was doing a round of the ship, seeing how everything was going, and I was very pleasantly surprised coming to the buoy deck, seeing everybody working together,” says Anjali Friedman, the ship’s morale officer.

Friedman says it’s all a team effort. One crew member holds a coffin door open while another trims it with an electric saw. Another group spray paints two big pieces of cardboard they plan to hide behind. 

Inside the cutter’s halls, black tarps cover up windows so it’s dark, except for the eerie red glow of emergency lights.

“Here we’re gonna have a fog machine and we’re gonna black this out and kind of have it like a claustrophobic space. Here’s a jump scare opportunity,” Friedman says.

They’ll be using props collected over the years from previous crews and decorations donated by the community. 

The sick bay is like an operating room straight out of a horror movie. Strobe lights shine on a table littered with bloody limbs. But Michael Overstreet, the commanding officer of the Kukui, says they don’t need donated props for this area. 

“We have all of these limbs and things as part of our normal medical training that we do,” Overstreet explains.

The haunted ship was a job requirement Overstreet says he only found out about once he stepped in for the previous commanding officer. But he’s learned just how much Sitkans love the annual tradition. Especially after calling off the haunted ship last year because of the government shutdown.

“There’s a lot of pent up demand from the community, so they’re all excited to get back on board Kukui and and come here for the frights,” Overstreet says.

Friedman says Halloween is her favorite holiday, so she’s thrilled to be in charge of the haunted ship — cults, chainsaws, and all. And if her crewmates feel differently, she says they have no choice.

“They must work,” Friedman jokes.

But many seem devoted to their work. Like Fortin, the cult leader, whose hands will probably be stained by the beet juice blood till November. 

Ruby Gandel (peer education member from SHS), Emma Talus (SYLC member from MEHS) and Colleen Murphy joined KCAW for the Morning Interview to discuss Sitka Youth Leadership Committee, the work the organization does through initiatives, and recruitment. Listen to the conversation here:

Next week, for the third time in six years, Alaskans will once again weigh in on ranked choice voting. Ballot Measure 2 on the November 3 midterm ballot, would repeal ranked choice voting in the state, get rid of the open primary system, and roll back additional campaign finance disclosure laws that were established when ranked choice voting was enacted.

At a forum hosted by the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday (10-28-26), two Alaskans, Phil Izon (Anchorage) and Chad Goeden (Sitka), debated the pros and cons of the initiative. 

Listen to the full forum here: