KCAW

Braveheart Volunteers, started in 2001 by two local nurses, aims to give non-medical, compassionate care and companionship to those facing illness, isolation, or grief. Kim Hunter and Marshall Barg joined KCAW on the Morning Interview to discuss this month’s fundraising campaign, “Fill the Heart,” which aims to raise $20,000, with $10,000 already pledged. The funds will be used for general services, grief support programs, and educational initiatives, including a dementia support group. Listen to their conversation here:

Former Sitka state representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins entered the race for governor this week. He’s the third Democrat to file alongside nearly a dozen Republicans vying for the role.

Kreiss-Tomkins announced his candidacy before an audience of around 70 supporters at a kickoff event in downtown Sitka today (2-4-26). He said, if elected, he’d approach the position the same way he tackled his work in the legislature, finding compromises across the aisle. 

“It’s not like I’m throwing bombs, or putting out red meat press releases, or calling people names. I don’t think that gets you anywhere. It’s building relationships. It’s building trust. It’s treating people with respect,” Kreiss-Tomkins said in an interview with KCAW after the event. “That’s how I tried to carry myself in the legislature, and I think if we have a governor who can take that approach, there’s a lot of good that can happen for Alaska.”

In 2012, Kreiss-Tomkins dropped out of Yale at 22 to run for public office. He narrowly beat the Republican incumbent, winning his seat in the Alaska House of Representatives by just 32 votes. He spent a decade in that role, representing Sitka and other Southeast communities.

Kreiss-Tomkins said while he thinks the legislature is in the best place it’s been since the 1990s with its strong bipartisan coalition, the budget is another story. Last month, Governor Mike Dunleavy proposed a plan to bring in more revenue for the state, including introducing a temporary state sales tax and oil tax increase. Kreiss-Tomkins says there are parts of Dunleavy’s proposal he would take, and parts he would leave, but ultimately the question of balancing the state’s finances will take compromise and new leadership. 

“I think it’s good he’s putting stuff out there. It’s a little rough that that’s happening eight years into an eight-year tenure, and there’s already been a lot of cost of inaction at this point,” Kreiss-Tomkins said. “And unfortunately, I think things are at a place between the governor and the legislature that it’s pretty unlikely that anything is going to happen this year.” 

Last year, the legislature overrode the governor’s veto to increase school funding, but with increasing costs year-by-year, school districts are still facing budget shortfalls. Kreiss-Tomkins said he’d like to reduce budget uncertainty for school districts by passing a constitutional amendment to fund schools a year in advance, so schools aren’t basing their budgets on a moving target.

“The timing of the budget process is insane, where school boards literally have to guess the number that’s going to come out of Juneau while they’re finalizing their budgets. And again, more money, less money, whatever, but like, don’t do it at the 11th hour,” he said. “It’s actually like a pretty simple change that can just do a tremendous amount of good in terms of reducing uncertainty, and allowing school districts to actually plan and create a strong education for their students.”

As governor, Kreiss-Tomkins would influence fishery policy by nominating council members to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Kreiss-Tomkins said in his tenure on the legislature, he spent a lot of time lobbying for council nominations and testifying for policy changes, like lower bycatch limits, and his values haven’t changed. 

“It’s suddenly becoming a much higher profile issue in the last year. I mean, I’m pretty proud that I was in the trenches for 10 years when it was less sexy, but it still mattered just as much,” he said. “And I certainly have the same values that small boat fisheries, like what we have here in Sitka or in Homer or in Dillingham are, you know, the economic lifeblood of the state, and it’s also just the way of life of coastal communities, and we need to make sure our fisheries management reflects those interests.”

He said he sees the decline of Alaska’s ferry system as a governance problem, and wants it to be politically independent.

“When you have infrastructure and multi, $100 million vessels and terminals, and there’s a different management vision every four or eight years, it creates such a dysfunctional patchwork system that it doesn’t work, which is it’s not working right now,” Kreiss-Tomkins said. “So making governance of the system independent, similar to the University of Alaska, where you have its own regents [and] it’s not like the President of University of Alaska comes and goes with every governor, I think is an incredibly important change for the ferry system.”

He said he has a lot of respect for fellow Democratic candidates Tom Begich and Matt Claman, and doesn’t want to campaign against them. In the end, it’s a question of which campaign connects with voters.   

“Voters should have a choice, and they will have a choice, and I’m just excited to sort of put another option on the table,” he said.

At the kickoff event, Kreiss-Tomkins told supporters that so far they’ve raised over $400,000 for his campaign.

Kreiss-Tomkins is the 16th candidate to file for the governor’s race. In Alaska, the top four vote-earners advance from the August primary to the general election in November, regardless of political party. 

The Wearable Art Show is returning to Sitka after a one-year hiatus, featuring 19 designs from 16 designers, including one from Arizona and another from Washington. The event will showcase pieces from local designers like Linda Boord and Emmie Fish, as well as Jennifer Younger, who is known for her international fashion runway work. Bobbi Jordan and Bette Gray from the Greater Sitka Arts Council joined KCAW on the Morning Interview to discuss the upcoming show on Feb. 7 at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Listen to their conversation here:

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior are conducting a review of the Federal Subsistence Management Program in Alaska. Alaskans can comment on the review through February 13. Heather Bauscher is a fisheries community engagement specialist with the Sitka Conservation Society, and teaches environmental policy at University of Alaska Southeast. Bauscher joined KCAW for the Morning Interview to discuss the review process, and what it could mean for Sitkans. Listen here:

Next Tuesday (2-3-26), the Sitka Conservation Society and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s Resource Protection Department are hosting a question and answer session on how changes to the federal program could impact Sitkans from 6-8 at Harbor Mountain Brewing Company.

The Sitka High School and Mt. Edgecumbe High School basketball teams are in the thick of the season, with tournaments last weekend and a full schedule of local games this weekend. Sentinel reporter Anna Laffrey joined KCAW for the Morning Interview to give an update on recent games in Anchorage and Utqiagvik, and preview this weekend’s games against Wasilla teams. Drawing from her own sports reporting as well as the work of Klas Stolpe (Juneau Independent), Richard Larson (Ketchikan Daily News) and Van Williams (Alaska Airlines Classic), Laffrey shares game highlights and updates from coaches. Listen to the conversation here

2025 was a year of progress for the City of Sitka, according to Municipal Administrator John Leach, who presented the annual State of the City report to the public on Wednesday (1-28-26). 

The report provides an overview of the city’s work over the past year, including progress under the strategic plan, major milestones, and a look at priorities moving forward. 

Leach told KCAW that last year was a big one for Sitka, with the opening of the marine haulout and wrapping the first phase of the multi-million-dollar airport expansion project. He also said it was a big year for public safety and community services.

“Our police and our fire department did an incredible amount of work this last year,” Leach said. “Our police department handled over 21,000 calls this last year, and our fire department responded to over 1,500 calls, and most of those were EMS related. And what’s important to understand is that behind every one of those calls is a real person needing help. And it’s our community members serving our community members.”

The Sitka Public Library also saw nearly 90,000 visitors, the Parks and Rec program had more than 1,500 enrollments, and Animal Control had 113 animals come through its facility — 60 pets were adopted and 31 reunited with their owners, according to the report. 

Leach said looking forward, in addition to finalizing the second half of the airport expansion, city staff hope to address two of Sitka’s biggest barriers to retaining young people: childcare and housing. As for the former, the Sitka Assembly gave final approval at its meeting Tuesday (1-27-26) to fund a childcare needs study. And as for housing?  

“We’ve completed phase one of land suitability and feasibility study for housing, which identified some areas where we could look for development,” Leach said. “And that was just to kind of define what those areas are. But now we need to move into phase two, and that’s going to be the deeper dive into what engineering and design and planning that sort of thing looks like. So big, big things happening on the housing front.”

Leach said the city also wants to improve communication with Sitkans moving forward, and asked them to fill out a survey on the city website by Feb. 7.

Leach joined KCAW for the Morning Interview to give the highlight reel from the report. Listen to the conversation here:

A load of timber from Mitkof Island was delivered to Sitka today for a special project. Sitka Conservation Society Executive Director Andrew Thoms joined KCAW for the Morning Interview to discuss the organization’s plans to turn sustainable, young growth spruce from Mitkof Island into a learning shelter at Pacific High School. Listen to the conversation here:

Registration is now open for Boys Run I toowú klatseen. The ten-week program for third to fifth grade boys, coordinated by the Pathways Coalition, is composed of running, discussion, and culturally-based activities that honor Southeast Alaska traditional values. The program, which includes 20 lessons and culminates in a 5k Fun Run, focuses on building healthy relationships, social-emotional skills, and cultural awareness through running games and storytelling. Claire Weber, the afternoon school prevention specialist at Sitkans Against Family Violence, and Kevin Knox, manager of Parks and Recreation, joined KCAW for the Morning Interview to discuss the program and their need for coaches. Listen to their conversation here:

Next weekend, the GSAC Sitka Community Theater will present an evening of showtunes, sung by local friends and celebrities. Broadway Night performers Molly Hames, Morgan Hames, and Bryce Walsh joined KCAW for the Morning Interview to discuss the annual production. Listen to their conversation here:

Broadway Night is January 30 at Odess Theater, with doors opening at 6 PM and a 6:30 PM start. Tickets are $50 and available at Sitka Fine Arts Camp and Old Harbor Books.

Professional improvisers and local talent will showcase their skills in two improv shows this weekend. Improvisers Rosie Moan and Zeke Blackwell joined KCAW for the Morning Interview to discuss the performances, happening this Friday and Saturday night at Odess Theater. Listen to the conversation here: