Juneau's Amalga Distillery is a semifinalist for the 2024 James Beard Awards category of "Outstanding Bar;" Ketchikan had its 38th Annual Wearable Arts Show last weekend. The town claims to have the first wearable arts show in the world; concert pianist and music teacher Tony Lu is in Petersburg.

The Petersburg Borough will receive nearly three million dollars in federal grant money for an upgrade to its hydropower plant; school administrators told lawmakers on Monday that Alaska school districts are facing unprecedented challenges to hiring and turnover; a conservation organization is asking the federal government to list King salmon in Southeast and Southcentral Alaska under the protection of the Endangered Species Act.

Petersburg's airport might be getting an upgrade in the future after the Borough Assembly voted to support the initiative; in his State of the State address last month, Gov. Mike Dunleavy honored several people involved in Wrangell's deadly November landslide; a condo developer in Juneau plans to sell its units at market rates even though the developer borrowed money from the city's affordable housing fund.

Gov. Dunleavy has introduced a pair of bills that would allow eletronic monitoring aboard commercial fishing vessels in state fisheries; Unalaska leaders are pushing back against a proposed petition to eliminate Chinook bycatch in the Bear Sea Alaska pollock fishery; Alaska Congresswoman Mary Peltola was in Juneau late last month - it was the last stop in a statewide tour to kick off her re-election campaign.

The Alaska Senate passed a bill this week that would create a new pension plan for state and local government employees; Petersburg's middle and high schools now have stricter cell phone policies; the Petersburg Police Department's annual report indicates that many categories of violent crime in the community are down from previous years.

Petersburg's chapter of the American Legion has grown a lot over the last year, and now they're planning to host a blowout party this weekend; hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Alaska State Capital on Monday to call for an increase in education funding; a Petersburg resident is in HBO's crime drama "True Detective," which is set in Alaska this season.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy implored Alaskans and lawmakers to capitalize on the state's natural resources in his annual State of the State address last night; a bill in the State Senate would create a psychedelic medicine task force to look at the role psychedelics could play in addressing Alaska's mental health crisis; Petersburg High School hosted the Wrangell Wolves for Homecoming last weekend, winning three out of four games.

Yesterday's strong winds blew down a large tree, which block Mitkof Highway at 30-mile for most of the day; a bill in the state house would create a legal framework for the state to lease land for underground storage of carbon; Sitka hosted the first ever Alaska Pinball Championships this month.

Petersburg residents are looking at the possibility of creating a landslide warning system; After seven years of advocacy, the Sitka Homeless Coalition launched a warming shelter; lawmakers are considering a measure that would tighten requirements for hunting and fishing licenses.

Petersburg's economy got a boost from an unexpected source in 2023 - film and TV crews; Petesrburg has a new middle and high school special education teacher; the Alaska House of Representatives removed one of it's most conservative Republicans from it's judiciary committee in a near-unanimous vote.