Leilani Combs will move next month from Ballard, Washington, to Wrangell to start work as a reporter. The Sentinel and KSTK have agreed to share the news reports — and the costs — of the new position on the Sentinel staff.
Combs will report on the community, with her work appearing in the Sentinel and on the air at the radio station.
She worked last year as a reporter for the Honolulu Civil Beat in Hawaii, after graduating with a master’s degree in 2025 from Columbia Journalism School in New York City.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in marine biology at the University of Washington in 2023.
“As both the Sentinel and KSTK are struggling financially, it just makes sense to share a reporter to better serve the community,” said Larry Persily, who has owned the newspaper since January 2021.
“Bringing on Combs to the Sentinel staff in this shared role will improve what both news operations can provide for Wrangell readers and listeners and online viewers.”
KSTK General Manager Cindy Sweat said she is pleased to join in a news partnership with the Sentinel. The collaboration will help ease the financial challenges both organizations have been facing, “while ensuring that Wrangell residents continue to receive quality local reporting and community information.”
The radio has been without a reporter since Colette Czarnecki left in May.
Combs expects to arrive in Wrangell in early August with her dog, her bike and an eagerness for the outdoors.
