The borough is assuming all costs for a Freedom Rock memorial to honor veterans, relying on an 8-year-old community promotion fund to help cover much of the expense.

The assembly agreed to pull the remaining balance of $19,000 from the Marian Glenz Fund, which was established in 2018 after Glenz bequeathed $50,000 to the borough to promote Wrangell.

Glenz, who died in 2017, helped out at the museum and served for a decade on the town’s visitor bureau. The $50,000 was “to be used to promote Wrangell,” according to her will, as reported in the Sentinel in 2018.

Borough Manager Mason Villarma and assembly members agreed in budget deliberations last month that using the remaining money for the Freedom Rock memorial would be a good use of the funds.

Total expenses will exceed the $19,000 and will include commissioning the painting of the boulder, the artist’s travel, supplies, pouring concrete at City Park and building a protective structure over the rock.

A 6-foot-tall by 5-foot-wide boulder has been selected at the state rock pit by the airport.

The borough plans to host the artist from July 20 to Aug. 3 to paint the rock.

The idea to set up a Freedom Rock in Wrangell came from resident Jenn Miller-Yancey, who discovered the artwork while traveling by RV with her husband, Eric Yancey, in Iowa in 2025. 

The Freedom Rock tradition began in 1999 in Iowa, when artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II painted a large boulder as a thank-you message to veterans. He has since painted similar rock murals in 10 other states. 

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The borough expects to pay $110,000 this year in credit card fees when residential and commercial customers use their card to pay utility bills — and the assembly believes it’s time the borough stopped eating the cost.

The assembly has directed staff to come back with proposals for how the borough could tack on a fee for credit card payments or come up with another method to transfer the cost to bill payers.

An estimated 65% to 70% of utility customers pay their monthly bills by credit card, Finance Director Rob Marshall told the assembly at their meeting June 29.

The cost to the borough is unfair to the 30% who don’t pay by credit card, Mayor Patty Gilbert said at the meeting.

Assembly Member David Powell questioned why the borough should take a $110,000 hit to its budget.

“Will you note our concerns and bring back some solutions,” the mayor asked the borough manager and finance director.

Staff is working toward presenting a proposal at the assembly’s July 28 meeting, Borough Manager Mason Villarma said last week.

The borough already charges a fee of 2.25% for payment by credit card on property tax, sales tax and transient tax on overnight accommodations. About one-quarter of those taxpayers use a credit card, Marshall said.

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Borough officials and the assembly are on a mission to improve the town’s streets.

It was St. Michaels Street in 2025, with McKinnon Street on this summer’s rebuild schedule. Next up could be Mission Street.

But digging up a street, pulling out the old, deteriorated water and sewer lines, laying in new lines and connections, refilling and then grading and repaving is expensive. The borough is looking at rebuilding Mission Street while a state program that helps pay for new utility lines is still available.

A fund at the Department of Environmental Conservation is nearing the end of its life, Borough Manager Mason Villarma told assembly members during budget meetings last month.

The program is particularly attractive because the principal of the loan is forgivable, leaving the borough to pay back only the low interest rate on the money.

If the borough can get a 100% forgivable state loan to pay for new water and sewer lines underneath Mission Street, the municipality could find a way to pay for the surface work, just like it is doing with the McKinnon Street rebuild this summer, he said.

There is no timeline for the  Mission Street project, but borough officials are hopeful.

The post Construction starts on McKinnon St appeared first on KSTK.

Former Alaska Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, also known as JKT, is running for Alaska Governor.  The former Rep. paid a visit to Wrangell on Monday, July 6, and stopped by KSTK to have a conversation with Wrangell Sentinel Reporter Jonathon Dawe and KSTK General Manager Cindy Sweat. 

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After three recent fentanyl overdoses in Petersburg, Wrangell Police Chief Gene Meek is warning residents about the lethal drug’s arrival in the region and urging vigilance in identifying suspicious substances.

He declined to comment on the specific nature of the Petersburg cases but said the fentanyl was laced into other narcotics. Because of this, he said, it is highly likely the victims had no idea they were consuming the deadly synthetic opioid.

Fentanyl is a manufactured drug normally used to treat severe pain. According to information provided by the chief, it is roughly 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.

“Everyone should be wary of unusual substances either in powder or pill form,” Meek said. “In many locations in the Lower 48, fentanyl has been appearing as unusually colored or unusually shaped pills.”

He said the threat is no longer confined to traditional opioids. Fentanyl is increasingly mixed into a wide variety of illicit drugs, including cocaine and methamphetamine.

Recognizing a fentanyl overdose quickly can mean the difference between life and death, he said. In response to the threat, first responders are equipping themselves with emergency treatments, and looking for ways to expand access across the community.

“All emergency personnel are aware of the effects of fentanyl,” Meek said. 

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Jack Carney pleaded guilty on July 2 to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct – challenge to fight.

The 40-year-old long-time teacher and high school wrestling coach was set to go to trial next week for the misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree assault, but changed his plea to guilty of the lesser charge. The case is now closed.

At his change of plea hearing, Superior Court Judge Amanda Browning sentenced Carney to three days in jail, which were suspended, and 12 months of probation. Plus, a $100 jail surcharge, which was suspended, and a $100 police training surcharge.

He’ll pay restitution. The state has 90 days to file the amount with the court.

The sentencing follows an incident at Raymie’s bar on March 15. Police say Carney approached the victim, who was talking with Carney’s wife, and pushed him, causing him to hit the wall and fall to the floor. The victim later received medical care for a sprained wrist.

Carney completed an anger management course at the end of May. He is prohibited from contacting the victim during his probation.

Carney has been teaching in Wrangell for 14 years. He’s been with Wrangell’s wrestling program for over a decade, becoming head coach four years ago. He was named Alaska Assistant Coach of the Year in 2020, an award given by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

The school district did not return a request for comment on Monday.

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Boomchain Loucks has been named as the 2025-2026 Gatorade Alaska Boys Track and Field Player of the Year, becoming the first athlete from Wrangell to capture the honor.

The national program recognizes high school athletes in 12 sports across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Established in 1985, the award is based on athletic achievement, academic performance and character demonstrated through community service and leadership.

Wrangell cross-country assistant coach Laura Davies led the extensive nomination process for Boomchain. The achievement is more noteworthy because Wrangell does not have a school-funded track and field program, requiring Loucks to rely heavily on self-discipline and seasonal cross-country training.

“I think the cool thing is that it speaks to Boomchain’s drive when it’s a sport that requires you to show up and push yourself every single day and put in all that work,” Davies said.

Loucks’ historic high school career culminated during the final weekend of May at the state track and field championships in Anchorage. He swept three distance events: The 3,200-meter, 1,600-meter  and 800-meter.

“My freshman year I made goals in health class to be a state champ and get Gatorade cross-country athlete of the year,” Loucks said. “Unfortunately, I did not receive it for cross country in any of those four years. So, to get it for track means so much because it was my last chance to receive those honors.”

“Being from such a small school and beating all the big schools was pretty nice,” he said. “Wrangell’s had some very great athletes throughout the years, so to be the first one to get this means a lot.”

The post Loucks Earns Statewide Honor appeared first on KSTK.

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.

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The borough assembly has approved a $6.33 million contract with Sitka-based McG Constructors for major renovations across the three school buildings and swimming pool roof.

Work is expected to start late summer, with completion by August 2027.

The project covers a lot of roof work — plus additional project options that were included in the contract because the bid came in low enough that the borough could afford to add the extra repairs.

The additions include replacing the elementary school gymnasium flooring, siding replacement, upgrading the high school commons windows and exterior walls, reconstructing a concrete apron and sidewalk on Reid Street, and replacing the metal and flat sections of the swimming pool roof.

“All in all we got some really good numbers,” Capital Projects Director Amber Al-Haddad said of the bids.

Funding for the work will come from a $6.5 million grant from the Alaska Department of Education in 2024, paired with more than $4 million from voter-approved bonds in 2022.

Federal funds will also assist, with a $694,000 community development block grant specifically designated for the middle school roof.

The school district contributed $90,000 for the gym floor, while $1 million from the borough’s reserves of federal Secure Rural Schools money will cover the pool roof.

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The borough’s Permanent Fund savings account earned about $3 million on its investments over the past 12 months, growing from $11.5 million a year ago to an estimated fiscal-year close of more than $14.5 million on July 1.

That’s on top of the $2 million the account earned over the two previous years.

“The last three or four years have been really, really good,” Borough Manager Mason Villarma told the assembly at a budget workshop.

Wrangell residents voted in 1997 to create the savings account, setting aside a portion of one-time money the community received from Congress, designated to help Southeast Alaska communities recover and rebuild after the loss of the timber industry.

The savings account started with $5 million, which has been invested in stocks and bonds over the past 30 years.

During the 2010s, the assembly withdrew $250,000 a year from the fund’s earnings to help with the budget for public services. But there were no withdrawals between fiscal years 2021 and 2026, allowing the fund to grow even larger.

The assembly agreed with the manager’s recommendation to withdraw $425,000 from earnings this year to help cover debt payments on the new water treatment plant that went into service in 2025 and to replace some of the borough’s oldest vehicles in its maintenance and capital projects fleets.

Municipal code allows the assembly to withdraw each year up to a “maximum sustainable distribution rate,” calculated as the long term expected return of the fund less inflation and expenses. That’s $425,000 for this year.

Anything more than the sustainable draw would require a vote of the public.

The post Borough Investment Account update! appeared first on KSTK.