Structure, which plans to next year start assembling in Wrangell its remote monitoring system for utilities and other users, will hold an open house at its Front Street location on Friday, Aug. 28.

“We thought it would be a cool experience” for people in town to see and hear from the team — and ask questions — about what the system does and how it works, said Jake Haas, one of the founders of Structure.

“It will give people confidence to hear from experts in the field,” he said. Hardware and software team members will be at the open house.

“It’s a confusing concept for people,” Blake Rider, chief executive officer of the company, said of the remote monitoring system’s software and hardware.

Structure plans to assemble and market a new system for utilities and businesses to remotely monitor their power lines, water lines, sewage treatment plants or other operations. It will remodel the former Ottesen’s warehouse on Front Street for its work site.

The company, which was established by a trio of Juneau friends and their partners, earlier this year selected Wrangell for its assembly operation.

The open house is set to start at 6 p.m. Friday and will include food and refreshments, and live music by Ketchikan-raised Pat Troll, Haas said.

Structure plans to manufacture its comms vault (communications box) in Wrangell. Routers, switches, radio gear and circuit boards will be assembled into the comms vault, a box about the size of a stereo speaker.

“Our goal is to hire local first,” and provide training, Haas said last month.

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Wrangell sightseeing tour company and water taxi service Muddy Water Adventures has added a new vessel to its fleet. The 52-foot landing craft- dubbed The Dropship- is now their largest vessel.

While it can only carry six passengers right now, company owner Zach Taylor said it will greatly expand their cargo carrying capacity. 

Right now, there’s really no other boats in the area that can move bigger vehicles like that or bigger cargo. The state ferries doing their best, but like we all know, it’s just it’s been reduced and reduced and reduced. So there’s definitely a niche there that I think needs to get filled.

Taylor purchased the vessel in Homer back in May but left it docked up North due to big seas and said he’s happy to finally have it home.

He did not disclose the price, but the vessel is practically brand new, fabricated just last year. It features three Honda 250 motors, allowing it to get up to around 30 mph with no cargo.

Although there are some small products to finish and some upgrades he’d like to do for comfort -like finishing the galley and the bunk below deck- the Dropship is ready to start moving stuff now, and customers are lining up.

I’ve got a bunch of calls already for Petersburg. Going way out different hunting places. Going to Zarembo. Got a couple callers for Ketchikan, a couple callers for Juneau. So there’s stuff to be moved.

Taylor, who is also the assistant fire chief for the Wrangell Volunteer Department said that this also expands their capacity for Search & Rescue operations for Wrangell and neighboring communities.

This will be a primary search and rescue vessel. So that’s nice to have the lights and the ability to drop the ramp. You know, you get whatever’s going on. We’ve got another big boat that in a storm or bad weather can go out and help people.

Taylor purchased the vessel after selling their high-speed catamaran this past March.

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The Southeast Alaska Power Agency started preliminary construction earlier this summer on a solar farm out near 6-Mile. 

To satisfy federal investment tax credit requirements, the company was required to start work before July 4.

“By breaking ground and putting in the substation pad and the power line road and part of the remainder of the road, we were able to meet those requirements,” said Robert Siedman, chief executive officer for the Ketchikan-based regional power provider.

The solar panels will help diversify Wrangell’s energy portfolio, potentially cushioning residents against utility spikes that occur when the Tyee Lake hydroelectric plant is shut down for maintenance, as occurred earlier this summer.

SEAPA operates the Tyee Lake project for Wrangell and Petersburg and the Swan Lake hydropower plant for Ketchikan.

The federal tax credits could cover up to half the cost of the estimated $6 million Wrangell solar project.

The next major hurdle for the 44-acre site above the highway is a wetland delineation process, which will determine whether a creek running through the property falls under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ jurisdiction. The outcome will decide the access road design.

“We will either have to permit access across that creek or build in a culvert or a bridge or something of that nature,” Siedman said.

The wetland determination and necessary permitting are expected to take about a year, according to SEAPA project manager Mark Hilson. If all goes well, they will be able to get to work during the 2027 construction season.

Siedman said they hope to finish the project in 2028. 

The project would start with a capacity of 1.5 megawatts of solar generating capacity and could be expanded to 5 megawatts. By comparison, each of the two hydropower units at Tyee Lake is capable of spinning 10 megawatts of power.

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Wrangell is applying for a $5 million state grant to add to a $25 million federal grant it already has received for rebuilding the downtown harbor, with the additional money directed to fully cover the cost of replacing the decades-old Inner Harbor floats.

The overall plan is intended to rebuild the Inner Harbor, Reliance and Standard Oil floats, add new pilings, fire suppression systems and parking. 

Assembly members voted unanimously last week to approve the state grant application, which was due by today (Wednesday, Aug. 19).

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities municipal harbor facility grant program allows for a maximum request of $5 million. It requires a local match to qualify, and the borough would use the federal grant as the match.

The updated estimate for the Inner Harbor project is nearly $15 million. This includes design, permitting and construction, including land facilities and improvements to parking, according to information presented to the assembly.

The harbor floats were built in the late 1950s, according to a condition report prepared for the borough in 1996. The Inner Harbor is the largest of the four float systems in the downtown harbor, but its old design limits its usefulness.

“The harbor has an antiquated layout, originally designed to serve 1930-1960 vessels, typically around 17 feet. Today’s commercial fishing fleet averages 36 feet,” Amber Al-Haddad, the borough’s capital projects director, explained in her report for the assembly meeting.

The rest of the $25 million federal grant would go to the other areas of the downtown harbor rebuild.

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Doctor V. Sanoe Harrison is trading his health care job at SEARHC for an independent practice, opening a clinic out of his home.

Rural Island Medical will officially welcome patients on Sept. 1. Work is underway to convert a section of the Harrison residence at 2.6-Mile into a medical clinic space.

Harrison, who will leave his job with SEARHC on Aug. 24 after working there for nine years, said the change to a private practice allows him to focus directly on personalized care.

“I am board certified in pediatric endocrinology, internal medicine and with extensive experience in treating diabetes,” he said. “I want my practice to be more person-centered and to be able to offer the quality of care that I would like with each patient.”

Harrison was raised in Hawaii, earned his undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University–Hawaii, and completed medical school in Honolulu. His wife, Kaelene, studied biology before focusing on raising their seven children and later earning her certified nursing assistant credential.

The couple will run the clinic together, dividing administrative operations and clinical care.

“I’ll be busy with scheduling patients and billing, and things like that,” Kaelene Harrison said. “I’ll be greeting patients and managing the office. I’ll basically do it all.”

Rural Island Medical plans to provide comprehensive family medicine alongside specialized endocrine care. Doctor Harrison said the clinic will assist patients with diabetes technology, including insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, as well as weight-loss management and general primary care.

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Leilani Combs has started work as the newest addition to the Sentinel staff, where she will write for the newspaper and KSTK in a cooperative agreement to share a reporter.

Combs arrived in Wrangell on Aug. 5, moving here from Ballard, Washington, where she lived aboard a sailboat.

She worked last year as a reporter at the Honolulu Civil Beat, in Hawaii, where she interned after graduating with a master’s degree in multimedia journalism from Columbia University, in New York City.

But before turning to journalism, Combs, now 35, earned a bachelor’s degree in marine biology at the University of Washington. While in school, she worked as a lab assistant at the Washington Ocean Acidification Center in Seattle.

Before college, she worked as a whitewater rafting guide on the Wenatchee River in eastern Washington 2014-2018.

“I grew up all over the country,” living as a kid in San Diego, Iowa and Hawaii. “My mom wanted to be a marine biologist, but didn’t do it,” which kindled her daughter’s interest in the science.

While working on her degree in marine biology, Combs realized she did not want to get stuck in a lab. “I realized I would rather communicate science,” prompting the switch to journalism, she said.

She has focused much of her interest on Arctic ecology, salmon and trout, and said she is looking forward to reporting on the marine environmental, commercial and sport fishing in Wrangell, in addition to other wildlife stories.

While a student at the University of Washington, she designed and conducted field research on the implications of bald eagle predation on a gull nesting colony.

“In addition to my love for the outdoors and adventure that drove me to Wrangell, I am a musician and avid appreciator of underground music. I am looking forward to sharing that love through a punk/alternative volunteer radio show on KSTK once I’ve gotten settled,” Combs said.

“The Sentinel is happy to welcome Combs to the staff, joining reporter Jonathon Dawe and office manager Amber Armstrong,” said publisher Larry Persily. “We are especially eager to share the town’s newest reporter with KSTK, so that both news organizations can provide information people needs and can use in their lives.” KSTK welcomes Combs to town and looks forward to working with her.

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Two Wrangell creatives have been awarded Arts Ambassadors for the State of Alaska. That’s according to a press release provided by Vivian Faith Prescott. Laura Davies, a public-school teacher, and Vivian Faith Prescott, a local author, are part of a cohort of a dozen Arts Ambassadors, all Alaska-based artists, culture bearers, educators, and community leaders who are actively practicing, teaching, and inspiring others through arts and cultural traditions across rural and urban Alaska. Cohort members serve as ambassadors for creativity in their communities and contribute to a growing network of professionals committed to integrating the arts and culture into public education. 

The Ambassadorship is a partnership between the How Are You Creative? Initiate of the Alaska State Council on the Arts. The award supports the Ambassador’s creative, cultural, and community-based work.

Laura Davies, a middle and high school teacher in Wrangell, founded a thriving place-based documentary program for local youth following her 2023 training with See Stories. By engaging in photography, community interviews, and youth-led film production, students strengthen key skills in communication, collaboration, creativity, and confidence. Under her leadership, Wrangell students have produced over 45 films since 2024. She and her students have traveled to festivals in Vancouver and Banff to screen their work, building lasting relationships with professional filmmakers who continue to mentor Davies and inspire her teaching. Davies’ long-term goal is to build a sustainable, regional youth film festival that brings guest filmmakers to Wrangell to lead workshops for the broader community.

Vivian Faith Prescott is a local writer and author of fourteen books and is also a multi-media mosaic artist. She makes mosaic art to help support Wrangell’s Food Pantry. Prescott’s approach to creative, cultural, community, and arts practices is sharing knowledge through mentoring. Working with the guidelines of the grant, she’s looking to re-establishing the Wrangell Arts Council that would be aligned with the How Are You Creative? (HAYC?) goals of bringing people together to support individuals and the community of Wrangell through the arts. “Regarding my small community, one of my main missions is to help revitalize our arts council.” Anyone who wants to assist with re-establishing a Wrangell’s Arts Council may contact Vivian Faith Prescott via Facebook Messenger, email: doctorviv@hotmail.com, or phone (text) 907-738-0083.

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Wrangell is getting closer to a major expansion of its downtown waterfront, building a new rock wall and adding fill to gain a couple of acres for expansion of the Marine Service Center, a public park, covered pavilion, parking and possible future commercial development along Campbell Drive.

The overall project also includes an extension to the City Dock.

City Hall staff briefed the borough assembly on plans at a work session July 28.

The entire project could total around $15 million.

The borough has requested $10.3 million from the federal Economic Development Administration, with a decision on the grant application anticipated later this summer.

The borough also has more than $4 million available from a bond issue approved by the assembly in April 2025 to put toward waterfront development.

The extent of the fill and development of the new uplands will depend on how much money is available and the costs when the borough goes out for bids.

Much of the federal grant would go toward adding a 150-foot-long floating extension to the north end of the City Dock, to better accommodate cruise ships at various tides than the fixed dock.

That project also would include a new gangway and also a new mooring dolphin at the south end of the dock.

The marine center expansion would create new uplands between the Nolan Center and the water to allow more boats and a larger work area for the busy facility.

A big driver for the expanded downtown fill is to accommodate American Cruise Lines, which plans to install a 300-foot floating dock and ramp next year.

 American Cruise Lines operates two 170-passenger ships in Southeast Alaska and is scheduled to add a third ship, with 130-passenger capacity, next summer.

The line is converting its unused paddlewheel cruise ship, the American Empress, into a floating dock. The ship’s superstructure was dismantled last winter at Tideline Construction’s yard at 6-Mile in Wrangell, then the hull was towed to the JAG Marine Group shipyard in Ketchikan for refurbishing and painting.

American Cruise Lines will bring it to Wrangell next spring, where it will go to work after the company has piles driven to hold it in place.

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Bearfest opens Thursday and will run for four days. There will be workshops and symposiums and demonstrations to learn about bears — and also foods to enjoy.

The first edible event will be the “beary pie” contest at noon Thursday at the Nolan Center, when judges will select the best entries made from local berries. Bakers must get their pies to the Nolan Center by 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

Next up on the schedule for food fans is the Friday dinner and fundraising auction at the Stikine Inn, with Lauren Thompson, head chef at Seattle’s Cafe Lago restaurant. “The dinner will be a classic Tuscan menu, with a touch of the Pacific Northwest,” said Bearfest organizer Sylvia Ettefagh.

Doors open at 5 p.m. and dinner is at 6 p.m. Only four tickets, at $120 each, were available as of last Friday. Call 907-874-3006 for ticket information.

The community market from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Nolan Center will feature baked goods and other homemade foods from Wrangell residents.

Also on Saturday, Chef Thompson will demonstrate and instruct how to make ricotta cavatelli at 11:30 a.m. at the Nolan Center. The session is limited to 10 people, at $50 per person. Call 907-874-3006 to sign up.

A contest to judge Wrangell’s best seafood dishes is planned for 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon, also at the Nolan Center.

The last food event of the four-day weekend will be a pasta feed at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Nolan Center for runners and walkers in Sunday morning’s marathon, half-marathon and 5K races to load up on carbohydrates.

The dinner is free for all runners, walkers and volunteers.

Registration for the runs starts at 7 a.m. Sunday, with runners taking the starting line at 8 a.m. for the marathon and half-marathon, and 8:30 a.m. for the 5K runners, walkers and bikers.

The full schedule of events is online at alaskabearfest.org

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This year’s deer harvest isn’t expected to reach the record highs of the past two seasons but “it’s going to be fair to good,” said the state game biologist for the Wrangell-Petersburg area.

“We had a really good dump of snow this past winter,” said Frank Robbins, the longtime state game biologist in Petersburg. “We lost a good portion of last year’s fawns,” which were unable to forage for enough food in the deep snow.

“We may have lost some older bucks,” he said, though the overall population looks strong.

The general hunting season for Sitka black-tailed opens Saturday, Aug. 1, and runs through Nov. 30. The bag limit is two bucks. No doe harvest is allowed, to help protect the population.

The past few years have been excellent for deer hunters in the Game Management Unit 3, which includes Wrangell and surrounding islands.

“We’ve had record harvests the last two years,” Robbins said.

The take exceeded 1,100 deer in each of the past two years in Unit 3, surpassing the Department of Fish and Game’s harvest objective of 900 bucks.

The harvest totaled more than 900 deer in 2023 before the record years in 2024 and 2025.

“I’m not anticipating a record harvest,” Robbins said for this year, but he still anticipates a good year for hunters.

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