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Haines women return home black and blue, and with a silver trophy, from the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament
A team of eight Haines women, seven of them mothers of little ones, earned their way to the championship game last week in Juneau’s Lions Club Gold Medal Basketball Tournament. The team came from behind, bruised but unbeaten, to compete in a David vs. Goliath...
Skagway Assembly votes to spend more money to complete Ore Dock on time, upholds P&Z
The latest Skagway assembly meeting included appeals not to move a building, to spend more money on Ore Dock and to save cottonwood trees. The March 21 Skagway Borough Assembly meeting included a board of appeals which upheld the original Planning and Zoning...
Elks Lodge packs a punch for Skagway’s women and children
Karate instructors made the trek from Juneau to Skagway to teach three self defense classes. Two courses were for women, and one was for ages five to 12. Shouts and thuds filled the Elks social room as Skagway’s women and children took part in self defense...
Haines Friends of Recycling looks to relocate to downtown
Haines Friends of Recycling is about two months away from purchasing a piece of property near downtown, where it plans to relocate. The non-profit hopes to build a covered collection area, which will accept almost all plastics. And, plans for the new location...
Wrangell looks to solve housing issue by selling old hospital
Much of rural Alaska shares the same two problems: old buildings and the need for new housing. Wrangell looks to solve both problems at once. The borough is one step closer to selling its old, former hospital, the Wrangell Medical Center. The prospective buyer,...
Becky’s Place and Haines Public Safety Building receive federal funding
The Haines Public Safety Building is $12 million closer to being replaced. Congress passed a budget bill earlier this month, which included money for a new building. The bill also provided nearly $100-thousand dollars to Becky’s Place, a Haines safehouse for survivors...
Haines Huts and Trails hires new director
Haines’ trail-building nonprofit, Haines Huts and Trails, hired a new director last month. Erik Boraas spent nearly a decade leading a nonprofit trail organization in Juneau. Boraas has big plans to make Haines a travel destination for trail lovers of all abilities,...
Haines Borough Assembly votes to have riprap dock as an alternative Lutak Dock design
At the eleventh hour of the Haines Borough Assembly meeting, Assembly Members voted to add a smaller dock alternative to the plans for the Lutak Dock project. Those voting in favor voiced the need to recognize members of the public who prefer a smaller-footprint...
Chickens, trees and outdoor recreation discussed at Skagway Assembly meeting
The agenda for last Thursday’s Skagway Assembly meeting was packed, as was Assembly Chambers. Citizens testified about poultry infrastructure, and asked to keep the trees, please. Trails, chickens and chainsaws were among the topics of discussion at the lengthy...
The ‘art of conceal and reveal’ dazzles Skagway
Skagway celebrated the shoulder season by showing some shoulder, and a whole lot more. The town’s homegrown burlesque company reunited for one hot night. The Rude and Nude Revue, a burlesque group known for unwrapping on stage, wrapped their third international tour...
Newscasts
February 5, 2024
Skagway will open its second retail marijuana store this spring. The Skagway Borough Assembly voted unanimously to approve the application for Boom Town Buds at last week’s meeting. Also in the meeting, Mayor Sam Bass introduced a new concept that would make...
February 1, 2024
A group of Haines residents has taken up the task of updating the local property tax assessment process. They are holding meetings and drafting recommendations for the Haines Borough Assembly. It is a slow, complicated process, and the frustrations that grew from last...
January 31, 2024
The Haines Borough is still without a Police Chief. Borough Manager Annette Kreitzer looks to hire internally before advertising for the position. She is currently drafting a contract to present to Interim Police Chief Josh Dryden. If the contract is successfully...
January 30, 2024
The Haines Dolphins swim team held their first time trial of the year on Saturday. Eighteen swimmers competed and as many volunteers showed up at the Haines Pool to make the event possible. Results were submitted to the USA Swimming database, where the athletes can...
Newscast January 29, 2024
Skagway experienced its first known fentanyl death in January 2023. Then, before twenty-four hours passed, the community lost its second member to an overdose. It’s a year later, and the police investigation remains open. But a lot has changed in the past year,...
January 25, 2024
A Chilkat robe is returning to Southeast Alaska after spending the last 70 years in a Seattle private collection. Five private donors bought the robe for $39,000 and donated it to the Sealaska Heritage Institute in Juneau. Native weavers are eager to study the robe...
January 24, 2024
The Haines Borough will not have any state lobbyists during the current Legislative Session. The Haines Borough Assembly plans instead to dedicate energy and resources to obtain funding for infrastructure projects at the federal level, where grant funding...
January 23, 2024
Governor Mike Dunleavy wants to eliminate the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Advisory Council. It was one of several executive orders the Governor made at the start of the Legislative session. The eagle preserve’s council is made of 12 members, most of them...
Newscast 012224
Today’s story is from Skagway, where, after a healthy debate and multiple amendments, the Skagway Borough Assembly passed a resolution regarding the large central tract of land that was the former Garden City RV park, and previously the site of Pius X Mission School....
Newscast – January 19, 2024
We have two stories from Skagway Reporter Melinda Munson today, as a Skagway Municipal employee has accepted a regional position with Southeast Conference, and the Skagway Middle School Robotics team wins top honor at the regional robotics competition.
January 18, 2024
Each commissioner of the Planning and Zoning Commission submitted three ideas for improving the housing situation in Skagway at a work session earlier this week. And, The Chilkoot Indian Association received a $1.4 million dollar grant to go towards building an...
January 17, 2024
The Haines Borough Assembly’s Commerce Committee brainstormed ideas for imposing a tax on extracted resources. The tax would be modeled after taxes already in place in other Alaskan boroughs. It would be limited to natural resources such as timber, gravel and ore...
January 16, 2024
Preschoolers and seniors in Haines are getting back together for a weekly lunch date after a few years’ break. Chilkat Valley Preschool and the Senior Center share a building and have a history of visiting for lunch, although the meetings were paused for a few years...
January 12, 2024
Winter utility assistance is available from now through April for Skagway residents. Applications are due the second Friday of each month. And, it’s National Dog Training month. Skagway residents can enter to win a dog training platform or cat condo from Paws and...
Newscast – January 11, 2024
Potty talk ran rampant at the Skagway Borough Assembly last week. Winter bathroom closures were discussed and a call for outhouses on the Klondike Highway was flushed into action. Mayor Sam Bass wants to bring local Alaska banks to the borough, and a tax will be...
January 10, 2024
The controversial Lutak Dock Project took top priority in the Haines Borough Assembly meeting on Tuesday night. The assembly met in executive session with the borough attorney to discuss Lutak Dock issues
Newscast – January 09 2024
A recent change in the Haines Borough law codified the long-standing protocol on how to process dead bodies. Dead bodies must be processed within 72 hours of arriving at the morgue.
Newscast – January 08 2024
The Haines girls basketball team took first place over the weekend at the Heather Land Basketball Tournament in Skagway. And, when storms over the New Year prevented a Skagway teacher from traveling to run a marathon, he created his own.
Newscast – January 5, 2024
Police are investigating a spike in air pollution that occurred recently in Skagway. They have found the cause of pollution but are waiting for test results from the Department of Environmental Conservation before moving forward. And…After consulting with the...
Newscast – January 4th 2024
In September, forty-eight hours before hunting season started, a moose escaped from a Haines wildlife center. Two days before Christmas, he returned back to the center unharmed.
Newscast – March 15 2023
The Haines Borough is adopting a new method for assessing property values. Officials warn that virtually all property tax bills will be different this year.
Newscast – March 13 2023
A Haines falconer has acquired and trained the bird of his dreams –a gyrfalcon. The large falcons have traditionally been flown by royalty but recent breeding programs have made them more accessible to the common falconer.
Newscast – March 6 2023
Acts are lining up to perform at this year’s Southeast State Fair.
Newscast – March 3 2023
Skagway and the Yukon have a long, common history when it comes to mining. After a decades-long lease to a private entity, the ore transfer dock will come under the Skagway municipality’s control. The facilities will be upgraded over the coming year. The Yukon...
Newscast – March 2 2023
It is time to replace the Haines public safety building. Borough officials have started the search for funding and hope to start construction within five years.
Newscast – March 1 2023
A heavy snowfall, and a Skagway assembly member takes the tourism director job in Haines.
Newscast – February 28 2023
Winterfest in Haines, and a traveling art show.
Newscast – February 27 2023
A fire in downtown Skagway destroyed a large building on Sunday that was important to the community. No one was injured, but the building and all it contained was lost.
Newscast – February 24 2023
The rockslide mitigation above Skagway’s cruise ship dock entered an important new phase this week (2/24). And officials hope to have the dock ready for the start of the season in April.
Newscast – February 22 2023
A group of Haines residents is pursuing the idea of developing a ski area in the Chilkat valley. Although a budget for such a project is still a ways off, the group held their third meeting last Sunday to continue discussions on how to proceed.
Newscast – February 21 2023
A Skagway man was charged last week for allegedly firing a pistol in town the night of the Super Bowl. No one was injured in the incident.
Newscast – February 16 2023
A Haines man receives a prison sentence, and high school students receive a class in self defense
Newscast – February 15 2023
Mark Davis, a Haines High School graduate, is a second year music student at Michigan State. Earlier this week he spent four hours hiding from an active shooter on campus. He spoke with KHNS about the experience.
Newscast – February 14 2023
Representatives for Turnagain Marine Construction were in Haines last week to present their 65% design for renovating the local freight and fuel dock. The construction company shared its plans with the Ports and Harbor Committee, during a town hall, and at a...
Newscast – February 10 2023
The Municipality of Skagway is discussing how to share the correspondence it receives. Until recently all letters sent to the assembly and mayor were automatically included in the packet. During the pandemic a number of inappropriate letters were received, and...
Newscast – February 9, 2023
The Haines Friends of Recycling released their 2023 Reducing Our Waste Together guide this week. The new guide asks residents to not only deal with their waste, but to consider not buying too much of it in the first place.
Newscast – February 8 2023
There is a backlog at the state agency responsible for food assistance. People throughout the state are doing without a program they have come to rely on, and service providers in Haines are seeing the effects of the delay.
Newscast – February 7 2023
A Yukon woman is initiating a study of lynx in the Chilkat valley. She hopes to shed light on some aspect of the coastal population.
Newscast – February 6 2023
The tanner crab fishery begins this weekend in Southeast Alaska. Crabbers are facing low prices, and bitter crab disease is reduces the sellable catch.
Newscast – February 3 2023
A Haines baker won $25,000 in a regional entrepreneurial contest. Every year the Path to Prosperity competition aims to reward businesses with a positive impact on Southeast Alaska.