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High school tech students install solar panels at the Anan Wildlife Observatory viewing cabin. (Ander Edens / Wrangell Sentinel)

More cameras will provide expanded online viewing of Anan bears in Wrangell

One of Southeast Alaska’s most prolific pink salmon rivers, known for attracting copious numbers of bears, wildlife photographers and tourists, may soon add a new… Continue reading

  • Jun 7, 2025
  • By Paula Dobbyn, Wrangell Sentinel
  • bears
High school tech students install solar panels at the Anan Wildlife Observatory viewing cabin. (Ander Edens / Wrangell Sentinel)
The Juneau Assembly and city administrative leaders hear public testimony during a meeting Monday, May 19, 2025, at City Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

Massive agenda awaits Assembly on Monday, including proposal to start meetings earlier

Late-night decisions by exhausted leaders, people avoiding participation cited as reasons to change.

The Juneau Assembly and city administrative leaders hear public testimony during a meeting Monday, May 19, 2025, at City Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
In this file photo Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé junior Brandon Casperson hits during a home game. The Crimson Bears will play in the fourth/sixth-place game Saturday in the ASAA/First National Bank Alaska DI Baseball State Championships at Anchorage’s Mulchay Stadium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

JDHS eliminates Wasilla from state baseball play

Crimson Bears earn Saturday’s fourth/sixth-place game.

In this file photo Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé junior Brandon Casperson hits during a home game. The Crimson Bears will play in the fourth/sixth-place game Saturday in the ASAA/First National Bank Alaska DI Baseball State Championships at Anchorage’s Mulchay Stadium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
The Southeast Alaska village of Metlakatla is seen in an undated photo. (Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities photo)

Alaska state judge dismisses murder case, citing widespread misconduct by local police

State’s top prosecutor says she’s suspending most work with Metlakatla police Department until issues are addressed.

The Southeast Alaska village of Metlakatla is seen in an undated photo. (Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities photo)
Smoke from an extinguished fire at a homeless camp is seen at the Brotherhood Bridge on Friday evening. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Fire destroys homeless campsite under Brotherhood Bridge, no injuries reported

A fire that destroyed a homeless encampment under the Brotherhood Bridge cast a pall of smoke over rush-hour traffic Friday evening, but no injuries were… Continue reading

Smoke from an extinguished fire at a homeless camp is seen at the Brotherhood Bridge on Friday evening. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Steve Henrikson (center) smiles with museum colleagues over the Alaska State Museum’s 125th birthday cake on Friday, June 6, 2025. (Natalie Buttner / Juneau Empire)

Locals celebrate the legacy of museum curators

Remembering those who remember: 125 years of Alaska State Libraries, Archives and Museums.

Steve Henrikson (center) smiles with museum colleagues over the Alaska State Museum’s 125th birthday cake on Friday, June 6, 2025. (Natalie Buttner / Juneau Empire)
Jim Duncan, a longtime local Juneau legislator and statewide executive leader, is now retired and living in Anchorage. (Photo courtesy of Jim Duncan)

Former longtime Juneau lawmaker Jim Duncan reenters the political ‘Sausage Factory’

Book revisits decades of history at Alaska’s Capitol and issues that remain much the same today.

Jim Duncan, a longtime local Juneau legislator and statewide executive leader, is now retired and living in Anchorage. (Photo courtesy of Jim Duncan)
Juneau School District Superintendent Frank Hauser watches Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, discuss the federal disparity test for education funding provided by states during a Senate Education Committee meeting Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

State education board delays decision limiting local funding for schools

DEED blames local contributions for failure of disparity test — testimonies point the finger back.

Juneau School District Superintendent Frank Hauser watches Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, discuss the federal disparity test for education funding provided by states during a Senate Education Committee meeting Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
In this file photo Sitka junior Allyson Mayville sets for a pitch against JDHS. On Thursday Sitka defeated Soldotna and Kenai to open the 2025 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska DII Softball State Championships on Anchorage’s Cartee Fields. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Sitka opens softball state tournament with two wins Thursday

Brenton, Mayville bats lead Wolves’ routs of Soldotna 16-4, Kenai 20-6.

In this file photo Sitka junior Allyson Mayville sets for a pitch against JDHS. On Thursday Sitka defeated Soldotna and Kenai to open the 2025 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska DII Softball State Championships on Anchorage’s Cartee Fields. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
In this file photo Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé sophomore Brynn Wheeler connects on a pitch against Lathrop. Wheeler and the Crimson Bears lost to South and defeated Dimond on Thursday in the 2025 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska DI Softball State Championships on Anchorage’s Cartee Fields. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

JDHS softball team opens state tournament with mixed results

Crimson Bears battle in round-robin seeding format.

In this file photo Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé sophomore Brynn Wheeler connects on a pitch against Lathrop. Wheeler and the Crimson Bears lost to South and defeated Dimond on Thursday in the 2025 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska DI Softball State Championships on Anchorage’s Cartee Fields. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
In this file photo Crimson Bears junior pitcher Riley Fick and junior catcher Nate Fick listen to pitching coach Jaime Kissner during a game against Sitka at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)

Crimson Bears baseball team bitten by Cougars

JDHS opens state tournament play with 5-0 loss to Service.

In this file photo Crimson Bears junior pitcher Riley Fick and junior catcher Nate Fick listen to pitching coach Jaime Kissner during a game against Sitka at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Sitka junior Caleb Calhoun pitches during the Wolves 3-0 win over South Anchorage on the opening day of the ASAA/First National Bank Alaska DI Baseball State Championships at Anchorage’s Mulchay Stadium. (Photo courtesy Heather Gluth)

Sitka advances to state semifinal with no-hitter over South

Calhoun sits 15 Cougars down, Bartolaba bat keeps them there.

Sitka junior Caleb Calhoun pitches during the Wolves 3-0 win over South Anchorage on the opening day of the ASAA/First National Bank Alaska DI Baseball State Championships at Anchorage’s Mulchay Stadium. (Photo courtesy Heather Gluth)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on June 4, 1995. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week ending June 7

Three decades of capital city coverage.

The front page of the Juneau Empire on June 4, 1995. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
The trans-Alaska pipeline is seen on Sept. 19, 2022, in Fairbanks. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Praise but no firm promises, as Trump administration officials talk Alaska oil and gas

U.S. Energy Secretary Wright said gas pipeline could get access to a green-energy loan program.

The trans-Alaska pipeline is seen on Sept. 19, 2022, in Fairbanks. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
The entrance road to Juneau’s landfill in Lemon Creek on May 24, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Study: Shipping Juneau’s trash south best option once landfill is full

Local leaders pondering what to do with waste once current disposal site fills up in a decade.

The entrance road to Juneau’s landfill in Lemon Creek on May 24, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Kayla Hunt, owner of Salon 2211, holds a recent hair donation from customer Terry Kramarz that will be sent to the nonprofit organization Wigs for Kids. The two ponytails measure 20 and 22 inches each. (Laurie Craig / for the Juneau Empire)

The kindest cut of all: A gift of hair

Salon owner donates locals’ locks to charity for children suffering hair loss.

  • Jun 5, 2025
  • By Laurie Craig, For the Juneau Empire
  • Local News
Kayla Hunt, owner of Salon 2211, holds a recent hair donation from customer Terry Kramarz that will be sent to the nonprofit organization Wigs for Kids. The two ponytails measure 20 and 22 inches each. (Laurie Craig / for the Juneau Empire)
Members of the Ohio National Guard participate in the Operation ORCA exercise in June of 2023 in Wasilla. (Dana Rosso / Alaska National Guard)

Emergency simulation uses Juneau’s landscape to prepare for national threats

Alaska National Guard ORCA Exercise may disrupt community, but increases response readiness.

Members of the Ohio National Guard participate in the Operation ORCA exercise in June of 2023 in Wasilla. (Dana Rosso / Alaska National Guard)
Tulio Fontanella, a first-year production technician with Gavel, controls the cameras at a Senate Finance Committee meeting on Feb. 13, 2025. (Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)

Behind the cameras: Gavel Alaska broadcasts the business of state government to Alaskans

KTOO’s public service program works closely with state offices to ensure real-time coverage.

Tulio Fontanella, a first-year production technician with Gavel, controls the cameras at a Senate Finance Committee meeting on Feb. 13, 2025. (Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
People dance in celebration of the Fisherman’s Honor Totem Pole in Hoonah on Friday, May 30, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

Hoonah’s rich fishing history remembered through totem pole

The story of fishermen carved — “all of us in the past, all of us in the future, and all of us now.”

People dance in celebration of the Fisherman’s Honor Totem Pole in Hoonah on Friday, May 30, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Storis is shown here underway, June 3, 2025, from Pascagoula, Mississippi. The Storis is the Coast Guard’s first new polar icebreaker acquisition in 25 years and will expand U.S. operational presence in the Arctic Ocean. (Photo courtesy of Edison Chouest Offshore)

Coast Guard icebreaker Storis begins maiden voyage, scheduled to be commissioned in Juneau in August

Ship will initially be homeported Seattle until infrastructure upgrades in Juneau are complete.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Storis is shown here underway, June 3, 2025, from Pascagoula, Mississippi. The Storis is the Coast Guard’s first new polar icebreaker acquisition in 25 years and will expand U.S. operational presence in the Arctic Ocean. (Photo courtesy of Edison Chouest Offshore)