Author: kfskadmin

Republican and Democratic candidates for Governor have been making the rounds around Southeast Alaska this spring. Anchorage republican Ralph Samuels recently visited Petersburg for the Little Norway Festival. Samuels was in the State House from 2002 to 2008. Samuels was born and raised in Alaska. Besides anchorage, he’s lived in Nome, Fairbanks, and Metlakatla but says he considers King Salmon, in Bristol Bay, home. He was a Vice President at Penn Air, the major commuter airline in Southwest Alaska, which is where he spent most of his career. He currently serves as Vice President of Government and Community Affairs for Holland America Cruise Lines. Samuels describes himself as a “private sector guy”. He spoke with KFSK’s Matt Lichtenstein during Mayfest

Alaska State Troopers are investigating an officer-involved shooting that resulted in the death of an allegedly aggressive, sword-wielding man late Thursday morning in Petersburg.
Update May 24: Alaska state troopers on Friday released the name of the deceased as 41-year-old Petersburg resident Richard R. Whidby. According to the troopers, Whidby’s next of kin have been notified.
Petersburg City Manager says he requested troopers handle the case because he thought it would be good to have a third party do the investigation. Here's our original report from Thursday afternoon.

Planning and environmental permitting work for a controversial ferry-crossing and road between Petersburg and Kake may resume this next fiscal year. That will depend on whether the Governor approves a 4.5 million dollar line item in the Legislature’s capital budget. If the funding comes through, the state says state it will pursue the road on the north end of Kupreanoff island, regardless of where the proposed electric line to Kake is built.

Petersburg’s school district will have fewer teachers and aids next years as well as fewer students. The school board this week tightened the districts belt with passage of the 2011 budget. Even with a significant reduction in staff numbers, the spending plan is still in the red with rising costs and declining revenue. On the semi-bright side, the deficit is not as big as district officials initially expected.

It’s been an exciting month for art teacher Ashley Duross. The Alaska State Council on The Arts bought one of her paintings in April and she has another in a juried show at the Seattle Modern Art Museum. Duross spoke with Melati Kaye about her solo exhibition opening at the Clausen Art Museum. her upcoming