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KRBDSouth Tongass fire station rebuild complete The South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department began operating out of the newly rebuilt firehouse last month. (Hunter Morrison/KRBD) Ketchikan’s South Tongass Volunteer Fire Department fire station is back in operation. That’s after a fire linked to faulty apparatus equipment badly damaged the facility and destroyed five emergency vehicles in 2024. The rebuild cost $4.2 million and was largely financed by insurance funds. It included stripping the building and modifying it to code. A new sprinkler system was also installed. South Tongass Fire Chief Steve Rydeen said they tried to keep the facility about the same as it was before. “We have to make sure that we’re prudent with the taxpayers’ dollars,” he said. “So we didn’t do a lot of changes. We just did what we had to for operational needs.” The department is made up of mostly volunteers, and is funded primarily through borough dollars, which helped purchase new emergency vehicles. Some were also donated or loaned from communities around the state. The department began operating out of the rebuilt firehouse last month. Rydeen said the department was working out of two different facilities during the rebuild. The fire chief and captain were at the White Cliff building in town. “You know, you got a couple guys working here and a couple of guys working down there. There’s not as good of communication,” Rydeen said. The department is still organizing equipment and furniture. They’ll soon purchase another ambulance with grant funding. The South Tongass firehouse was first built in 2008. Rydeen said they’ll have an open house event for the rebuilt facility next month. Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.

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KRBDMetlakatlaConstruction begins on student housing project in Klawock that aims to boost local workforce Tribal leaders and community partners commemorate the first day of construction of the new short-term housing complex at the Generations Southeast Prince of Wales campus in Klawock. (Sydney Dauphinais/KRBD) On a cloudy day late last month, around 100 people crowded around a pile of dirt outside the Generations Southeast Prince of Wales campus, a comprehensive community learning center in Klawock. They were celebrating the groundbreaking for construction of a new housing complex for students enrolled in workforce training classes. “It’s critically important that we recognize that education and educational opportunities don’t look the same to everybody.” Richard Peterson, President of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, said to the crowd. Standing with tribal leaders and state lawmakers, he dug a shovel in the dirt to commemorate the first day of construction. The building will be about a 230 feet long dorm-style project with 18 dorm units, two apartments for traveling instructors and one apartment for the director. The goal is for it to resemble a traditional longhouse. Generations Southeast is a regional community training center owned and operated by Tlingit and Haida, with campuses in Juneau and Klawock. They offer vocational training courses in welding, carpentry, and certification classes to teach early childhood education. The construction is happening in tandem with expanding vocational opportunities, including Indigenous trades, like traditional vest making and machine sewing sea otter fur. “I think that can’t be understated enough,” Peterson said. “How many artisans we have in our villages who have real skill, real knowledge that deserves to be recognized, just like any other trade.” The training center is administered by the regional tribe but open to the public statewide. Chas Edwardson, director of the Prince of Wales campus, said the need for this kind of workforce housing is palpable. Classes are in high demand and fill up quickly, attracting students from all over Southeast. Some commute from villages on the other side of the island, while others travel from places like Angoon or Metlakatla. Usually they end up sleeping in churches, or on the floor of the Klawock High School gym. “Our goal is to keep people here or bring them back,” Edwardson said. “There’s just too many people leaving our communities, and then we import workers to do the work that’s there. So we’re going to make that connection and keep going.” Edwardson said this project has been about 15 years in the making. He’s worked with community leaders and lawmakers, like Southeast’s Senator Bert Stedman, to make economic developments in the region, seeking more state revenue to make that happen. Most of that state workforce development money was getting siphoned to projects in Northern and Western Alaska, Stedman said. For years, Edwardson and Stedman worked together to get funding for projects across Southeast — and even got things moving for the workforce training center in Klawock — but money was limited and the financial droughts put things on hold. “We still couldn’t carve out a little piece for us, so what we had to do was feed all the other dogs, so we can get some scraps,” Stedman said. Revenue improved a few years ago with an increase in state Technical Vocational Education Program, or TVEP, funding that became available across the state. That ended up being around $1.4 million for Klawock’s vocational training center. Generations Southeast also received an additional investment from Sealaska Corporation, a for-profit Native corporation based in Juneau. Stedman said he’s confident the investment in the Klawock programming will give more education and job opportunities to people in Southeast. Then, they can work anywhere. But he hopes they stay local. “When we look at our young Southeasterners, bringing them the opportunity to go to a Prince of Wales to school versus sending them up to Seward or down into the states, you might as well tell the young kids you’re going to send them to China,” Stedman said. “The culture’s different, it’s a long ways away from home, where they can come from around all Southeast to Prince of Wales, and it’s like being home.” The goal is to have the building occupied by the end of 2027. Construction will be completed by the Craig Tribal construction crew and McGraw Construction, with opportunities for student participation.

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KRBDFirst City Players Report Hear about tap dancing, casting of “Shrek: The Musical” and more about the show which opens next Month. Elizabeth Nelson, Amanda Glanzer and Katie Blandford give details. Here are links: First City Players website First City Players Facebook page Phone number: 907-225-4792 Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.Call 907-225-4792

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KRBDArts Council Report The Ketchikan Area Arts & Humanities Council Main Street Gallery. (KRBD staff) The current gallery show “All Aboard” is on display until the end of the month, Wearable Art Show tickets are available for artist members and above, the Fil-Am Fest is this Saturday, models are needed for life drawing classes in November and there are several calls to artists. Kathleen Light, Erin Reynolds and Kelsey McNeil give details about this and much, much more. Here is a link to the Arts Council website . KAAHC Facebook Page . Phone: 907-225-2211 Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution .Call 907-225-2211

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KRBDArts Council Report The Ketchikan Area Arts & Humanities Council Main Street Gallery. (KRBD staff) The ARTober Art Walk is this Friday with extended hours, Wearable Art Show tickets are available for artist members and above, there’s a First Friday Art Walk in Craig, the Kapamilya Gala is Saturday, the Kayhi music concert is next Wednesday, and there are more performances around town. Kathleen Light and Erin Reynolds give details about this and much, much more. Here is a link to the Arts Council website . KAAHC Facebook Page . Phone: 907-225-2211 Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution .Call 907-225-2211

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KRBDJob Center Report Hear about some of more than 550 jobs available in the Ketchikan area and on Prince of Wales Island; along with other services offered by the Job Center. Reed Harding gives details during the September 21 report. You can contact the Ketchikan Job Center at 907-225-3181. Here is a link to find jobs on the […]Call 907-225-3181

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KRBDWeather Report from NWS Juneau The weather contributed a few inches of rain to Ketchikan this past weekend, but annual precipitation is still well below normal. Hear more about this and the outlook for the week. Meteorologist Spencer Fielding gives details for the week of September 21. Here is a link to CoCoRaHS – the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network […]

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