Claire Stremple, KTOO - Juneau
Closed for the past 18 months, Haines hotel opens for a community in need
Some 50 families have been displaced in Haines due to mudslides and evacuations. Every hotel in town was full over the weekend. Except for one: the 60-room Hotel Halsingland, closed for the last year and a half and currently on the market.
‘Haines makes it happen’: At least one woman is back in her flooded home after outpouring of support
Edgar bought her home three years ago and typically has a few renters, but when the flooding hit, she was the only one living in the house — now with one chicken, the sole survivor of the storm, who she brought to live upstairs for safekeeping.
In Haines, clean-up and search efforts happen in brief good-weather window
Search and rescue teams took off for their fourth day of looking for two missing residents, whose home was caught up in a 600-foot landslide on Wednesday.
Dozens of Haines residents evacuated from their homes as rain and landslides continue
Dozens more homes in Haines were evacuated Thursday night as rain continued to saturate the mountainsides near residential neighborhoods.
Search and rescue teams in Haines still hopeful they’ll find missing residents alive
Searchers continue to look Thursday for two people missing after a large landslide rumbled through a residential area on Beach Road in Haines Wednesday afternoon, destroying at least four houses.
Evacuations and several missing after rains prompt large landslide in Haines
The Haines Borough declared a weather emergency as heavy rains washed out roads throughout town, and landslides took out at least two homes.
The US government wants everyone to avoid cruise travel during COVID-19 pandemic
The CDC issued its strongest recommendation against cruise ship travel, but it hasn't issued a ban as it did at the beginning of the pandemic.
Bear charges boy outside his Haines home
A Haines family got their Halloween scare early this year when a large bear charged a young man all the way up to the family’s front porch. The incident is among the record number of bear interactions this season.
Haines uses CARES funds to pay residents to shop locally
Shoppers who spend $300 locally are eligible for an extra $100.
COVID-19 almost sank the Haines bookstore. A local author’s national fans saved sales
Kane opened in March, a week before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down retailers for months.
Fish runs and berries are down, bear break-ins in Southeast Alaska are way up
Some biologists think the trend is related to the reduced hunting pressure from Outside hunters this year.
A Skagway newspaper owner was turned back at the Canadian border. Agents deemed her return home “non-essential”
When Canadian border agents deemed one Skagway News publisher’s trip back to Skagway non-essential, it left her operating a local paper… remotely.
Gretchen Wehmhoff and Melinda Munson bought the Skagway News in March, not long...
Mobile mammography truck will not visit Southeast this year
For many women, the traveling unit is the only time in a year they get breast exams.
COVID-19 hampers state response to syphilis outbreak
The state just reported the largest number of syphilus cases ever in the state with 250 people infected.
Skagway residents got Permanent Fund dividends and city stimulus checks in the same week
The city's plan was to keep people spending money despite a devastated tourism season. Some residents say it's working.
Progress slows on mine project near Haines
Drillers are usually on the mountain at the Palmer Project north of Haines 24 hours a day seven days a week by mid-summer. But this year, Constantine Metal Resources announced a belated and quiet work season.
Restrictions for crossing the border into Canada extended to July 21
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the move is important to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Want $1,000? Just show that you need it, says Skagway assembly
The city voted to distribute $1.4 million directly to Skagway residents, while another $1.5 million will go to other programs.
Carnival, Princess, Holland America cancel all 2020 Alaska cruises
The cancellations bring the total passenger loss to nearly a million
Cruise lines are taking bookings for an Alaska cruise season that might not even happen
Skagway Mayor Andrew Cremata said he was surprised to learn that Carnival Cruise Line is offering a seven-day cruise through his town in early July, but it's not clear whether that trip is even happening.