Prosecutors have dismissed a charge of third-degree assault filed against Thomas William Maness stemming from an incident at the Seward Marine Industrial Center earlier this year. 

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will double the limit for sockeye salmon caught in both the northern salt waters of Resurrection Bay and part of the freshwaters of Resurrection River, effective 12:01 a.m. Friday morning. The limit will increase to twelve fish per day and twelve in pos…

Seward-based boat tour operator Major Marine Tours took second place in a USA Today contest to determine the top ten boat tour companies in the country. The contest, part of USA Today’s 10Best series of readers’ choice awards, pitted twenty firms against one another to compete for the votes …

A Norwegian cruise line best known for its extensive offerings in the river cruise market made its first call in Seward on Tuesday as part of its growing ocean cruise offerings. The cruise vessel Orion of Viking Cruises will remain in Seward for three days total, affording its departing and …

A prominent Fourth Avenue building that dates from Seward’s early days as a pioneer town sold this week, marking the end of over a century of ownership by members of the original family. The third generation of the Hawkins family, represented by Hugh and Iris Darling, found what they call th…

The Seward City Council will loo­k into proposals that the city chip in when developers extend utilities into new subdivisions. A work session on the subject brought a number of citizens, including developers and dealers in Seward’s real estate market, for a wide-ranging conversation that co…

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved changes to its agreement with Providence Health & Services Alaska, the entity that operates the city-owned hospital and long-term care facility. The changes release Providence from the obligation to run Seward Mountain Haven (SMH) under th…

A dispute between the city government and the executive staff at the Seward Community Health Center led to a stiff rebuke from staff at the Health Resources and Services Administration, the federal agency that oversees the health center program, and came close to derailing a grant applicatio…

Not too bad for his first time deep-sea fishing.

A participant in the annual Exit Glacier Race collapsed and died despite lifesaving measures by bystanders and first responders on Saturday.

The Alaska SeaLife Center has been caring for a bearded seal pup since mid-April, the first time since 2002 that the aquarium’s wildlife response program has admitted a bearded seal, the Center said in a statement. 

The Seward City Council will convene a town hall to discuss crime and drug addiction in Seward, responding in part to a request from the board of the Seward Chamber of Commerce. Crime has continued to be a big topic in Seward, particularly in the wake of a double homicide last month.

The Seward Community Foundation held its 2019 Donor Appreciation and Grant Awards on Tuesday, May 7. Ninety people shared in an evening that was humorous, generous and giving. Five donors helped present 18 grants, worth $100,928, to local nonprofits! Those presenting were Chip and Teri Arnol…

Tuesday night’s riot at Spring Creek Correctional Center – the largest in the institution’s history – was a premeditated protest against a prison policy, state officials said at a press conference at the facility on Friday.

Each year, more and more older adults are making a positive impact in and around Seward. As volunteers, employees, employers, educators, mentors, advocates, and more, they offer insight and experience that benefits the entire community. That’s why Older Americans Month (OAM) has been recogni…

The Seward espresso trade will soon gain another outlet. 

Public Safety Report

Around sixty inmates at Spring Creek Correctional Center, the maximum-security prison located at the head of Resurrection Bay, rioted for 10 hours from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning, the Department of Corrections said in a press release Wednesday.

A crew member of the Seward-based Coast Guard Cutter Mustang has received the Coast Guard Commendation Medal for his actions during a boat fire last month. Seaman Tommy Meek, 27, is credited with identifying and extinguishing a fire on board a vessel moored adjacent to the Mustang during the…

A Kenai grand jury has indicted the accused shooter in a double homicide earlier this month. Joseph Chandler, Jr., had already been charged with two counts of first degree murder. The grand jury added four additional charges for second degree murder.

Public Safety Report

Seward area law enforcement arrested two over the weekend on outstanding warrants after tracing one of them to a recent bicycle theft. Alaska State Troopers arrested Lucas McAlary and Michelle Maganack after tips led them to a vehicle that had been spotted at the scene of the crime.

The three Seward area public schools upped security Tuesday afternoon after an incident at Seward High School led Principal Trevan Walker to sound a cautionary alarm. Neither Seward High nor district officials would elaborate on the specifics of the incident, which reportedly involved a student.

The Alaska SeaLife Center has admitted its first animal rescue for the year: a baby sea otter, now approximately three weeks old. The three-pound pup is now under 24-hour care and being fed once every two hours, according to a press release from the Seward-based aquarium and marine mammal re…

A contractor will begin an almost $700,000 paving project at the Seward Marine Industrial Center this spring, with the aim of surfacing up to 75,000 square feet at the city-owned boat yard by June 15.

Public Safety Report

A winter sports outing in the Lower 48 ended in a life-changing accident for a Seward-born soldier in the United State Marine Corps earlier this year, leaving Lance Corporal Nick Woodard, 19, without the use of his legs and limited mobility in his arms.

On Monday, the City Council put the finishing touches on a months-long process initiated by Seward voters to opt back into the state’s Public Employment Relations Act. The council voted 6–1 to repeal a 1975 ordinance that initially exempted the city from PERA. The sole dissenting voice was M…

The City Council now intends to offer Scott Meszaros the job as Seward’s next city manager after front-runner Erin Reinders withdrew from consideration. The council met in executive session on Tuesday – during which they are legally prohibited from taking action – and will meet again Wednesd…

The City of Seward will conduct an emergency preparedness drill this Friday, April 19, the first in what Assistant City Manager Brennan Hickok hopes will be an annual effort to assess the city’s response to natural disasters, particularly earthquakes and tsunamis.

Public Safety Report

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly at a Tuesday meeting in Seward enacted an ordinance that will add to the budget of the Kenai Peninsula School District for fiscal year 2019, at least partly averting mass layoffs of untenured teachers that could have ensued if budget deliberations in June…

Alaska State Troopers have arrested a Seward man and charged him with two counts of first degree murder after a shooting Monday evening that left two men dead. Joseph Chandler, Jr., 30, is accused of killing Dustin Marx, 28, and Michael White, 40, at a home on Nash Road.

The front-runner in Seward’s search for a long-term city manager has withdrawn from consideration after receiving an offer to stay on in her current city of Unalaska.

The City Council of Unalaska has voted to offer Erin Reinders the job as that city’s manager at the same time that Reinders is considering an offer from the Seward City Council.

Portions of the Gulf of Alaska near Resurrection Bay will host the maritime component of this year’s Northern Edge, a biennial military exercise that has been held in and near Alaska since the 1970s. The exercise was last performed in 2017.

The City Council on Monday unanimously enacted an ordinance which will make the actual gross pay of city employees a matter of public record. The ordinance, sponsored by Council Member Suzi Towsley, received the support of all seven council members after a small amendment intended to shield …

The services of the law firm retained by the City Council to provide legal advice to the City continues to be the subject of intense disagreement among council members, who completed the firm’s annual evaluation at the end of March. 

Public Safety Report

Seward Hospitality Group which operates the Alaska Seafood Grill, Seasalt Alaskan Grill and Bar, and the Railway Cantina have been raising money for local organizations during the winter season.

The Seward City Council negotiating committee is awaiting word on an offer it made to city manager candidate Erin Reinders, committee members say.

The City of Seward will take a modest hit to its budget under a proposal to end a long-standing allocation of state fisheries tax revenue to Alaskan fishing communities. Fisheries tax revenue provides around $400,000 of the city’s general fund budget of $13 million, or close to three percent.

Alaska State Troopers from the Seward post on Monday arrested a 22-year-old man accused of sexual relationships with three girls between fourteen and fifteen years old. Ethan Koch, 22, of Homer has been charged with three counts of second degree sexual abuse of a minor and two counts of thir…

Public Safety Report

As the City of Seward geared up for an eleventh-hour battle to persuade the Alaska Department of Transportation not to abandon the long runway at the Seward airport, the city and airport partisans got an unexpected reprieve from none other than the Federal Aviation Administration, whose invo…

Seward Community Library Association (SCLA), aka, the Friends of the Seward Library, is suspending its collection of used books in the box at the top of the stairs by the library front desk, in preparation for construction that will affect its storage area in the library basement. After the …

Public Safety Report