U.S. currency is seen in a close-up photo. (Getty Images)
The Alaska Division of Banking and Securities is planning to approve the merger of Credit Union 1 and MAC Federal Credit Union, the agency said in a public notice this week.
MAC Federal Credit Union is based in the Fairbanks area and has about 20,000 members, according to figures provided with the merger announcement last year.
It opened branches in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough starting five years ago, marking its first expansion outside the Fairbanks area.
Public comments on the merger can be submitted to the Division of Banking and Securities, which expects to make a final decision on the merger sometime after April 3.
A brown bear rests on a hillside in Denali National Park and Preserve. Hunting, trapping and fishing are allowed on national preserve lands in Alaska. But under rules issued during the Biden and Obama administrations, state-authorized bear baiting was banned in national preserves. (Photo provided by the National Park Service)
The Trump administration is seeking to open national preserves in Alaska to bear baiting by sport hunters.
The U.S. Department of the Interior on Friday announced that it will propose a new rule to overturn restrictions imposed by the Biden administration and prior to that, wider restrictions imposed by the Obama administration.
The proposed rule would allow for state regulations to apply in national preserves, which are part of the National Park System. Sport and subsistence hunting, trapping and fishing are allowed in national preserves in Alaska, under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, or ANILCA.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game allows hunters to use bait to hunt bears in certain places and at certain times of the year. Baiting is the practice of setting up stations with food to attract bears so they can be targeted for hunting.
In a statement, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the proposed rule will restore the state’s previously established authority to manage sport hunting and trapping in Alaska’s national preserves.
“For decades, Alaska’s national preserves were managed under a framework that respected the State’s authority, protected subsistence uses and ensured conservation of wildlife resources,” Burgum said in the statement. “This proposed rule restores that balance. It reduces unnecessary federal overreach, aligns federal regulations with state law, and honors the commitments Congress made in ANILCA.”
The proposed Trump administration rule, like the Biden-era and Obama-era restrictions, applies only to sport harvesters. The federal government, not the state government, regulates subsistence harvesting on federal lands in Alaska, including national preserves.
Doug Vincent-Lang, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said he welcomed the new Department of the Interior plan.
“It is refreshing to see a federal agency recognize the State’s role as the primary manager of fish and wildlife within its borders and affirm the importance that federal actions not undermine that foundational responsibility,” Vincent-Lang said in a statement. “These changes support the cultural heritage and long-standing traditions of Alaskans who use these lands to fulfill their subsistence needs and continue to pass down a way of life to future generations of Alaskans.”
But conservation groups criticized the move.
A black bear clings to a tree trunk in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in this undated photo. Hunting is allowed in the national preserve section of Wrangell-St. Elias, as is the case with other Alaska national preserves. (Photo provided by the National Park Service)
Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, said in a statement that the proposed rule should be rejected.
“This proposed rule, like so many before it from this Administration, will endanger our national parks, the millions of visitors that visit them every year, and the animals that inhabit them,” she said in the statement. “For years, bear baiting policy in Alaska’s national preserves has been treated like a political light switch in Washington — flipped on and off with each new administration. But the consequences are anything but political. Bear baiting disrupts natural wildlife behavior and creates dangerous conditions for people visiting these lands managed by the National Park Service.”
Nicole Schmitt, executive director of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, said the proposed rule change is not justified, noting that current rules already protect subsistence users.
“The rule change we see today was championed by Safari Club International, who just last month petitioned the Department of Interior to dismantle the power and local representation on the Federal Subsistence Board. Now, this same outside group wants to unlock Alaska’s National Preserves for expansive sport hunting, opening cherish(ed) preserves like Denali to bear baiting,” Schmitt said in a statement.
The new Trump administration proposal will be detailed in an upcoming Federal Register notice that will kick off a public comment period, the Department of the Interior said.
The new proposal is the latest in a decade-long history of rule changes for sport hunting in Alaska national preserves.
In 2015, the Obama administration issued a rule barring bear-baiting and other controversial hunting practices like killing cubs in dens, using dogs to hunt bears and shooting swimming caribou, all practices that were allowed on state land.
The first Trump administration overturned those restrictions. The Biden administration in 2024 resurrected part of the Obama administration’s restrictions, specifically focusing on the bear-baiting ban. At the time, the National Park Service determined that bear baiting posed safety risks to people and animals because it could make bears habituated to human-provided food.
The debate over state regulation of sport hunting and trapping on federal lands in Alaska has also sparked litigation.
In 2020, conservation groups, including the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, notched a victory when a federal court struck down the first Trump administration’s plan to allow baiting of brown bears within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. The state and the Safari Club International attempted to reverse that ruling, but the appeal was rejected by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined the state and Safari Club’s request to take up the case.
Regulations and policies governing hunting and fishing on federal lands will be on the table at the Southeast Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council meeting in Juneau next week.
The council is one of 10 in Alaska that provide recommendations to the Federal Subsistence Board, which is the decision-making body for Alaska’s Federal Subsistence Management Program.
Council members and the public will be able to participate remotely in the four-day meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday and continues through Friday.
The Southeast council met for two days in December, after their fall meeting was postponed because of the 43-day-long federal government shutdown.
The Agriculture and Interior departments initiated the review of the subsistence program on Dec. 15 in response to the Trump administration’s January 2025 executive order “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential,” as well as a petition that the Safari Club International filed with the federal government last year, which asks U.S. agencies to “rein in” the subsistence program.
The OSM official’s announcement sparked more than three hours of discussion among Southeast RAC members over ways that political influence could compromise the effectiveness of the Federal Subsistence Management Program.
Upon announcing the federally-initiated subsistence review on Dec. 15, OSM opened a 60-day public comment period. OSM later extended the comment deadline by 45 days; and is now accepting comments through March 30.
A 30-day public comment period is open through March 20 to get Alaskans’ views on the administration’s update to the Tongass Land Management Plan, which is aimed at maximizing timber harvest and mineral extraction throughout the Tongass, and adjusting to increased cruise ship visitation.
The December meeting of the Southeast subsistence council also marked the close of Sitka representative Harvey Kitka’s long tenure as a council member. Since joining the council in 2003, Kitka has shared his insights on management of wildlife, fish and their habitats, and helped shape the federal subsistence program for Alaska.
Council members serve in three-year terms, and may apply for re-appointment at the end of each term. People can apply by April 2 to fill seats on the Southeast council that are opening up this year.
A panel of federal staff from several land management agencies review the applications, conduct interviews and rank applicants before the Federal Subsistence Board nominates individuals for appointment by the U.S. Secretary of Interior.
It’s up to the Interior secretary to issue appointment letters to new members. During Trump’s first term as president, the Interior secretary did not appoint Council members to fill vacant seats, leaving some regional councils unable to meet quorum.
Current members of the Southeast RAC are Patricia Phillips and James Slater of Pelican, Albert Howard of Angoon, Frank Wright Jr. of Hoonah, Larry Bemis of Yakutat, Calvin Casipit of Gustavus, John Smith III of Juneau, Theodore Sandhofer of Petersburg, Louie Wagner of Metlakatla, Michael Douville and Lewis Hiatt of Craig, and Donald Hernandez of Point Baker, who is chair of the RAC.
Wright and Hiatt represent commercial and sport users, while the remaining council members represent customary and traditional (subsistence) users of fish and wildlife species.
At next week’s meeting in Juneau the council will make a recommendation on a wildlife proposal that would prohibit people on federal lands throughout Southeast Alaska (Units 1-5) from hunting in the hours between civil sunset and civil sunrise.
Ten total wildlife proposals are on the RAC agenda for the meeting next week. Six proposals suggest cutbacks in deer harvest opportunities in the Prince of Wales Island-area Unit 2, in the interest of sustaining the area’s deer population.
Unit 2 could face additional subsistence deer hunting pressure this year after the Federal Subsistence Board voted 7-3 last February to designate the nearby Ketchikan area as “rural,” which qualifies all Ketchikan residents to hunt and fish as federally-qualified subsistence users throughout Southeast (Units 1-5).
The council also will hear two proposals that deal with season dates for wolf trapping on federal lands in Unit 2. The size of the wolf population in the Prince of Wales Island area is an important factor in the health of the deer population in Unit 2.
The Southeast RAC had planned to deliberate and make formal recommendations on all of those proposals this fall, but the abbreviated schedule for the December meeting forced the RAC to postpone action on the proposals.
Anyone can participate in the Southeast RAC meeting, beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday and continuing through Friday at the Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall in Juneau. Remote participation is available.
To participate by phone, people can call the toll free number: 1-833-436-1163, then when prompted enter the phone conference ID: 245 785 455#
To join on Microsoft Teams, people can enter the meeting ID: 220 150 997 463 and passcode: P5a8WU2L
A snow-covered statue of William Henry Seward stands in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (James Brooks photo/Alaska Beacon)
At the Alaska Beacon, we’re constantly trying to figure out where we should put our attention. There’s always more news than there are people to report it.
Every Thursday, the Alaska Legislature publishes its committee schedule for the coming week. Public notices alert us to meetings and events. The governor’s office occasionally lets us know ahead of time that something’s coming down the pike, too.
Here’s what we know about for the coming week. If you know of something that’s coming up that you should think we should pay attention to, email us at info@alaskabeacon.com.
We can’t cover everything on this list, but we’re interested in them and we think you should know about them in case you’re interested in them, too.
This list is ripped from our notebooks, and it is likely to change over the course of the week. We’ll update it when we can.
Are you trying to keep track of when to testify on a bill? The Legislature has a website for that.
Monday, March 9
Bid opening for the new National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska lease sale. (This was moved to March 18 because of an error.)
8 a.m. – House Education Committee hears invited testimony on a bill that would raise per student state education funding by $630 and a resolution that would ask the Trump administration to waive visa fees for international teachers in Alaska
9 a.m. – Senate Finance looks at major maintenance projects for Alaska’s K-12 schools
1:30 p.m. – Senate-passed elections reform bill gets a hearing in House Finance
1:30 p.m. – ISER and other invited testifiers talk about the pension bill in Senate Finance
3:30 p.m. – Bipartisan, bicameral education task force looks at major maintenance with representatives from the Department of Education and Early Development, the Legislative Finance Division and the Coalition for Education Equity.
9 a.m. – State school board meets to hear report on how well the Alaska Reads program is working
11 a.m. – U.S. Rep. Nick Begich gives his annual legislative speech
1 p.m. – Alaska Railroad CEO gives a status update to House Transportation
3:30 p.m. – Planned Parenthood talks to Senate Health and Social Services
Wednesday, March 11
Morning House and Senate floor sessions
7:30 a.m. – Senate Finance Corrections Subcommittee considers the budget for the Department of Corrections
8 a.m. – Joint House and Senate Education Committee meeting for the 2026 State Board of Education Report to the Legislature
9 a.m. – Legislative Finance and Division of Retirement and Benefits talk about the pension revival bill with Senate Finance
9 a.m. – Cook Inlet LNG talks to Regulatory Commission of Alaska about their plans for a floating natural gas import terminal
12 p.m. – Lunch and Learn about Alaska’s role in international energy stability
1 p.m. – House Judiciary takes up an as-yet-unintroduced (as of Friday) resolution about voter privacy
1:30 p.m. – Public testimony on the operating budget in House Finance
1:30 p.m. – Where is state IT falling short? They’ll talk to Senate Finance
3:15 p.m. House Labor & Commerce Committee considers interstate health care licensing compacts that could unlock more federal money through the Rural Health Transformation Program
3:30 p.m. – Big new public education funding and policy bill gets a hearing in Senate Education
3:30 p.m. – Senate Resources gets an update on the Railbelt electric transmission upgrades and on the Port of Alaska
4:30 p.m. – Budget public testimony continues in House Finance until 6:30 p.m.
5 p.m. – House Education talks about their BSA increase bill
10:15 a.m. – House Military and Veterans Affairs talks about a bill allowing “patriotic organizations” to sell alcohol
12 p.m. – Lunch and Learn about efforts to track landslides in Southeast Alaska
1:30 p.m. – More public testimony on the budget in House Finance
1:30 p.m. – Senate Finance takes a first look at the new bill cutting the amount of money transferred from the Permanent Fund to the treasury each year
1:30 p.m. – Senate Transportation learns about a fancy new way to de-ice roads
3:15 p.m. – House State Affairs looks at an education tax
3:30 p.m. – NCSL talks about the rural health transformation program, giving a national perspective
A plume of smoke rises after an explosion on Feb. 28, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. (Getty photo)
All three members of Alaska’s delegation to Congress showed their support for the new war with Iran this week, voting against resolutions intended to restrain President Donald Trump.
The Alaska legislators’ votes were in line with their past actions. Last year, when Trump ordered a bombing campaign against Iranian nuclear facilities, all three said they supported the strikes.
The current war is significantly larger than last year’s attacks, and Trump has said he is seeking Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and wants to have a role in picking its next leader.
Neither he nor senior administration officials have given firm long-term plans, and they have not ruled out the deployment of soldiers on the ground in Iran.
Begich issued a statement on Feb. 28 calling the war “a necessary and targeted response” and said he supports regime change in the country.
“The path forward cannot be centered on further appeasement but the removal of this corrupt, fanatical leadership that has brought suffering to the Iranian people and threatens our peace at home. In so doing, we can provide the people of Iran the opportunity to change leadership, reclaim their sovereignty, and chart a new course,” the statement said in part.
Begich is in the middle of a re-election campaign, and his two leading challengers issued statements opposing the war.
By email, Democratic U.S. House candidate Matt Schultz criticized Begich’s vote and suggested he would have chosen differently.
“Our tax dollars should build schools and hospitals here at home, not bankroll endless foreign wars. But Washington always seems to find billions for war while Alaskans pay the price with sky-high costs and watch investments in our future get delayed, downsized, or ignored,” he said.
“The cost of war isn’t just dollars and cents, it’s measured in human lives and suffering. As a pastor, I believe every life is sacred. That’s why the Constitution requires Congress to approve war: so no president can send Americans into conflict without a real plan and the support of the American people.”
A spokesperson for independent U.S. House candidate Bill Hill referenced that candidate’s posts on social media when asked about his position.
“Our leaders should be investing in lowering costs and making life better for working Americans, not putting American lives at risk in foreign wars without congressional approval,” Hill wrote in a Wednesday post on Facebook.
“Six U.S. service members have died and billions of dollars have been spent in a matter of days. Meanwhile here at home, our schools are in crisis, healthcare costs keep rising, veterans are at risk of losing benefits, and everyday costs are just too damn high,” he wrote. “We can’t afford a costly war with no end in sight.”
On the Senate side, Murkowski said the resolution presented to her this week would have required the removal of soldiers from hostilities, stopping military operations immediately.
“The abrupt cessation of all offensive operations would not leave any Americans — soldiers, diplomats, or civilians — in the Middle East in a safer position,” her statement said in part.
Murkowski said Trump has “committed U.S. troops to active engagement in combat with an enemy that has targeted and killed Americans for decades. We have lost six soldiers in this fight with the potential for more casualties. What our troops need now is for our Congress, and this country, to know that they are supported. It is for this reason that I oppose Senator Kaine’s War Powers Resolution — based on the practical implications of its passage.”
Sullivan has supported military action against Iran for years and told reporters on Feb. 28, “I’m not someone that, in general, would support kind of taking out world leaders,” he said. “But I think these guys, … my belief is that they’re less world leaders than terrorists, right?”
“This country’s been at war with us for almost a half century,” he said, referring to Iran, “and they’ve killed thousands and wounded thousands of our best and brightest.”
Sullivan is also facing a re-election campaign this year, but unlike on the House side, there isn’t a bright line between the incumbent and his leading opponent on this issue.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola hasn’t made any public statements about the Iran war, and her campaign social media accounts have been silent on the subject.
When contacted Thursday, her campaign spokesperson said she had no comment.
That makes it unclear whether she supports or opposes the war.
The Boney Courthouse building in Anchorage holds the Alaska Supreme Court chambers. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
In Alaska, a suspended driver’s license will stay suspended unless a driver takes steps to reactivate it, the Alaska Court of Appeals ruled this week.
In an opinion published Friday, the court upheld the conviction of a Southcentral Alaska woman for driving with a revoked license.
Attorneys representing Kasey Malay had argued that under the plain language of state law, a license revocation lasts only for the time prescribed by courts or the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles.
Not so, the court ruled this week. Writing for the court, Judge Marjorie Allard said, “we conclude that a revoked driver’s license remains in ‘revoked’ status for purposes of a (driving with a revoked license) prosecution until the person takes the affirmative steps necessary to have their license reinstated and their license is reinstated.”
That would involve reapplying to the DMV and getting a new license.
Malay, who was convicted of DUI in 2010, was arrested three times for driving with a revoked license between 2012 and 2013, and had her license revoked for 90 days each time.
Malay never sought out the DMV for a new license, and in 2020 she was stopped by police three more times and thrice cited for driving with a revoked license.
She was convicted in jury trials on all three offenses and appealed those convictions.
Allard’s opinion notes that there is an “inherent ambiguity” in the state law defining “revoke” and in the law describing how to restore a revoked license. Both laws mention a “period of revocation.”
“Thus, at first blush, Malay’s arguments at trial appear to have some potential merit,” Allard wrote.
But that argument is defeated by a different law, she wrote. That statute, covering who is financially responsible in cases where a driver has a suspended license, says in part that “a period of suspension, revocation, or cancellation continues until proof of financial responsibility for the future is provided. Upon expiration of a period of limitation, the license remains revoked until proof of financial responsibility for the future is provided.”
Another statute, governing limited driver’s licenses, has similar language.
“We therefore conclude that, contrary to Malay’s arguments at trial and on appeal, a revoked license does not cease being ‘revoked’ for purposes of a DWLR prosecution when the period of revocation specifically ordered by the court ends or when proof of financial responsibility is provided,” Allard wrote. “Instead, the license remains ‘revoked’ until all the steps required for reinstatement have been taken and the license is reinstated.”
Downtown Palmer, with a map that identifies visitor desitnations, is seen on May 6, 2022. Palmer is one of the main communities in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Friends, from my view, it doesn’t look so good in the Valley these days…
Property tax assessment notices are up everywhere in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, even for swampy lots that have not increased in real value, while the school district considers school closures in the face of a $23 million deficit.
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District is proposing to close three local neighborhood schools to save $4.5 million next year.
What’s another solution? Cut administrative positions. A typical administrator makes well over $100,000 and with benefits the cost is between $150,000 – $200,000 for each position. When I was School Board President, albeit a while ago, I saw these numbers myself because I requested that I sign all administrative contracts over $100,000 — there were a lot! Cutting administrative positions, mostly by not filling positions, will make a huge difference.
The main problem with school budgets is that they are prepared by the administration… and we all know administrators, directors and assistant superintendents won’t cut their own positions. They cut teachers.
School Boards don’t generally change the budget that much. A lot is contingent on the amount of borough and state school funding needed to save the schools, so on we go with the status quo.
Self-Inflicted
In the Valley, we appear to be drifting without a plan. Last year the school district and the borough got voter approval for $94.4 million of new school bonds with high interest rates. This year brings the possibility of closed schools, bigger class sizes, new bond debt payments and higher property taxes.
Taking on more debt to build new schools while closing traditional schools is an incredibly poor utilization of resources. Apparently, no one ran the numbers of future operating costs for our schools or thought about multiple-use of school buildings. No policy. No direction. It’s not rocket science. Elected officials should step up and think outside the box.
An orphaned brown bear cub captured near Mud Bay in 2006 has died after two decades in captivity.
The Minnesota Zoo announced Feb. 24 that staff euthanized the bear after its arthritis and severe joint degeneration worsened over the past year. He was one of three orphaned brown bears raised together and later featured in the zoo’s “Russia’s Grizzly Coast” exhibit.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game records do not extend before 2010, leaving few official details about the cub’s condition when he was captured. But, according to a story in the July 20, 2006 edition of the Chilkat Valley News, the cub was about 60 pounds when it was captured near a Mud Bay home on July 13 of that year.
State wildlife biologists said it had apparently been fed dog food for about a week before it was captured. “The bear appeared to come to the sound of dog food being poured in the bowl. He was being fed and on a schedule. He knew the cues and came right up. It didn’t seem to bother him at all that we were there,” Fish and Game biologist Ryan Scott is quoted as saying at the time. A family that lived nearby was given a warning for feeding the bear, according to the article.
Once the wayward bear was picked up in Haines, he was taken to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center where he joined up with what would eventually become a trio of young bears captured by state biologists that year. There was Sadie, named after a creek near Kotzebue where she was found. Then in July came Haines. In August, a hunter shot a sow on the Kenai Peninsula and later discovered she had cubs.
It was at the conservation center where Diana Weinhardt first encountered and named Haines in what would become a decades-long relationship between Minnesota and Alaska. Weinhardt worked at the conservation center from 2005 to 2007. She helped care for, and named, all three cubs as they arrived
“I sometimes referred to them as the layers of chocolate,” Weinhardt said. “Kenai was caramel. Sadie was milk. Haines was very dark.”
All three cubs were in their first year and were neutered or spayed before spending their lives together at the zoo. Sadie was the smallest, but could keep the boys at bay.
“What Sadie wants, Sadie gets,” Weinhardt said. “Those boys sometimes were double her size and she’d back them both up at the same time.”
Then-conservation center staff member Diana Weinhardt said zoos and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums had made a joint decision not to breed black and brown bears anymore. “There were enough nuisance animals that we couldn’t provide homes for all of them,” she said.
The bears eventually moved to the Minnesota Zoo’s “Russia’s Grizzly Coast” exhibit, designed to recreate a rugged northern coastal ecosystem. The enclosure included a large outdoor habitat with a pool, a dig pit and year-round access to covered outdoor space.
The bears also had an indoor den where visitors could watch their behavior through soundproof glass.
“It’s one of the best bear exhibits in the country,” Weinhardt said.
“It had a storyline of the coast of Russia where all of these animals were found in the wild,” Weinhardt said. “Amur leopard, wild Russian boar, brown bears, sea otters, Amur tigers. So the storyline was very strong.”
It wasn’t just the three bears. When guests entered the exhibit they first saw four otters – three of whom were found as orphans off the coast of Alaska. That included Capers, who was found near his dead mother in Kachemak Bay; Jasper, who was rescued near Homer; and Rocky who was found abandoned near Craig.
“Alaska orphans really kind of carried half of the exhibit,” Weinhardt said.
Weinhardt now holds the title of Curator of the Northern Trail, which means she’s in charge of the keepers who take care of the animals and the exhibits. But, their building is across from her office. “To this day, I still go there for my visits. Keepers do 100% of the work with them, but there’s still a bond,” she said.
Weinhardt said the bears developed distinct personalities as they aged. Sadie was strong-willed, Kenai was curious about people, and Haines grew into a lanky protector.
“Haines was just very well behaved. He stood up on his back legs a lot. Kenai would get scared and he would run to Haines,” she said.
In a newsletter farewell tribute to Haines, zoo staff described him as calm, collected and clever. “Keepers say he had a knack for doing the least amount of work for the maximum reward of food during enrichment sessions.”
Haines is the second of the trio to die. Kenai was found dead in his enclosure two years ago. Weinhardt said they had been treating him for cancer. Weinhardt said one keeper has been with the three bears since they came to Minnesota.
“That’s what’s tough about the zoo field, you have these really strong bonds,” she said.
State bear biologist Anthony Crupi said 20 years is a solid lifespan for a captive male brown bear, though Weinhardt said she’s seen captive bears live longer, particularly early in her career.
“When I first started in the late 1970s, bears in captivity were living in their late 20s, early 30s,” she said.
Improvements in veterinary care and nutrition have helped some captive bears live longer, she said. Still, she said it was the right time for Haines to go. Before they decided to euthanize him, Weinhardt said the zoo had been training Haines for cold laser therapy on his joints for his arthritis. She said a necropsy later confirmed severe degeneration in his hip and other joints.
Weinhardt said the zoo got hundreds of comments on a social media post from people who shared photos and memories of seeing Haines over the years.
“I was sobbing just reading these from people that have come to the zoo. Guests knew their names, they knew which one was which,” she said.
With her two lifelong companions gone, Sadie is now the only remaining bear in the exhibit. Zoo staff are watching to see how she adjusts.
The Petersburg High School girls basketball team won the opening tip and the opening game of the 2026 Region V Basketball Tournament on Wednesday in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé George Houston Gymnasium.
The fourth-seed Lady Vikings defeated the fifth-seed Haines Lady Glacier Bears 43-17 behind 15 points from sophomore Lexie Tow who also won the tip.
Senior Natalee Bertagnoli added 10 points for Petersburg, sophomore Zia Hulebak six, senior Aurora Wolf four, senior Rikka Miller three, sophomores Simone Nilsen and Cadence Flint two apiece and Emilia Anderson 1.
The Lady Vikings had one 3-point shot, 15 closer in and were 10-16 from the line.
Haines junior Allie Lloyd (11) and freshman Sophia Hedden (1) break up a pass by Petersburg senior Natalee Bertagnoli (11) during the 2026 Region V 2A Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, March 4, in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)
CC Elliott led Haines with eight points including the Lady Glacier Bears’ first three baskets in the first quarter. Freshman Brylea Swaner added three points, freshmen Sophia Hedden and Emma Lapeyri and junior Ali Lloyd had two apiece. Haines hit six field goals and were 5-6 from the line.
Petersburg led 10-6 after eight minutes and then opened a 23-9 lead at the half that included four straight steals by Tow who converted three for scores in a Lady Vikings press that gave Haines pause. Petersburg led 37-11 after three quarters.
The Lady Vikings advance to play top seed Metlakatla on Thursday at 9 a.m. Haines plays an elimination game at Thursday at noon against Wrangell, who suffered a 62-32 loss to Craig.
“I feel like it was a nice, like, warmup game,” Tow said. “To get us started for the rest of the games. Tomorrow we have Metlakatla, and that is one of the teams we have wanted to play all season and beat. I feel like this game kind of like helped us get motivated for that game.”
Craig junior Ashylnn Smith scores on a fast break against Wrangell during the 2026 Region V 2A Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, March 4, in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)
CRAIG 62 WRANGELL 32
The second-seed Craig girls jumped on third-seed Wrangell early and didn’t slow down as they posted a 62-32 win.
“It is a pretty big win for us,” Craig junior Ashlynn Smith said. “We are really excited to show everyone what we are made of and get to the region ‘chip. We are really excited to showcase everything we have worked on all season long.”
The showcase started with Smith scoring off the center tip and then the Lady Panthers went on a 16-1 run behind a shot past the arc from senior Chelsea Thompson, a fast break layup by freshman Jayla Edenshaw, another from Thompson, a shot from the arc by junior Sara Steffen and another in the paint, a steal by Smith who fed Thompson for a score, a Smith fast break and a layup by freshman Alli Demmert for an 18-1 lead.
Wrangell senior Christina Johnson stopped the run with a score off a steal by Lady Wolves junior Alexis Easterly to end the first quarter at 18-3.
The Lady Wolves were without the services of junior Alana Harrison. The injured Southeast star was on the bench cheering her teammates into a better second quarter. Lady Wolves junior Hailey Cook hit a shot from the arc in the stanza and senior Shailyn Nelson had three scores in the paint.
Craig’s Smith continued her strong play in the second quarter with two more steals, a shot past the arc and two shots closer in, Edenshaw added a basket and Steffen added two scores inside as the Lady Panthers lead increased to 31-12 at the half.
“We came in at halftime of this game and we just had to be their biggest cheerleaders,” Wrangell coach Christy Brown said of trying to pick up her team. “It is hard when you are down by 10, 15, or 20 points to try and dig deep and get to the next level, but it is what it is and we just need to try and stay positive and do the things we can do to make that happen.”
Craig senior Abigail Patten fouls Wrangell junior Hailey Cook (5) as Craig junior Ashylnn Smith looks on during the 2026 Region V 2A Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, March 4, in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)
Wrangell would put together a 10-point third quarter and another 10 points in the final eight minutes, but Craig hit for 15 and 16 in the final two stanzas for the 62-32 win.
“I think it was a team effort,” Craig coach Vanessa James said. “We played together as a team, moved the ball really well and it was everybody looking for each other. And the defensive effort was huge for us, getting deflections, getting steals, looking for the girl filling the lane. A complete team effort and that is what makes me most proud.”
Steffan led Craig with 14 points, Smith and Thompson added 13 points apiece, Nelson and Demmert seven apiece, Edenshaw six and sophomore Alaya Bates two. The Lady Panthers hit five shots past the arc, 22 closer in and were 3-7 at the line.
Johnson led Wrangell with 12 points, Cook and Nelson added six apiece, Easterly five and freshman Kaiya Brevick three. The Lady Wolves hit four shots past the arc, seven closer in and went 6-10 at the line.
Craig advances to play in Friday’s 3 p.m. championship game against the winner of Thursday’s 9 a.m. game between top seed Metlakatla and Petersburg. Wrangell plays a Thursday noon elimination game against Haines.
Craig junior Sara Steffen scores between Wrangell senior Shailyn Nelson (35) and freshman AJ Roundtree (31) during the 2026 Region V 2A Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, March 4, in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)
The Haines and Metlakatla High School boys played like their historic namesakes in a second-seed versus third-seed Wednesday night cap basketball game in front of a packed Region V 2A crowd at the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé George Houston Gymnasium.
The ‘mini Gold Medal’ style game featured hard-nose pressure defense like their fathers played, fast breaks and shots from distance like their grandfathers put up, and a 42-31 Glacier Bears win over the Chiefs that wasn’t decided until the final minutes.
“It means a lot,” Haines senior Colton Combs said. “I am a senior and this is the first time I have made it to the finals at regions, so it is a pretty big moment. We came out on defense from the start. All year we have only do good on offense if we start on defense, for bringing the energy.”
Metlakatla junior Cruz Lindsey it a pair of free throws for the game’s first points and after Haines senior James Stickler hit inside, Cruz hit from past the arc for a 5-2 lead, the last time the Chiefs would have the scoring advantage.
Both teams were athletic in their defensive work and the score would not be changed until halfway through the stanza. Stickler muscled inside for a basket and followed a missed shot on Haines’ next possession for a 6-5 lead. C. Combs drove the lane on Haines’ next possession and scooped a shot in for an 8-5 lead that held to the start of the second quarter.
Haines senior Colton Combs (3), Metlakatla senior Sebashtin Martinez and Haines junior Wade Lloyd (13) battle for a rebound during the 2026 Region V 2A Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, March 4, in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)
Haines senior JC Davis stole a ball to open the second quarter and fed sophomore Isaac Jones for a layup, Stickler hit inside and junior Brady Ferrin hit from the arc for a 15-5 lead with 3:10 remaining in the first half.
Metlakatla senior Bryce Olin hit from the arc to close to 15-8, but Haines junior Wade Lloyd answered from distance to lead 18-8. Metlakatla junior Gianni Scudero-Hayward hit a free throw to close to 18-9, but Haines’ Stickler followed a missed Glacier Bears shot and tipped it in for a 20-9 lead to end the half.
Metlakatla struggled to hit shots in the first half, missing numerous attempts in the key. The Chiefs opened the second half with a shot past the arc from Olin to close to eight, 20-12, but Haines’ Stickler rebounded a missed Glacier Bears shot and put the lead back to 10 points, and teammate Davis stole the next Metlakatla possession and scored for a 24-12 lead, and C. Combs added a free throw for 25-12.
Metlakatla’s C. Lindsey hit from the arc to close the score back to 10 at 25-15. Haines’ C. Combs hit a free throw for the 26-15 score with eight minutes remaining to play.
Haines junior Kyran Sweet stole a ball and scored to start the fourth quarter, and Stickler added a free throw for a 29-15 lead. Metlakatla countered with scores from Olin and C. Lindsey to trail 29-19.
A shot past the arc by Haines’ Davis and a steal by C. Combs who fed Sweet for a score pushed the lead out to 24-19, but Metlakatla’s Cash Martinez buried back-to-back scores past the arc to trail by seven, 32-25, with 3:45 left in the game.
Haines’ C. Combs scored on an up-and-under drive through traffic and Metlakatla’s Scudero-Hayward answered from the arc to trail 36-28.
Metlakatla would be forced to foul and Haines’ C. Combs and Sweet each hit a pair to push the lead out to 40-28 with under a minute left to play.
C. Lindsey closed Metlakatla to 40-31 with 28 seconds remaining, but Haines’ Ferrin and Stickler hit one free throw for the 42-31 final.
Haines senior James Stickler (35) powers a shot up through Metlakatla juniors Cruz Lindsey (14) and Gianni Scudero-Hayward (1) and freshman Cash Martinez (3) during the 2026 Region V 2A Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, March 4, in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)
Stickler led Haines with 12 points, C. Combs eight, Sweet six, Davis five, Ferrin and Jones four apiece, and Lloyd three. The Glacier Bears hit three shots past the arc, 12 closer in and hit 9-18 from the charity stripe.
Olin led Metlakatla with eight points, S. Martinez and C. Lindsey seven apiece, freshman Cash Martinez six, and Scudero-Hayward three. The Chiefs hit eight shots past the arc but just two closer in and were 3-7 at the line.
“That is a very first for me,” Haines coach Bryan Combs said. “And it is the very first for the boys. It is an emotional win today. We knew we could beat them. We beat them twice earlier in the year, but that just shows all the work that we put in. Defensively first, defense-minded first. That’s an effort. All effort. And we just made a few more shots than they did.”
On watching his son play, coach Combs said, “He handled it well. He dealt with the pressure, he dealt with the adversity really well, so I couldn’t be happier. And we made free throws down the stretch. It is a big win, but we have a big game Friday. That is where our heads are now. That is where our focus goes – Friday night.
Haines advances to Friday’s 4:30 p.m. championship game against the winner of Thursday’s 10:30 a.m. game between number one seed Petersburg, who had an opening tournament bye, and number four seed Wrangell who defeated five seed Craig earlier Wednesday. Metlakatla plays an elimination game Thursday at 1:30 p.m. against Craig.
Wrangell sophomore Kai Wigg (32) deflects a fake with his foot as Craig freshman Tate Arndt pumps the ball during the Wolves’ 61-43 win over the Panthers at the 2026 Region V 2A Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, March 4, in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)
WRANGELL 61, CRAIG 43
The number four seed Wrangell Wolves ran with the number five seed Craig Panthers and then ran away with a 61-43 win to open their 2026 Region V Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé George Houston Gymnasium.
Craig freshman Tate Arndt scored the game’s first point on a free throw, but Wrangell junior Everett Meissner answered with back-to-back baskets and the Wolves would never trail again.
The Panthers kept it close in the first quarter pulling within a point at 4-3 as senior Josh Bennett scored on a drive.
Wrangell’s Aadyen Gillen hit two free throws for a 6-3 lead and Craig’s Arndt answered for 6-5.
Wrangell sophomore Kai Wigg scored on a steal for 8-6 and Craig pulled to within one point for the last time as Arndt scored on an inbounds play for 8-7.
Wrangell would pull to a 15-9 lead after eight minutes and inch into a 22-13 lead midway through the second stanza on scores by sophomore Lucas Stearns, Powers and Gillen.
Craig stayed in the contest with an Arndt shot off glass and a shot past the arc by senior Adam Vickers to trail 22-18.
Wrangell would close the first half on a 15-2 run that included a final trio of baskets of steals by senior William Massin (one) and Stearns (two) all within 25 seconds that gave the Wolves a 37-20 lead at the break.
The Wolves pushed out to a 51-36 lead after three quarters and coasted to the win.
Powers led Wrangell with 23 points, Gillen added 12, Stearns 10, Meissner five, Ben Houser and Massin four apiece and Wigg three. The Wolves hit two shots past the arc, 21 closer in and were 10-18 from the line.
Bennett led Craig with 15 points, Arndt 11, Vickers 10, freshman Jack Conaster five and senior Aiden Goheen two. The Panthers made four 3-point shots, 11 closer in and hit 9-16 at the line.
“It feels really great,” Stearns said. “It means we are working our way towards the state tournament. Just defense and getting stops was important. Stopping them from getting set up in their offense.”
Wrangell advances to play top seed Petersburg at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Craig plays an elimination game at 1:30 p.m. Thursday against Metlakatla.
Wrangell senior Jackson Powers splits Craig senior Adam Vickers (00) and senior Aiden Goheen (12) to score during the Wolves’ 61-43 win over the Panthers at the 2026 Region V 2A Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, March 4, in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé George Houston Gymnasium. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)
