A lot happened in 2025 — from celebrations and festivals, to landslides and devastating car crashes. As the year comes to a close, we decided to take a look back at some of the major events KRBD reported on with a 2025 year in review.
January
In the first few snowy days of January, the airline carrier Delta pulled out of Ketchikan and Sitka, leaving only Alaska Airlines as the major carrier. Delta had been offering summer service for around a decade.
The City of Saxman was also put on a water boil advisory after the tank ran dry. That was caused by heavy rains and dirty untreated water coming from the reservoir, which put the treatment plant offline. The water advisory ended up lasting almost a month.
Ketchikan City Council also approved a 12.5% electric utility rate hike, which went into effect in April.
February
In February, the Federal Subsistence Board reclassified Ketchikan as rural — allowing residents to hunt and fish in many areas that were once closed to them.
For years, the Ketchikan Indian Community argued that having a nonrural designation prevented tribal citizens from practicing their traditional way of life. And they argued that Ketchikan is not urban in the same way that a larger on-the-road community like Anchorage or Fairbanks is.
The decision came as a surprise to many.
Late that month, the borough also repealed a sales tax exemption for cruise ships. That change made it so when cruise ships are docked in borough waters, they still need to pay sales tax to the borough. The repeal of the exemption required passengers to pay the same sales tax as everyone else in the Ketchikan area.
February also marked the start of a series of changes for the Ketchikan School District, when the school board approved the restructuring of its elementary schools by grade level.
The district said that the consolidation would help cover a roughly $1.7 million growing budget deficit. It was also meant to give smaller, more evenly distributed class sizes throughout the schools.
Many community members were not pleased with the decision.
Also in February, Sheri Boehlert from Schoenbar Middle School won Alaska’s Principal of the year by the Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals. Boehlert is currently serving as the district’s interim superintendent.
March
More changes followed for the school district in March, with president Michelle O’Brien stepping down, shortly followed by superintendent Michael Robbins and board member Keenan Sanderson.
Later that month, disaster hit with the Wolf Pointe landslide that nearly took out an electrical pole and blocked the island’s main road, leaving people who live north of the slide cut off from the city — including the hospital and the airport. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.
April
In April, Ketchikan-raised director Emilio Torres won a “filmmaker of the year” award for his first feature-length film, “The Ladder” — a sci-fi family drama set and filmed in Ketchikan.
That same month, Guinness World Records announced Ketchikan’s own Marie Pearl Zellmer Robinson set the record for “largest female mouth gape.” That’s how wide you can open your mouth vertically. A local dentist measured her open jaw at over three inches wide — and, Robinson said, she thinks she can break her own record in the future.
May
May brought some of the heaviest rains the First City had seen in years, which ultimately triggered a series of small landslides that blocked roads and damaged a home on the north side of town. The slide then hit the first floor of the home, damaging it and the residents’ car. The residents were evacuated without injuries.
Also in May, the longtime owners of the beloved Coliseum Theater announced they were selling the business and would soon close their doors. The full plans for the theater are still unclear, but a 4-D Alaska-themed “SeaMax” experience is expected to open for the cruise ship season.
Late that month, another school board member, Tom Heutte, abruptly submitted his resignation amid heated controversy about the elementary school restructuring.
June
Shells of invasive green crabs were found on the beach of Refuge Cove State Park in June. Threats of European green crabs not only impact indigenous species, but Indigenous people who harvest Dungeness crab for subsistence purposes.
July
In July, the borough approved a contract to rebuild the South Tongass Fire Station, which was destroyed in a fire a little over a year earlier. The plan included some upgrades, like a sprinkler system and fire alarms, which the previous structure didn’t have.
The school board also unanimously voted to restore the English Language Learning department. Although ELL programming in schools is federally mandated, Ketchikan schools saw a sharp decline in resources and staffing for the department. Teachers reported that without any English Language Learning department staff, non-Native English speakers were falling behind.
August
The Blueberry Arts Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary in August with food and vendor booths, street performers, a slug race, a poetry slam and a lingcod limerick contest.
September
In early September, there was a fatal car crash on Ketchikan Creek in the downtown shopping district that left one Indiana woman dead and others injured. Dylan Self, a town local, immediately jumped in the water after the crash and helped resuscitate the driver of the car that fell into the water. The borough has since honored Self for his heroics in the accident.
October
October 7 was municipal election day, making way for changes on the city council, borough assembly and school board. Longtime borough assembly member Austin Otos won the race for borough mayor against candidate and fellow assembly member Jaimie Palmer.
Later that month, the Ketchikan Indian Community opened the town’s only seasonal warming shelter for all unhoused people. The tribal government first opened the warming shelter last winter, but it was only available to tribal members. The shelter can only sleep about 30 people, it can serve up to almost 50 clients at a time who need food or other services.
Concerns about the island’s local hospital seemed to come to a head in October, when community members spoke to PeaceHealth leadership at a town hall. Many were frustrated about a toxic work environment at the hospital and a lack of transparency from leadership.
Other community members pointed to a recent list of violations from the hospital’s long-term care facility. The state health department conducted a compliant survey earlier this year and found multiple instances of abuse and neglect.
Hospital leadership said those concerns and violations have since been addressed.
Since the town hall, Ketchikan city council has reviewed its lease agreement with the hospital to make plans on how to best work together and move forward.
November
In early November, the federal government had been shut down for around a month. As SNAP benefits, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, slowed down, community members came together to fight food insecurity.
Jennifer Tucker with Outpost Agriculture offered free greens to Ketchikan’s SNAP recipients and furloughed federal workers. Nicole Tubei, the owner of Wolf Point Produce, gave boxes of seasonal fruits and vegetables to single mothers, SNAP recipients and furloughed federal workers.
December
In December, KRBD spoke with local paramedic Ben Watson, who recently won a “Community Star” award — a recognition for people providing healthcare in rural places. Watson was nationally recognized for his work with the mobile integrated healthcare program.
Alaska Native fashion artist Christy Ruby was awarded a Rasmuson Grant to help build Southeast’s only large-scale tannery for harvested sea otters.
KRBD also met with KIC members to talk about their recent acquisition of the former Salmon Falls Resort and their plans to use the space to open a tribal-led addiction healing center. The property has guest rooms that can sleep more than 50 people, which will be used for both patients and health care providers.
