Opinion – Just keep swinging
By Melinda Munson Last month at Mollie Walsh Park, I assaulted a four-year-old. It was with the best of intentions. I was at the swings with my 19-year-old, who is non-verbal and blind. There isn’t ...
Opinion – Shopping for tampons – yeah, it’s a thing
By Gretchen Wehmhoff It’s been awhile since I’ve stood in the feminine products aisle. There I was, on a mission for my 14-year-old granddaughter. She used the words “ultra” and “thin.” Did she mean ultra ...
No place like home–especially Skagway seasonal housing
By Melinda Munson I was on the dock overseeing the town’s adorable newsies as they offered the black and white Skaguay Alaskan to smiling tourists disembarking from SMART Bus. Chatting with a tour guide I’d ...
Customer Service and the family business
By Gretchen Wehmhoff Our parents’ business office was in the basement of our home. They worked for record and tape music distributors before and beyond the pipeline years. It’s what brought our family to Alaska ...
Opinion – The chaotic kitchen table
By Melinda Munson My kitchen table is the proverbial canary in the coal mine. It reflects the emotional temperature of the household. If it’s clean with just a plant and a tiny indoor fireplace for ...
Opinion – Music in the car
By Gretchen Wehmhoff About twenty years ago I was driving my 13-year-old daughter and her friends somewhere, I don’t know where. Can’t remember that, but I can remember listening to words come over my car ...
Opinion – Don’t get scurvy
By Melinda Munson It started about three weeks ago. I stepped into the coffee house and there were multiple faces I’d never seen before. I panicked. Was I in danger? Did I need to run? ...
Opinion – Finding a new physician can be nerve-racking
By Gretchen Wehmhoff Anyone who has lived with any chronic health issue understands the stress of changing doctors. When I was young, my parents advocated for my care. When I left the state to attend ...
It takes a village – and I’ve found mine
By Melinda Munson My son hadn’t been on a plane for seven years. The only reason I put him on a flight in 2016 was because the drive from Las Vegas to Alaska would have ...
Opinion – Endure, ignore or push back – choosing our battles
By Gretchen Wehmhoff March is Women’s History Month and we, Melinda and I, write history. That’s the major afterproduct of a newspaper – the place for research about what happened in a town, nation or ...