John Lennord McGee III
September 15, 1953 - February 2, 2026

It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my dad, John Lennord McGee III, age 72. Dad passed away peacefully on February 2, 2026, at Fortuna Rehabilitation and Wellness Center. Born in Littleton, New Hampshire, to John McGee II and Jessica McKinney, Dad lived a life of strong will and encouraging love.

Dad spent his childhood in New Hampshire until age 10. Facing neglect and feeling unaccepted, he left home to find his way in life alone. Not even a teenager, he began hitchhiking across the USA. On his journey, he stopped in Idaho and Oregon and eventually settled in California.

When finally settled in California, Dad found his happy place and felt a connection to Humboldt County, calling it his home for the rest of his life. Dad made friends everywhere he went. He was a talker, a storyteller, a jokester. Sometimes, his stories were so absurd we wondered if they were really true. Deep down, though, Dad was a lover, and he loved with all his heart because he knew what it felt like to not be wanted or loved.

Dad worked for Louisiana Pacific for 25 years as a resaw and lumber millwright in Samoa. He was well respected at his job and was very proud of his work. I will say he was one of the hardest workers. In fact, anyone you would talk to would say the same thing. Dad met two of his lifelong friends at Louisiana Pacific: Chuck Lewis and Lee Coffman. Both men provided Dad with joy to his heart and, for once, made him feel like he belonged.

Living out in Fairhaven, my dad met my mom, Sandra Nelson. After dating for some time, they married, and soon, a family of their own was started. Dad had three children with my mom and two other children from previous relationships. My dad had a total of five kids, each one providing love and support he cherished up until the end.

Dad is survived by his children and their spouses, Anthony McGee, Timothy McGee, April Luke, Lisa Diaz, and Paul Diaz, and after 40 years of missed time, Cassie Lilyblad Bumgardner.

Dad is also survived by his grandchildren, Brianna McGee, Brian Luke Jr., Ophelia Warren, Sawyer Warren, and Caspian Diaz.

I want to thank the following friends for being with Dad after his fall and cancer diagnosis: Johnathan Newell and Aleia Torres. You two meant the world to Dad and I can’t thank you enough for always lending a hand at a moment’s notice.

To Pastor Chuck Clark: Thank you a million times over for your prayers and sitting with Dad. He was like your brother, and the instant connection you two had will forever be in my heart.

To Paul Diaz, Dad always said you were the best son-in-law he could ever ask for. Thank you for holding his hand with me in the end, the weekly “John” visits and grocery runs,  and remember his last words of “I love you” were meant for both of us.

Dad will have a direct cremation. No services will be planned.

If you were ever part of my dad’s life, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I know he felt the love from everyone, and you made him feel like the wonderful person he was.

Thanks for being my dad and living life to the fullest. You did a great job.

Rest easy, daddy, you’re home now.

Edward “Ed” Earnest Albert Kukkonen, age 81, of Arcata, passed away peacefully on January 28, 2026, surrounded by family.

Ed was born on July 3, 1944, in Hancock, Michigan, to Edward and Irene Kukkonen. After graduating high school, he proudly served in the United States Navy. Following his service, Ed made his way to Northern California, eventually settling in Eureka, where he built a life grounded in hard work and family.

Ed took great pride in his work as a forklift operator, beginning at Cal Pacific and later at Louisiana Pacific and Britt Lumber. It was while working at Cal Pacific that he met the love of his life, Charlene Petersen (Wright). They were married in September of 1977 and shared many years together filled with dedication, partnership and love.

Ed found happiness in simple, meaningful things like spending time with friends and family, and working around his property in Willow Creek. Above all, he cherished time with his grandchildren. Whether it was hunting, cutting firewood, attending baseball games and gymnastics meets, or at the drag strip. Ed was happiest when surrounded by his grandkids and being part of their lives.

Ed is survived by his beloved wife, Charlene Kukkonen; his children Kenneth Petersen, Karen (Troy) Clower, and Kim (Ken) Keasey; his sister Peggy (John) Pulkkinen; brothers Richard Kukkonen and Robert (Barbara) Kukkonen; his sister-in-law Vida (Mike) Lorenzen; his grandchildren Kenneth Petersen Jr., Austin (Shawna Estes) Petersen, Lane Clower, Garrett Clower, Chet Keasey, and Shelby Keasey; and his great-grandchildren Aubrey Petersen and Daytona Petersen, along with numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his infant son Edward Richard Kukkonen; his parents Edward and Irene Kukkonen; his sisters Esther (Alfred) Nanerville and Sandra Aittama; his father-in-law Charles “Les”  Wright; mother-in-law Evelyne Wright; brother-in-law Chuck Wright; and his loyal dog, Peaches.

Our family would like to extend heartfelt thanks to Joe and Crystal at Eureka Rehabilitation, the compassionate staff at Sequoia Springs, Redwood Memorial Hospital and Larry Keasey for their kindness, care, and support during Dad’s final days.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, P.O. Box 2542, McKinleyville, CA 95519. 

From the Humboldt County Prescribed Burn Association:

On Wednesday, February 4th, the Humboldt County Prescribed Burn Association will be assisting a local rancher with a prescribed burn in the Korbel/Blue Lake area. We will be broadcast burning patches of bramble and woody shrubs to maintain open grasslands and increase forage value for livestock and wildlife. Smoke may be visible from Blue Lake and Highway 299.

All plans and dates are subject to change or cancellation depending on weather conditions, resource availability, air quality, regional wildfire activity, and other factors.

All of our burns are carefully conducted by a diverse mix of community members, prescribed fire practitioners, and fire professionals in accordance with CAL FIRE and North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District regulations. Thank you for supporting community burning!

PREVIOUSLY

• (UPDATE) Pending Eviction, the Kinetic Sculpture Lab is Struggling to Find a Way Forward

Although the Kinetic Sculpture Lab won’t be the same place it has been for the last 30-odd years, they’re still sticking around — and if you want to get up close and personal with the art, you’ll have a shot soon.

The lab is moving into a warehouse at 1680 Samoa Boulevard, about half a mile from the old spot in the Creamery District. The former location is packed with sculptures and tools, and the lab’s small staff won’t be able to move all of that by themselves. The lab needs volunteers (preferably about 30 of them) for a few hours on Feb. 14 and 15 to move items to the new location, as well as people to help clean up the new warehouse on Feb. 7. 

They’re also looking for people with trucks and trailers to help move everything. 

Kinetic Lab contributor and Kinetic Sculpture Race competitor Malia Matsumoto told the Outpost that many of the teams who were building sculptures in the lab have moved their stuff out, so the main things left to move is lab property: lots of tools and decades-old machines, some of them floating in the rafters. Though they’re bulky, she said they’re not heavy.

Matsumoto said the lab will be able to stay in the new spot for at least one year. Matsumoto said she wants to use that time to figure out the lab’s future, perhaps becoming a nonprofit. Five racing teams are moving into the lab, and they’ll have the space to host more teams in the new place than they could in the old. 

“We figure, the more the merrier!” Matsumoto said. “Thirty people doing one hour of work is much more fun than one person doing 30 hours of work. Just like Kinetics, many hands make light work.”

Go here to sign up.

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FEB. 4 UPDATE: The body of missing McKinleyville man Maximo Macanas was recovered on Tuesday afternoon after being spotted by a local fisherman just off of Whaler Island, according to a Facebook update from his family.

“As we begin to prepare for services, we find comfort in knowing that Max is now back with his family,” the post reads. “We truly couldn’t have navigated this without your support.”

Those who wish to lend a hand to the Macanas family can visit their GoFundMe page here.

The Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office issued the following statement:

Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office sends condolences to the family and friends of Maximo Gordon Edward Macanas. He was located today by a local sport vessel and pronounced deceased by the Del Norte County Sheriff - Coroner’s Office at 1:26 pm.

Thank you to all of the agencies that responded and to family, friends and community members as well

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Original Post: Press release from the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office:

On January 31, 2026, at approximately 1600 hours, the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office received a report regarding a male subject, identified as Maximo Macanas (DOB: 04/26/1988), who was struck by a sneaker wave while eel fishing at the mouth of the Klamath River near 4351 Klamath Beach Road. Maximo was fishing with a friend and his younger children at the time. He was last seen wearing a Carhart jacket and green waders.

• Yurok Tribal Police Department Officers Flores and Luna-Orozco were the first to arrive on the scene. - The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Humboldt Bay Station was notified and responded with search helicopters and a boat.
• Del Norte County Search and Rescue (SAR) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife were also dispatched.
• Yurok Tribal Police deploying a boat on the river side of the mouth and Fish and Wildlife deploying on the ocean side.
• Due to limited visibility at nightfall, Incident Command was demobilized and resumed on February 1, 2026, at 0830 hours.
• This multi-agency response included Gasquet Fire, Del Norte SAR, Fish and Wildlife, and Yurok Tribal PD.
• Search teams utilized boats in the river and conducted ground searches along the Klamath River spit, the Requa side, and Klamath Beach.
• At approximately 1500 hours on February 1st, no clues were located.
• Although active efforts have concluded, our Search and Rescue team intends to search the coastline for Maximo once a week moving forward.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call in the Del Norte County Sheriff’s office at (707) 464-4191 or the Yurok Tribal Police at 1-855-55YUROK (1-855-559 8765) ext. 9060

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The good news? The commercial Dungeness season has finally commenced in the Northern Region of California, nearly a month after opening elsewhere in the state. Following delays due to elevated levels of domoic acid and price negotiations, crabbers in Humboldt Bay, Trinidad Harbor and Crescent City set traps over the weekend and began hauling their catch ashore early Monday. 

The not-so-good news? 

“As anticipated, there seems to be a lack of volume in this last remaining area for commercial crab harvest, which further justifies our strike for a fair price,” Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association President Harrison Ibach told the Outpost in a text this morning. 

The marketing association, which represents local, independent boat captains, agreed to a price of $4.75 per pound on Friday.

“Fishermen are happy to commence this crab season, but as we feared, it may be short-lived,” Ibach said.

At any rate, friend o’ the LoCO and local photographer extraordinaire Matt Filar — a big fan of both the Humboldt Crabs and Humboldt’s crabbers — made his annual early morning visit to the Trinidad Pier to document the first day of the season.

While Filar was on scene, local vessels Shellback, Kai-Aku and Miss Phyllis came ashore with their catch. Matt has graciously allowed us to share some of his photos with our readers.

PREVIOUSLY:

• Man Arrives at St. Joseph Hospital With a Stab Wound in His Back, Says He Was Attacked at Veteran’s Park in Willow Creek for No Apparent Reason, Sheriff’s Office Says
• ‘Threat to the Community’: Warrant Issued for Suspect in Last Week’s Stabbing in Willow Creek; His Whereabouts are Unknown

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Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Feb.2, 2026, at approximately 9:05 p.m. Josue Diego Aguilar Garcia was taken into custody by the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office on the Ramey warrant.

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.