Nordic prize for Skåden

The latest Tromsø / Finnmark news from the past 48 hours: Sami author Sigbjørn Skåden received the Nordic Council Literature Prize in Helsinki on Tuesday evening, the first Sami novel to win the award in 35 years (NRK Tromsø / Finnmark, iTromsø). In legal and economic news, 6 people are due in court for preliminary detention hearings on Wednesday following Økokrim searches at fish-processing plants. In the former Troms og Finnmark county, now divided into Troms and Finnmark, Sør-Varanger municipality has also regained running water, but residents must continue boiling it.

Tromsø / Finnmark news: Historic Nordic prize for Sigbjørn Skåden

The Nordic Council Literature Prize was presented to Sami author Sigbjørn Skåden in Helsinki on Tuesday evening. This is the first time in 35 years that a Sami novel has won the distinction, according to NRK Tromsø / Finnmark. The author responded modestly: “It is incredibly special and a great honour,” he told the Norwegian public broadcaster.

The award ceremony was broadcast by the regional newsroom Nordnytt, which followed the author’s reaction as he received the prize. The newspaper iTromsø also published a photograph from the ceremony, held on Tuesday evening (iTromsø, 27 October, 18:00).

The news comes amid a busy cultural agenda for the region: local media covered the event continuously on Tuesday evening through television broadcasts and reactions. The Nordic Council’s prize is one of the most closely followed literary distinctions in Scandinavia.

Fishing: 6 held in custody after Økokrim searches

6 preliminary detention hearings are scheduled for Wednesday, 3 in Finnmark and 3 in Nordland, involving 6 people prosecuted under the Marine Resources Act (havressursloven). Økokrim says all are suspected of deliberately and systematically recording incorrect fish catches (NRK Tromsø / Finnmark).

The searches were carried out on Tuesday at fish-processing plants in Finnmark, Nordland and Møre og Romsdal. Økokrim has not confirmed the exact number of people summoned, and by Wednesday the authority had not answered NRK questions about the connection between the hearings and the previous day’s raids.

The case directly affects Northern Norway’s fishing economy, a sector crucial to Finnmark’s coastal municipalities. The authorities have confirmed no identities or companies.

Kirkenes: Water restored, but boiling still required in Sør-Varanger

All residents of Sør-Varanger once again have running water following a 2-day interruption caused by a major break in the main pipe (NRK Tromsø / Finnmark). The municipality says water must still be boiled for several days.

Schools, kindergartens and after-school care (SFO) are operating normally on Wednesday after closing earlier in the week. Kirkenes Hospital, which had been on red alert, has also resumed normal operations. A spare part sent from southern Sweden has arrived and was fitted to one of the pipes where the leak began; crews on site say the weather is making work easier.

The newspaper Nordlys nevertheless highlighted criticism of poor communication during the crisis in its 21:00 edition on Tuesday evening.

Tromsø IL: Troy Nyhammer’s season is over

Tromsø IL coach Jørgen Vik has confirmed to NRK that Troy Nyhammer (20) will be out for the rest of the season. The midfielder was injured on Sunday during the away match against Viking by Joe Bell’s tackle and will face about 2 months out.

The coach recalled that the player scored 6 league goals this season and had a major impact on the team’s play since the summer, while also praising his strong positional coverage. TIL faces Haugesund in the cup on Wednesday without Mathias Tønnessen, whose return is still too far away.

📌 Local briefs

A man in his 30s is being prosecuted for illegally shooting an elk; police requested 2 weeks of preliminary detention, but the Vestre Finnmark court ordered his release, ruling that the offence was not serious enough to warrant a prison sentence. He was arrested on Saturday evening (NRK Tromsø / Finnmark).

In Tromsø, iTromsø reports that only 4 officers were on duty when alerts for a knife attack and a hostage situation arrived simultaneously (27 October, 20:00). The same media outlet says a restructuring plan was sent back to the sender with a request to reduce the management team (27 October, 21:00).

In Finnmark, iFinnmark reports that a chef who has lived there for 10 years is returning to Nesseby to open the Capri Nova establishment, and that a house in the county is shaking so much that cups rattle against one another in the cupboards (28 October).

Sources: NRK Tromsø / Finnmark, Nordlys, iTromsø, iFinnmark, The Local Norway — Period: 27 October 2026 and 28 October 2026