Kayla Desroches

Governor Bill Walker stops by Kodiak

Kayla Desroches/KMXT Alaska Governor Bill Walker will be in Kodiak Friday, August 31. While in the city, he’ll sign off on House Bill 56. The bill will raise the amount of a commercial fishing loans from $300,000 to $400,000, to adjust for inflation. The bill would also change the loan for buying an entry permit from $100,000 to $200,000. The …

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Decision to waive borough attorney opinion postponed

Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly held a special public meeting Tuesday night (Aug 28) to discuss whether to share a legal opinion with the public. The assembly is considering waiving the confidentiality of the borough attorney’s legal opinions about an Alaska Aerospace Corporation land-use issue. AAC runs a launch facility, Pacific Spaceport Complex, at Narrow Cape. At a …

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Coho, late run sockeye could help fishermen

Sockeye in stream. (Photo by Watershed_Watch / flickr) Kayla Desroches/KMXT Late run sockeye and early run coho salmon could help soften the effect of a poor fishing season for some Alaska fishermen. Alaska Department of Fish and Game Kodiak area manager James Jackson says sockeye looks on-track to meet the forecast of roughly 1.6 million fish for the late run. …

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Seafood business to open storefront downtown

Jeremy Abena stands in what will be the storefront of his seafood business. (Photo by Kayla Desroches / KMXT) Kayla Desroches/KMXT A popular business in the City of Kodiak, Pickled Willy’s, closed last year. Now, a new business is taking its place in the same building by St. Paul Harbor downtown. Jeremy Abena, who worked at at the old store, …

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Locals catch and chow down on invasive species in Kodiak

Ryan Gabor (left) and Pearson Brodie (right) prepare and eat crawdads following their snorkeling trip to the Buskin. (Photo by Kayla Desroches / KMXT) Kayla Desroches/KMXT An informal sport fishery has popped up in Kodiak. For crawdads. They’re crustaceans that look like little lobsters, and they’re native to the Pacific Northwest. But, in 2002, they were found scuttling along the …

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Coast Guard Base Kodiak gets new and improved aircraft

New HC130-J. (Photo by Kayla Desroches / KMXT) Kayla Desroches/KMXT Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak just received the first of five newer, more technologically advanced aircraft. The HC-130J replaces the HC-130H that the Coast Guard base Kodiak has been operating since the 80s. Each model J costs a total of $85 million dollars, and the fixed-wing aircraft assists in dropping …

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Dinner cruise vessel hits rock

The Sea Breeze after impact. (Photo by Marion Owen) A Kodiak-based vessel, the Sea Breeze, hit a rock near the City of Kodiak Wednesday morning. According to Marion Owen, who runs the boat as a dinner cruise with her husband, Marty Owen, they struck a rock near Gull Island at about 11:30 a.m. She says she and her husband own …

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Borough keeps Alaska Aerospace Corporation legal opinion under wraps

From the AAC facility in Kodiak, taken 2016. (Photo by Kayla Desroches / KMXT) Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly held a private meeting about the Alaska Aerospace Corporation’s use of borough land last week. AAC operates a launch site, the Pacific Spaceport Complex, in Narrow Cape. The assembly entered executive session after its regular meeting Thursday in order …

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State plans publicly-operated ferry system

The Tustumena in Homer, AK (Photo by Isaac Wedin/Flickr) Kayla Desroches/KMXT The state is considering turning the ferry system over to public operation. The Alaska House of Representatives’ Transportation Committee held an informational meeting in Kodiak Thursday night. The consulting firm McDowell Group presented its analysis of a publicly-run Alaska Marine Highway System. It’s part of an ongoing planning process …

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