Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Kodiak Island Borough has been on the search for a new borough manager, and the borough assembly has narrowed the choices down to two finalists. It interviewed both candidates at a special work session Tuesday morning for roughly two hours each. Jon Erickson went first. He currently serves as the city and borough manager in Yakutat and …

On today’s Talk of the Rock, host Kayla Desroches speaks with organizers behind an upcoming youth story slam. They talk about the event and some of their experiences working with youth on Kodiak Island.

Kayla Desroches/KMXT Mark Withrow recently retired from a 38-year period as a Kodiak doctor at Kodiak Island Medical Associates. He says while there are more than 20 doctors in town now, there were three when he arrived, and as a general physician with only a limited number of colleagues, he tackled every kind of health issue and area. Withrow says …

Alitak purse seine fleet in the 1970s. Courtesy of the Kodiak Historical Society & Baranov Museum Kayla Desroches/KMXT The history of the seafood industry will receive more study statewide thanks to a series of Alaska Historic Canneries Initiative grants, some of which will go towards Kodiak-based groups and individuals. Others will go towards efforts like a preservation assessment of the …

The winners of the bench press competition. Winner of the men’s full bodyweight division, Jurey Fortaliza, top row, second from right. Winner of the men’s half-weight division, Chris Caguing bottom row, second from right. Pam Foreman/KMXT Kayla Desroches/KMXT On Saturday, KMXT and the Kodiak Athletic Club held its eighth annual Ron Sears Memorial Bench Press Competition, where participants challenged themselves …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly passed amendments to its contract with the joint borough and city fisheries analyst Heather McCarty last night at a special meeting. It viewed changes which include the requirement that McCarty provide monthly reports, that she receive a performance evaluation every six months, and that she hand in a list of current and new …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Kodiak Island Borough School District will replace the Gerald C Wilson Auditorium’s original carpeting after thirty years of wear and tear. Katie Oliver is Executive Director of the Kodiak Arts Council and a member of the Board of Education and says the facility opened in 1986. The area has been due for renewal and replacement. “The borough …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Kodiak Arts Council will hold an arts camp over spring break next week during which it’ll provide workshops for children in everything from multimedia craft to music. So, the video game extraordinaire in your family could learn to strum the ukulele. Or they could apply their fine-tuned motor skills to drawing. Other classes include improvisation, storytelling, and …

Part of the land where the new hotel will stand. Kayla Desroches/KMXT Kayla Desroches/KMXT  The owners of the Best Western Kodiak Inn and Convention Center have begun construction to build a hotel on nearby land where there had once been graves. That’s according to Kathie Short, a member of the Hansen family, who says she and her brothers grew up …

Kayla Desroches/KMXT A nature discovery camp will soon close the lottery for its summer season. Salmon Camp starts in June and provides week-long sessions for kids in kindergarten through 8th grade. Kari Eschenbacher is the director of Salmon Camp and says the staff at the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge tries to help children connect with the nature around them. “So, …