Mitch Borden

Alaska Aerospace Corporation denies there are plans to build more launchpads at Kodiak spaceport

Alaska Aerospace Corporation launch facility on Narrow Cape. (Photo courtesy of Alaska Aerospace Corporation) Mitch Borden/KMXT Some Kodiak residents are not happy with a seemingly harmless landscape photo recently posted online. The reason — the picture was taken from a proposed launch pad for the space technology company Vector Launch incorporated at Kodiak’s Pacific Spaceport Complex. Locals worry any more …

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City confirms Katie Baxter is no longer the director of the Kodiak Public Library

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After serving as the Kodiak Public Library’s Director for five years, Katie Baxter has left the position . (Photo from KMXT’s archives.) Mitch Borden/KMXT The Kodiak Public Library has been managed by Katie Baxter for the past five years until the City of Kodiak put her on administrative leave at the end of March. Recently, the decision on whether Baxter would …

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City council moves budget forward to its final vote

Mitch Borden/KMXT At its regular meeting on Thursday, the Kodiak City Council quietly moved its budget, for the coming year, forward to its final vote. This budget will keep the City of Kodiak’s mill rate where’s its been since the 1980’s, even though an earlier version would’ve increased property taxes. All council members present at the meeting approved the budget, …

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Pillar Mountain gate is found in Mission Lake

View from the top of Pillar. (Photo by naql/Flickr) Mitch Borden/KMXT After the City of Kodiak’s gate to Pillar Mountain was stolen sometime around April Fools day, it’s been a mystery where the gate disappeared too. Well, until earlier this week. Recently, while on patrol, the Kodiak Police Department animal control officer spotted a large metal gate in Mission Lake. …

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Kodiak students take home prizes in the Alaska Junior Duck Stamp art contest

Some of the Peterson Elementary winners of Alaska’s Junior Duck Stamp art contest showing their entries. (Photo by Mitch Borden/KMXT) Mitch Borden/KMXT A third grade class in Kodiak swept the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest in its kindergarten through third-grade category this year. Students across the state study waterfowl and their habitats. The kids then pick …

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School District spends about $1 million on iPads and says the deal will save a lot of money

The Kodiak Island Borough School District is leasing around 2,700 iPads for about $1 million. ( Photo by kun530/Flickr) Mitch Borden/KMXT The Kodiak Island Borough School District is spending about $1 million dollars on iPads and accessories. That price tag may be a little shocking, especially when the district is making a lot of cuts to its budget and is requesting …

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Borough Assembly continues to debate whether it should raise taxes to support schools

The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly is trying to figure out if it should raise taxes to support local schools.(Photo by Bertram Nudelbach/Flickr) Mitch Borden/KMXT The Kodiak Island Borough School District is asking for about $1 million in increased funding from the Kodiak Island Borough to counteract a shortfall in its budget for next year. Borough staff is proposing a one …

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Baranov Museum opens exhibit looking at one woman’s relationship to books and Kodiak’s history of literacy

Nellie Erskine sitting in her reading corner. The Baranov Museum used a historical photo to recreate the reading nook for its new exhibit. (Photo courtesy Kodiak Historical Society, Carolyn Erskine Andrews Collection, P-368-13-5) Mitch Borden/KMXT The Erskines were a powerful family in Kodiak in the early 20th century. W.J. Erskine was a successful businessman and his wife Nellie Erskine was …

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Kodiak Island Borough Assembly discusses raising property taxes to support local schools

Kodiak High School. (Photo by Kayla Desroches / KMXT) Mitch Borden/KMXT The Kodiak Island Borough School District is requesting an increase in funding around $1 million* from the Kodiak Island Borough. That money would counter a shortfall in its budget for the upcoming fiscal year. If the district doesn’t receive the boost, it estimates about 14 teaching positions**, along with …

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