News

Jay Barrett/KMXT With Mexican authorities now showing interest in the environmental safety of dismantling the 71-year-old former Coast Guard Cutter Storis in their country, U.S. Senator Mark Begich says his office will look further into whether U.S. agencies acted appropriately in allowing the ship to be auctioned off and exported for scrap. “Did EPA and the Coast Guard knowingly ship …

Jay Barrett/KMXT Organizers of one of the local efforts to raise funds to help victims of typhoon Haiyan are preparing to bring the aid to the Philippines. Alvin Arboleda says total donations so far have reached $8,800, the majority of that coming from the sale of eggrolls. Almost $700 has been donated through deposit into an account at Wells Fargo, …

Kodiak alum and current University of Jamestown Jimmy basketball player Puni Timu, left, spots her mother Sina, who made a surprise visit for Thanksgiving. Brianna Gibbs/KMXT Anyone who’s ever travelled on and off the island knows how expensive it is to do so. For Puni Timu, that price tag has kept her from seeing her parents for more than a …

Jay Barrett/KMXT The retired Coast Guard Cutter Storis is back in the news, though it helps if you know Spanish to read about it. The once-longest serving cutter in the U.S. Coast Guard was written up in an Ensenada, Mexico, newspaper, first for a raid by government officials over a potential radiation threat, and then for PCB contamination. The ship …

Members of the Malmberg family on the beach in front of their homestead on Dry Spruce Bay. (family photo) Jay Barrett/KMXT A misjudgement of just a few dozen yards in the placement of a small house on a remote part of Kodiak Island over 30 years ago will likely result in a family of eight’s hopes, dreams and history literally …

Jay Barrett/KMXT Though it survived a prior consolidation and contraction of locations, U.S. Travel announced yesterday that it will be closing its Kodiak office this week. The company has been operating in Kodiak since 1991 when it purchased another travel agency. Elizabeth Nerland is the marketing manager for U.S. Travel in Anchorage. “Well, for the past several years we’ve actually …

Marina Cummiskey/KMXT Gathering ingredients for a Thanksgiving feast may seem simple to folks living along Kodiak’s road system – simply go to the grocery store. But things are not quite as easy if you’re living in Karluk, a village on the west side of Kodiak with less than 50 people. KMXT’s news intern, Marina Cummiskey, recently returned from Karluk and …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT Thursday is Thanksgiving – a day rooted in gratefulness but often centered on magnificent meals. But for some Kodiak families, creating the stereotypical turkey dinner isn’t very feasible, or affordable. For those in need, a number of community organizations have stepped up to the plate and will provide meals or ingredients to help make sure every family, no …

Jay Barrett/KMXT The Kodiak High School Bears wrestling squad took sixth in the 39-team Lancer Smith Invitational over the weekend at Palmer High School. South edged Wasilla by a point-and-a-half to claim the title. Leo Sega took the title at 285-pounds, while Andrew Caballa at 120 and Kerry Powers at 195 were both second. The Bears have this weekend off, …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT It was a day that forever changed Kodiak. On March 27, 1964, a 9.2 magnitude earthquake shook Alaska and generated a tsunami that washed away coastal communities, forcing towns like Kodiak to rebuild in the years that followed. It’s been almost 50 years since that Good Friday earthquake, and The Kodiak Daily Mirror and Baranov Museum wanted to …