News

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT A bill passed during the 27th Legislature could mean more land opening up for Coast Guard housing in Kodiak. The bill provides low interest state money for development on land adjacent to military facilities, which can be rezoned as Military Facility Zones. Borough Manager Bud Cassidy said the Coast Guard is concerned about not having enough residential structures …

Jay Barrett/KMXT A brand new fishing vessel headed for Alaska to join the Kodiak fleet in 1972 never reached its destination, and its fate has been a mystery for over 40 years. That is, until it was discovered sitting on the sea floor under 9,000 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico. The fishing vessel Katmai was found by …

Jay Barrett/KMXT On Friday the Senate Resources Committee heard testimony on reducing Chinook salmon bycatch in Alaska’s trawl fisheries. The testimony across user groups was almost universally in favor of reducing the bycatch, with the only doubt being brought up by representatives of the trawl industry. Senator Peter Micciche from Soldotna introduced Senate Resolution 5, which would request the North …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT The fish processing vessel that ran aground almost two weeks ago has been refloated. On March 15 the M/V Pacific Producer ran aground near the village of Ouzinkie. At the time of the grounding it had an estimated 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board, as well as various lubes and oils. According to a situation report from …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT A pair of floating docks that washed up on shore in Womens Bay have caused some concern. Andy Schroeder is the executive director of Island Trails Network and said he was informed that strange pieces of foam, most likely from a floating dock, were washing ashore in the bay. The foam was traced back to Zaimka (Zam-ka) Island, …

Jay Barrett/KMXT Every year the Kodiak Elks Lodge sponsors a patriotic essay contest. This year Kodiak’s winner also went on to win honors statewide. Contest organizer Bill Bissett brought East Elementary fifth-grader Tucker Kelly into the KMXT studio to recite his winning essay.

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT Next week is Tsunami Preparedness Week, and emergency planners in cities and towns along Alaska’s coastline will urge residents to make sure they know what to do in the event of a tsunami. Kodiak residents are no strangers to this type of preparedness. After all, community members are reminded of tsunamis each Wednesday at 2 p.m. when the …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT Spring is upon us, according to the calendar at least, which means Kodiak’s Island Trails Network is gearing up for yet another season of trail building and maintenance, as well as marine debris clean up. Tom Pogson is the director of marine programs, outreach and education for ITN and spoke on KMXT’S Talk of the Rock yesterday about …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT In one of its shorter meetings of the year, last night the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly moved along an ordinance that will amend the budget for both the landfill lateral expansion project and the long term care facility. Borough manager Bud Cassidy said the amendments fall under what’s called a budget adjustment ordinance.

Jay Barrett/KMXT A second conspirator in the Trident Seafoods embezzlement case has been sentenced to prison. Thirty-one-year-old Anne Wilson of Kent, Washington, was sentenced yesterday (Thursday) by Chief District Court Judge Ralph Beistline to 16-months in prison. According the U.S. Attorney’s office, Wilson helped embezzle $289,660 from Trident. Co-defendant Jamie Fathke was sentenced in January to four months in jail …