KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska

Jay Barrett/KMXT Starting on January 1st, there will be a greatly reduced American Red Cross presence in Kodiak. The disaster relief organization says it will not actually be closing the office, as was previously announced, but instead it will keep the office open, but not staff it. Sally Magnuson, the Kodiak logistics specialists, has been with the Red Cross here …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT Last night commercial vessel owners gathered to celebrate another year of successful Ship Escort and Response Vessel System, or SERVS, training. The vessel of opportunity program trains hundreds of fishermen and boat owners each year on how to safely and effectively clean up after an oil spill. Andres Morales is the director for SERVS, which is operated through …

Laura Rokey, a former Coast Guard SPAR, and Lt. Cmdr. Michele Schallip, commanding officer of the Kodiak-based Cutter SPAR, tour the ship while it was moored in Petersburg on Saturday.Rokey, now 94, was one of more than 11,000 women to serve in the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve during World War II. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Coast Guard Cutter SPAR

Jay Barrett/KMXT This year’s New York City Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, wound up being cancelled because of the Hurricane Sandy damage, but before that decision was made late Friday, Kodiak runner Bree Witteveen had already made her way from the Emerald Isle to the Big Apple.

Jay Barrett/KMXT Two state records fell at the hands of two Kodiak sophomores Saturday at the state swimming and diving championships at Bartlett High in Anchorage. Ila Hughes and Tahna Lindquist powered an impressive performance by the Bears, as the Kodiak girls won their second straight team title. Each won two individual titles for the second straight season and each …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT Despite being a few years away from legal voting age, Kodiak Middle School students flocked to the polls on Friday during a mock election. Sixth, seventh and eighth grade students lined up outside designated precincts throughout the school in anticipation for casting their first ballot in a patriotic cardboard poll booth. In the days leading up to the …

Jay Barrett/KMXT Development is underway at the site of Koniag Native Corporation’s new hard-rock quarry on Kodiak Island. Company CEO Will Anderson said the quarry, located on Shakmanof Cove northwest of Kodiak City, is anticipated to open in the spring. Anderson says the granite quarry will be especially suitable for extraction of large “armor” rock, often used in breakwaters around …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT Last night the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly met for a rather quick regular meeting. The evening kicked off with Mayor Jerome Selby’s run down of which assembly members will serve on what boards and committees. The assembly also held a public hearing on a change to the architectural engineering review board. Acting Borough Manager Bud Cassidy said the …