The decision to close the Karluk school was unanimous at an emergency school board meeting on Oct. 24.  “It’s a sad day when you have to close a school,” said Cyndy Mika, the Kodiak Island Borough School District superintendent. “And it’s not anything that I ever wanted to do in my tenure – it’s nothing that I want to ever …

Chadwick Watters works for Leader Creek Fisheries in Naknek – near Bristol Bay – and is at the end of an in-person ammonia refrigeration training.  “This class was advertised to us through our facility manager and he kind of told us that this would be a good opportunity to learn more, get more hands on experience and really go into …

An atkuk is a type of traditional Alutiiq clothing.  “The snow falling parka is what these are sometimes known as and when someone is dancing, wearing it, you see the ermine tails just sort of sway and it really does look like snow falling,” said Amanda Landcaster, the curator of collections at the Alutiiq Museum.  The new Atkuk was made …

Kodiak’s wholesale store, Cost Savers, was sold last week to the Native Village of Afognak and the Sun’aq Tribe. The joint venture was announced in a press release on Oct. 12. It’s the latest move in improving food security on the island.  The deal was in the works for about two months before it was announced. The Native Village of …

The Tustumena, a ferry that shuttles passengers between communities like Homer, Kodiak, and Unalaska, is laid up in a shipyard in Seward for repairs.  “(It’s) not something that we can fix while it’s in the water,” said Sam Dapcevich, a public information officer for the Alaska Marine Highway System. “So they’re going to haul it out in Seward and evaluate …

The Kodiak Island Borough finalized last week’s election results after a recount last night. After a tight race, Steven Ames will join the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly. The borough clerk’s office initiated a recount, which put Ames ahead of candidate Monique Lewis by just 16 votes. Last week he held a lead of just eight votes. The three seats for …

Voters in Kodiak last week elected Annika Woods to be one of the Kodiak City Council’s newest and youngest members, at just 26 years old. It’s her first term as an elected official.  Woods grew up in Kodiak and is now one of the youngest people to serve as an elected official on the island. She said that’s a big …

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been raging for just about a year and a half, and travel to the country has been restricted. But one Kodiak resident has made his way there, twice.  Thor Johnson is back on the island after helping troops fighting a real war, the one in Ukraine. He said on his first trip to the …

City of Kodiak Pat Branson held her position for mayor with 390 votes and beat Alan Seale, who got just 361 votes. Six votes went to write-in candidates.  The City Council had three candidates competing for two open seats. Bob Stanford will retain his position on the Council with 503 votes so far, and will be joined by Annika Woods, …

A Kodiak man, Jericho Samson, has been found after being reported missing over the weekend. A spokesperson from the Kodiak Police Department says Samson was found in town and in good health on Monday (Oct. 2).  The spokesperson said in a call that Samson was reported missing by his family after missing an appointment last week. The family was concerned …