Governor Walker and Heidi Drygas visit crab fest. Photo courtesy of the Walker-Drygas campaign. Listen to this story; Editor’s Note: KMXT will interview gubernatorial candidates when they campaign in Kodiak. You can find more information about the August special election, primaries and candidates for all races here. Election season is underway for Alaska’s race for governor; former governor and nonpartisan …

Matt Van Daele, Daniel Smith and Will Frost scour Buskin Lake for signal crayfish while electrofishing. Listen to this story; The Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak has been looking for ways to reduce the number of invasive signal crayfish from the island’s Buskin Lake, in order to protect crucial salmon habitat. Matt Van Daele is the Sun’aq Tribe’s natural resources director. …

Part 1: Part 2: Part 3: Part 4: Part 5: Part 6: Part 7:   The opioid crisis in Alaska has been getting worse since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Overdoses are becoming more frequent, and so have deaths. Shanna Rockenbach and Amy Butts – wellness program supervisor for the Kodiak Area Native Association and Kodiak’s public health nurse, respectively – …

The M/V Tustumena docked in Kodiak. It’s the smaller of two ferries that service Kodiak Island. (Photo by Kavitha George/KMXT) Listen to this story; The M/V Tustumena had been in service for less than two weeks when it docked in Homer on July 26. According to an Alaska Department of Transportation press release, the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry had …

Charles Barker enjoys a sunny day at the beach. (Photo courtesy of Kodiak Independent Living Center.) Listen to this story; Kodiak Island’s Independent Living Center will be holding a disability pride event on Saturday, July 30 at the Buskin River State Recreation Site’s Ben Aure Shelter. It’s the organization’s first in-person pride event since the pandemic began.  Bev Cole is …

Bayside Volunteer Fire Department, located off Rezanof Drive in the Kodiak Island Borough. Listen to this story; John Kimmel is a member of the Kodiak Amateur Radio Emergency Service – also known as KARES – and coordinates the licensing exams. According to him, the organization tries to hold the exams frequently, but wasn’t able to over the past year. “We …

Part 1: Part 2: Part 3: Part 4: Part 5: Part 6: Part 7: Part 8: Host Dylan Simard hears from 4-H leaders Rebecca Ligtenberg and Velma Vining to discuss upcoming 4-H events. A dog show is right around the corner on Saturday, Aug. 6, along with a marksmanship competition Saturday, Aug. 27. On Saturday, Sept. 3, Kodiak 4-H will …

Providence hospital building. Courtesy of Providence. Listen to this story; The BA.5 variant of COVID-19 is causing an uptick of cases in Alaska and around the country. Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center is still seeing cases of the virus, but patients are often less sick than in times past. Amy Corder is the incident management commander for COVID response at …

  A group of Hospice and Palliative Care of Kodiak volunteers pose before the pandemic. (Courtesy of Hospice and Palliative Care of Kodiak.) Listen to this story; Kodiak Island has only one hospice care provider; the volunteer-staffed Hospice and Palliative Care of Kodiak. They’ve been unable to train any new volunteers due to the COVID pandemic, but they’re preparing to …

Close-up of defect on Survitec immersion suits. Glue attaching the zipper to the neoprene shell does not adhere well. Listen to this story; Kodiak Marine Supply is a large department store on Kodiak’s dockside, selling just about anything one might find on a fishing boat. Normally, that would include survival suits – but this year has been different. Jordan Clay …