Servers and kitchen staff are in short supply and high demand on Kodiak Island. It’s led some restaurants to delay their summer openings, take out tables – and even close on weekends, and it’s a statewide problem that’s hitting restaurants right as peak tourist season begins. Restaurants in downtown Kodiak during lunch on Wed., June 22, 2022. (Photo: Kirsten Dobroth/KMXT) …

The Kodiak Island Borough Building. (Photo by Kayla Desroches/KMXT) Members of the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly voted unanimously at Tuesday night’s special meeting to fire the borough manager. Assembly member Geoffrey Smith was absent for the vote. Roxanne Murphy had been hired by the borough in November of last year. She was previously the assistant city manager and interim manager …

Today, Tues., June 21, officially marks the start of the summer – although many parts of Alaska have experienced summer-like temperatures for the better part of the last month, and Kodiak Island is no exception. June temperatures have been warm and included several record daily highs. (Photo: Kirsten Dobroth/KMXT} Kodiak broke a cluster of daily temperature records at the beginning …

The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly voted down a funding request from the Kodiak Economic Development Corporation at its last meeting. Since January, the Kodiak Economic Development Corporation – also known as KEDC – was designated as a 5013c nonprofit organization, established a board of directors and hired a part-time project manager. And at Thursday’s Borough Assembly meeting, its president John Whiddon …

The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly voted unanimously at Thursday night’s meeting to amend its emergency rules that were passed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020.  Assembly members had debated changes to the rules since early last month. The rule change allows Assembly members to meet virtually if a disaster or emergency has been declared by the Governor …

The City of Kodiak proclaimed June as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month at its last Council Meeting – and the Kodiak Island Borough issued its own proclamation at last night’s Assembly meeting. The support comes on the tailwinds of a month-long lineup of Pride events in Kodiak.  Kodiak’s June pride celebration started as a virtual walk and run back in 2020 to …

The Touch Tank and Aquarium at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Kodiak Lab is where kids – and adults – can get their hands on all types of squishy and slimy creatures that live under the sea. During a normal summer, the tank is open to the public six days a week. It first closed because of the pandemic …

Ballots are still being counted for the special election to fill Alaska’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, but a picture of the local results is beginning to come into focus.  Former governor Sarah Palin was the top vote getter in Kodiak’s precinct with more than 33% of the vote, according to the state’s unofficial results. She currently …

A fisherman at the mouth of the Buskin River. (Photo by Lisa Hupp/USFWS) The Buskin River will close for subsistence and sport sockeye salmon fishing on Sat. June 11 at 12:01 a.m., according to Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game. The closure encompasses the inside waters of Chiniak Bay from Cliff Point to the southernmost tip of Near Island to …

The remains of four members of the Alutiiq community came to their final resting places at a cemetery in Kodiak this week. Members of the Sun’aq Tribe and the Alutiiq Museum gathered at Kodiak’s City Cemetery for the burial on Monday, June 6. The graveside service was led by the local Russian Orthodox church. April Counceller is the executive director …