News

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT In the world of subsistence harvesting, at least within federal lands and waters, rural and non-rural classifications mean everything. Basically, rural communities are entitled to the land, and are first in line for consuming natural resources. Kodiak’s long-standing rural label has been called into question in the past, and according to Pamela Bumsted, could be questioned again in …

A swarm of an estimated 50,000 honeybees left Ani Thomas’ hive Saturday, searching for a new home.The bees were given a new hive and in a few hours had made themselves at home. Judy Hamilton photo Jay Barrett/KMXT Apparently when a bee colony gets a little too crowded, the queen will leave with about half of her minions to find …

Jay Barrett/KMXT The pink salmon harvest took a big jump on Friday, with the local fleet delivering 1,737,994 salmon, which was about a million more fish than the day before. Alaska Department of Fish and Game figures show the hot streak continued over the weekend, with another million pinks netted Saturday, and 1.2-million more on Sunday. That brings the cumulative …

Jay Barrett/KMXT The Kodiak City Council Thursday night put the final nail in the coffin of the old police station downtown when it approved a contract of nearly $350,000 to Golden Alaska Excavating to tear down the nearly 60-year-old building. “It’s very derelict. We’ve spent money to insure it and keep it heated and we’ve had, you know, frozen pipes. …

Jay Barrett/KMXT A 13-year-old Kodiak boy was medevac’d to Anchorage after an ATV accident near Roslyn Beach on Saturday. The Alaska State Troopers report he was driving a four-wheeler on a trail near the beach when the accident occurred. Troopers and Kodiak Fire Department EMTs needed to be ferried by others on ATVs to reach the site of the accident. …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT Summertime is a great opportunity to check out Kodiak’s dazzling local flora, but it’s also a bitter reminder of the pesky invasives that litter the island. These seasonal plants often pop up this time of year and keep folks like Blythe Brown, the Kodiak Soil and Water Conservation District project coordinator, hard at work trying to eradicate them. …

Audrey Carlsen/KUCB Tuesday was the last day on the job for Saint Paul City Manager Linda Snow. She’s leaving the Pribilof Island community after almost seven years, and is leaving Alaska to move closer to family in the Lower 48. She’s worked as a city manager in McGrath, Petersburg, Kenai and Saint Paul over the past 28 years. She plans …

Jay Barrett/KMXT Thursday night the Kodiak City Council approved the transfer of $100,000 from the paving project fund into the Shelikof Street Pedestrian Project. City Manager Aimee Kniaziowski said the extra funds are needed because of the rockslide that occurred during construction in May. “Which was very problematic. It had to be buttressed and of course we had to authorize …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT It’s August again in Kodiak, and while it might not be particularly warm, the annual Warm August Night will still kick off this Saturday. The evening, which features local and out of town musicians, is hosted by the Kodiak Lions Club. Jeremiah “Doc” Myers said the event is what he calls a “food-raiser.” “Kind of like a fundraiser …

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The cost of renting a home or apartment in Alaska has gone up. State labor department economists report the median adjusted rental price in Alaska rose from $1,065 a month in 2012 to $1,119 this year for all housing-unit types and survey areas combined. Kodiak had the highest median rent in the survey, at $1,365 a …