Newsflash

Mary Beth Loewen. Courtesy of Mary Beth Loewen Kayla Desroches/KMXT A dance teacher will bring hip hop classes to Kodiak, but first she says she needs to perfect her teaching method. Mary Beth Loewen, who grew up in Kodiak, just won a Rasmuson Foundation Individual Project Award – one of 25 project awards the Foundation presented this year to artists …

(Left to right) Nurse Steve, Nurse Lydia, and patient / actor Felicia Roberts during a simulated examination. Kayla Desroches/KMXT Kayla Desroches/KMXT Every year on Kodiak Island, the common cold – known locally as the “Kodiak crud” – spreads among city residents. But imagine if a more serious illness or disease entered the population. Like ebola, which spreads through bodily fluids. …

A tiny house village located in Washington D.C. Photo by Inhabitant / Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT The state of Alaska abounds with creative living situations, from houseboats to yurts, and the tiny house market may have a future in Kodiak. But that starts with Kodiak Island Borough code. According to borough Community Development Director Sara Mason, the tiny house movement is …

The Volendam cruise ship (docked to right). Kayla Desroches/KMXT Kayla Desroches/KMXT The first cruise ship of the season, the Volendam, visited Kodiak on Friday and left that same night. KMXT’s Kayla Desroches walked her bike around and chatted up some tourists.  

Students and helpers work on mosaic bench at Kodiak High School. Kayla Desroches/KMXT Kayla Desroches/KMXT A mosaic bench in front the high school is almost complete. By necessity. Three years ago, a group of students designed the bench with teacher and artist, Bonnie Dillard. Now the deadline is coming up. A group of students has come down to complete community …

Borough Mayor speaks to attendees at the Kodiak Archipelago Rural Regional Leadership Forum. Kayla Desroches/KMXT Kayla Desroches/KMXT Kodiak’s rural leaders and the Kodiak Island Borough are striving to improve communication on land issues that impact the island’s communities. The borough has jurisdiction over land use matters around the island and all the action happens in the city of Kodiak. That …

Bobbi Anne Barnowsky. Courtesy of Barnowsky Kayla Desroches/KMXT Old Harbor tribal administrator Bobbi Anne Barnowsky recently won state recognition and a place on the 2017 First Lady’s Volunteer of the Year Awards. The awards began with Alaska First Lady Bella Hammond in 1975 and continue today under First Lady Donna Walker. Out of 70 nominations, four individuals were selected for …

Plastic shopping bag. Photo by Andrew Davidson / Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT Kodiak is looking into banning single-use plastic bags. If it does, it’ll follow communities like Bethel, Cordova, and Hooper Bay that have all enforced city-wide bans, none of which include a per-bag fee. Fairbanks tried and failed in 2009 to charge a 5 cent fee. Some communities in the …

Rock painted by DeAnn Medina. Photo by DeAnn Medina Kayla Desroches/KMXT The sale of acrylic paints has peaked in Kodiak, and it’s because of a new art craze in town. Painted rocks have been popping up on the local trails, café tables, and even in the meat section of Safeway. The activity, which found success in the Lower 48, has …

A White Chinese Goose similar to the one in Ouzinkie. Tracie Hall / Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT Island communities are growing their own produce and raising their own poultry as part of an ongoing hoop house project, and each village has its unique innovations to add in. Like beekeeping and guard geese. The participating communities of Larsen Bay, Old Harbor, Ouzinkie …