Newsflash

Baranov Museum Curator of Collections & Exhibits, Alana Blumenthal. Photo courtesy of Baranov Museum Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Baranov Museum has a new employee to fill the position Anjuli Grantham left behind when she stepped down as curator of collection and exhibits. Alana Blumenthal says she’s originally from Philadelphia and has been working in museums for the last few years. Her …

Bear eating berries on Otmeloi Way. Photo by Matt Van Daele Kayla Desroches/KMXT A young bear has been wandering around, snacking on poultry in Kodiak. Nate Svoboda, Kodiak area biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, says it’s been spotted around Otmeloi Way, Antone Way, and Dark Lake. “And it’s pretty much hooked on chicken coops and duck …

Left to right, Sam, Karin, and Ben Stahlhut. Kayla Desroches/KMXT Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Simply Awesome Bakery storefront is closing at the end of the week. Owner Sam Stahlhut, who has been running the bakery with help from his brother Ben and mother Karin, says recent developments would make it a challenge to maintain a full-time business. His mother is going …

The herb angelica. Sharin / Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT An in-depth report on traditions in plant use on Kodiak Island is set to be published years after it was written. Ethnobotanist Priscilla Russell released the study in 1995, and it’s currently on loan to the Alutiiq Museum. Russell, who’s lived in Alaska since 1973, says she came to Kodiak in the …

A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew transfers an injured all terrain vehicle rider to awaiting emergency medical services personnel. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Kelly Parker Kayla Desroches/KMXT The U.S. Coast Guard medevac’d a young ATV driver on Kodiak Island this weekend. According to a Coast Guard press release, the 15-year-old girl …

Cowboy at the Tex Austin rodeo in Chicago. Photo via Wikipedia Kayla Desroches/KMXT You can get your rodeo fix this weekend as part of a teaser for September’s Kodiak Rodeo and State Fair. President of the rodeo and fair, Bonnie Stratmen, says yesterday, the cowboys were out the road catching the bulls which they’ll use for the two hours of …

Devil’s club berries. Photo by USDA Forest Service Alaska / Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT Kodiak researchers are in the midst of studying berry growth on the island and one biologist says climate change continues to have a great impact. Bill Pyle, the supervisory wildlife biologist for the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, says weather has influenced both the ripening and availability of …

A red fox peers through underbrush at Buskin River State Recreation Area in 2011. Photo by James Brooks / Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT Friendly foxes in Kodiak aren’t necessarily a good thing – it usually means someone is feeding them. Not only is that illegal, it’s bad for their health. Nate Svobda is the Kodiak area wildlife biologist for the Alaska …

Amanda Miles. Courtesy of Amanda Miles Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Kodiak Area Native Association’s first dental health aide therapist received her certification last week. The dental health aide program, which is sponsored through the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and the University of Washington, strives to improve dental care in rural areas of Alaska. It teaches students to provide dental education …

Inundation map of Kodiak. Via UAF Alaska Earthquake Center Kayla Desroches/KMXT Tsunamis can strike without warning, which makes it vital to always be prepared for them, and one step Kodiak residents can take is to figure out whether the location of their house makes them vulnerable. Representatives from NOAA, the State of Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, …