Newsflash

Bear spotted wandering around town. Photo by Trooper Mike Munson Kayla Desroches/KMXT Alaska State Troopers Wednesday shot a bear that had been wandering around town for a couple of weeks. Sergeant Shane Nicholson with the troopers says authorities deemed it necessary after receiving numerous reports of the bear getting into dumpsters and roll carts and passing through people’s properties. He …

Listeria monocytogenes. Photo by AJC ajcann.wordpress.com / Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT A number of frozen fruits and vegetables have been recalled due to possible contamination by listeria, which can cause serious infections in children, the elderly, or people with weakened immune systems. Some of the potentially contaminated brands include O Organics, Safeway Kitchens, and Signature Kitchens. Michelangelo Sison, assistant manager at …

Shelikof restroom building located near the harbor building. Photo courtesy of Harbormaster’s Office Kayla Desroches/KMXT The harbor staff is considering renovations to the harbor building and taking action on the Shelikof restroom building downtown. Harbormaster Lon White gave an overview to the Kodiak City Council at its work session Tuesday night. The current changes to the harbor building, which contains …

Petroglyphs on Afognak Island. Photo courtesy of Alutiiq Museum Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Alutiiq Museum’s curator of archaeology, Patrick Saltonstall, recently identified a cluster of petroglyphs carved into a rock on Afognak Island. He says they’d been aware of possible petroglyphs in the site for years, and this month he visited the area with an Afognak Native Corporation senior land patrol …

An example of crabs found while tidepooling. Photo by Andrew Schaefer / Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT Every year, fifth-graders in Kodiak take a boat out to Woody Island and camp in cabins there for a few days to learn about the history, birds, and wildlife of Woody Island. That includes the shelled creatures and fish that live on its beaches. Switgard …

A dead gray whale floating in the ocean. Photo by Kate Wynne Kayla Desroches/KMXT Last summer, a mass die-off of at least 40 whales under unknown circumstances caused NOAA to declare an “unusual mortality event.”  Many of those whales, the majority of which were fin or humpback whales, were spotted on or around the Kodiak Archipelago. On Friday, KMXT’s Kayla …

Steller sea lions in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters/Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT Community members have been reporting sightings of a Steller sea lion with a rope constricting its neck. It appears to have gotten entangled in marine debris. Bree Witteveen, a mammal specialist with the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center, says they’ve been …

Colored pencils, some tools of the trade when it comes to sketching. Richard Steih/Flickr Kayla Desroches/KMXT Sometimes, all it takes to capture a scene are a few lines and a splash of color. A series of free art classes at the Kodiak Public Library will teach students how to document the world through sketching. Kodiak resident Bob Ross will lead …

Geologist Kristi Wallace stands beside particulate monitor. Kayla Desroches/KMXT Kayla Desroches/KMXT Researchers are trying to determine whether strong winds blowing over the Valley of 10,000 Smokes on the Alaska Peninsula can transport dangerous amounts of ash into the Kodiak environment. To help them collect data, they’ll turn to a pair of particulate monitors they set up last week – one …

Workshop participants sort roe according to grade, looking for tears and other flaws. Kayla Desroches/KMXT Kayla Desroches/KMXT A workshop about roe, or fish eggs, last week covered everything from the market for roe to how to judge its quality. Almost 30 students took the course Thursday and Friday at the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center. Chris Bledsoe slaps a …