KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska

Jennifer Canfield/KMXT The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly got some good news during the borough manager’s report at last night’s regular meeting. Rick Gifford announced that Kodiak Island School District Superintendent Stewart McDonald had received notice that the state would be reimbursing 70 percent of the $76 million price tag on the new high school, which translates to nearly $8 million …

Jennifer Canfield/KMXT Mary Guilas-Hawver has been named the new director of the Providence Kodiak Island Counseling Center. She says the counseling center offers a diverse array of services to meet the counseling needs of Kodiak residents. Guilas Hawver comes to the position with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s in human services and a chemical dependency counselor certification.

Jay Barrett/KMXT The fishing vessel Kimberly is still hard aground on the Alaska Peninsula coast west of Kodiak Island. It washed ashore a week and a half ago in heavy icing conditions and winds reportedly gusting to 100 mph. All four crewmen had to spend the night on the beach as the storm prevented a Coast Guard helicopter from reaching …

Jay Barrett/KMXT Heavy slush driven by winds gusting to 60 mph whipped Kodiak yesterday, but surprisingly, there were only two brownouts and one outage in the Kodiak Electric system. That occurred at 11:30 yesterday morning in Middle Bay along the stretch between Salt Creek and the American River. It left about 160 KEA customers in Chiniak and Pasagshak without power …

Coming up this week, halibut is the fish du jour; there is already some fallout from Alaska salmon packers pulling out of the MSC certification program, and don’t ever try to pass of your dog salmon as a king. We had help this week from Fish Radio’s Laine Welch in Kodiak and KFSK’s Joe Viechnicki in Petersburg.

Jennifer Canfield/KMXT Friends of Chris Dresdow have been rallying around her for nearly a year now. Dresdow was diagnosed with advanced stage Lyme disease and is paying thousands of dollars each month to fight it. Suzanne Bobo and Vic Downing have been fundraising for Dresdow since last spring and this week were guests on KMXT’s Talk of the Rock. As …

Punxsutawney Phil, with Groundhog Club President Bill Deeley. Photo groundhog.org Jay Barrett/KMXT Today is February 2nd, the traditional date that groundhogs peek out of their winter dens to gauge how much longer they’ll be holed up. In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the groundhog known as Punxsutawney Phil, the seer of seers, was summoned from his borrow by Groundhog Club President Bill Deeley …

Jay Barrett/KMXT The Kodiak Police Department has been getting reports over the last few days of counterfeit money being spent in town. Local merchants report the counterfeits were exclusively in $20 and $100 denominations. The police department said the bills appear authentic at first glance, but upon closer inspection obvious flaws stand out. They did not say what those flaws …