KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska

Alexandra Gutierrez/APRN In a half-hour meeting on a Sunday afternoon, the Alaska Redistricting Board unanimously agreed on a new electoral map. The process of drawing the state’s political boundaries has been going on for nearly three years. Along the way, board members described it as a "struggle," Democrats characterized it as gerrymandering by a Republican-dominated group, and the courts deemed …

KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — Alaskans hoping to save a former Coast Guard cutter as a museum have spoken to its new owner but say the odds are not good that the vessel can be preserved. Joe Geldhof of the Juneau-based Storis Museum and Educational Center says the group is in preliminary discussions with the new owner. The Storis was launched …

Jay Barrett/KMXT Residents of Nome will have a chance to tour the Kodiak-based Coast Guard Cutter SPAR this weekend. The crew will host an open house on Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Nome pier, with crewmen available to answer any questions they may have about the ship’s mission in Alaska. The SPAR is a 225-foot seagoing buoy …

Jay Barrett/KMXT Local business leaders have been working with Kodiak’s legislative delegation over concerns about the ferry Tustumena’s repeated delays in returning to service this summer. The Alaska Marine Highway System announced this week that the Tusty will miss its scheduled July 23rd return to service because of shoddy work done on welds to watertight compartments in the ship’s hull. …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT Next week the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly will decide if Kodiak residents should have an opportunity to vote on whether or not smoking should be banned in indoor public places. The second hand smoke control ordinance, if passed by the assembly, will be put on the October ballot and left to the community to decide. During last week’s …

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT A sunset provision that would lower the sales tax on Dec. 31 will more than likely be eliminated by the Kodiak City Council. During the council’s work session on Tuesday City Manager Aimee Kniaziowski explained the looming expiration of two decades worth of sales tax increases. Kniaziowski said the council adopted an ordinance back in 1993 that increased …

The now-extinct Steller’s Sea Cow was big. Really big. You’ve almost certainly heard of the Steller sea lion and maybe the Steller jay or Steller eider. But do you know anything about the Steller sea cow? Or … even Georg Wilhelm Steller himself? Deb Mignogno of Fort Abercrombie fills in the details for us in during this week’s edition of …

Coming up this week, it’s been a tough month for salmon tenders, with one submerged upside down and two more hitting the rocks; salmon tracking is underway as part of the plan to figure out what’s wrong with Cook Inlet king salmon, and, with apologies to Dr. Seuss, “One Fish, Two Fish, Young Fish, maybe not so old fish.” The …