Construction on high speed internet infrastructure is expected to begin in the Kodiak Island communities of Larsen Bay and Port Lions this year, as GCI prepares to set up fiber internet around the island and Alaska Peninsula. GCI’s AU-Aleutians Fiber Project has two phases. The first involves connecting four Aleutian communities along with Chignik Bay …

On this week’s Talk of the Rock, host Jared Griffin talks about paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) with Julie Matweyou, Kodiak Agent with the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program; Mika Bushell, NOAA research fellow and marine biologist for Knik Tribal Council; and Andie Wall, environmental coordinator for KANA. Listen here:

As of late last month, the village of Ouzinkie has a new hydropower system that provides the bulk of energy for the village of 130 people. But getting there wasn’t easy. The story starts back in the 1980s – that’s when the village’s hydropower system was first installed. It worked – but it had issues …

A power outage in Fairbanks is affecting KMXT’s ability to send our signal to villages on Kodiak Island. Until the issue is fixed, listeners in the villages will not be able to pick up KMXT 100.1 FM, though they can still stream the station on kmxt.org or the new KMXT app. KMXT’s signal to the …

In our first recap of Tuesday night’s Borough Assembly Candidate Forum, five candidates for three assembly seats discussed their views on the economy, education, and consolidation. KMXT’s Jared Griffin overviewed the candidates’ positions on non-profit funding, village cooperation in borough decisions, COVID-19, and conflicts of interest. Even though borough financial support for non-profits makes up …

Mike Wall presents the Midday Report featuring an update from the Kodiak Emergency Operations Center, and state and local stories on: City of Kodiak annexation plans Sustainability and food security in Old Harbor plus, Alaska Fish Radio, updates from Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game,and the weather forecast and community events.

By Joe Coleman, KNOM – Nome Last month, as classes around the state moved online, Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration announced plans to contract with the Florida Virtual School to provide online classes to students for free. The program could cost the state more than $500,000. Alaska’s contract with the online school followed former Florida Gov. …

With populations ranging from 30 to 250 people, Kodiak’s villages aren’t taking risks when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most have shut the communities down to nearly all non-resident travel and implemented strict social distancing measures for residents. “Here in Akhiok, we’re making it. Everybody’s on board [that] we should stay the course,” said …

Last week, Koniag announced a $50,000 donation to support COVID-19 response efforts for Alaska Native tribes and other beneficiaries on the Kodiak archipelago. President of Koniag, Shauna Hegna, says the corporation has met with tribal leaders and village corporation leaders four times since the beginning of the pandemic, and narrowed down their top concern to …

Kodiak received its first shipment of COVID-19 rapid test kits on Wednesday evening. The kits, which can be processed on island, are expected to accelerate the turnaround time on results from days to minutes. Previously, tests had to be shipped to a lab on the mainland for evaluation. Elise Pletnikoff is a physician at Kodiak …