Recognizing the blessings of ordinary life rhythms unifies people in community. KNOM can be an “audio scrapbook” of the happy events in listeners’ lives. An example is a series of news features about local cross country teams. Volunteer reporter Gabe Colombo tracked the runners to the season’s end in early October.

Student athletes in bush Alaska spend their off-season fundraising to help pay for their team competitions, which are limited with tight school budgets. Traveling to a meet is the benefit of hard work. Teams in remote Alaska fly to meets in bush planes. Often, the trip requires sleeping on gym floors, packing extra gear in case of an emergency, or extended stays due to poor weather. There are no groomed course trails for running events, so racers find their way through sand pits, gravel fields, shale hills, and paths through the brush outside of town. Each meet is a chance to reconnect with family and friends who line the makeshift course with folks cheering the next generation.

Attention to youthful endeavors — running, basketball, volleyball, music, wrestling, scholastic competition, or Native Youth Olympics — unifies communities. KNOM shines a light of hope by radiating this positive practice through featured reporting beyond the scores.

You make it possible for KNOM to broadcast faith, inspiration, news, and education in Western Alaska. Thank you for beaming the light of hope, the light of Christ, a little brighter in Western Alaska.

Image at top: The Nome high school cross-country team heads to a village meet. Photo courtesy of Devin Tatro.