“It’s been like having the curtain pulled back and seeing how radio is actually done,” University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) student Matthew Schmitz said. 

This year, three college students spent their spring break participating in KNOM’s annual round-the-clock coverage of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Partnership with UAA allowed the young journalists the opportunity of a lifetime and made high-intensity Iditarod coverage possible despite short staffing at the radio station.

“We’ve been able to practice a lot of our skills here, and we’re deeply excited about that,” Taylor Heckart said.

Listeners and community members were impressed with the students. Their first full day in Nome, there was a small fire in Nome’s Public Works garage (with, thankfully, no injuries except for the town’s Iditarod siren). They were the first to the scene to report. Thank you to Taylor, Matthew and Ava for jumping right in and covering important stories as they happened.

Image a top: Students Ava White and Taylor Heckart chat with Interim General Manager Davis Hovey. They were part of a group of three journalism students who helped cover the Iditarod. Photo by KJ McElwee, KNOM (2023).