Posts by Kjersti McElwee
$50 for 50 Years On The Air
Did you know KNOM has a big day coming up? July 14, 2021, marks 50 years of broadcasting in Western Alaska. What better way to celebrate five decades of being a radio friend and companion than to give KNOM away? KNOM has received a number of phone calls from village listeners asking for radios for…
Read More2020 By the Numbers
KNOM’s spending aligned with budget totals in fiscal year 2020 (July 1-June 30), 3.5% less than total projected ordinary expenses. Income, on the other hand was 27.4% more than expected, mainly due to several large one-time gifts to KNOM. One expense KNOM does not bear is the labor cost of full-time volunteer fellows. Their collective…
Read MoreDear Friend… (Christmas 2020)
KNOM’s announcers are trained to talk with, not to, the listener. Engaging the Listener, the fourth line of the station’s mission statement, represents a mutual radio friendship. For many local families, the relationship reaches back decades. Listeners tune in for live events, submit special ‘hotline’ messages to friends and family, or call in with song…
Read MoreTransmission Incoming: Sharing the Word from KNOM’s Heartland
This Advent season, episodes of Sharing the Word in Western Alaska feature the Sunday gospel reading and a radio-friendly homily. Pat (Patrick) Tam gave voice to the episodes. Tam is a Catholic parish worker who lives in Emmonak. He arrived in the village as a Jesuit volunteer in 1981 and has devoted his life to…
Read MoreSucessful Inaugural Semester for Iñupiaq Immersion School
“We’ve just been Iñupiaqizing it, indigenizing it, Alaskanizing it,” teacher and administrator Kiminaq Maddy Alvanna-Stimpfle told the Nome School Board. Many eyes have been on Nome’s Iñupiaq immersion program, which opened this fall. Alvanna-Stimpfle has created culturally relevant worksheets and materials for students and welcomes elders in the classroom. Almost every day, elders in the…
Read MoreHooper Bay Charter School Is Open, Emphasizes Yup’ik Culture
A new charter school opened in Hooper Bay this fall, serving children in grades 4 through 8. The curriculum centers around scientific topics or concepts found locally in Hooper Bay. Principal Jamie Wollman believes this will empower her students to recognize the connection between education and traditional Alaska Native culture. “The biggest thing is that…
Read MoreNext Level Recycling
Notice of building move today at 4pm: Q Trucking Company will be moving a 26’ wide single-story home… Due to its significant size, we ask that you yield to the pilot cars and the load itself should you come upon us during our travels, and move off the roadway until it is safe to pass.…
Read MoreThe Nome Static, November 2020 (PDF Layout)
Can’t read the PDF embedded above? You can download it here.
Read MoreVillage Locks Down as Virus Moves Through Region
With more than thirty people testing positive for COVID-19 in Gambell, and nearly 100 active cases in the region, residents have made major adjustments. At the grocery store, which serves the entire community of 700, the phone line is constantly busy. Residents are asked to form a line, while standing six feet apart, and wait…
Read MoreDear Friend… (November 2020)
KNOM is in it for the long haul. The mission’s deep roots and long-term presence in Western Alaska empower growth. For listeners, KNOM is a place for local voices to be heard. Daily newscasts and live programming from important statewide events, such as the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention, connects rural residents to a wider…
Read More