Radar study reveals 1918 pandemic graves at Pilgrim Hot Springs cemetery
The results of a ground-penetrating radar study of the Pilgrim Hot Springs cemetery, located about 60 miles northeast of Nome, have been released.
A Response to Recent Allegations Made Against KNOM Regarding Jim Poole
The name Father Jim Poole, S.J. has not appeared on the historical timeline on KNOM’s website since before 2011. Poole was the dominant force behind the creation of KNOM and led the effort to find the money and people that put the radio station on the air in 1971. In the following years, he became […]
After 49 Years, Still a “Happy Sweet Birthday”
On July 14, 2018, KNOM celebrates 47 years of broadcasting. To mark the occasion, you can now listen to a few distinctively Western Alaska versions of the “Happy Birthday” songs heard each day during Hotlines.
October ’71: The loss of Br. Huck
October 8, 1971 Traveling by small boat from the village of Pilot Station to St. Mary’s, 33-year-old Br. John Huck, SJ, and three others drown when their boat capsizes near the confluence of the Yukon and Andreafsky Rivers. Huck, who directed construction on the studio building, had become a great friend to the KNOM crew, […]
October ’92: A superlative fall storm
October 5, 1992 The worst storm in eighteen years strikes Nome as a low-pressure center swells up a storm surge eight feet above normal with ten-foot waves above that. Covered with flotsam and jetsam, Front Street – Nome’s main thoroughfare – is underwater, and where it runs along the beach, half of it is gone. […]
September ’70: Preparing the transmitter tower site
September 24, 1970 Volunteers John Pfeifer and Tom Busch continue to pound sizzling chisels into the permafrost for explosives expert Sam Tucker to pack with dynamite. They shovel and bucket out debris 11 to 12 hours a day, taking only 10 minutes for lunch and dinner; the meals are delivered to them seven days a […]
September ’05: A “once in a hundred years” storm, again
September 22, 2005 For the second year in a row, Nome is hit by a “once in a hundred years” storm. The town loses power, and KNOM’s transmitter site generator keeps the station on the air for 134 hours until electricity is restored. General manager Ric Schmidt, on the East Coast to accept a Gabriel […]
September ’01: Broadcasting on 9/11
September 11, 2001 Starting at 6 AM, KNOM airs 68 hours of live continuous news coverage on the terrible incidents of today, interrupted only three times: for weather, important messages, and the Rosary.
September ’72: Construction
September 4, 1972 They’re completed. Fred Dyen and fellow volunteers Les Brown and Chris Brockway have constructed a prefabricated garage and building for the transmitter site generator. Dyen’s friend Jerry Springer had flown up from Spokane to install the generators and transfer switches, and by this week, both studio and transmitter are protected against power outages.
August ’03: After a long addiction, a mayor talks about getting sober
August 27, 2003 KNOM listeners are touched by a lengthy conversation with Martin Oktollik, mayor of the village of Point Hope. Oktollik speaks of his 30-year dependence on alcohol and drugs – and his recovery from it. KNOM reports that an estimated 14 percent of Alaskans abuse alcohol. That’s the highest rate in the United […]