The Nome Static, 2014 (All)
Gone country
With each new class of KNOM volunteers comes a new wave of energy and fresh ideas for how to make our mission even better. This year’s class of KNOM volunteers (2013-2014) is no different. In early January, first-year volunteer producer Tara Cicatello (pictured) debuted a new country show on our airwaves, AK Country. The program…
Read MoreHere comes race season
The later winter months in Western Alaska are made busy, each year, through the sled dog and snowmachine (or snowmobile) competitions that our listeners and community members follow so intently. We’re in the thick of race season, which means our entire mission is keeping extra busy. Last month, news director Laureli Kinneen had the opportunity…
Read MoreSpotted
The messages you see in grey boxes throughout our print newsletter (which you can download as a PDF) – and in all of our Static (newsletter) issues – are but a tiny sampling of KNOM’s massive library of “spots.” They’re brief radio messages, created in-house at KNOM, that we sprinkle into each broadcast hour, taking the place…
Read MoreA candidate’s visit
Pictured above is Alaska gubernatorial candidate Byron Mallott alongside KNOM’s news director Laureli Kinneen and general manager Ric Schmidt. Mallott has made history in recent months by becoming the first Alaska Native to declare a candidacy for governor and by receiving the official endorsement of a major political party (Mallott is running as a Democrat).…
Read MoreThe polar vortex
With regards to weather, 2014 got off to a very strange start all throughout the United States: in Alaska as well as in the Lower 48, albeit for opposite reasons. In many places in the contiguous 48 states, a “polar vortex” weather pattern was causing abnormally frigid temperatures in early January, while in Alaska, Nome…
Read MoreEngineer’s Corner: “Living in a bottle”
In this edition of Engineer’s Corner, volunteer engineer Rolland Trowbridge focuses on our mission’s consumption of batteries – in particular, the very specialized batteries that keep our equipment working during Nome’s frequent power outages and brown-outs – and why our new studios will help us decrease our battery use. The photo above shows all of…
Read MoreTo Shishmaref and Savoonga
Thanks to a sponsorship with a regional airline, KNOM staff and volunteers benefit from free travel to many of the communities our mission serves. Lately, our volunteers have been taking full advantage of this opportunity by keeping tabs on nearby villages. Last autumn, volunteer Anna Rose MacArthur visited the communities of Shishmaref and Savoonga (suh-VOON-guh),…
Read MoreOne more resolution
As you’re making New Year’s resolutions, might we humbly suggest one more? Check in with KNOM right here on knom.org or through social media (on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and LinkedIn). This website – including the stories of our volunteers, like Tara Cicatello and Emily Bieniek, pictured – looks great on mobile devices, too. This article is…
Read MoreA New Year’s studio update
Our construction crew continues to make progress, and with your support, our digital studios will likely become operational sometime later this year.
Read MoreIn the wake of the storm
Last November, storms brought exceptional damage to some of the communities we serve. Two separate storm systems in the Bering Sea – severe, in large part, because of their strong winds, high seas, and potential for coastal flooding – ripped through our region in less than a week. While Nome saw some relatively moderate damage,…
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