Alaska National Guard Turns Over Rural Armories for Public Use
![](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/IMG_3182-1200x900.jpg)
The Alaska Army National Guard is handing over ownership of over 60 armories in rural communities, mostly to municipalities.
Northwest Arctic Ice Road Will Not Open This Year
![The edge of Kobuk Lake (Hotham Inlet) and the Baldwin Peninsula (Photo: Gabe Colombo, KNOM)](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/IMG_7458-1200x900.jpg)
Sea ice has been too thin this year to make it safe to construct the ice road, which normally runs from Kotzebue to Noorvik and Kiana.
Browning, King Race for Second as Petit Pushes On
![Ellen King in Ambler on the 2018 Kobuk 440 trail (Photo: Zoe Grueskin, KNOM)](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-04-13-10.01.10-e1523744190543-1200x900.jpg)
Veteran Tony Browning is the musher with the most Kobuk 440s under his belt, while relative newbie Ellen King is only racing her second.
Petit Extends Lead; Jessie Holmes Scratches
![Nicolas Petit after pulling into the Ambler checkpoint for the second time (Photo: Gabe Colombo, KNOM)](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/IMG_2461-1200x900.jpg)
Petit checked in to Ambler for the second time after completing the turnaround leg to Kobuk and back in a swift 7 hours. Holmes says he “way too hard, way too fast” at the beginning.
GCI Expands High-Speed Broadband to Norton Sound Villages
![In Noorvik, the GCI tower juts up into the morning air. It is silhouetted against blue skies and partial clouds.](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GCITower1-1-of-1-1200x800.jpg)
Residents of six Norton Sound villages can expect to see high-speed terrestrial broadband coverage from GCI by the end of 2017, the company says.
In Kiana, “Ripples” of Positive Change
!["Selfie" of Kiana middle school student Shaedyn Barr and radio producer Lauren Frost](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-04-08-kiana-story49-004-1200x800.jpg)
In rural Kiana, Alaska, a new social group has given youth a platform to encourage each other to be their best, despite the region’s high rates of suicide, domestic violence, sexual assault, and substance abuse. It’s the subject of a recent episode of KNOM’s “Story49.”
A Youth Summit in Kiana
![Nick Hanson, from the very top of a large, wooden structure, looks down on children sitting on the floor of the Kiana school gymnasium.](https://knom.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Nick-Hanson-in-Kiana-2x3-ratio-2736px-1200x800.jpg)
KNOM endeavors to connect with listeners, on the air and face to face. Recently, volunteer producer Lauren Frost had the chance to do both during a special youth summit in rural Kiana, Alaska.