Anna Rose MacArthur, KYUK - Bethel
Anna Rose MacArthur is a reporter at KYUK in Bethel.
Quinhagak responds to a series of apparent heroin overdoses
One of the men from Quinhagak’s four apparent heroin overdoses earlier this week has returned to the village. The other man has not yet returned. The third person, a woman, is dead. The fourth person was treated on site. Listen now
Tuluksak man still missing after a month
A Tuluksak man remains missing. 43-year-old Walter Hawk walked away from his village almost a full month ago. Listen now
Surgeon General witnesses front lines of rural health care in Alaska’s opioid epidemic
The national opioid epidemic gives no exception to rural Alaska. Later this year, the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, will release a report on substance abuse addiction and health. To prepare, the nation's top medical officer is meeting with health care providers around the country on ways to prevent or treat opioid addiction. He traveled last week to Napaskiak, a town of 500, located seven miles down the Kuskokwim river from Bethel.
Search continues for missing Tuluksak man
The search continues for a man who walked away from the village of Tuluksak 15 days ago. Listen now
With fall chum opening, Marshall and Russian mission urging Maserculiq to fix ice machine
The first commercial fishing opening for fall chum starts Wednesday for Marshall and Russian Mission, but still no solution has been found for the villages’ broken ice machine. Listen now
Former YKHC employee pleads guilty to distributing child pornography
A former Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation employee has pled guilty in Anchorage Superior court to distributing child pornography. Listen now
Jury awards $140,000 to man injured In Bethel police vehicle
A Bethel jury has awarded $140,000 to a man injured in the back of a police vehicle when the officer slid off the road and hit an electrical pole. Listen now
Broken ice machine spells trouble for two fishing villages
A broken ice machine has stalled commercial fishing for two villages on the Lower Yukon River. The owner won’t fix the machine. The person who usually fixes the machine won’t. Fishermen have to travel 90 miles and back to get ice, and they’re calling for help. Meanwhile, the fish, and the opportunity for income, are swimming by. Listen now
City of Bethel bans longtime scavenging tradition at Bethel landfill
Your freezer breaks and you need a part. You could go to the store or online. Or you could go to the landfill. And that’s what people in Bethel have done for decades— salvaging and reusing what other people have thrown away. Now, the city is saying no more. Listen now
Akiachak prepares to inventory land for trust status
Alaska tribes can start asking the federal government to take their lands into trust. Essentially they can ask the federal government to take lands out of state jurisdiction like lower-48 Indian Country. The change comes after a federal appeals court last week dismissed Alaska’s challenge that had stopped land trust applications. Now four Alaska tribes that sued the Interior Department can proceed. That includes Akiachak and Tuluksak. Listen now
Bethel nonprofits will no longer get a pass on sales taxes
Starting Aug. 1 the city of Bethel will begin enforcing sales taxes on nonprofits unless the nonprofit gets an exemption. But no one can get an exemption, because one of the legal requirements is impossible to fulfill. Download Audio
George Mute’s body found after nine months
A couple in Napakiak has found the body of George Mute, age 26, of Kongiganak. Mute went missing in September. Download Audio
Bethel elders could be spending more time alone once ONC closes Senior Center
Bethel’s Senior Center is closing its doors to seniors. Orutsararmuit Native Council, or ONC, runs the program and will keep many of its services. But starting next month, it will no longer offer a space for seniors to gather, talk, and eat. Seniors will remain fed and supported, but they could be spending a lot more time alone. Download Audio
After bike impales daughter, mother sends public thank you to good samaritans
In rural Alaska access to emergency medical care relies on many factors like distance, weather, and time of day. For one 10-year-old girl in Eek, emergency care also relied on one pilot’s good will after the child's traumatic bike accident. KYUK talked with the girl’s mother and the pilot who helped them out. Download Audio
Federal grant helps Newtok village relocate due to erosion of Ningliq River
Relocation efforts continue for what many consider America’s first climate refugees. Newtok, a community of over 300 people in Southwest Alaska, has been eroding into the Ningliq River for decades. This week the village received an almost million-dollar federal grant to help with its move. Download Audio
Respected elders drown In Yukon River near Marshall
Two elders drowned this weekend in Marshall when their vehicle suddenly slid into the Yukon River. The couple left a legacy of sharing traditional knowledge with their community. Download Audio
YKHC Opposes Donlin Mine
What does rural healthcare in Alaska have to do with jobs? A lot, according to The Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation. The regional healthcare provider is opposing the Donlin Gold mine. And a big part of an anti-Donlin resolution the corporation passed last month focuses on the potential for jobs to leave the region if the mine is developed. Download Audio
Myron Naneng Resigns As AVCP President/CEO
Myron Naneng has resigned as president and CEO of the Association of Village Council Presidents. Naneng announced his decision at an Executive Board meeting Wednesday. The resignation became effective immediately, according to a press release from the regional tribal nonprofit for 56 villages across the Yukon Kuskowim Delta. The office is based in Bethel. Download Audio
Liquor store opens in Bethel – first in 40 years
AC Quickstop opened Bethel’s first liquor store in more than four decades on Tuesday. A line of about 10 people were waiting for the doors to open.
Fog delays Bethel liquor store opening
Weather conditions have delayed the opening of Bethel’s liquor store. Fog prevented Walter Pickett, AC general manager, from landing in Bethel Monday morning to give AC Quickstop its final compliance check before it opens what would be Bethel’s first liquor store in more than 40 years.