Anna Rose MacArthur, KYUK - Bethel

The Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race Committee has once again raised its purse, maintaining the race’s money pot as the second highest in the state for sled dog racing behind the Iditarod. Download Audio

Two federal agencies have come to different conclusions on the potential effects the proposed Donlin Creek mine could have on subsistence along the Kuskokwim River. The site sits 10 miles north of the village of Crooked Creek. Donlin estimates it could excavate 34 million ounces of gold over almost three decades. Download Audio

The Lower Kuskokwim School District is readying the Kipusvik building for a February move-in by the Ayaprun Yup’ik immersion school.

Bethel City Council unanimously passed a six-month moratorium on marijuana license applications on Tuesday. The moratorium places a hold on the city processing any land use, zoning, or licensing approvals for marijuana operations in Bethel.

After a month of backlogs and overtime, Bethel’s water tanks are filled and sewer pipes emptied. Public Works caught up on water deliveries Wednesday and on sewer Saturday after a month of delayed service.

Martin Buser has been dropped to last place and without prize money for this year’s Kuskokwim 300. The race committee made the decision yesterday after reviewing evidence of Buser committing two penalties: leaving the trail and receiving help to feed his dogs. Download Audio

Last week in President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address, he envisioned a future where all students in the U.S. learned computer science. That future is beginning in Tuluksak where 21 iPads are being shipped to the Kuskokwim school to teach coding.

Bethel’s Pete Kaiser wins the Kuskokwim 300 sled dog race for the second year in a row. Last year he became the first local musher to win the race in 29 years. Download Audio

To buy the city time to figure out its marijuana regulations, Bethel City Council has placed a six-month hold on processing any land use, zoning, or licensing approvals for marijuana operations in Bethel. The measure passed unanimously at Tuesday’s council meeting.

With the state budget expected to shrink, the Kuskokwim Consortium Library is preparing for a downturn on its ability to provide services starting this summer.

Bethel Native Corporation is working on an alternative location for its liquor license. The corporation received the license from the Alaska Alcoholic Beverage Control Board in November for its Kipusvik building.

Energy officials hope two newly constructed towers in Bethel will pave the way to reducing the city’s multi-million gallon dependence on diesel fuel. The Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, or AVEC, raised the towers to collect atmospheric data for future wind turbines.

The Bethel Family Clinic is cleaning up after a recent break-in. Among the items stolen are about $300 in cash, syringes, and narcotics with a street value around $24,000, according to Latesia Guinn, executive director of the clinic.

With the proposed Donlin Gold Mine appearing like a truer and nearer reality, the City of Bethel is looking at transforming into an organized borough. At Tuesday’s meeting Bethel City Council voted to give City Manager Ann Capela the go-ahead into mapping out the process. Download Audio

With the proposed Donlin Gold Mine appearing like a truer and nearer reality, the City of Bethel is looking at transforming into an organized borough. At Tuesday’s meeting Bethel City Council voted to give City Manager Ann Capela the go-ahead into mapping out the process. Download Audio

Jobs in rural Alaska are often seen as a career stepping stone. Professionals take a job for a year, maybe two, and leave. In doing so, they take career skills and experience with them. How to retain workers in rural Alaska is a vexing puzzle. Bethel thinks it’s got one piece figured out. Download Audio

Walter Pickett is the Alaska Commercial Company general manager. He says the final vision for AC Quickstop’s liquor store in Bethel is ready. “When you walk into the convenience store currently, the thought is to take that space where the entryway is and that elongated hallway before you walk into the store, and actually take that space and convert that into the liquor store,” Pickett said. The store should open in August of 2016, and Pickett said the company has several hurdles to jump between now and then, beginning this week with sending a project manager to assess the store’s new construction.

Jobs in rural Alaska are often seen as a career stepping stone. Professionals take a job for a year, maybe two, and leave. In doing so, they take career skills and experience with them rather than investing those assets back into the community.