Emily Russell, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage
Emily Russell is the voice of Alaska morning news as Alaska Public Media’s Morning News Host and Producer.
Originally from the Adirondacks in upstate New York, Emily moved to Alaska in 2012. She skied her way through three winters in Fairbanks, earning her Master’s degree in Northern Studies from UAF.
Emily’s career in radio started in Nome in 2015, reporting for KNOM on everything from subsistence whale harvests to housing shortages in Native villages. She then worked for KCAW in Sitka, finally seeing what all the fuss with Southeast, Alaska was all about.
Back on the road system, Emily is looking forward to driving her Subaru around the region to hike, hunt, fish and pick as many berries as possible. When she’s not talking into the mic in the morning, Emily can be found reporting from the peaks above Anchorage to the rivers around Southcentral.
Tlingit and Haida students in Arkansas help archive Jeanie Greene videos
Little Rock, Arkansas– it’s probably not the first place you’d imagine preserving Alaska Native history, but the Sequoyah National Research Center is doing just that. A team of archivists with ties to the state are cataloging over a thousand video tapes that showcase Alaska Native life. Listen now
On the water: One harvester’s hope for herring eggs
Every spring millions of herring return to spawn in Sitka Sound. The small, silvery fish are prized by commercial fishermen. They sell them for their eggs, known as herring roe. Those eggs are also coveted by the Tlingit people, who harvest them by anchoring hemlock branches in shallow waters where herring spawn.
Two Sitka moms discuss balancing fishing and family
Iris Nash is a new mom. Her son turns two this year and she’s pregnant with her second child. To answer some of her questions about balancing being a mom and co-managing a fishing business, Iris sat down with Sarah Jordan. Sarah also married into a fishing family and raised her own two sons aboard the family boat. Listen now
Kake resident remembers ’64 earthquake as state recognizes disaster saftety
It’s Tsunami Preparedness Week in Alaska this week. Wednesday morning (March 29) a tsunami warning test message will broadcast over radios and TVs in at-risk communities across the state. The drill takes place once a year, and one village in Southeast has not forgotten the importance of being ready when disaster strikes. Listen now
After 30 years, Raven Shark pole back in Sitka
The totem pole is an icon of the Pacific Northwest. The carved art form showcases clan stories and family crests in museums around the world. After more than 30 years in the Anchorage Museum, a century-old pole from Southeast has made it back to Sitka, where curators are prepping a permanent home. Listen now
AK: Wild salmon on the school lunch menu in Sitka
KCAW’s Emily Russell in Sitka reports on how wild salmon makes its way out of a fisherman’s net and onto a student's plate. Listen now
Southeast tribes to receive $240,000 FEMA grant
Tribes in Southeast Alaska will soon have more say in their emergency preparedness plans. Listen now
Tribe’s Herring Committee drafts proposals to protect subsistence
The Sitka Tribe of Alaska wants to see more protection for subsistence harvesters when herring season begins next month. The Tribe’s Herring Committee is recommending a pair of proposals to reserve more areas for subsistence and to cut the commercial harvest by half. Listen now
Mt. Edgecumbe High School marks 70th anniversary
70 years ago, Feb. 22, 1947, the Bureau of Indian Affairs opened Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka. BIA and other boarding institutions that operated in Alaska until the 1980s left some students traumatized, while others say it saved their lives. Listen now
Tlingit woman to represent Alaska at Miss USA pageant
For the first time in pageant history, a Tlingit woman will represent Alaska on the national stage. Alyssa London was crowned Miss Alaska earlier this month and said, even before she was crowned, the experience felt unreal. Listen now
Sitka to lose USCG Cutter Maple this summer
Sitka’s docks will look a bit different this summer. The US Coast Guard Cutter Maple will sail south for maintenance and then be reassigned a new homeport in the spring, leaving Sitka without a large Coast Guard vessel for at least six months. Listen now
Earthquakes shake waters off Elfin Cove
A series of earthquakes shook Southeast Alaska Monday afternoon into Tuesday morning. The epicenter of the quakes was located off the coast of Elfin Cove, 90 miles north of Sitka. Listen now
AK: Bringing sourdough home for the holidays
If you’ve ever flown home for the holidays you know it’s no easy feat-- with everything from weather delays to wailing infants. But what’s it like to travel with a companion that’s more than 100 years old and could explode at any moment? KCAW’s Emily Russell flew home for the holidays with a living, breathing, centuries-old jar of sourdough starter and has the story. Listen Now
Mt. Edgecumbe High School wrestlers learn about healthy relationships
This fall, student wrestlers at Mt. Edgecumbe High School took part in a program called, ‘Coaching Boys into Men.’ The idea is to teach young players how to have healthy relationships even if, in the case of Mt. Edgecumbe, half of the wrestlers will grow up to be women. Listen Now
Sitka bears still awake looking for trash
Bears continue to wander through neighborhoods and knock over trash cans near downtown Sitka. That’s despite fresh snow, temperatures dropping below freezing, and now the use of rubber bullets. Multiple calls to the police came in Sunday evening reporting a bear in the Indian River neighborhood. Listen Now
Energy audit aims to cut costs for fishermen
Commercial fishermen are largely at the whim of the seafood market. Prices can vary wildly, while operation costs stays the same — That is, until now. An energy audit aims to help Sitka’s fishermen increase their profit margins. Listen Now
Sitkans aim to raise funds, traditional foods for Standing Rock protesters
Protests on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation continue this week. That’s despite rising tensions between protesters and police and dropping temperatures in the Midwest. An event in Sitka this Saturday aims to raise food and funds for the reservation’s residents, who fear that the Dakota Access Pipeline could threaten their drinking water and destroy sacred lands. Listen Now
AK: Sitka’s Wild Foods Potluck
Every November, the community gathers for its Wild Foods Potluck, bringing together family and friends from near and far. Listen Now
Through a student lens: Films focus on place, culture and climate change
Five Mt. Edgecumbe High School students took part in a film-making class last year and will showcase their work at a screening in Sitka tonight. The films focus on place, culture, and climate change in a handful of villages across the state. Listen Now
Three bears shot and killed in Sitka neighborhood
Wildlife troopers shot and killed a brown bear sow and her two cubs in a Sitka neighborhood last Thursday, Oct. 20. While it’s not the first report of an aggressive bear near downtown, the three were the first animals destroyed this year for public safety. Listen Now