Hope McKenney, KUCB - Unalaska

Hope McKenney, KUCB - Unalaska
99 POSTS 0 COMMENTS
An eagle perched on top of boxes.

Unalaska volunteers rescue eagle that ‘decided to go shopping at Alaska Ship Supply’

As staff at a local Unalaska shop opened the back door for a delivery last week, they got an unexpected visitor. An adult female eagle dashed in and headed for the rafters, occasionally swooping down toward the people and merchandise below.
Mountains peak through clouds.

Three volcanoes are erupting across the Aleutian Chain. But scientists aren’t worried.

Three of Alaska's 54 historically-active volcanoes are at elevated alert levels — geologists’ way to say the trio is erupting, but there’s no immediate cause for concern.
man holding dog on his shoulder

Man who died in Anchorage motorcycle crash survived fatal Scandies Rose sinking

A man who died over the weekend in an Anchorage motorcycle crash was one of two survivors of the fatal sinking of the F/V Scandies Rose. That’s according to the Anchorage Daily News.
A plane hangs off a runway over water.

Regulators say bad wiring, lax oversight and poor judgment factored into fatal 2019 crash in Unalaska

The National Transportation Safety Board revealed its findings on Tuesday after a two-year investigation.
Homes clustered in the grass, under a cloud

Power restored in Adak after a nearly weeklong outage closed the local school and city offices

The community of Adak has electricity again after issues at its power plant shut down local operations for nearly a week, according to City Manager Layton Lockett.
A black and white image of a boat on rough seas.

Coast Guard medevacs fisherman pinned by crab pot southwest of Unalaska

The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced a man Tuesday night from a fishing boat approximately 200 miles southwest of Unalaska. He was seriously injured after pinned by a crab pot.
A dirt road under cloudy sky

St. Paul island has recorded just 2 COVID cases since the pandemic started

A city official says the island’s high vaccination rate and strict protocols, like mandatory testing, have kept the virus from spreading.
Homes clustered in the grass, under a cloud

Adak — the nation’s westernmost city — made it 18 months with only one COVID case, until now

City Manager Layton Lockett said the city has nine new cases of the virus — all of them visitors to the remote island. It's the first time the virus has reached the community of roughly 100 people since they recorded their first case last December.
a barrel of crab

With low stocks and closures looming, Bering Sea crab fleet braces for another blow

In 55 years, there have been just two other closures: once in the 1980s and again in the 1990s.
A village on the ocean with a volcano in the background

Dutch Harbor is nation’s top fishing port for 23rd straight year

But while the number of fish landed in Dutch Harbor is far greater than any other port in the country, the Aleutian community remains in third place in terms of dollar value — topped by New Bedford, Mass., in first place and Naknek in second.
A woman in a sweatshirt and jeans holds a stuffed animal bald eagle in a blanket.

‘One of the craziest things I’ve ever signed up for’: Meet Unalaska’s new bald eagle wrangler

Megan Dean demonstrates how to rescue an eagle at the Museum of the Aleutians store. (Hope McKenney/KUCB) There's a new bald eagle wrangler in Unalaska.  That's right: The island has volunteers who, under a U.S. Fish...
A fuel barge in deep blue water

After 5-month wait forces fuel rationing, barge arrives in St. Paul

The Pribilof Island community of St. Paul was under a fuel ration for the last month and a half after the fuel barge repeatedly canceled its delivery.
A boat at dock in front of a snow-covered montain

U.S. Seafoods apologizes to Unalaska after COVID-positive crew caused widespread exposure at local bar

A Seattle seafood company has issued an apology to Unalaska after crewmembers from one of its vessels at port in the island community breached isolation protocols to visit a crowded local bar last weekend.
A redish wooden uilding with a sign that says "norwegian rat" in a foggy location

Bering Sea fishermen likely had COVID-19 and still went to Unalaska bar. Now, locals have to quarantine.

The fishermen came from a vessel where COVID-19 cases were suspected, but still visited Unalaska's popular Norwegian Rat Saloon during Saturday's margarita and taco night.
A white wooden church with a golden onion dome

St. Paul enters ‘hunker down’ after detecting first COVID-19 case of pandemic

About 60% of the eligible residents of the Pribilof Island community have been vaccinated.
A deck of a boat pulling up crab pots

With fishing slowed by pandemic, Bering Sea crabbers push for extended season

A group of Bering Sea crabbers say the pandemic has slowed their fishing season, and they want more time to catch their quota before the state shuts down their season next week.
A dirt road under cloudy sky

After barge didn’t show in St. Paul, Bering Sea fishermen forced to make 500-mile detour to refuel

The Bering Sea island community of St. Paul has been expecting a fuel barge for two months, but it hasn't showed, forcing the town into a fuel ration.
A bunch of large warehouses on the side of a mountain

Trident reopens Akutan processing plant after month-long COVID-19 closure

Nearly half of Trident's 700-person workforce ultimately tested positive for the virus, company officials said Monday.
A large black boat

Inquiry into the fatal Scandies Rose sinking to begin in Seattle

A two-week federal inquiry into the fatal sinking of the F/V Scandies Rose — lost on New Year's Eve 2019 west of Kodiak Island — will open on Monday in Seattle.