Matthew Smith, KNOM - Nome
Matthew Smith is a reporter at KNOM in Nome.
Nome Man Injured After Crane Crushes Truck Cab
A Nome man was seriously injured Sunday in what police are calling an “industrial accident” when the neck of a crane fell on to the cab of a truck he was driving at a local gravel pit.
Fire at Nome Multiplex Injures 2, Displaces at Least 20
Fire tore through a Nome eight-unit multiplex Thursday night, displacing more than 20 people and gutting the building with flames that refused to subside after more than an hour of active firefighting.
Five Arrested in Connection With Medication Theft from Shishmaref Clinic
Five people, including two adults, have been arrested in connection to a break-in at the Shishmaref clinic and the theft of more than 100 painkillers—a theft Alaska State Troopers say was accomplished using tools the group stole earlier from the community school.
Kiana Teacher Arrested on Missouri Child Sex Abuse Charges
A Missouri man who spent the last four years teaching throughout western Alaska has been arrested on charges of sexually abusing his adopted daughter—and is alleged to have subjected his six other adopted children to “years of physical abuse and neglect.”
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Meeting in Nome Attempts to Elucidate Arctic Policy Goals
The Alaska Arctic Commission has been working for more than a year and a half to write the state’s first comprehensive arctic policy—a policy the commission hopes will lay out not just Alaska’s future, but America’s future, in the arctic. But with priorities ranging from international to extremely local, Tuesday's meeting in Nome saw lawmakers, researchers, and coastal representatives still working out just what that policy will be.
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Muskox Killed in Wales While Attacking Dog
Nome has been experiencing a summer of “urban muskox,” where the uniquely shaggy arctic mammals have made their home close to town, threatening dogs—and, occasionally, people. Now the same thing has happened more than 100 miles west of Nome, in the community of Wales.
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Diomede Helicopter Service Resumes
The helicopter to Diomede is flying today. The first flight to the island took off around 11 o’clock Friday morning after a new contract was formally signed by Erickson Aviation, Kawerak and Federal Department of Transportation officials Thursday.
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Fall Chum Season Opens on the Yukon
The fall chum salmon season on the Yukon begins Wednesday.
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Chinese Icebreaker Set for Sixth Arctic Expedition
China’s icebreaking research vessel Xuelong, orSnow Dragon, will soon begin another summer in the arctic. Chinese state media Xinhua reports the Snow Dragon is set to leave its Shanghai base next week to embark on a sixth summer expedition to the North Pole.
Nonprofit Touts Alaska Dental Therapists As Oral Health Pioneers
Dental health aide therapists have been providing mid-level dental care in the Norton Sound region for about a decade. Now a report from the Pew Charitable Trusts highlights Norton Sound Health Corporation’s dental therapist program as one of the leading efforts in the nation for increasing access to dental care.
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Family of Wade’s Alleged New Victim Demands Justice
As Wade promises details about additional murders he claims to have committed, the family of one of his alleged new victims says they’re feeling their loss once again… and they’re angry Wade won’t face new charges or a trial for the murders.
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Seismic Storm Continues in Noatak with Fifth 5.7 Quake
The seismic storm in the far-western arm of the Brooks Range that began nearly two months ago continued early Monday morning.
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Digital Voice Replaces Forecasters’ at Nome’s Weather Service
The National Weather Service in Nome is switching to an automated digital voice for its weather forecasts, one of the final forecasting stations in the country to cease having local forecasters read and record the weather.
Company Operating Red Dog Mine May have to pay Fine Over Wastewater Pipeline
The Canadian company that operates the Red Dog Mine in northwest Alaska says it won’t build a pipeline to carry wastewater away from the mine site to the Chukchi Sea. Now a court will decide if the company will have to pay a fine laid out in a 2008 lawsuit settlement.
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Unusual Seismic Activity Continues Near Noatak
Strong earthquake activity continues near Noatak, with a strong aftershock recorded last week that has become the third powerful temblor in what is now a series of strong quakes and potent aftershocks in just the last two months.
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Arctic Subsea Fiber Optic Cable Project Begins Summer Marine Surveys
A Canadian telecommunications company is implementing plans to lay a fiber optic cable from London to Tokyo by way of the U.S. and Canadian arctic, and is readying summer marine surveys to map exactly where it will lay the cable.
As Chinooks, Chums Enter the Yukon, Fishermen Chafe Under Tight Restrictions
Subsistence fishermen say they’re willing to back off the kings, but they want to be able to get their chums. Both Chinook and chum salmon are starting to swim up the Yukon River, but with the worst king run on record expected this year, Fish and Game officials are implementing tight restrictions that subsistence users say are keeping them from getting chums.
Money, Drugs Missing From Barrow Police Station Evidence Locker
Money and drugs went missing from the evidence room at the police station in Barrow last year—and now the North Slope Borough is launching an investigation into what happened.
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Alaska Democratic Party Holds Convention In Nome
The Alaska Democratic Party ended its weekend convention in Nome on Sunday with resolutions on issues ranging from Alaska Native rights to same-sex marriage and came away with a full lineup of candidates for key November races.
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Old Nome Hospital Sells for $450k
Nome’s old hospital has sold for $450,000, and the new owners now have an eBay listing asking for $2.5 million for the 55,000 square-foot facility.