Olivia Ebertz, KYUK - Bethel

Olivia Ebertz, KYUK - Bethel
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A musk ox walking along the beach

Hunt opens for musk ox stranded on ice floes

The musk ox were stranded on the ice floes after wandering onto the sea ice during breakup.
A priest reads from a book

After pandemic cancellation, Russian Orthodox residents in Bethel celebrate Pascha in person

On May 3, Orthodox Christians in Bethel celebrated their most important religious holiday: Easter, or Pascha. It’s the first major holiday the congregation has gathered together for in nearly a year and a half.
A woman holds a phone up taking apicture of a big blue tank inside a room

Tuluksak got a special water treatment system meant for the whole village. Only the school was using it.

Entry into the school was restricted on due to concerns about health hazards and disruption of the school day.
People gather in a snowy field as a smoke rises from a building

Tuluksak gets access to running water 45 days after fire destroyed its only clean water source

A fire destroyed the community’s water purification plant and washeteria in mid-January. From then until the first week of March, residents had been living on donations of bottled water.
man in a orange parka mushes tem of eight dogs

Early winter, later race, smaller field: Local mushers ready for chance to shine in Kuskowim 300

The top 25 finishers will get a share of the prize money, but there are only 16 starters.
A white man speaks as he sits at a table with an american flag in the background

Gov. Dunleavy issues emergency declaration for Tuluksak water crisis

The declaration comes nearly a month after a fire destroyed the village’s only source of drinking water. In the interim, residents of Tuluksak have been drinking bottled water donated by private citizens and businesses.
Black smoke biillows from the skeleton of a building in a snowy parea

3 weeks later, Tuluksak is without running water or disaster relief

It’s been three weeks since a fire destroyed Tuluksak’s only source of drinking water. Since then, the village has been living on donations of bottled water from activists, a gold mining company, and even an Indigenous rapper from the...
Peoplpe gather around a burning building in a snowy area

3 weeks after fire, state still hasn’t provided disaster funds for Tuluksak water crisis

Gov. Dunleavy has yet to declare a state-level disaster to address Tuluksak’s water crisis. In doing so, he’s holding back up to $1 million in disaster relief funding for the village.
Several pallets of botted plastic water

Water donations trickle into Tuluksak but may not be enough for village in crisis

After the Southwest Alaska village's water plant burned in a fire two weeks ago, Tuluksak's residents are struggling to find a solution to their crisis.
Peoplpe gather around a burning building in a snowy area

No easy answers after fire destroys Tuluksak’s water supply

The temporary well being used at the school pulls up water from the Tuluksak River, which isn’t safe to drink.
Black smoke biillows from the skeleton of a building in a snowy parea

Tuluksak without water, laundry after fire destroys washeteria

Donated bottled water in Bethel is ready to be shipped out on the next plane, but Tuluksak’s runway has been unusable because of weather conditions. The man who usually plows it is in Anchorage being treated for COVID-19.
A Korean woman stands in front of a sign for video world

Iconic Bethel video store closes for good

While video stores in other parts of the country mostly closed years ago, the exorbitant cost of high-speed internet in the region kept the business alive.
A girl runs toward a home through grazz

After 16 years with unpumped sewage, Red Devil citizens try to reestablish government

Red Devil can’t get funding together to pump its tanks or to dig a lagoon because it doesn’t have any entities to act as recipients on the community’s behalf.
molly of denali

11-year-old shares springtime fun in Bethel and Yup’ik language on ‘Molly of Denali’

On Dec. 4, PBS aired a “Molly of Denali” segment shot and narrated by a young fan from Bethel.
A snowy scene with a village visible through some trees

Activists organize to get infant formula to Russian Mission babies in need

A KYUK story about the baby formula shortage in Russian Mission caught the eye of artist and activist CeeJay Johnson, who stepped in to organize a big donation.
A snowy scene with a village visible through some trees

Russian Mission post office closure threatens infant formula supplies

Russian Mission’s post office has been closed on and off for nearly six months, and mothers have had to scramble to get infant formula for their babies. It's led to inconvenient, expensive, and uncertain options.
A smiling Alasksa Native man in front of framed photos

Residents remember Kwethluk elder Sam Jackson Sr.

Jackson Sr. joined the Territorial Guard as a teenager, volunteering to defend the Y-K Delta during WWII. At 96, he was still fishing, cutting wood and packing water.
A red and white building

Y-K health center recommends month-long lockdown for region

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta’s health corporation warns that the region’s rising COVID-19 surge could soon overwhelm the local health care system.