Kayla Deroches

Kodiak's Alutiiq Museum recently acquired a quiver that is a rare example of Alutiiq craftsmanship. Sven Haakanson is Curator of Native American Anthropology at the Burke Museum and recently passed the quiver – and the arrow that comes with it - along to the Alutiiq Museum. Download Audio

The next time you walk into a Kodiak business, you may notice a flailing salmon out of the corner of your eye. That’s one image that now decorates trashcans around town. It’s part of fisherman Bruce Schactler’s plan to turn historic canning labels into beautiful garbage cans – a project which he launched after he noticed the same trend in Oregon.

A long-time Kodiak resident and former school administrator recently stepped into the position of Interim Deputy Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. Betty Walters began her new set of responsibilities Wednesday.

After a struggle that’s lasted more than a decade, ancestral remains long removed from the Kodiak Archipelago will soon return home.

Port Lions just obtained federal funding for a breakwater construction that will help ease the wear and tear on its harbor. The project will be completed through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which works on the construction and maintenance of water resources and other forms of infrastructure. Bruce Sexauer is the chief of the civil works branch at the Alaska District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and says additional breakwater is necessary to provide complete protection for Port Lion’s harbor.

The Kodiak Police Department is working to improve its staff’s sensitivity towards people with special needs. That includes new approaches to identifying members of the community affected by autism.

The Distinguished Flying Cross is America’s oldest military aviation award and none too easy to earn – it’s only awarded for remarkable acts of heroism. Like what happened south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts one February morning in 2015. A little after 8:30am, the same time many of us are getting to work, a helicopter team from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod hovered above a fishing vessel stranded in nine-foot seas and 40 mph winds with conditions worsening. One of the pilots – now based in Kodiak - won a Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts that day.

The majority of Kodiak’s produce is imported, which means the city and especially the villages often get old fruits and vegetables at higher prices than people in the Lower 48. One Kodiak food cooperative is in its second year of trying to remedy that.

The Anchorage branch of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs will hold a claims clinic in Kodiak this weekend. Veterans and their family members will be able to meet with Veterans Benefits Representatives, who will help them in making new claims and moving claims along, as well as provide other assistance like answering questions on pending claims.

Like many pet owners, you may toss your dog tidbits from your plate – a fatty piece of meat here, a bit of fish skin there. Well, a couple of University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers are experimenting with turning some of Alaska’s finest scraps into dog treats.