Laureli Kineen

The second running of the Paul Johnson Memorial Norton Sound 450 Sled Dog Race began Wednesday at noon. The race follows the historic portage trail from Unalakleet to Kaltag and back and continues on to the finish line in Nome.

Residents in the Norton Sound region had good reason to come together yesterday. The Norton Sound Health Corporation held a Grand Opening Celebration in Nome, marking the upcoming opening of the new Norton Sound Regional Hospital.

Hunters on St. Lawrence Island have reported oiled wildlife – the most recent report this Monday. Responders from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Coast Guard planned on arriving at the island – to the communities of Gambell and Savoonga – this evening.

A tugboat is stuck two miles outside of St. Michael in Norton Sound. Both men aboard the vessel are safe onshore and there is currently no fuel leaking.

The body of 48-year old Debbie Kimoktoak was found last Friday on the beach southwest of Unalakleet. Alaska State Trooper Spokesperson Beth Ipsen says a Bering Air helicopter pilot reported spotting the body southwest of Unalakleet.

While the Coast Guard and Alaska State Troopers have suspended searches in the Norton Sound for a couple missing since Monday, local search efforts in Unalakleet continue today.

Two people are missing in Norton Sound tonight. The Coast Guard and Alaska State Troopers are searching for two overdue boaters who planned to travel from Koyuk to Unalakleet on Monday. They were reported missing Tuesday evening and after two days of searching, there has been no sign of them.

Telecommunications problems in Wales have caused issues for Wales’s residents, organizations and corporations in the past month and a half. Wales, with a population of 145 is located at the Western tip of the Seward Peninsula and is closer to Russia than it is to Anchorage. Residents have had trouble getting their concerns addressed by the companies providing services.

Mercury testing in gold miners in Nome is going to take place next week. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services will conduct the voluntary screenings that were prompted from concerns that miners in Nome may be exposed to harmful levels of mercury fumes.

Thirty one White Alice stations were developed in Alaska during the Cold War. The Anvil Mountain Towers north of Nome are the only White Alice towers still standing in the State of Alaska. And just last week – the Air Force received directives from the native corporation that will take ownership of the land to remove the towers. Those towers – to some – represent a portion of not just Nome’s history – but the world’s.