September 21, 1970
Volunteers Tom Busch and John Pfeifer and dynamite expert Sam Tucker put in another day, melting holes into the permafrost with red-hot chisels and heavy hammers. Sam’s dynamite blasts excavate an average of about a foot a day on the main hole for the tower, as well as the three smaller holes for guy wire anchors.
Our inspirational spot for the week:
All it takes for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing.
KNOM’s AM transmitter site in winter.
Last week, we welcomed the last of this year’s five volunteers to Nome. Lucus Keppel is from Michigan and has committed one year to the KNOM Radio Mission. He joins Margaret, Eva, Dayneé, and Josh. They look forward to a wonderful year of service to listeners in remote bush communities.
As always, we thank everyone who helps us overcome each obstacle and meet every challenge. Sometimes, our challenges are of a technical nature.
Recently, KNOM’s AM transmitter shut down, and the sensor monitoring the temperature inside our transmitter building read 128 degrees! The fans had turned off and had failed to restart. After cooling the building, engineering volunteer Rolland Trowbridge located the reset switch in a control panel and restarted the AM transmitter, returning the KNOM signal to the air.
In the rare moments our AM signal goes offline, we often receive phone calls from listeners asking us “where did you go?” We’re gratified to have such devoted listeners – and dedicated volunteers, staff, and community members who make sure such outages are not just rare, but also brief.
The Manhattan skyline shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
September 11, 2001
Starting at 6am, KNOM airs 68 hours of live, continuous news coverage on the terrible events of today, interrupted only three times: for weather, for important announcements, and for the Rosary.
Our inspirational spot for the week:
Perseverance is not one long race. It is many short races: one after another!
A snapshot of the plans for the expansion and digital renovation of KNOM studios.
The days are getting shorter, and the first freeze will be here very soon! Berry pickers are busy harvesting buckets of tasty treats, and the fish have finished their runs. Some of the families in our listening area will spend this season canning, freezing, and processing meat, fish, berries, and greens. We rely on the bounty of the land to sustain us, in one way or another, during the dark, cold winters.
Thanks to generous supporters, work will soon begin on the Tom and Florence Busch Digital Studios. Please join us in prayer for a successful completion of this critical project.
We ask for your help with our latest batch of prayer requests. Please pray for all of our KNOM family and, especially, those who have asked for prayers for their families, friends, and special intentions. As we pray for these intentions, we ask God to bless and protect those who need our assistance.
September 6, 1981
Marilyn Koezuna joins the KNOM air staff.
Marilyn is a King Island Inupiaq Eskimo who helped the station while in high school. She returns as a Jesuit volunteer, the second Alaska Native to do so for a full year.
Our inspirational spot for the week:
When you have finished your daily tasks, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.
Father Ross – pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Nome and president of the KNOM Radio Mission board of directors – is back in Nome from a short sabbatical. Fr. Ross was a KNOM volunteer in the late 80s and has been a part of the radio mission in one way or another ever since. He was ordained a priest in Nome on July 15, 2001. We are so thankful for his service, guidance and love for KNOM’s critical radio ministry.
Tom Bunger and John Kelsey in KNOM’s engineering room.
Last week, the technical dynamic duo of John Kelsey and Tom Bunger (pictured above) visited KNOM to help with a myriad of engineering issues. They coordinated with engineering volunteer Rolland Trowbridge to fix, restore, renew, and update radio equipment throughout the KNOM studio building. The improvements will extend the life of some of our equipment and increase the productivity of our computer systems. We thank all who keep KNOM on the air!
Amy (Flaherty) Gorn, who served at KNOM Radio for over six years: first as a volunteer, and then as a permanent staff member in the position of public affairs director.
September 1, 2008
After more than six years of service to the mission, Amy Flaherty departs for more urban parts of Alaska. She has produced hundreds of programs and news interviews. Her replacement is Laureli Kinneen, who grew up in the town of Unalakleet, 146 miles southeast of Nome. Her husband Fen was raised in Nome and, like Laureli, grew up a KNOM listener.
