ProgramsNewsAbout UsVolunteerDonate TodayGive Now96.1 fm 780 am Yours for Western Alaska

Archive | Stories RSS feed for this section

Challenges

By on May 23, 2013 in Stories

This week, we ask you to pray for us.

Since the first of the year, donations to organizations like KNOM have declined about 9 percent. KNOM’s donated income has taken a similar downturn. We have cut expenses to the bone and are looking for community partners and non-traditional ways to keep KNOM on the air.

One non-traditional way is to donate unused gift cards. There are billions of dollars of gift cards that are sitting in drawers and on shelves throughout the United States.

Supporters can send KNOM unused gift cards: we’ll use them, convert them to cash (at a discount), or trade for cards we can use for supplies and equipment.

You’ll find more information about giving to KNOM with gift cards here.

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support as we work to meet this funding challenge.

Continue Reading

Prayers for Ezio, and the latest with our volunteers

By on May 13, 2013 in Stories

We ask for prayers for Ezio Tozzi, father of KNOM board president Father Ross Tozzi, and the entire Tozzi family. May God richly bless and guide them. Thank you.

All five KNOM volunteers are busy writing, producing and voicing exceptional radio programming.

Eva DeLappe visited Nome’s Quyanna Care Center to cover the opening of the facility, including interviews with elders and caring staff.

Dayneé Rosales just returned from a village trip to Diomede Island with reports and pictures of her trip.

Margaret DeMaioribus has been covering critical organizational meetings and presentations.

Lucus Keppel has been working with local voice talent, producing inspirational spots.

And Josh Cunningham has been cataloguing and recording music for the KNOM library. (He also brightens our day with his charm and wonderful sense of humor.)

We are so blessed! We thank everyone who makes their work possible.

Continue Reading

Breakup, mail delays, and Communicator Awards

By on May 5, 2013 in Photos, Stories
Melting ice under "breakup boots," Nome, Alaska

Melting ice under “breakup boots,” Nome, Alaska. Photo by Laura Davis Collins.

All across Western Alaska, it’s the season known as “breakup”: the slow, on-again/off-again period of melting that signals the gradual approach of summer. Some days are bright and sunny, and others are cloudy and snowy. The sun melts ice on rooftops as the tundra gives up its blanket of white snow, little by little. Spring is here, mud and large puddles reign supreme in our streets, and birds of all kinds are returning to their summer homes.

There have been mail delays at the local post office, so we haven’t been able to thank our supporters as quickly as we would like. Nome is at the end of the mail trail, and it sometimes takes an extra two to three weeks or more to receive envelopes and packages from supporters in the Lower 48. Everything takes longer here at the edge of the Bering Sea.

Finally, we’ve just received word that the KNOM volunteers have been awarded four Communicator Awards for excellence in radio programming! They will soon be adding three silver statues, and one gold, to the KNOM trophy case.

Continue Reading

Transitions

By on April 30, 2013 in Stories

Although our daylight hours are increasing, the final throes of winter are long in Western Alaska.

With temperatures just below freezing, small pellets of ice and snow still fall from the sky. Cooler-than-normal temperatures are slowing the retreat of the ice and snow, the air is brisk, and you can hear the occasional crackling of sea ice. Winter is not quite done with us.

Meanwhile, the KNOM volunteers are hard at work as they finish up their year-long commitment to the radio mission and to the people of Western Alaska. Dayneé Rosales will be staying a second year at KNOM, and Josh, Margaret, Eva, and Lucus will be moving on from the radio station this summer. We are so blessed to work with such committed young professionals.

As we say goodbye to these wonderful young people, we will be welcoming four new volunteers to KNOM. Please pray for all KNOM volunteers, past and present. They are one of the foundations of this critical radio ministry.

Continue Reading

Spring’s slow arrival, and a special nod from the Alaska Legislature

By on April 22, 2013 in Stories

In rural Alaska, spring is arriving in stops and starts.

As our daylight hours rapidly increase – by more than six minutes each day – our skies alternate between sunshine, clouds, and heavy fog. Temperatures hover near the freezing point during the day, and the snow and ice are beginning to recede. Perhaps most noticeably, the many bird species that call Nome home during the summer are beginning to return to the countryside. Spring in Alaska is a joyous time – and a season that rewards patience.

After receiving the 2013 Crystal Heritage Award from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), we were recently surprised with another special recognition from the State of Alaska. KNOM Radio was honored by the Alaska Legislature with a congratulatory proclamation. Senators Donald Olson and Dennis Egan were the main sponsors, and all the other Alaska senators signed on as co-sponsors.

We share this additional recognition with the entire KNOM family and wish we could thank each and every person who prays and contributes to keep KNOM on the air. Thanks to all who help KNOM make a positive difference every minute of every day!

Continue Reading

April ice, and a prestigious award

By on April 15, 2013 in Stories

The winter weather continues: temperatures hover near zero as more ice forms on the Bering Sea. The frigid temperatures bring dazzling, clear, sunlit days and awe-inspiring nights – with the moon and stars shining brightly in the night sky.

We gladly share the congratulations of the entire radio broadcasting community for KNOM’s 2013 Crystal Heritage Award from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). We are so grateful to the thousands of KNOM supporters and wish that the entire KNOM family could have stood on the stage to accept this special accolade. (To do so, of course, the stage would need to have been larger than the deck of an aircraft carrier!)

At last week’s award ceremony at the annual NAB Show, the presenter for the Crystal Awards stated:

KNOM is a friendly voice, a community resource, and a vitally-needed lifeline. It is a source of companionship, entertainment, inspiration, and information, and in extreme moments – especially in the midst of dangerous weather conditions – its broadcasts can save lives. For its listeners and the communities of its region, KNOM truly is “Yours for Western Alaska.”

Thank to all who make this critical work possible!

Continue Reading

Coming soon: a special award – and warmer weather

By on April 8, 2013 in Stories

The winter weather is lingering as the daylight grows, and temperatures are hovering around 5 degrees above zero. Warmer days are just around the corner, and soon, the ice will begin to melt. Many times, however, chunks of ice on the shore of the Bering Sea remain well into June, blowing out to sea only as the summer solstice looms. KNOM keeps listeners up to date on these potentially dangerous ice conditions.

It’s for efforts like these and many others that KNOM will soon be receiving the Crystal Heritage Award from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB); the award honors the community service work of our devoted staff, volunteers, and supporters, and we’re so excited to receive it. National recognition for our little mission radio station is a tribute to the years of service provided by KNOM. We thank the thousands of supporters and the hardy radio pioneers who first put KNOM on the air. For the last four decades, they have poured their heart and soul into keeping KNOM on the air.

You can find out more about this award, the Tom and Florence Busch Digital Studios conversion process, and all the other things that are happening at KNOM by continuing to explore this website – we invite you to stay a while!

If you have never visited before, you will find a great variety of pictures, information about KNOM’s history, our staff, more than a decade of issues of our monthly newsletter (The Nome Static), programming information, audio files, and a lot more. We are not yet able to stream the KNOM signal due to very poor internet speeds in our part of the world, but we have heard plans of improved internet coming to our region in November. So: stay tuned!

Continue Reading

Happy Easter!

By on March 31, 2013 in Stories

From all of us at KNOM, a very Happy Easter!

In Western Alaska, there are already a few signs of spring. The temperatures are warming slightly, the days are rapidly becoming longer, and the moon looms large in the night sky, casting a soft light upon the frozen Bering Sea and ice-covered tundra. The stunning landscape is a reminder of the majesty of God’s love.

In isolated villages – where a priest rarely, if ever, is present to celebrate Mass – KNOM beamed Easter Mass from St. Joseph Catholic Church in Nome. We are blessed that Fr. Ross Tozzi was present to preside at the community’s Easter celebration; his words and those of the congregation were heard throughout Western Alaska.

From time to time, the KNOM volunteers fly out to select area villages. (The flights are typically free, thanks to a longtime sharing agreement with Bering Air in Nome.)

Last week, volunteer music director Josh Cunningham traveled to the Yukon Delta village of Bethel for the Cama-i Music Festival.  He spent three days recording music, interviewing village elders, and sending back reports for KNOM’s Update News broadcasts.

Continue Reading

Cold nights and volunteer travel

By on March 25, 2013 in Stories

The temperatures each night are falling to about -20º F, and the stars sparkle in the dark night sky. As the moon traverses the heavens, the sound of houses crackling and snapping can be heard. As the air gets colder, pilings shift a bit, twisting home supports and floors. The night is alive with this and so many other interesting sounds.

For the last seven to eight months, volunteers have been learning and experiencing life and service to remote listeners tuned in to KNOM. They have grown in so many ways. You would be so proud of their kind demeanor and their great work ethic.

Thanks to free travel from a local airline, volunteer Josh Cunningham recently flew to Bethel, Alaska to cover a music festival celebration. His news reports, feature interviews, and recorded music will help to put the KNOM listeners in the front row of this incredible event.

Continue Reading

Dreaming of Iditarod

By on March 18, 2013 in Stories

Our weather alternates between blizzards and clear, calm conditions. We can feel the pull of spring as we approach Easter Sunday. KNOM brings Easter Mass to many places with no priest, keeping the faith family together.

A former KNOM volunteer sent us an email, and we would like to share some of her thoughts.

As I sit in my cabin here in Fairbanks following the end of the greatest race on earth (Iditarod Sled Dog Race), my thoughts go back to the first Iditarod…

As all eyes look to Nome, I find myself once again thankful to God for giving me a wonderful life in Alaska. As I sleep tonight, I will dream of the dogs, the amazing men and women who run this race, the volunteers who make this all happen, and, of course, you and your staff who bring it all to the world.

My prayers and donations are with you always. God’s blessings be with you in all you do.

Continue Reading