It’s an exciting time for our mission: our news team is the recipient of two highly-coveted awards from the Alaska Broadcasters Association (ABA)!

The ABA Goldie Awards recognize excellence in radio and TV broadcasting across the state of Alaska, and in November, the organization honored KNOM news with awards in the categories “Service to Children” and “Service to Community.”

Both awards specifically recognize news shows produced by KNOM’s former volunteer public affairs director, Matthew Smith, who served our mission from 2010 through earlier this year. Winning the awards were Matthew’s news feature on the personal stories of Nome 8th graders and his radio spots on a mysterious disease that affected some seals in Alaskan waters this year. (The marine mammals have a special place in the subsistence lifestyle that is at the heart of our region’s traditional culture, making Matthew’s reporting not just timely but, also, vitally important.)

We share these latest awards with you: congratulations, and thanks so much for making possible the crucially-needed reporting that KNOM news does every day. Holding our latest Goldies, above, are our current news volunteers – Margaret DeMaioribus and Eva DeLappe – whose work, thanks to you, continues the standards of excellence our mission has maintained for more than 40 years. To hear one of Matt’s award-winning programs, head on over to our news page.

This article is part of the Year-End 2012 edition of our newsletter, The Nome Static.

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Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in the heavens where the love of our departed ones peer through and shine down upon us to let us know they are happy.

– inspired by an Eskimo legend

This article is part of the Year-End 2012 edition of our newsletter, The Nome Static.

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• Download the entire issue as a color PDF file.

Moving wood at the construction site of the Tom and Florence Busch Digital Studios.

Step by step, our studio renovation and expansion project – the Tom and Florence Busch Digital Studios – is moving forward as the calendar turns over into 2013.

As we go to press, we’re anticipating the first phases of construction to begin any day. Our contractors will use the special shipments of wood, pictured at top, to build the initial frame of our new, crucially-needed studio space. Thanks to you, the funds are there to make this first phase a reality; our digital studio funds now exceed $400,000! For the latest updates – and to help us keep our studio construction moving forward – visit this page.

This article is part of the Year-End 2012 edition of our newsletter, The Nome Static.

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• Download the entire issue as a color PDF file.

It’s a strikingly dark time of year in Western Alaska. On clear days, we’re treated to gorgeous sunrises and sunsets (like the one pictured above); the sun rises just shy of 12 noon and sets before 4pm.

While the sunlight is brief, the darkness allows KNOM’s Christmas star – perched atop our FM transmitter tower (pictured) – to shine all the brighter. We light the star at the beginning of each Advent, and alongside a few simple decorations inside our studios, the star has been a tangible reminder of our mission: our calling to be a light in the darkness, especially during this special season. We thank you for sustaining our mission into 2013, and we ask for your prayers: especially for our volunteers, who spend this joyful season in rural Alaska, far from home.

This article is part of the Year-End 2012 edition of our newsletter, The Nome Static.

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• Download the entire issue as a color PDF file.

I would rather walk with God in the dark than go alone in the light.

– Mary Gardner Brainard

This article is part of the Year-End 2012 edition of our newsletter, The Nome Static.

• Read more articles from this issue
• Download the entire issue as a color PDF file.

We’ll have a breakdown of our income and expenditures in the January 2013 issue of the Static. Stay tuned!

This article is part of the Year-End 2012 edition of our newsletter, The Nome Static.

• Read more articles from this issue
• Download the entire issue as a color PDF file.

January

In Nome, KNOM’s news department is on the front lines for a story with worldwide interest: the Russian tanker Renda makes an unprecedented winter fuel delivery, escorted in its journey through the frozen Bering Sea by the US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy. The delivery comes in the wake of an epic, fall 2011 storm that delayed Nome’s final fuel shipment.

February

KNOM covers the inaugural running of a sled-dog race honoring a community leader in Western Alaska. The Paul Johnson Memorial Norton Sound 450 sends dog teams from the community of Unalakleet (YOU-nuh-luh-kleet) to the finish line in Nome. In the pre-dawn hours, musher Pete Kaiser finishes first, and KNOM’s Laureli Kinneen calls the finish live.

March

KNOM rallies to cover all angles of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race (the 1,000-mile competition from Anchorage to Nome). The race is an inspiration to thousands, and in 2012, a new generation takes center stage: 25-year-old Dallas Seavey wins the race, while young musher Rohn Buser finishes alongside his father, Martin, a multiple-time Iditarod champ.

April

Volunteer Matty Guiffré visits the community of Little Diomede (DYE-yuh-meed), located on the steep slopes of an island adjacent to the International Date Line and the Russian border. He reports: “the residents of Diomede were very welcoming, and I quickly became accustomed to what it was like to live on a cliff.” Matty collects interviews with Diomede students.

May

We’re thrilled to report that KNOM alumna Betsy Brennan has re-joined our staff in the role of Development Data Manager. We also offer thanks to architect Frank Schmidt and contractor Randy Pomeranz for their prep work for our digital studios. Finally, we highlight recent guests to our studios: among them, respected elder Dina Sagoonick (pictured).

June

In the Static, we report that KNOM has received its fifth Crystal Award (recognizing excellence in community service) from the National Association of Broadcasters. We also bid farewell to news volunteer Ben Matheson (pictured) and report on the installation of dynamic carrier control, a more efficient method of power management for our AM transmitter site.

July

Our newsletter pages detail a special benefit concert in Nome dedicated to KNOM’s digital studios project. As we report, the community event was the first-ever concert to support KNOM specifically; its performers – including old-time ensemble Landbridge Tollbooth, pictured – bring in $5,385 for the planned studio annex.

August

We say goodbye to volunteer music director Rebekah Pierce (pictured with sister Kathryn), who departs after a year of service. In the Static, we report on a major fire in the nearby community of Teller; the conflagration destroys three buildings but stops short of Teller’s Catholic church. On-location reports from news volunteer Matthew Smith lead our newscasts.

September

It’s a season of hellos and goodbyes. We greet an entirely new group of volunteers – first among them, music director Joshua Cunningham – but also bid farewell to second-year news volunteer Matthew Smith (pictured). Meanwhile, our new system of power management at our AM transmitter site – dynamic carrier control – has already paid for itself.

October

The Static includes warm welcomes to volunteers Dayneé Rosales and Eva DeLappe and thanks to engineers Rolland Trowbridge, John Kelsey, and Tom Bunger, each of whom has done fix-it or maintenance work at our station (and/or at our transmitter site). We also report on the first construction steps of our digital studios: the laying of its foundation pilings (pictured).

November

We offer greetings to new volunteers Margaret DeMaioribus and Lucus Keppel, both of whom had arrived earlier in the fall. We also detail a trip taken by Lucus and news volunteer Eva DeLappe to the village of Teller; at the village school, the two attend a unique community event that confronts domestic violence, an issue that’s tragically rampant in rural Alaska.

December

Our Christmas newsletter leads with a group photo of KNOM’s current staff and volunteers; the crew is standing on the site of our future studio annex. The Static also announces the transition of our online newsletter to our Mission Blog (this blog!).

This article is part of the Year-End 2012 edition of our newsletter, The Nome Static.

• Read more articles from this issue
• Download the entire issue as a color PDF file.