An inspirational spot from the April 2013 issue of our newsletter, The Nome Static:
I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Stick with love
With great precision
An inspirational spot from the April 2013 issue of our newsletter, The Nome Static:
Never compare yourself to another. You were formed with great precision.
A roof over our heads!
Our photo gallery is back this month, and as you’ll hopefully glean from the images above, work is continuing at an exciting pace for the Tom and Florence Busch Digital Studios!
The new building, as readers may know, will be an annex to our existing building; it will be home to much-needed studio space and allow us to renovate our broadcast hardware with digital gear: far more cost-effective, easily repaired, and “future-proof” than what we use now.
The four photos this month show a crucial part of this winter’s work: the (relatively rapid) construction of our new studios’ floor, the erection of its walls, and the laying of panels for its roof. All of these pictures were taken from second-floor vantage points in our current building; as you can see, our intrepid construction crew is working deftly even at precarious heights!
As we go to press, work continues on the roof of the building and on insulation for the entire structure; we’ll have more photos in our May Static. To learn more – or to help our project keep moving forward – visit our digital studios page.
Saints and sinners
An inspirational spot from the April 2013 issue of our newsletter, The Nome Static:
There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future.
The Last Great Race returns
In March, it was the news in Western Alaska: once again, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race was passing through our region. It was an exciting time for our listeners and staff, and KNOM was at the forefront of coverage for this inspiring and unique competition.
The Iditarod – the “Last Great Race” – is a 1,000-mile sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome; the finish line is just blocks from KNOM studios. The race is nearly as old as our mission; we’ve been covering the race every year since its inception in 1973.
Thanks to your support, we were able to bring the 2013 running of this epic race to our listeners, for whom the Iditarod is not just a sporting event but, also, an inspiration and a vital connection to traditional culture. Dog “mushing,” or the running of sled dogs, has deep roots in Alaska Native culture: a culture that both KNOM and the Iditarod celebrate.
KNOM’s coverage of the 2013 Iditarod included regular updates on the progress of the racers, or “mushers,” as they traversed the diverse and rugged Alaskan wilderness towards Nome. Many of the checkpoints through which the mushers passed were communities within KNOM’s listening range – further underscoring the importance of our race coverage.
As we’ve done for many years, we covered the Iditarod from the studio and from the trail, with news reporter Laureli Kinneen following the mushers, checkpoint by checkpoint, from Anchorage to Nome. (Laureli’s trip was subsidized with underwriting from local and regional organizations; their generosity made her on-location reporting possible.)
Back in the studio, KNOM rallied to cover the race with updates both on-air and online; regular broadcasts featured updates on mushers’ positions, weather conditions, and interviews, while our On the Trail blog showcased photos (a few of which are included here), audio from the finish line, and lots more.
To sample our coverage from this year’s Iditarod, we encourage you to visit our blog. Thank you so much for making this highlight of our broadcasting year possible!
Photos: the sled dogs of Iditarod 2013 champion Mitch Seavey pause a few miles outside the finish line in Nome and are silhouetted by the lights of the KNOM “spotter” vehicle; Laureli reports an Iditarod finish, live, from the finish line; musher Ramey Smyth – renowned for his dogs’ speed – mushes his team the final few feet of the race; a sled dog from the team of rookie Richie Diehl.
A special visit
Volunteer producer Lucus Keppel had two very special guests last month: his parents Chuck and Beth.
The three were reunited during a unique time of year for Nome: the running of the Iditarod sled dog race. Amid all of the busyness of Lucus helping to cover the race, he and his family had the opportunity to witness a few mushers crossing the finish line and to take in the bustling atmosphere of Western Alaska during “race season.”
We’re constantly reminded of the many friends and family members whose support, in so many ways, continues to make our mission possible.
The called
An inspirational spot from the April 2013 issue of our newsletter, The Nome Static:
God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called.
From Rome to Nome
Like many of our listeners – and, we imagine, many of our supporters – we were excited last month to hear the news of the newly-chosen Pope Francis.
Thanks to you, the Catholic faithful throughout Western Alaska were kept informed on the headlines from Vatican City with hourly national and world news provided by ABC News, of which KNOM is an affiliate. This news coverage is a part of our hourly radio programming throughout the year, but it takes on special significance when national and international news events reverberate in rural Alaska.
For obvious reasons, KNOM cannot provide its own news coverage for stories that take place thousands of miles away. In these moments, a cornerstone of our Catholic mission – to inform the listeners of Western Alaska – extends even beyond the borders of our state. From Rome to Nome, our mission calls us to bring information to the listeners of Western Alaska; it’s made possible through your support. Thank you!
Welcoming the next generation of broadcasters
Education has been an essential component of our mission since KNOM’s inception in 1971. Last month, we realized the goal of education in a special way: by welcoming a broadcasting student with special ties to the region we serve.
Janice Homekingkeo (pictured at left) hails from Koyuk (COY-uck), a Western Alaskan community nestled on Norton Bay. Janice is a lifelong KNOM listener with a keen interest in broadcasting; it’s her academic focus at Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois, and it was the subject of her two-week internship at KNOM in January.
Closely shadowing our news director, Laureli Kinneen, Janice got a behind-the-scenes look at a working radio newsroom. She watched Laureli and KNOM’s other newsies broadcast live reports and prepare weather forecasts, and soon, she was ready to take to the microphone herself. Janice recorded daytime weather casts and, on her final day at our studios, even anchored a KNOM newscast.
Thank you for allowing us to share, in so many ways, the special potential of radio with our listeners. To hear Janice’s news broadcast, check out our Update News episode from Friday, January 25, 2013.
The worst prison
An inspirational spot from the March 2013 issue of our newsletter, The Nome Static:
The worst prison is a closed heart.
– Pope John Paul II
