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A missing girl found, and the threats of fall storms

By on October 7, 2012 in Stories

Recently, KNOM coordinated with the Nome Police Department to locate a missing 10-year-old girl who had disappeared on her way home from school. Just as we always do for all missing-person cases, we immediately began broadcasting announcements with the girl’s description and her last known whereabouts, in the hopes that someone in our listening range might happen to recognize her.

After an exhaustive search by authorities, parents, relatives, and friends, she was found, safe and sound, at 9:00 a.m. the next day. Thank you for helping us return this little girl to her family. Thank you to all who keep KNOM on the air!

Meanwhile, winds of up to 60 miles per hour and high seas are keeping KNOM’s news department busy with weather warnings and storm updates. With so many low-lying communities spread out across Western Alaska, these storms can cause tremendous erosion and property damage.

Health and welfare are top priorities, and KNOM is an important part of the public safety effort, especially in very remote parts of Alaska. Without power and isolated from other communities, families with radios can still stay connected and informed by listening to KNOM. For everyone who helps keep families safe, thank you!

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October 1992: Seas surge in fall storm

By on October 1, 2012 in History, Photos
Whirlpool and seawall

On occasion, Western Alaska is beset with exceptionally strong fall storms. In November 2011, an oversized storm brought standing water on the city side of Nome’s seawall that, as it drained, created a small whirlpool. Photo by Matthew Smith.

October 5, 1992

The worst storm in eighteen years strikes Nome: a low-pressure center swells a storm surge to eight feet above normal, with waves cresting ten feet above that. Covered with flotsam and jetsam, Nome’s main thoroughfare is under water, and where it runs along the beach, half of it is gone. Several roofs blow away. Thanks to KNOM’s emergency generators, the station keeps residents calm and informed. The mission’s facilities are undamaged.

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September 1997: A solution for drifting snow

By on September 21, 2012 in History, Photos
Les Brown in Studio C

Longtime volunteer engineer Les Brown in KNOM’s Studio C.

September 25, 1997

Chief engineer Les Brown (pictured) has almost single-handedly built the extended fence around the AM tower, preparing for the mission’s higher-power, 25,000-Watt signal. Snow drifting has always been a problem there, and Les tries an innovative solution.

For (fence) pickets, he uses 1/2-inch plastic pipes, which he figures will be aerodynamic and won’t stop as much snow as wooden slats. It turns out to be an excellent decision. The needed material costs $931, and by doing it himself, Les figures he is saving the mission about $4,500 in labor.

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September 2001: Our broadcasts on a terrible day

By on September 10, 2012 in History, Photos
New York on Sep. 11, 2001

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.

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Fish and wildlife reports, and help from a KNOM alumnus

By on July 29, 2012 in Photos, Stories
Tom at KNOM's hardware racks

Engineer, technology guru, and former KNOM news director Tom Bunger recently paid a visit to our station and helped us improve our networking and internet connectivity. Here, Tom makes some tweaks to KNOM’s internet wiring. Photo by David Dodman.

Fish are moving upriver, muskoxen are roaming the tundra, and bears are perched at the edge of streams looking for their next meal. Summer in bush Alaska means wildlife and fish reports on KNOM will keep everyone informed and safe.

As summer progresses, our daily high temperatures are typically about 50 degrees, and we have been experiencing record precipitation. We wish we could share our rain with the drought-stricken areas of the “lower 48.” We pray for them and for relief from their extreme dry conditions.

Former KNOM news director Tom Bunger pitched in last week as we worked on technology issues. Tom was visiting Nome and devoted some time to help us streamline our computer and internet operations. His suggestions and work should show immediate savings of $300 to $500 per month.  Thanks, Tom!

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August 1992: A thank-you from the governor

By on July 28, 2012 in History, Photos
Ermalee and Walter Hickel

Former Alaska governor Walter Hickel (right) and wife Ermalee Hickel, photographed in Anchorage, Alaska in 2008.

August 2, 1992

A letter arrives out of the blue from Alaska governor Walter Hickel. “Thank you for your generous commitment and devotion to the communities in the Nome area,” He writes. “Your radio broadcasts are really making a difference.” The governor and his wife are annual KNOM contributors.

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July 1999: Rod Ewing paints the tower

By on July 15, 2012 in History, Photos
Rod Ewing paints the KNOM tower, circa 1999

In the summer of 1999, Anchorage tower contractor Rod Ewing steadily paints the KNOM transmitter tower, foot by foot.

July 21, 1999

Rod Ewing begins to apply a new coat of paint to the KNOM tower. How do you paint a tower? “The first thing you do,” Rod jokes, “is take a bucket of paint and pour it over your head, so you get that part taken care of right off the bat.” Actually, it’s tedious work, using cotton mittens, taking about two minutes per foot of tower.

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July 1971: Thanks to a nurse, a last-minute fix

By on July 7, 2012 in History, Photos
Sally Duggan, Kitty Orris, and Ida Schilter

Sally Duggan, Kitty Orris, and Ida Schilter: three of the 71 nurses who, during KNOM’s first 15 years, supported the station by donating their entire salary to the radio mission. The nurses worked at Nome’s hospital but lived in KNOM’s volunteer housing.

July 13, 1971

One day before scheduled sign-on, a copper strap burns apart in the antenna tuning unit, removing the antenna from the transmitter. Six small resistors burn in the transmitter’s final section. In isolated Nome, they are impossible to replace.

However, support nurse Kitty Orris (pictured, in the middle of the photo) has just escorted a patient to Anchorage, where she is able to purchase the parts for transport by air the next morning.

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Looking Back on Four Decades of Volunteers

By on July 1, 2012 in Stories

In our four decades of service, there have been more than 300 generous volunteers who have served at KNOM. Their names are written on cassette and reel-to-reel tape labels, on script and information file folders, on old log sheets, and on so many of the historical records here at KNOM.

Without these volunteers, KNOM would never have stayed on the air to serve families spread out across remote Alaska.

As we approach the 41st anniversary of KNOM’s birth, please join us in prayer and gratitude for the wonderful young volunteers who took on adversity, extreme weather, and a myriad of challenges to make KNOM the dominant source of information, inspiration and fun in Western Alaska.

We thank everyone who has helped to make the KNOM mission a quality volunteer experience for great young men and women.

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Summer and Sunday Mass

By on June 24, 2012 in Photos, Stories
Father Ross Tozzi

Father Ross Tozzi celebrates Mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Nome.

Large patches of snow dot the tundra on north facing hills, but most areas are beginning to see a variety of blooming tundra flowers. Subsistence fishing and hunting will soon begin; in Western Alaska, families work hard to store up food for the winter.

Throughout KNOM’s primary coverage area, 19,230 persons are unable to worship Roman Catholic Mass in their villages more than half of the time. For these individuals, the only weekly opportunity to worship the Mass is KNOM’s Sunday morning broadcast.

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