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

Tag Archives | station

October 1984: A new class of radio station

By on October 21, 2012 in History

October 25, 1984

After nearly two years of lobbying, frequent intervention by Senator Ted Stevens, and five inches of paperwork, the FCC grants KNOM and fifteen other high-power Alaskan stations protection against interference that is beyond what is afforded large Lower 48 stations, by creating a new class of station, 1-N (“N” for north).

It is the result of two years of work undertaken by Tom Busch, then president of the Alaska Broadcasters Association, and Augie Hiebert, KNOM friend and Alaska broadcasting pioneer. It was initiated by a petition by Canada to establish thirty AM stations in the western regions of their country, interference from which would have wiped out nighttime radio listenership throughout most of rural Alaska. Senator Ted Stevens prevailed to preserve the coverage rights of KNOM AM and the other rural Alaska radio stations.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading