An essential part of our mission is to reach out, sometimes in person, to the communities of Western Alaska. In April, volunteer Matty Guiffré did just that:

I was recently privileged to take a trip to the remote village of Little Diomede (DYE-uh-meed), Alaska, located on a small island less than a half mile from the International Date Line near Russia. I went there to collect an interview for KNOM's newest show Caught Doing Something Good, which I created in February to focus on the positive things going on with youth in Western Alaska.

About 135 people live in Little Diomede, which can only be accessed via bush plane during the winter months, when the sea ice is frozen and a runway is carved out on the ice. The residents of Diomede were very welcoming, and I quickly became accustomed to what it was like to live on a cliff. The locals moved around town a lot faster than I did, negotiating the slippery paths between buildings on the steep terrain.

Even beyond the interviews for which I had come – five students who had done exceptional things in their community – an extra story presented itself: a local hunter shot a polar bear while I was in town, and I witnessed the process of carving up a kill. Per the traditional ways, almost all of the polar bear will be used: the meat will be used for food and the fur hide for artwork.

I appreciate all who make it possible for me to travel to collect these inspiring stories.

Thanks to a sponsorship with a regional air carrier, Matty's transportation to Diomede was free.

Photos, top to bottom: Little Diomede island, seen from the air amid the frozen sea; the village and its ice runway; Diomede's St. Jude Catholic Church; respected Diomede elder Patrick Omiak, Sr.

In April, KNOM was abuzz with activity, as we not only performed maintenance on our current facilities but also prepared for the future of our studio buildings.

We benefited, once again, from the work of longtime architect Frank Schmidt – brother of general manager Ric Schmidt – and the expertise of contractor Randy Pomeranz, who helped to construct KNOM's current studio building in the 1990s. Frank and Randy (pictured at top) reviewed the latest blueprints for the Tom and Florence Busch Digital Studios, the renovation project that will expand KNOM's studio space and convert our aging, analog broadcast equipment to digital. As we've written in prior editions of the Static, this project will mean con siderable cost savings over the long run, and thanks to Frank and Randy – and your support! – we're well on our way.

Just days later, we were grateful for the care of Nome handyman Rolland Trowbridge, who followed up on previous maintenance work at our studio building's backup power generator. Rolland and Ric conducted a full test of the generator, briefly switching from municipal power to make sure that the generator activated as needed. Rolland, as pictured at bottom, kept a close eye on the many dials on our power generator apparatus, and thankfully, all went as planned.

Thank you, Rolland, Randy, and Frank!

Every week, KNOM's studios see a broad cross-section of Western Alaskans. Thanks to your support, we regularly interview people who are making a difference in our region, whether as community leaders, revered elders, educators, or public figures.

The photos at left show just a few of our recent guests. At top is 2012 Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey, who spent time in KNOM's Studio C a few days after crossing the finish line. At bottom is Dina Sagoonick (sah-GOO-nick) of Shaktoolik (SHACK-too-lick), Alaska, whose life story was featured in the April 2012 episode of our popular show Elder Voices.