Posts by Emily Hofstaedter

Nome city officials are optimistic about new legislation that would enact a federal advisory commission to study shipping in the Arctic. But other Nome entities are calling for the Arctic legislation to do more to address several changes happening in the region, not just changes in shipping traffic. Nome Port Director Joy Baker sees the proposed legislation…

Almost every year, Anvil Mountain Correctional Center (AMCC) in Nome holds a community potlatch around Christmas-time. Inmates at the facility can invite family and community members for food, fellowship, and music. KNOM’s Emily Hofstaedter sat down for the Christmas meal at AMCC on Wednesday and reports on the sense of hope and healing it brought…

Governor Mike Dunleavy’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2021 includes funding for 15 additional Alaska State Trooper (AST) positions including one in Nome, one in Unalakleet, and potential new posts in St. Michael, Ambler, and Anchor Point on the Kenai Peninsula. Troopers are the first responders in some of those communities, like St. Michael, although…

Norton Sound storms have caused large chunks of the Shaktoolik berm to erode this year, necessitating emergency repairs. As such, the community recently received $1 million from the National Coastal Resilience Fund to help them maintain the berm. KNOM’s Emily Hofstaedter reports on how the berm is protecting the community’s most vulnerable areas from the…

Monday night’s Nome City Council meeting began with City Clerk Bryant Hammond swearing in the newest member of the Nome Police Department, Austin Martino. Martino is originally from New York and new to NPD, though he says he has been living in Nome and working for TSA for about three years. With this new addition…

The Nome Common Council turns its focus to transportation tonight, during their regular meeting, as they discuss transportation development plans, vehicle purchases, and improvements to Bering Street. The Council will be voting on a resolution to support the prioritized strategies of the Nome Coordinated Transportation Plan under the Alaska Department of Transportation (DOT). Among the…

The Alaska Conference of Mayors unanimously passed a resolution in support of public safety advisory commissions at their last meeting in November. During this year’s session, Mayor Richard Beneville of Nome was elected Chairman of the conference of mayors. That meeting is a part of the Alaska Municipal League (AML) Conference. To keep the state…

A fight over the weekend between inmates at the Anvil Mountain Correctional Center resulted in assault charges for six inmates. Charging documents describe the fight as a “gang-style” assault.  The altercation broke out on Saturday night at approximately 5:30pm but correctional facility staff were able to disperse the situation. Alaska State Troopers were notified the following morning after…

Since late October, KNOM has reported on four incidents in which Alaska State Troopers responded to a community in the Bering Strait region but did not post an online public dispatch afterwards. Two of those incidents without dispatches involved missing persons with accompanying search and rescue missions, another involved the discovery of human remains, and…

The Nome Courthouse is too expensive to keep on Front Street, according to court administrators. Now construction is already underway for a new courthouse in the same building as Trinity Sails and Repair (TSR), known to many as the old Nome hospital.   KNOM’s Emily Hofstaedter looks into planned updates for the court building and how court operations…