The Nome Static

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One stormy night, a listener called KNOM to make sure someone was at the radio station monitoring the weather situation. “Now that I know you’re there, I’ll go to bed and try to sleep,” said the caller. “I’m here with you.” “Let’s enjoy the day together.” “Your heritage is a strong and beautiful treasure.” “God…

KNOM’s 50th anniversary represented the kick-off for the mission’s radio giveaway. While celebrating with free cupcakes, the first five radios – and, five build-your-own transistor radio kits – were given away. The assembly kits were given to teachers and home educators while the radios and boosters went to visitors who knew the answer to KNOM…

Anniversary festivities were intentionally kept small due to concerns over Covid-19. Still, several distinguished guests and “KNOM icons” from decades past booked a flight to Nome to celebrate. When radio people gather, the chatter is inevitable. Still, after many formal and informal remarks, one clear message crystalized: for community members, friends, listeners, benefactors, and former…

Les Brown says he first heard about KNOM in a radio broadcasters’ magazine, which stated a Catholic radio station in Nome, Alaska needed help. When he asked his wife, Paula, in jest whether she thought they should go, her one-word answer changed everything: “When?” Les and Paula first arrived in Nome in July 1972, when…

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Summertime in Nome is always a special time, but this year there is hope in the air. As vaccination rates in the region are high, and the number of coronavirus cases remain low in the state, locals are once again congregating with their friends and neighbors. It is a great sigh of relief to be…

After Nome’s annual e-waste recycling event was canceled in 2020, the program’s ten-year anniversary was celebrated with a milestone – and, of course, food. “On Friday, we had some barbecuing happening, some music, and some door prizes. So it was a lot of fun… So far this year, with the barge that came in just…

A few months ago, KNOM engineers Van Craft and Les Brown assessed the FM transmitter and antenna situation, and the news was not good. As the antenna is 30 years old and the transmitter 20 years old, both pieces are at their expected end of functionality. As the expiration date suggested, KNOM’s FM transmitter was…

Last year, across the country, high school graduations took many forms. In Nome, as regular readers of this newsletter may remember, the high school collaborated with KNOM for a special on-air graduation combined with a vehicle procession through the city. This year’s graduates at Nome-Beltz High School asked principal Jay Thomas if their ceremony, too,…