Raven Radio - KCAW, Sitka

12/21/2024

⛄️❄️Tune in for a very special winter holiday episode of “Encounters“ on Raven Radio this Sunday at 2. ❄️⛄️

CALLING ENCOUNTERS FANS! A VERY SPECIAL WINTER HOLIDAY EPISODE, THIS SUNDAY, from our “lost” episodes collection! Glide on the Swan Lake ice, under the moon, with Richard Nelson. It’s the “ICE” episode, a rediscovered gem from the early years of Encounters. Listen THIS SUNDAY, December 22nd at 2 pm AKST on KCAW Raven Radio. Outside the local listening area? Stream at www.kcaw.org with Encounters fans from all over. See ya there!

12/21/2024

An initiative introduced in elementary schools last year has had some startling results. The Alaska Reads Act passed the legislature with an ambitious goal: to have every child reading by third grade. Sitka’s schools were on track to hit that target — until education funding was cut.

https://www.kcaw.org/2024/12/20/sitkas-elementary-schools-made-the-alaska-reads-act-work-last-year-now-theyd-like-the-funding-to-keep-it-working/

12/20/2024

After three previous failed attempts, a fourth application to put a cruise limit question before Sitka voters has passed the city’s initial legal review (on 12-16-24).

Organizers now have a few months to collect 613 signatures in support of their ballot proposition. If they get enough signatures, it could go before the voters in a special election next spring.

After three previous failed attempts, a fourth application to put a cruise limit question before Sitka voters has passed the city’s initial legal review (on 12-16-24).

12/18/2024

A homesick letter was a summer camper rite of passage for decades. That changed when cell phones made checking in with parents a whole lot easier. But more campers may be writing letters next summer, now that the Sitka Fine Arts Camp is going cell phone-free.

A homesick letter was a summer camper right of passage for decades. That changed when cell phones made checking in with parents a whole lot easier. But more campers may be writing letters next summer, now that the Sitka Fine Arts Camp is going cellphone-free.

12/14/2024

For many Sitkans, reliable access to food is not a given. In the past ten years, some of those challenges have worsened, according to a community food assessment released last month.

For many Sitkans, reliable access to food is not a given. In the past ten years, some of those challenges have worsened, according to a community food assessment released last month.

12/12/2024

The loss of five lives aboard the seiner Wind Walker earlier this month was the latest in a string of tragedies that has shaken Sitka this year. In a two-hour vigil at the University of Alaska Southeast boat ramp on Saturday, more than 80 Sitkans and visitors gathered to share stories of loss.

In a two-hour vigil at the University of Alaska Southeast boat ramp on Saturday, more than 80 Sitkans and visitors gathered to share stories of loss.

12/10/2024

Alaska Wildlife Troopers from Juneau and Hoonah on Monday (12-9-24) responded to a call that human remains were located in Spasski Bay, about four miles east of Hoonah. Two bodies were recovered and flown to Juneau aboard an Alaska National Guard helicopter. Both were subsequently transported to the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Anchorage for positive identification.

https://www.kcaw.org/2024/12/10/coast-guard-releases-names-of-missing-wind-walker-fishermen/

12/07/2024

Reverend John Alan Boryk grew up in the Jim Crow South and says he was "taught to be a bigot" — until he heard Martin Luther King, Jr. speak in 1965. Boryk, a retired Methodist pastor, will share his story, "Segregation to Selma," in a presentation next Saturday at the Sitka Public Library.

A retired Methodist pastor will share his story about joining the civil rights movement in a presentation on December 14 at the Sitka Public Library.

12/06/2024

We are over the moon to share the news that Meredith Redick rejoined the KCAW news team this week as the inaugural Sarah Evangeline Hughes News Resident. We're proud to continue and strengthen Raven Radio's tradition of being an incubator for journalistic talent with the launch of this program.

Join us on December 17th for Southeast Celebrates News Day to learn more about the residency and to hear from familiar voices from KCAW's newsroom over the years.

12/04/2024

Advocates for limiting cruise visitation have submitted a fourth petition in less than two years to get a cruise limit question before Sitka voters this winter.

Advocates for limiting cruise visitation have submitted a fourth petition in less than two years to get a cruise limit question before Sitka voters this winter.

12/03/2024

The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for five missing mariners believed to be aboard the Wind Walker, a 52-foot Sitka-based seiner which capsized near Point Couverden early Sunday morning.

The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for five missing mariners after their fishing boat capsized near Point Couverden.

11/30/2024

Smiling faces ready to sell you very cute and fun (if we do say so ourselves…) KCAW merch! We are here at the Sitka Counseling Holiday Bazaar from 9-4 Saturday — lots of great gifts and stocking stuffers for your Raven Radio loving friends and family. You’ll find us right across the aisle from Santa’s stage 🎁

11/26/2024

Some new research is challenging the established scientific thinking about why an endangered population of killer whales in Puget Sound continues to be in jeopardy.
The animals were at the center of a 4-year legal battle that nearly brought an end to the commercial king salmon fishery in Southeast Alaska. The lawsuit is resolved, but the science behind it is continuing to evolve.

https://www.kcaw.org/2024/11/25/new-study-of-salmon-abundance-prompts-a-rethink-of-endangered-killer-whale-decline/

11/23/2024

Tune in for the🦌🦌🦌 (deer) episode of Encounters on Raven Radio this Sunday!

CALLING ENCOUNTERS FANS!!! If you've ever been fascinated by the delicate beauty of deer, marveled at their seemingly magical ability to soundlessly ghost in and out of the forest and thickets, or wondered about their unique ways of life--join Richard and a Sitka black-tailed deer, along the southeast coast of Alaska. It's the "DEER NATURAL HISTORY" episode, THIS SUNDAY, NOV. 24th, at 2 PM AKST on Raven Radio or stream at www.kcaw.org with fans from all over. See ya there!

11/21/2024

The Sitka business community wants to quantify the economic impact of the internet outage. A survey has been circulating since September, and will close before Thanksgiving. Organizers hope the results will help Sitka advocate for a more robust connection, or at least redundancy.

https://www.kcaw.org/2024/11/19/business-survey-adds-up-losses-during-sitkas-summer-internet-outage/

11/19/2024

The City of Sitka has its first agreement with the local, privately owned cruise dock. When the Sitka Assembly met on November 12, on a 4-3 vote it approved a “Memorandum of Understanding” or MOU with the Sitka Dock Company.

The City of Sitka has its first agreement with the local, privately owned cruise dock. When the Sitka Assembly met last night, it approved a “Memorandum of Understanding” or MOU with the Sitka Dock Company. But the assembly was split on whether the document would be effective or necessary.

11/15/2024

John Straley’s latest novel ‘Big Breath In’ is a departure from his typical crime stories. With a main character based on his wife, noted humpback whale biologist Jan Straley, the author makes a case for an extraordinary heroine.

https://www.kcaw.org/2024/11/14/with-big-breath-in-author-john-straley-risks-sleeping-on-the-couch-forever/

11/14/2024

One year ago, on November 13, 2023, a helicopter from Air Station Sitka crashed onshore while assisting a fishing boat in Farragut Bay, about 22 miles from Petersburg. The helicopter crew suffered serious injuries, but all four survived.

KCAW has acquired the MII (Major Incident Investigation) report and learned both the cause of the accident, and the challenges inherent in rescue aviation.

https://www.kcaw.org/2024/11/13/investigation-finds-crash-of-an-air-station-sitka-helicopter-was-controlled-flight-into-terrain/