Raven Radio - KCAW, Sitka

01/23/2025

Thousands of Alaska’s public-sector employees have been waiting for their retirement contributions to be processed since a hacking attempt last November pushed state systems offline. The delay has affected teachers and government workers in Sitka and across the state.

Thousands of Alaska’s public-sector employees have been waiting for their retirement contributions to be processed since a hacking attempt last November pushed state systems offline.

01/22/2025

The nation is still mourning the loss of late President Jimmy Carter, who died in late December at the age of 100. Now, one Sitkan who has a special connection with the former president is organizing a tribute in his memory.

The nation is still mourning the loss of late President Jimmy Carter, who died earlier this month at the age of 100. Now, one Sitkan who has a special connection with the former president is organizing a tribute in his memory.

01/17/2025

Tune in for the "Cold" episode of Encounters this Sunday at 2 p.m. on Raven Radio! ❄️☃️

CALLING ENCOUNTERS FANS! THIS SUNDAY, Jan. 19th, at 2 PM AKST, join host Richard Nelson in the heart of winter, tromping through deep snow in the Brooks Range in northern Alaska. IT'S THE "COLD" EPISODE! Follow the tracks of animals, learn about human and animal adaptations to deep cold, and discover the rich beauty and unique challenges that await anyone venturing out into this frozen world of the north. Listen on Raven Radio or stream at www.kcaw.org with fans from all over. See ya there!

01/16/2025

Sitka’s land trust cottages use a state-of-the-art model to create
affordability, and now a high school construction class is using
old-world skills to improve the neighborhood. Students are building
storage sheds for every home using locally-sourced lumber.

https://www.kcaw.org/2025/01/16/postcard-student-built-sheds-bring-local-lumber-into-sitkas-affordable-housing-neighborhood/

01/16/2025

The Sitka Assembly won’t sell water rights to a company in Florida, yet. At its regular meeting on Tuesday (1-14-25), the assembly postponed a vote on a contract with Global Hydration LLC, in order to give another company with water rights time to make good on its contract.

The Sitka Assembly won’t sell water rights to a company in Florida, yet. At its regular meeting on Tuesday (1-14-25), the assembly postponed a vote on a contract with Global Hydration LLC, in order to give another company with water rights time to make good on its contract.

01/15/2025

January signals the beginning of the municipal budget cycle. The Sitka Assembly meets more often this time of year, reviewing resource proposals for the general fund, considering where to set rates for the city’s enterprise funds, and deciding how much funding to direct toward local schools.

The process typically wraps up in May when the assembly passes its final budgets. There's always some uncertainty in the process – unanticipated expenses always come up – and there’s no way to know exactly how much money the city will bring in in sales tax revenue. But this year there’s another unknown: the assembly is worried about the financial impact of a possible ballot initiative to limit cruise tourism.

This year there’s a new unknown in the city's budget process: the assembly is worried about the financial impact of a possible ballot initiative to limit cruise tourism.

01/14/2025

Keilani Stockton and Timothy Benolken, of Craig, welcomed their child
Wilder David Benolken at 12:15 p.m. on January 9 — the first baby
born in Sitka in the New Year.

https://www.kcaw.org/2025/01/14/wilder-david-benolken-is-sitkas-first-baby-of-2025/

01/10/2025

December 2024 in Sitka was the warmest on record, with average temperatures of 42.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

December in Sitka was the warmest on record, with average temperatures of 42.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

01/08/2025

Firefighters quickly extinguished a potentially dangerous wildfire in
Sitka National Historical Park Monday evening (1-6-25). The cause of
the blaze is unknown, but winds in excess of 40 mph contributed to the
hazard.

https://www.kcaw.org/2025/01/08/high-winds-fuel-dangerous-tree-fire-in-sitka-national-historical-park/

01/07/2025

A Sitka man is celebrating the 35th anniversary of an Arctic trek that
almost defies belief. Beginning in 1989, Keith Nyitray did a 10-month
solo, unsupported hike across 1,500 miles of Alaska’s Brooks Range.

https://www.kcaw.org/2025/01/07/35-years-later-keith-nyitrays-arctic-trek-is-still-mind-boggling/

01/04/2025

We met our year-end fundraising goal! So, we decided to throw a little party. There are so many reasons to love Raven Radio. Our New Year's party animals are happy to share just some.

01/03/2025

Tune in to Raven Radio on Sunday at 2 p.m. for the "Deer and People" episode of Encounters 🦌

CALLING ENCOUNTERS FANS, THIS SUNDAY JANUARY 5TH
Spend a mid-winter day with Richard and a Sitka black-tailed deer along the outer coast of southeast Alaska. Learn about the ancient, intricate, many-dimensioned relationship between humans and deer--their lives intertwined for many thousands of years. It's the "DEER AND PEOPLE" episode SUNDAY AT 2 PM, AKST, on Raven Radio or stream at www.kcaw.org with fans from all over. See ya there!

01/02/2025

The Sitka Assembly is on notice that there’s another difficult year ahead for local schools.

When the assembly met on Monday (12-30-24), School Board President Phil Burdick said even if the legislature increased the base student allocation, the district would be in a tough spot.

The Sitka Assembly is on notice that there’s another difficult year ahead for local schools.

12/31/2024

2024 was an especially challenging year for Sitka. The community coped with tragedies, school layoffs, a low salmon harvest, and no internet for 16 days.

But somehow Sitka came together and pulled through. Call it resiliency – or muscle memory – but when things are difficult, Sitkans manage to find their way home.

Listen to KCAW's year-in-review:

https://www.kcaw.org/2024/12/31/in-a-difficult-year-sitkans-lost-connectivity-but-strengthened-their-connections/

12/31/2024

Pace Chikigak would have been a senior at Mt. Edgecumbe High School this year, the third generation in his family to attend the state-run boarding school in Sitka. His mom Jolene, who graduated in 2003, said he was a straight-A student with a huge heart.

“If you needed a friend, he was there. He never turned anybody away,” she said. “He was an amazing kid. I was so proud to be his mom.”

After Pace’s death in April of this year, Jolene began to try to recover his remaining belongings from his dorm room. But after months, a notebook is all she’s received from the school. Now she’s looking for closure and accountability.

Parents of a Mt. Edgecumbe High School student who died last spring have been trying ever since to recover his personal belongings from the school. The late teen’s mother is looking for closure and accountability.

12/27/2024

The only qualified proposal to operate Sitka’s new marine haul out is from a Kodiak vendor. Local tradespeople and fishermen think that’s a problem.

https://www.kcaw.org/2024/12/27/local-tradespeople-object-to-out-of-town-operator-for-sitkas-new-marine-haul-out/

12/24/2024

The all-new Department of Polar Efficiency (DOPE) is bringing some
unwelcome changes to Santa’s operation this year. But Old Saint Nick
is pushing back to protect the Magic of Christmas.

https://www.kcaw.org/2024/12/24/shhhhh-santa-defies-efficiency-experts-will-fly-with-all-eight-reindeer-and-three-jolly-hos/

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!