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By Ariana Crockett O'Harra Around 50 people attended a campaign event hosted by U.S. Senate candidate Democrat Mary Peltola last week at Nome VFW Post #9569. Peltola was Alaska’s congresswoman from 2022 to 2025. She won a special election after Don Young’s death, was elected in the 2022 general election to a full term but lost the 2024 election to current Congressman Nick Begich, a Republican.…
By Diana Haecker and Ariana Crockett O'Harra A stunning 61 percent of Alaskan maritime waters are not sufficiently mapped by modern standards, and a much higher percentage in the vast Bering Sea and Bering Strait region is not up to date in modern charts, either. This, coupled with increasing ship traffic made possible by decreasing sea ice in the Bering Strait region, is a potential recipe for…
By Diana Haecker Unofficial primary results indicate that in the race for U.S. Senate, Mary Peltola has a tiny lead over incumbent Republican Dan S. Sullivan, with Dan J. Sullivan Jr. (Petersburg Sullivan) in third and Gerald Heikes placing fourth. In the open primaries, the top four vote-getters move on to the general election in November, which will be a ranked choice election. In the race for…
By Ariana Crockett O'Harra Progress on the Steadman Road improvements has proceeded on schedule and the road is expected to be open to traffic again by August 15. The project is scheduled to be totally completed by September 1. Steadman Road is a state-owned road and the nearly $4.4 million project was awarded in 2025 to Knik Construction. In June, Knik Construction workers closed Steadman Road,…
By Ariana Crockett O'Harra Kids cleaning up trash on Middle Beach on July 31 ended up finding a whole host of strange pieces of trash. Old ropes, tires, a pig's foot and a discarded strobe beacon were some of the debris collected by Nome Eskimo Community's Outdoors Club, helped by Kawerak Environmental and Gay Sheffield with UAF Alaska Sea Grant. The Norton Sound Health Corporation’s Environmental…
By Diana Haecker The Supreme Court last week handed down a 24-page opinion of statewide interest, which confirmed that a Norton Sound Health Corporation property used to house employees and others is exempt from City of Nome property taxation. The property in question is identified as Property 1, an apartment building NSHC owns on First Avenue in Nome. The Supreme Court opinion, released on August…
By Ariana Crockett O’Harra Candidate for governor Meda DeWitt and running mate Chris Steere visited Nome August 2 and 3. DeWitt, originally from Wrangell and Yakutat, is running as an independent candidate in a crowded field of 17 vying for the governor’s office. Steere is from Unalakleet. Both currently live in Anchorage. DeWitt is a Lingít traditional healer, community and political organizer,…
By Diana Haecker Big military aircraft, Apache helicopters and camouflage-colored military vehicles are sights Nome is not used to. But for the first week in August, a joint Canadian and U.S. exercise dubbed “Tundra Merlin” is taking place in and around Nome, so be ready to see unfamiliar vehicles in and around town. The activities were announced in press releases and social media posts last week…
By Diana Haecker Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board released the final report on their investigation of the February 6, 2025, Bering Air plane crash that killed the pilot and nine passengers aboard. The NTSB said in a press release that inadequate airspeed management during severe icing conditions combined with an airplane loaded above its maximum gross weight led to the crash.…
By Ariana Crockett O’Harra Last Thursday, a crowd of parents and community members filtered into the Nome Elementary School gym, piling onto the bleachers and whispering in anticipation as they stared at an impromptu performance space set up on the gym floor. The overhead lights went out, the music began, and floodlights lit up the improvised stage in a multicolored array. Dancing with the…
