Hometown, Alaska Alaska Public Media

What if our latest conversations about Alaska didn’t lodge on the dollar amount of a PFD, or how much a budget should be cut? What if we leaped over these sticking points and employed our collective imagination to envision an Alaska of the future? What kind of place do we want Alaska to be? What kind of place do we want the next generation to experience?These are the questions that moved Ky Holland, an educator, community organizer and a start-up kind of guy. Read: Entrepreneur. His LinkedIn “About” section lists “30 years of technical and community leadership focused on the challenge and paradox of building consensus and implementing significant change.”Ky wanted to start a conversation about Alaska’s future, and the result is Alaska Version 3.0 where innovative thinkers come together and imagine Alaska in the next 30, or 300 years. Recognizing that its oil economy has beneficially driven state growth, but is now in a mature state and can no longer sustain us. What comes next?As always, your questions and co

The stand of a bouquiniste, the French term for second-hand books resellers, in Paris, near the Cathedral Notre-Dame of Paris. Books are as popular in Alaska and in Anchorage as they are in Paris, thanks to public libraries, bookstores and the Alaska Center for the Book. (Benh Lieu Song/Wikimediia Creative Commons)For three decades, the Alaska Center for the Book has promoted literacy throughout Alaska by celebrating books, creative writing, poetry and author outreach. On this edition of Hometown Alaska, two founding mothers of the center share stories of challenge and success, and let us know what’s in store for the next 30 years.We also invite a guest librarian from Loussac Library who has been leading a community read called Anchorage Reads. Their book? Ibram X. Kendi’s “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America.” Reading and panel discussions began in February and will continue through June.Take a listen:HOST: Kathleen McCoyGUESTS:Sara Juday, Alaska Center for the BookS

Acting Anchorage Police Chief Ken McCoy poses for a photo in the Anchorage Police headquarters in downtown on May 7, 2021. (Hannah Lies/Alaska Public Media)On this edition of Justice Alaska on Hometown Alaska, the Anchorage Police Department’s Acting Chief Ken McCoy joins host Kathleen McCoy for a conversation on APD’s work in Anchorage and on modern policing, a public safety field that has come under increasing scrutiny as social media and video cameras have captured police at work.Chief McCoy has served more than two decades with APD after joining in 1994. He is a longtime local, graduating from Bartlett High School before attending the New Mexico Military Institute. He served 10 years in the Alaska Army National Guard and retired in 1990 with the rank of captain. He has a bachelor’s degree in Justice from the University of Alaska Anchorage and a criminal justice certificate from the University of Virginia. He has graduated from several FBI training sessions.He was named Acting Chief in April 2021 upon the

Guests Nithya Thiru (left) and Joshua Albeza Branstetter (right) discuss anti-Asian racism on Hometown Alaska. (Images courtesy of guests)Recent events have put a spotlight on anti-Asian racism. Many Americans even seem shocked & surprised that it’s happening. But is anti-Asian racism new? Is anti-Asian racism rare? What does it look like? Where does it happen? And how does it impact Asian Americans? Join us as we discuss the complexities of anti-Asian racism on this episode of Hometown, Alaska.HOST: E.J. DavidGUESTS:Nithya Thiru, Executive Director of Story Works Alaska. While in high school, she developed a love of storytelling as an Alaska Teen Media Institute producer. She later went on to work as the News, Sports and Public Affairs Director for KRUA 88.1 FM at the University of Alaska Anchorage where she graduated with a BA in History. She recently completed her Master of Public Administration in Human Rights and Gender Policy at Columbia University. Growing up among immigrant communities in Anchorag

Dave Bronson and Forrest Dunbar head to a runoff election on May 11. (Photos courtesy Bronson and Dunbar campaigns)Hometown Alaska will host RUNNING 2021: Runoff Candidates for Mayor Monday May 3 from 10-11 am. Both candidates will join us for the program. Questions are welcome from the listening audience (see format below). The program will air again at 8 pm Monday evening and will be podcast on this page afterward.FORMAT: Hometown Alaska has three segments and we’ll use those segments to organize the discussion between candidates.Segment One (first 20 minutes): Questions from the moderator for the candidates.Segment Two (next 20 minutes): Candidates pose questions to each other. If candidates run out of questions or this format proves otherwise unproductive, the moderator will resume questions.Segment Three: (last 20 minutes): Questions from the public. If we run short of questions, the moderator will ask more questions.ELECTION REMINDER: Mail-in ballots are already in the community and are due by Monday, M

Students play during recess at Dena’ina Elementary School in Wasilla in September. (Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media)Today’s question came from a listener, a father who has weathered and completed his own family’s journey through expensive childcare, for which he’s grateful. But his own success don’t solve the huge challenge in our community, and he asked us to share with listeners the scope of the issue here in Anchorage.We invited panelists who work everyday to define what quality early childhood education is, how to collaborate with community partners to achieve it, and how to pay for it.As always, listeners questions and comments are welcome throughout the program. Have you taught in a preschool setting? How about during the COVID experience? Are you a parent who quit your own job and returned home because your wages didn’t cover childcare expenses? Consider sharing your experiences with us on the phone, or sending us an email during the show.HOST: Kathleen McCoyGUESTS:Stephanie Berglund, CEO of nonprofit th

A listener posed a question for Justice Alaska on Hometown Alaska and we tackled it on this week’s show. Where are the Alaska Native defenders, prosecutors and judges in our state’s judicial system? What would justice in Alaska look like if there were more robust representation of Alaska Natives throughout the process?Sigvanna (Megan) Topkok, staff attorney for Kawerak in Nome.In conversations with local attorneys to prepare for the show, some said the pipeline of Alaska Native lawyers is just too small to propel them to the bench. Others thought that too simplistic, explaining Alaska Native lawyers may hold different cultural values on arguing in court or passing judgment from a raised dias.We’ll explore these questions and discuss efforts to change the makeup of the judicial bench so it more accurately reflects the community it serves. Listeners questions and comments are always welcome — please join us.Nicole Borromeo, AFN Executive Vice President and General Counsel.HOST: Kathleen McCoy, in for Elaine And

The nuclear-generated power industry is taking off. Among the latest developments are microreactors that might have advantages for remote communities in Alaska struggling with high energy costs, or military bases, or remote mining operations. It’s time to find out more. (Image courtesy of Office of Nuclear Energy, US Department of Energy.)It’s probably time for everyday Alaskans to learn more about new developments in nuclear technology that may have potential benefits for Alaska—an energy-producing state that still faces rural high energy costs and challenging geography. The time is right because the industry is making fast progress on size and safety. Still, disastrous events like Chernobyl and Fukushima taint common perception about the safety of nuclear power. It’s time to learn what has changed and what could be headed for Alaska.Right now, Alaska is in the beginning stages of exploring whether small nuclear technologies could be an option for the state. Recent studies published by the Alaska Center for

Indigenous Peoples and Languages of Alaska. (Alaska Native Language Center)Over the past few years, acknowledging the Indigenous roots of the places we call home has become more common. This is especially true in Alaska, a state rich with Indigenous history and the state with the highest percentage of Native people in its population.Alaska, however, also has a rapidly growing non-Native population that may not completely and accurately understand that this state has been and always will be a Native place. Why is it important for new Alaskans to know their home state’s Indigenous roots? What are some respectful and productive ways to do this?Join us as we explore these questions and more on the upcoming episode of Hometown, Alaska.Guests and their backgrounds:Melissa ShaginoffMelissa Shaginoff is part of the Udzisyu (caribou) and Cui Ui Ticutta (fish-eater) clans from Nay’dini’aa Na Kayax (Chickaloon Village, Alaska). She is an Ahtna and Paiute person, an artist, a social activist and currently the curator of

Tying different colored ribbons to a tree to remember victims of crimes is an annual event across the nation, including in Anchorage, during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 18-24. The focus on victims is an opportunity to review and evaluate how victims’ rights are being observed, and what changes still need to happen. (Photo courtesy of Victims for Justice, Alaska.)One week in the month of April 2021, the 18th-24th, is set aside to remember victims of violent crimes in communities across the United States. In Anchorage, Victims for Justice, an organization that advocates for victims, will share its annual ribbon-tying ceremony at Hostetler Park in downtown Anchorage on social media platforms. The event is somber. Each ribbon is a victim remembered.Different colored ribbons represent the victims of different types of crimes. Black ribbons refer to homicides; yellow to kidnapping; purple to domestic violence; teal for sexual assault; navy blue for human trafficking; orange for assault; white for hat

Bunny ears image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Host images by Alaska Public Media.The arrival of a new host to Hometown Alaska is a good opportunity to open the phone lines to hear what topics you want us to work on. We call it “all ears” because we’re listening for the ideas you want us to pursue.Joining the Hometown Alaska team is EJ David. You may have heard him co-host the RUNNING program for school board candidates on March 8. In 2020, he came on as a “pop-up” co-host on a show that looked at the Asian American and Pacific Islander experience in Alaska. Today, we’ll co-host the show as an opportunity to introduce EJ and learn more about him. Look for his first solo show on April 5, and he’ll be back once a month after that.We invite your thoughts on programming you’d like to hear on your local community radio show. Is it more public affairs and issues? Is it the human side of Anchorage and Alaska — the community voices that make up the sound and rhythm of our town and our state? Or a blend of both?We’d

Anchorage on an April evening. Taken April, 2008. Photo from Flickr/Wikipedia, by Frank. K. Creative Commons License 2.0 GenericUPDATE: Candidate responses to Alaska Public Media’s 2021 Mayor Candidate questionnaire are now available at Running 2021. Fifteen candidates filed to run; 9 candidates returned the questionnaire. Albert Swank, Reza Momin, Anna Anthony, David Bronson, Darin Colbry and Jacob Seth Kern did not respond. (Scroll for a full list of candidates and seats.The mail-in election is April 6, and ballots will be sent to voters on March 15, the day of today’s program.Our format for RUNNING is different this year. Candidates are not live on the air. In advance, we invited candidates to fill out an issue questionnaire. On today’s Running, a panel of engaged citizens who follow city issues in Anchorage, will discuss some of the relevant issues. They will add context and opinion from their experience. The panelists have not seen candidates’ answers in advance, and will not recommend or endorse any can

UPDATE: Candidate responses to Alaska Public Media’s 2021 School Board Candidate questionnaire are now available at Running 2021. Sixteen candidates are running; 12 responded to the questionnaire. Candidates Judy Norton Eledge, Marilyn Stewart, Kim Paulson and Marcus Sanders did not respond. (Scroll for a full list of candidates and seats.)The mail-in election is April 6, and ballots will be sent to voters on March 15.Our format for RUNNING is different this year. Candidates are not live on the air. In advance, we provided candidates with voluntary issue questionnaires. Then, Running on Hometown Alaska hosted a panel of three engaged citizens who follow educational topics in Anchorage. They discussed — added context and opinion — to some of the issues the district and school board will soon face. The panelists did not see candidates’ answers in advance, and did not recommend or endorse any candidates. After the discussions, the host shared candidate responses to these issues. The goal of the show is to prepar

Many programs on Justice Alaska focus on explaining Alaska’s judicial system from the inside, from the perspective of judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys, as well as participants in therapeutic courts and administrators within the Department of Corrections.Kyle Hopkins, in the ADN newsroom after learning “Lawless” was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. (Alaska Public Media/Julia O’Malley)Today’s program is a look from the outside. A team of reporters from the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that collaborates with local reporting teams on investigative projects, produced two series, “Lawless” and “Unheard.” They tell stories of a broken public safety system in rural Alaska, where one in three communities has no local law enforcement. The result: tragic stories of lives lost, damaged survivors, communities essentially abandoned by the state. ADN reporter Kyle Hopkins led the effort; “Lawless” was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2020.Kyle joins us today

Partial logo from the PBS historical and cultural exploration of the Black Church in America.In a sweeping, song-filled and emotional telling, Henry Louis Gates takes viewers through the beginnings of the Black Church in America, from its beginnings in white Christianity with influence from home countries and spiritual traditions that enslaved people brought with them. The 400-year history of the Black Church reveals influence during the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, right up to today’s Black Lives Matter. The episodes broadcast on television in Anchorage on Feb. 16 and 17, and are still available on the web for viewing. Find Episode 1 and Episode 2 at PBS.org.Pastor M.A. Bunton of Greater Friendship Baptist Church.In this week’s Hometown Alaska, we host pastors of three local churches to share reflections on Gates’ history and appreciation of the Black Church. In addition, they’ll introduce us to their own churches and ministries.HOST: Kathleen McCoyPastor Undra Parker of Sh

Dana Stabenow, Alaska author of nearly 40 books, many in crime fiction. One series focuses on private eye named Kate Shugak, and a second series focuses on a a mythical Alaska State Trooper living in a remote Alaska community. (Dana Stabenow)Dana Stabenow is having a great writing career.Her latest book, Spoils of the Dead, is No. 5 in her series about Alaska State Trooper Liam Campbell.After a demotion from sergeant back to trooper for a serious mistake, he finds himself policing in a commercial fishing town dubbed Newenham, “an ice-bound bush town with a six-bed jail, a busted ATM and a saloon that does double-duty as a courtroom.” You can bet trouble follows.We talk more about the book on the show, but if you haven’t yet been bitten by the Stabenow bug, you may not know the Liam Campbell series is just one of Stabenow’s works.Does the name Kate Shugak bring it back for you?“Aleutian Kate Shugak–formerly an Anchorage police investigator and now a private eye–lives on a 160-acre homestead in Alaska’s largest

Archimedes, an education animal cared for by biologist Ginamaria Smith, was live on Zoom Jan. 31, 2021, as the featured guests of the Eagle River Nature Center’s program “Alaska’s Superb Owls.”One dark December morning, as I headed out with my dog for some exercise, I met a young man carrying an aluminum ladder. Since it was nearly Christmas, I asked if he was decorating a random tree to surprise and delight winter hikers.Not quite — he had just cleaned out an owl box of its annual detritus in preparation for a potential new dweller.It was Andrew Fisher, an owl enthusiast supporting a project at the Eagle River Nature Center, where he and other volunteers have established more than 20 owl boxes. They have a few years of research under their belts, and on this week’s segment, he told us more about how it’s going.Colin Tyler, professional wildlife photographer and assistant manager at the Eagle River Nature Center also joined to share some of his owl images with us on this page.Parent and juvenile Great Horned

Rasmuson Foundation is in active outreach mode, seeking underrepresented artists to apply for the 2021 Individual Artists Awards. Today’s show features past winners offering advice, and Rasmuson Foundation employees focused on the Individual Artists Award program.In times of stress and economic hardship, it can be easy to let art and its impact on us slip off the radar screen. Yet, that could be the very time when we need art the most. The inauguration of new President Joe Biden is an example. Not only did 22-year-old Amanda Gorman’s poem, “The Hill We Climb,” comfort and challenge us, but the passionate musical deliveries by Lady Gaga, Garth Brooks and Jennifer Lopez lifted us.Art needs to be in the mix.From ‘Opaque Etymologies’ by Indra Arriaga Delgado.Click to enlarge.On today’s Hometown Alaska, representatives from the Rasmuson Foundation will explain their Individual Artist Award program: three levels of support for working artists in Alaska. Program officers are in high gear, reaching out to communities

Illustrations by Alaska cartoonist Peter Dunlap-Shohl help to explain the fiscal challenge citizens and policy makers face in Alaska’s near future. (Peter Dunlap–Shohl)As Cliff Groh puts it, he’s studied how the State of Alaska “collects, saves and pays out money” for 40 years. As a legislative aide in 1982, he worked on creating the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend. Five years later, as a special assistant to the commissioner of revenue, he worked on the successful effort to pass legislation raising net oil taxes. He’s been a participant and delegate to forums and conferences organized by Alaska governors to puzzle out our collective financial future, and even taught a class at UAA called “Navigating Alaska’s Fiscal and Economic Challenges.”Over the decades, Cliff saw the problem looming. He tried to warn us — with public forums, community gatherings, newspaper op-eds, Powerpoints … to no avail.Now, watching our state’s fiscal aircraft hit the ground nose first, he’s trying one more strategy to engage and focu

Alaska Division of Elections “I Voted” stickers for 2020 were created by artist Barbara Lavallee and included translations in English, Spanish, Koyukon, Gwich’in, Aleut, Tagalog, Alutiiq, Northern Inupiaq, Nunivak Cup’ig, and Yup’ik.On Dec. 14, electors in all 50 states cast their ballots for the U.S. President. On this occasion, Hometown Alaska took the opportunity to reflect on the 2020 national and state elections, the impact a tumultuous national election may have on democracy, and to explore local opportunities for civic engagement.Joining us were guests from the League of Women Voters of Alaska, Alaska Common Ground, and the Alaska Division of Elections. The goal? Share expert observations about the national and state elections, and offer information about how to get involved in activities that support democracy.HOST: Kathleen McCoyGUESTS:Dick Mylius, Alaska Common GroundBill Hall, Alaska Common GroundJoyce Anderson, League of Women Voters AlaskaTwo representatives from the Alaska Division of Elections: