Maggie Nelson
Senior ReporterHailing from Southwest Washington, Maggie moved to Unalaska in 2019. She's dabbled in independent print journalism in Oregon and completed her Master of Arts in English Studies at Western Washington University — where she also taught Rhetoric and Composition courses. In 2017 Maggie spent time working on a commercial tender boat out of Wrangell and is excited to finally return to Alaska to produce content for the Unalaska community.
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Julia O’Malley has been writing about the state’s climate, food, politics and culture for more than two decades. She recently visited St. Paul to better understand how the island community is dealing with the snow crab crash, and to learn what’s at stake.
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According to a recent report from Unalaska’s Department of Public Utilities, some of the island’s drinking water contains traces of the harmful “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. “It's a very low level,” said Steve Tompkins, director of public utilities. “And if we would have tested at the tap — because we usually run all three wells at the same time, and they blend and then they go to the consumer — it would have been below detection.”
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McLees Lake has reached its salmon escapement goal, which means subsistence fishing regulations in Reese Bay will be lifted.More than 10,700 sockeye salmon passed through the McLees Lake weir as of Sunday, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
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State legislators are discussing increasing student funding, leaving a lot up in the air for school districts around Alaska as they prepare their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year.In Unalaska, district officials are playing it safe — anticipating small increases to state funding and planning for some cuts to staff.At a recent board meeting, Superintendent Jim Wilson presented a first reading of the district’s FY24 budget and applauded the committee for making significant reductions this year.
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The federal agency announced last month that certain entities, like small agricultural coops or aquaculture businesses, as well as most private nonprofit organizations are eligible for low-interest loans of up to $2 million.
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The new regional airline, which is operated by Sterling Airways, announced Wednesday that they’re starting a route between Anchorage and two Alaska Peninsula communities: Sand Point and Cold Bay. According to company spokesperson Ashley Hammers, starting in May, flights will be offered on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with some increased availability.
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One proposal aimed to limit the amount of chum caught in Area M’s South Peninsula fishery to allow more chum to return to Western Alaska rivers. The board ended up passing some restrictions, but it’s far short of what Western Alaska residents were hoping for. And communities near the Area M fishery say they aren’t satisfied either.
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Aleutian Airways will start regular flights from Anchorage to King Salmon this summer.The new regional airline announced Wednesday that it will offer two roundtrip flights per day starting in June.
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The Unalaska City School District has performed near the top of the state in testing again this year, according to Superintendent Jim Wilson. When compared to the rest of Alaska’s public schools, Wilson said the district ranked fifth based on new statewide data from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development’s yearly Report Card to the Public. It’s an assessment of things like graduation rates, testing scores and teacher quality in the state’s public schools.
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Unalaska’s school district will have a new superintendent in the upcoming school year.School board members voted unanimously Feb. 18 to appoint Kimberly Hanisch to lead the district.