City of Unalaska

The City of Unalaska has a new finance controller and treasurer, who’s coming to town from Chicago. Mapke Kenyi — but you can just call him Kenyi — is a former telecommunications engineer who started in finance with the Cook County government.

The Unalaska City Council approved Bil Homka’s request to extend his term at their May 27 meeting. Homka asked for a three-year contract, with two single-year extensions. That means the approved agreement could last a total of five years.

Unalaska’s Iliuliuk Family and Health Services provides a wide range of healthcare to the community, from obstetrics and routine primary care, to 24/7 emergency response. But representatives of the island’s primary clinic are worried some of those essential services could be jeopardized if they don’t receive enough funding through the city’s local grants program.

In this episode of “Island Interviews,” KUCB’s Sofia Stuart-Rasi sat down with Jackie Adams, the City of Unalaska's grants coordinator, Dr. Shanoy Anderson, the environmental director with the Qawalangin Tribe, and Donna Van Flein, corporate affairs and grants coordinator for the Ounalashka Corporation.

The City of Unalaska has a new plan to develop public parks, recreation and cultural infrastructure and programs through at least 2035. The city council unanimously approved the 121-page master plan on March 11.

A 28-year-old fisherman was reported missing Friday in Unalaska. The City of Unalaska said in a press release that Jacob Riley Veeser was last seen at midnight on April 4 walking down the GI “dolphin” dock at the UniSea Inc. processing plant.

The Unalaska City School District has approved its budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, and is asking the city for about $6.14 million. The school board unanimously approved the budget draft at its meeting earlier this month. The proposal has gone through various revisions and discussions, including a town hall and committee meetings. Now, it will head to City Hall where council members will decide how much funding they can spare for the island’s schools.

Emergency officials in Unalaska are closely watching an active volcano near Anchorage. Scientists said Mount Spurr is likely to erupt within weeks or months.

Earlier this month, commercial snow crabs started hitting Unalaska’s docks again, for the first time in nearly three years. The Bering Sea snow crab fishery reopened in mid-October, after billions of the crab disappeared and the fishery was shut down in October 2022. This season’s first catch was delivered on Jan. 15. Opilio, or snow crab, is generally fished in the new year and into the early spring. The season runs through the end of May.

Unalaska’s U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit is responding to a distressed vessel near the island’s landfill.The F/V Northern Endurance ran aground near Iliuliuk Bay along Summer Bay Road sometime Thursday morning. The Unalaska Fire Department responded to the incident around noon.