Local News

The KUCB Newsroom provides newscasts every weekday at noon and 5 PM on KUCB Radio.  You can find many of our local news stories here.

Six Cold Bay Residents Test Positive For COVID-19

By • Nov 23, 2020
City of Cold Bay

Officials reported six positive cases of COVID-19 in Cold Bay on Saturday. Because the individuals are residents of the Alaska Peninsula village, the state will report them as positive cases for the Aleutians East Borough, according to Eastern Aleutian Tribes.

The regional tribal healthcare provider said in a statement that upon receiving the positive test results, the unnamed individuals were placed in isolation.

The healthcare provider is working with city and state officials to ensure precautions are taken to protect anyone who may have been exposed to the coronavirus.

'An Excited Commotion, A Fish, A Rock Band In Maryland:' MOTA Education Manager Explores Ballyhoo

By • Nov 19, 2020
Courtesy of Thomas Drennan McLenigan

Since late June, Unalaska's Museum of the Aleutians has been publishing a series of Instagram posts about historically and locally significant places on the island.

Museum Education Outreach Manager Thomas Drennan McLenigan started the series shortly after he arrived on the island this summer, and said the posts were inspired by some of the hiking he had done in the past.

Russian And American Scientists Say Warming Water Is Pushing Bering Sea Pollock Into New Territory

By • Nov 18, 2020
NOAA FishWatch

In a new study, scientists have linked warming Arctic temperatures, changing wind patterns, and shifting currents to movement of commercially valuable Alaska pollock in the Bering Sea.

The Bering Sea has seen the loss of a summer cold water barrier in recent years, which used to keep pollock from spreading out and moving north.

But while scientists are seeing drastic shifts in pollock movement patterns, further research needs to be conducted to know what the changes mean for communities like Unalaska/Dutch Harbor and the billion-dollar pollock industry.

As COVID-19 Numbers Spike Across The State, St. Paul School Sustains Strict Mitigation Practices

By • Nov 17, 2020
St. Paul, Alaska
KUCB/John Ryan

On the remote Pribilof Island of St. Paul, the school year started off with roughly 25 percent of students doing home-based education, despite the fact that the school was open to students.

As the year has progressed, most of those students have returned. But like in many remote areas in Alaska, St. Paul remains on high alert because the effects of returning to distance-based education in the small community of just 397 people could be particularly devastating.

Unalaska City Council Extends Local Declaration Of Emergency Through June Of 2021

By • Nov 16, 2020
Berett Wilber/KUCB

The Unalaska City Council voted unanimously to extend the city's declaration of a local emergency during its meeting last Tuesday. The declaration will expire at the end of June next year. 

"With the start of 'A' season, with flu season underway, with hospital beds and use on the rise, with cases on the rise — I think there are plenty of rational reasons why we would want to go to that June 30 deadline," said City Manager Erin Reinders. "It'll [help] keep it on everyone's radar that this is for the long haul and we all need to remain diligent in our efforts."

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