As the end of 2023 approaches, KYUK’s news team wraps up highlights from a year’s-worth of reporting.
January
This year started with a bang in Bethel after the New Year’s Eve fireworks show was rescheduled to New Year’s Day because of whipping wind. A nationwide outbreak of avian flu left local store shelves empty of eggs, while issues with bypass mail meant that milk was also in short supply.
A translation service contracted to make disaster relief information available in Yugtun committed to refunding the federal government after sending out unintelligible documents to communities throughout the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta. The United States Department of Homeland Security would later open a civil rights investigation into the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) because of the botched translations, prompted by KYUK's reporting.
It was a warmer start to the year than usual, which threw some wrenches into the ongoing mushing season. But it didn’t stop rookie musher Raymond Alexie from winning his first Bogus Creek 150, his third win of the season. Alexie went on to win the first-ever Delta Championship series, put on by the Kuskokwim 300 Committee.
At the close of the month, a fire at Newtok’s school took out its power plant, and it was a seven-Pete in the Kuskokwim 300 sled dog race as musher Pete Kaiser took home the race title for the seventh time.
February
Reese Madden, a novice musher from Nome, passed the finish line less than 24 hours after winner Pete Kaiser. By then the river conditions had deteriorated. While Madden started with 10 dogs, he ended with six. Madden persevered, earning him his second K300 Red Lantern Award as the final finisher in the 2023 K300.
A yoga mat, stethoscope, and a pulse oximeter were some of the project materials used by Atmautluak’s Karley Pavilla and Adrianna Dull, who won best in show at the Lower Kuskokwim School District’s annual science fair. They researched heart rate, and linked their work back to issues with high rates of diabetes in Alaska Native communities.
Alaska public defenders began to refuse some criminal cases in Nome and Bethel amid a struggle to recruit and retain qualified attorneys in the region. The agency asked presiding judges to not assign new cases dealing with certain felonies relating to the most serious crimes.
Tuluksak's school didn't have water for two weeks. Students took short days, but there were ongoing generator outages too, meaning homes were frigid. Teachers and administrators pumped water and worked seven days a week, and were said to have become experts in water management.
Two Bethel teenagers conducted a study in engineering, architecture, and history in negative 10 degrees Fahrenheit and heavy snow. Two days later they had built two igloos.
March
March kicked off strong as Rep. Mary Peltola hosted U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough in Bethel for a public listening session. They heard about the high cost of living and obstacles to accessing benefits for Alaska Native veterans, while McDonough emphasized efforts to address alarmingly high rates of veteran suicide.
Over at the Lower Kuskokwim School District, the district unveiled a new Yugtun language test, which was more in line with traditional knowledge and the Yup’ik worldview. This was part of the district's long-term push to preserve the most widely spoken Alaska Native language.
It wouldn’t be March in Bethel without the Cama-i dance festival. This year was extra special, marking the first full post-pandemic festival in three years. Perhaps no one was more excited about Cama-i this year than Chevak Elder John Pingayak, who received the festival’s Living Treasure Award.
As Bethelites began to look forward to the warmer months ahead, they had a chance to reflect on a winter full of wild temperature swings. The weather caused pipes to freeze, and even temporarily shut down the Kuskokwim River ice road.
April
In April, Cherie Biddle traveled to Cama-i from Anchorage to dance, but the Yup'ik and Sami woman also shared her story about the Indigenous people of northern Scandinavia and the reindeer herds that brought that side of her family to the region more than a century ago.
Bethel’s former city manager, Peter Williams, announced his retirement due to health reasons.
At the Arctic Encounter Symposium held in Anchorage, three Alaska Native women from the Y-K Delta delivered a powerful story about the impacts of climate change and village relocation to hundreds of international dignitaries and federal officials in attendance.
Tuluksak’s water woes did not stop students from competing at the Native Youth Olympics invitational meet in Bethel.
Four contestants competed for the 2023 Miss Cama-i pageant, which involved writing essays, being interviewed by a panel of judges, and having a photoshoot in regalia. In the end, Cheyanne Chikigak from Anchorage and Alarneq was crowned Miss Cama-i.
Three federally recognized tribal governments filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Donlin Gold mine.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski wrapped up her state tour in Bethel. She traveled on the ice road, met with the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP), Orutsaramiut Native Council (ONC), the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC), the Regional Advisory Council, and Bethel Regional High School (BRHS) to better understand funding issues and other problems unique to the region.
Bethel Friends of Canines won a “Taking Care of Business” award from the national Humane Society. The award recognizes organizations that go above and beyond to help people keep their pets.
Bethel City Council approved $100,000 of the city’s funds to try a binding material called EK35 to replace the calcium chloride which washes away during road repair. It would arrive on the first barge.
Bethel parents met at the high school cafeteria to talk about the rise in teen vaping.
Local emergency responders took a ride in Bethel’s Black Hawk with a few pilots from the National Guard to familiarize them with the aircraft in the hopes of speeding up future search and rescue response.
May
May brought the anticipation of breakup to the region with the appearance of the Kuskokwim Ice Classic tripod on the Kuskokwim River. The City of Bethel, one of many communities in the Y-K Delta with incredibly high utility costs, formally expressed concern about the way the federal and state governments decide which rural communities receive water and sewer funds.
Ayaprun Elitnaurvik students learned to process winter pike, part of a broader program of cultural education at the school.
Lower Kuskokwim School District students spoke about the connections they made at the district’s annual yuraq festival in Kasigluk, and Bethel residents donned red sweatshirts and coats to recognize Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples’ Awareness Day with a march through town.
KYUK’s AM tower came crashing down as part of upgrades to the station’s broadcast capabilities.
By mid-month, breakup was underway and communities along the Kuskokwim were grappling with devastating ice jam floods. Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a disaster declaration because of the floods. In Bethel, the ice tripod fell on May 18.
First lady Jill Biden made a visit to Bethel with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, in part to tout federally-funded telecommunications projects in the region.
Bethel Regional High School graduated 48 students in its Class of 2023. Tundra Youth Home opened its doors late in the month, becoming the first youth-specific housing program in the Y-K Delta.
Scientists found what they believed to be the Y-K Delta’s first case of avian flu death, but testing showed that the cackling goose in question didn’t die of the disease.
And Bethel’s public library received a national recognition of excellence, the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, after a nomination from Sen. Murkowski.
June
A muralist painted even more scenes in Napaskiak's Zacharias John Williams Memorial School. Moose, mushing, and over 60 of the village’s Elders fill the walls of the most colorful school in the district.
Smelts returned to Bethel in June. Up and down the river, villages went to Facebook to announce when their run came, and they came aplenty. Just about everyone and their uncle were out filling buckets with fish. People went back to Facebook to offer them for free; others went door to door, giving them away.
In Hooper Bay, residents weighed in on chinook salmon fishing closures in a meeting with state officials. The frustration was palpable.
Fiddlehead ferns bloomed and foraging began. The library hosted a walk in the wooded stretch along BIA Road to find them.
Bethel's nursing program got a boost from a grant awarded to Alaska Pacific University to diversify the state’s nurses and educate a homegrown workforce. Meanwhile, a ransomware attack breached the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation’s data security.
A severed subsea fiber optic cable broke the internet and Bethel's courthouse had to temporarily go back to analog methods. The owner of the line, Quintillion, received an $88.8 million grant to create a network less vulnerable to single points of failure.
The City of Bethel joined a lawsuit opposing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fishery guidelines, which hoped to change catch limits for the trawling industry. Bethel City Council had its own internal struggles. Mayor Rose "Sugar" Henderson said that one council member had contacted an audit firm, which she said was the job of the city manager and finance director. However, the city manager position remained unfilled, and the finance director announced his resignation.
Aniak residents saw their electricity prices quadruple. Residents saw power bills as high as $4,000, which was more than four times normal prices.
Former Bethel resident and mother of seven Kimberly O’Domin went missing. Her glasses were found hidden in a boat docked on land near her home.
July
A rainy Fourth of July came and went for Bethel, but with fishing season in full swing, everyone’s attention was on the salmon swimming up the Kuskokwim River. Salmon harvest was once again severely restricted, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service extending protections to silver salmon for the first time.
Emotions ran high, but there was plenty of rich discussion to be had in weekly meetings between tribal stakeholders and fisheries managers, as well as on KYUK’s weekly call-in show "Fish Talk."
As for summer fun in July, Bethel hosted its first car show, unique for being completely off the road system. It featured rare vehicles like Jimmy Guinn’s giant sun-yellow truck from 1942, which took first place.
August
At the beginning of August, scientists in Fairbanks embarked on a three-week expedition down the Yukon River to hunt for dinosaur fossils.
The Valcarce Law Offices burned down, making it the third structure fire of the summer.
The trial of former Akiachak school teacher Mark Hammonds began. He was accused of sexually abusing several students at his home during sleepovers. It took a 14-person jury to find Hammonds guilty of 14 felony counts of sexual abuse and assault on a minor, and of one misdemeanor count that occurred while in custody. Sentencing is scheduled for January 2024; Hammonds faces a sentencing range from 40 years and 5 days to 595 years.
There were only three functioning washing machines in Bethel’s public laundromat that month, due to water pressure fluctuations and filters that got dirty quickly.
The state announced eight separate commercial fishing openers in mid-August. The one individual registered as a catcher/seller on the Kuskokwim was Fran Reich. He’s been a commercial fisherman on the Kuskokwim River for nearly 50 years.
Four people were injured during an alcohol-related car crash, prompting the public to demand more DUI checkpoints and traffic enforcement.
In August, KYUK was awarded a grant from Grist and the Center for Rural Strategiesto report on rural Alaska communities still recovering from Typhoon Merbok.
Towards the end of the month, FEMA announced federal disaster assistance for residents affected by the ice jam and snowmelt flooding that occurred between May 12 and June 3. The deadline has since passed.
A Quinhagak museum hosted an event showcasing the world’s largest collection of Yup’ik artifacts, and it celebrated its fifth anniversary.
And finally, after burying Kimberly Fitka O’Domin’s body on Aug. 12, friends and family members demanded answers from the state from the initial request for help, to the search efforts, investigation, and the state medical examiner’s conduct. The family still does not have an autopsy report as of this end-of-year report.
September
Early September brought a bumper crop of salmonberries to the Y-K Delta, while the Toksook Bay Blackberry Festival, light on berry picking because of bad weather, brought people out for dancing and other late-summer celebrating.
Bethel’s Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola Jr. died in a tragic plane crash on Sept. 13. Hundreds of people came to his memorial service at Bethel Regional High School, sharing stories of his humor, resilience, and commitment to family.
Multiple school districts in the Y-K Delta, including the Lower Kuskokwim, Yupiit, and Kuspuk School Districts, received emailed bomb threats. None of the threats were substantiated. Kindergarten through third-grade students in the districts took Alaska Reads Act testing for the first time, laying the groundwork for the state’s plan to increase literacy throughout Alaska.
Federal disaster management teams visited communities up and down the Kuskokwim to provide resources and help with relief applications in the wake of ice jam flooding.
Bethel Police received a new K9 officer, Zeus, and handler, Sgt. William Charles. Zeus is a dual threat, trained in narcotics detection and tracking.
On the Yukon River, federal fisheries managers highlighted resilience even as salmon runs crashed.
October
Runners from around the region sprinted their way to Bethel for the regional cross-country championships at the Bethel Sandpit in early October.
Local election day was Oct. 3, and Bethelites turned out to cast their votes for city council and school board candidates. Mark Springer was sworn in as mayor, and Sophie Swope as vice-mayor for Bethel.
Two separate boating fatalities kept Alaska State Troopers and Bethel Search and Rescue hard at work.
As Ravn Air announced that it would cease service to Aniak, Ryan Air announced that it would fly two new flights to the community. Bethel Regional High School’s Upward Bound club took flight with a drone festival. Younger kids in Mountain Village flew, in their minds, as superheroes at the community’s "Under 5" fair.
Flu season hit the Y-K Delta hard, with the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation reporting higher numbers of children being hospitalized because of the flu and other respiratory illnesses.
As temperatures dropped toward freeze-up, the fuel barge visited villages in the Y-K Delta for the final time until spring.
Dozens of resolutions passed smoothly at the annual Alaska Federation of Natives conference.
October wrapped up with the first "Terrifying Tales on the Tundra" storytelling event and some spooky stories from inside the KYUK studios.
Also in October, KYUK landed a grant from the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism to do a deep dive into the country's first climate change-driven relocation project in Newtok, and how it's coming together as the last residents of Newtok finally find homes in the new village site, Mertarvik.
November
The Kuskokwim River is especially dangerous when it is partially frozen, and this was how November started for Bethel. When the ice finally did begin to solidify, a couple of barges headed for Nunapitchuk had to be left behind when the Johnson River froze solid. Another vessel spilled 203 gallons of diesel fuel into the Kuskokwim River near Bethel just as the river was beginning to freeze up.
Even though the salmon fishing season was long wrapped up, communities from across the region showed up in Bethel for a rare U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs field hearing examining the impacts of the salmon crisis.
Ayaprun Elitnaurvik Principal Joshua Gill was honored as one of 37 nationally distinguished principals.
Operation Santa Claus checked off its 68th year flying Christmas miracles to children in villages on the Y-K Delta, but this year Santa himself ended up cutting his visit to Tuluksak short to assist with a successful rescue effort downriver in Napaskiak.
Finally, in the second half of November, it started to get cold in Bethel and the Kuskokwim River ice began to thicken. Bethel Search and Rescue flew their first aerial survey of the season, locating and marking one of the greatest hazards for those traveling between communities along the river: open water.
December
We fiddle-danced our way into December. Bethel Search and Rescue held its annual fundraiser, which helped the organization raise around $16,000. That amount included a $12,000 donation from Donlin Gold.
Keeping with the theme of public safety, Bethel Fire Department received their new fire tower and conducted a training event for its firefighters so that they would know how it works and how to train other firefighters.
Two steps forward, one step back. Bethel Police Chief Leonard Hicks submitted his resignation letter to the city, effective Jan. 1, 2024.
At the Lower Kuskokwim School District, Superintendent Kimberly Hankins announced her retirement and the school board began the process of searching for her replacement.
Newtok’s Post Office moved 9 miles upriver to Mertarvik due to permafrost melting.
Michael Isaac’s body was identified by his father while the police investigation continued. The autopsy results were not ready by the end of the year.
Mushing season returned with the Delta Championship Series Season Opener, and Raymond Alexie won it for the second time. He also won the Holiday Classic the next week.
Quinhagak’s power went out for five days in frigid temperatures, prompting a disaster declaration from the governor. In Bethel, the cold-weather shelter saw higher numbers of guests than ever before.
Later in the month, Quinhagak welcomed home its first state wrestling champion. One Bethel wrestler also came home with a state title.
The Orthodox Church announced that St. Olga of Kwethluk will become the first female Orthodox saint in North America, and the first-ever Yup’ik saint.
The year-end holidays brought extreme cold temperatures back to the region. In Bethel, some Vitus Energy customers had their heating fuel gel up, which caused Toyostoves and boilers to shut off. The company said that this was due to a shipment of poor-performing fuel. Investigation into the causes and extent of impact carried through the new year.
It’s been a full year of news for the Y-K Delta. Together, the KYUK news team produced over 400 articles. Quyana cakneq for tuning in to 640AM and for reading KYUK’s reporting. We’ll catch you next year!
