Evan Erickson
News DirectorEvan Erickson is KYUK's news director. He has previously worked as a copy editor, audio engineer and freelance journalist. He was born in Seattle and moved to Alaska in Grade 6. He received his undergraduate degree in Journalism at the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2014 and has been roaming the world hunting for compelling stories ever since.
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Alaska State Troopers said that 36-year-old Levi Beaver gave differing accounts of the events that led to 28-year-old Byron Waska being found dead in Beaver’s home on July 1. -
Alaska State Troopers say 32-year-old Joshua Cooper marketed and sold large amounts of alcohol out of his residence without a permit, and he was allegedly assisted by 28-year-old Austin Blair in also selling psychedelic mushrooms to customers in Bethel. -
The 45-year-old had been missing from Kwigillingok since the night of the ex-typhoon in October 2025. He was the son of 67-year-old Ella Mae Kashatok, whose body was found one day after the storm. Her brother, 71-year-old Vernon Pavil, is still missing. -
High energy costs are a fact of life in remote, rural Alaska with few easy answers. But siblings Vjosa and Drini Pellumbi — who recently won top honors for their boiler heat recovery system design — are committed to being part of the solution. -
Despite not being a licensed guide, 36-year-old Michael Beans used Facebook to advertise trophy hunts that took in nearly $60,000 in advance payments from dozens of out of state clients. The hunts were canceled before they started. -
Wilson says she’s a political outsider with a background in business who understands the needs of Alaskans in the way that her late, great uncle, former Gov. Wally Hickel, also did. Wilson spoke with KYUK ahead of her recent campaign stop in Bethel. -
Bethel Director of Public Safety Jeffrey Kirkham said two officers fired shots that ultimately killed 23-year-old Neil Japhet at a home on Schwalbe Street after Japhet allegedly brandished a shotgun. -
The tribe originally applied for the declaration in January, several months after an October 2025 storm destroyed an estimated 90% of homes and led to the mass evacuation of nearly all of the community’s roughly 1,000 residents. -
KYUK’s Evan Erickson spoke with Northern Journal reporter Nat Herz, who traveled to Hooper Bay as part of a broader look at what leaders describe as an unfolding crisis that threatens barge-dependent communities in Western Alaska. -
The increase would have been limited to disaster relief during the first 90 days after the storms. It would have covered the bulk of costs related to debris removal and emergency protective measures, costs that the state says reached $20 million in the first weeks after ex-typhoon Halong.
