Sage Smiley
News DirectorSage Smiley is KYUK's news director. She’s worked with audio since she was a teenager at radio stations from Alaska to Amman and is passionate about sound-rich storytelling, rural radio and community-centered journalism. When not slinging a shotgun microphone around the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, she can likely be found in or around a body of water.
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Feds must consider larger potential Donlin spill, but federal judge doesn't throw out mine's permitsThe federal agencies issuing key permits and approvals for the Donlin Gold mine in Southwest Alaska need to reevaluate the potential for a large spill of mine waste, according to a federal judge’s decision on June 10 in an ongoing lawsuit. But the judge didn’t throw out the permits and approvals entirely. -
The award is for best News Series in the small-market radio category. It was awarded for the Modern Tradition series highlighting artists from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. -
The body of 65-year-old Albert Williams was located on Wednesday, May 28 on the east side of Nunivak Island around 20 miles from Mekoryuk, troopers say. The body of a second man who is missing, 72-year-old Samuel Shavings, has not been located. -
Two men are missing after a skiff sank off the coast of Mekoryuk on Monday, May 26, according to Alaska State Troopers. Troopers said 72-year-old Samuel Shavings and 65-year-old Albert Williams remain missing. A search is ongoing. -
The boaters seemed to have been stranded by shifting sea ice, according to a member of the crew. None of the four who were rescued required medical attention. -
An ongoing research project on the Yukon and Koyukuk rivers aims to give communities short-term information about erosion in their communities and track how permafrost thaw changes the way greenhouse gasses are released into the water and atmosphere. -
High-speed fiber-optic internet is live in Bethel. It’s part of a years-long tribal broadband project – a partnership between telecommunications provider GCI and Bethel Native Corporation. -
Bethel’s Kuskokwim Ice Classic tripod tripped the clock at 4:10 p.m. on May 5, 2025, marking breakup in Bethel. That’s three days earlier than breakup at Bethel last year. -
Ice in front of the upper-river community of Nikolai broke during the 8 a.m. hour on Tuesday (April 22), according to community reports and confirmed by the Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center. -
KYUK received 10 awards at the Alaska Press Club Conference Awards Ceremony in Anchorage on April 12 for journalism produced in 2024. The awards honor Alaska journalists working at newspapers, radio and television stations, and freelancing throughout the state.
