Brian Venua

Kodiak’s commercial salmon season started on June 9 at noon. That’s according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s first announcement for the area this year. Duck Bay, Izhut Bay, and both the inner and outer Kitoi Bay areas will open until further notice, including the Foul Bay special harvest area.

The end of the school year usually means the start of fun summer adventures. But in Kodiak, it’s bittersweet. North Star Elementary is closing, and much of the town elementary school staff are getting shuffled around as the two remaining buildings separate into upper and lower elementary schools.

Corey Potter was sentenced to a year in jail and two years of probation after he plead guilty to two counts of violating the Lacey Act for shipping Tanners with Bitter Crab Syndrome.

This week we hear about the Alutiiq Museum reopened, Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center has a few openings, there's a new fishermen crew training course, half of Kodiak's rural school seniors were in Ouzinkie, the Kodiak Island Borough upped how much it funds education, and we look at bills Kodiak's state legislators worked on.

The Kodiak Island Borough will increase how much it will fund its school district by more than half a million dollars. That’s after a unanimous vote by its Assembly on May 29th. But the district still needs money from the state for its budget plan to work.

The museum reopened on May 22 after being closed for a construction project to nearly double its exhibit space and display hundreds more objects and artifacts. It’s now open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

This week we have a special edition of the show. KMXT presents: Mabuhay sa Alaska, a five part feature series exploring Alaska schools recruiting teachers from the Philippines.We look at what recruiting is like, meet teachers looking to come here, learn how some already in Kodiak are navigating their new lives, learn some history about Filipino immigration, and question if hiring teachers from the Philippines leads to a brain drain.

Alaska school districts hiring from the Philippines are taking some of the country’s best and brightest teachers. It’s a win for Alaska kids, but what does that mean for students back in Southeast Asia? KMXT’s Brian Venua explores brain drain and brain gain in Part 5 of his series, Mabuhay sa Alaska.

Alaska school districts are hiring teachers from the Philippines, but it’s not the first time employers in the state have looked to the island nation to address a labor shortage. In part 4 of Mabuhay sa Alaska, KMXT’s Brian Venua reports that this is just the latest wave in more than a century of ebb and flow.

Moving to rural Alaska takes a lot of adjustment — especially when you’re coming from a city with a population of 13 million. In Part 3 of Mabuhay sa Alaska, KMXT’s Brian Venua reports on how teachers who have made the move from the Philippines are navigating their new lives in Alaska.