The Nome Nugget

NOME NORTHSTAR SWIMMERS— NNST swimmers competed last weekend at the Sweetheart Invite swim meet. Representing Nome were (back row) Coach Blake Bogart, Brandon Ford, Coach Lizzy Hahn, Coach Melissa Ford. Front row: Ari & Lexi Blandford, Jamie Erickson-Ford, Piper Lewis, Aliyah Hensley, Kourtney Bogart and Karmin Perkins.

Nome Northstar Swim Team lights up Fairbanks’ Hamme Pool

By Melissa Ford, NNST Head Coach

LIVING AMONGST MUSK OXEN— A huge herd of musk oxen grazes near the City Field airstrip, with Icy View in the background and the busy Nome-Teller highway to the left.

Community seeks solutions to musk ox management problems

By Diana Haecker

MVP — The Nanooks’ Jade Green, No. 13, blocks a shot in a game against the Kotzebue Huskies. He was named MVP of the Subway Showdown Tournament held in Nome last weekend.

Nanooks win Subway Showdown, Lady Nanooks place second

By Megan Gannon From Thursday to Saturday last week, the den of the Nanooks was packed with spectators cheering on the boys and girls high school basketball teams in the annual Subway Showdown.

JOB CENTER — Vickie Erickson and her successor Dan Fishel at Nome’s Job Center.

A new era for the Nome Job Center begins as Vickie Erickson retires

By Megan Gannon Vickie Erickson’s career at the Nome Job Center has been bookended by periods of great change.

Infrastructure law gives hope for villages without running water

By Hayden Godfrey and Audrey Hill

TESTIFYING— Mushers Garrick Fuller, Kamey Kapp Worland, Melissa Owens, Jeff Darling and Nils Hahn addressed the Northern Norton Sound Fish and Game Advisory Committee at their meeting on Monday, calling for solutions to thin the ever-growing musk oxen herds in and around Nome.

Advisory panel hears pleas to thin musk ox herds in Nome

By Diana Haecker

Port director to resign effective May

By Diana Haecker Port Director Joy Baker confirmed her intent to resign, saying last year that she was going to tell leadership at city hall the effective date of her resignation by the end of January. The effective date, she said last week in the...

Council sets state, federal priorities

By Diana Haecker The Nome Common Council discussed federal and state priorities at last Monday’s regular meeting and passed two resolutions to prioritize capital projects. On top of the state list was the wish to create state incentives for new...

Nome Northstar Swim Team lights up Fairbanks’ Hamme Pool

By Melissa Ford, NNST Head Coach The Nome Northstar Swim Team had a group of swimmers competing at the Hamme Pool in Fairbanks last weekend for the 2023 Sweetheart Invite. NNST placed fourth in points with only seven swimmers participating,...

Troopers identify polar bear mauling victims

By Diana Haecker The victims of last week’s polar bear attack in Wales were identified as 24-year-old St. Michael resident Summer Myomick and her one-year-old son Clyde Ongtowasruk. Alaska State Trooper spokesperson Austin McDaniel said that the...

RECYCLING AREA— Sorting and packaging of recyclables is taking place outdoors at this lot across from Kawerak, at Seppala Drive, limiting the amount of materials that can prepared for shipping out of the region. An enclosed recycling center could step up the region’s recycling effort and yield a better outcome.

Council hears of need for a Recycling Center

By Diana Haecker Kawerak Environmental Program Director Anahma Shannon made the case for a much-needed recycling center facility in Nome, presenting information from a feasibility study and several solutions to the Nome Common Council last week....

School board hears of Nome’s need for arts education

By Megan Gannon Last week educators and the Nome Public Schools Board of Education discussed ways to bring more arts into the classrooms. During the regular board meeting, Nome Elementary School Principal Elizabeth Korenek-Johnson said that a lot...

GOLD RUSH SWIM MEET— Brandon Ford plows through the Nome Pool during last weekend’s Gold Rush Swim Meet hosted by the Nome Northstar Swim Team.

NNST swimmers surge into qualifying times

By Melissa Ford, NNST Head Coach The Nome Northstar Swim Team hosted the 2023 Gold Rush Swim Meet last weekend. The Stingray Swim Team came from North Pole to participate and left with qualifying times also. The Nome pool was fast and furious this...

Polar bear kills woman and her child in Wales

By Diana Haecker A woman and a boy were killed by a polar bear in Wales, on Tuesday, January 17. Alaska State Troopers identified the mauling victims as 24-year-old Saint Michael resident Summer Myomick and her 1-year-old son Clyde Ongtowasruk....

RECYCLING— Council members and Kawerak’s Environmental Program Director Anahma Shannon, center, listen to ideas regarding recycling efforts from members in the audience, at last Monday’s work session at City Hall.

City easing tax payers into acceptance of new collection system

By Diana Haecker A lot has happened since last summer and an ordinance passed last July has slipped people’s mind, but is now being implemented, as the city’s administration is rolling out a new sales and bed tax collection system, moving the...