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Hey everyone -- I'm leaving KYUK. My position is open although it looks different. Heading back to Alabama to be with my family & look for opportunities in the South. Once a new person is hired, I'll be available for freelancing (editing, reporting, etc). https://www.kyuk.org/careers-and-opportunities?fbclid=IwAR1Moyy_6fEWorYIlL4Ai2TkJaBBDkSy6SZRVb9ReR35vwG3va5n1gok960
Thread/ I've loved the two years I've spent here and have reported deeply on what could be Alaska's biggest gold mine -- and no, it's NOT Pebble. (y'all, there's more than one mine in Alaska). I've reported the costs of climate change.
My first big step-back piece on what it will take to build the #DonlinGold mine: https://www.ktoo.org/2018/10/09/the-donlin-gold-mine-needs-to-move-a-mountain-how-close-is-it-to-making-that-happen/#:~:text=But%20Donlin's%20proposal%20would%20turn,wide%20and%20two%20miles%20long.
The mine is just ten miles, up over the mountains, from the small (and goregous) village of Crooked Creek. Here's my story from there: how two men are see the mine's benefits -- and costs: https://www.kyuk.org/post/crooked-creek-closest-village-donlin-mine-and-town-conflicted-about-it
I've reported on the economic benefits of the Donlin Mine: https://www.kyuk.org/post/donlin-promises-economic-development-if-mine-goes-through
And Donlin Gold's investment into the school districts: https://www.kyuk.org/post/donlin-gold-looks-schools-workforce-development-future-employees
On my biggest reporting trip last year, I visited TWO villages in a week to report on #DonlinGold & legacy mercury mining contamination. This piece about the church in Chuathbulak won second for best biz reporting in radio at AK Press Club: https://www.alaskapublic.org/2019/08/23/at-the-moment-donlin-gold-isnt-building-a-mine-but-it-is-building-a-church/
And this three-part series about Red Devil drove home the complicated relationship Alaskans have with natural resource development in rural Alaska. Also fell madly in love with Red Devil and the people there. https://www.alaskapublic.org/tag/red-devil-series/
I also captured the regions FIRST public protest against he proposed Donlin Gold mine: https://www.kyuk.org/post/onc-marches-against-donlin-gold
And I was in the room at the Association of Village Council Presidents' annual conference when tribal delegates turned AGAINST the mine and rescinded a older resolution supporting it. A HUGE political turning point: https://www.kyuk.org/post/donlin-opponents-score-major-victory-avcp-resolution-vote
And now for climate change: I conceived and roped in two other people for this big multimedia project that examined how climate change shaped the way we live in Bethel. It took first place at Alaska's Press Club for best multimedia: https://www.kyuk.org/post/watch-can-bethel-afford-costs-climate-change
And then my first piece for @npratc was extremely tragic. I wrestled with this story and my sources did too. We talked about the guilt we felt about telling this story, but how necessary it was to tell ppl that climate change is literally killing ppl. https://www.npr.org/2019/04/11/712409233/alaskas-ice-roads-are-melting-early-this-year-with-devastating-consequences
Also my story for @hereandnow, with the lovely @sugpiaqatlaw talking about Ravn's bankruptcy (Christina is someone to watch to do great things). https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/05/11/rural-airline-bankruptcy-alaska
Of course I reported on another village looking at relocating: Quinhagak (I pitched the story to see their stunning artifacts). https://www.alaskapublic.org/2019/06/17/for-quinhagak-climate-change-means-they-may-have-to-move/
