Akiachak, AK

Bethel police are investigating a recent death in town as a homicide and have a suspect in custody. On June 29, police received a report of a possible homicide in the 900 block of 6th Avenue. Police and fire medics responded to the scene and found Paul Bosco John, age 33, dead from a traumatic injury, according to a police press release.

The City of Bethel’s Fourth of July celebration is fully returning on July 4 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual parade through town will be followed by festivities in Pinky’s Park. Though the parade returned last year, the park vendors have not gathered since 2019.

A project to build housing in Bethel for people experiencing homelessness has raised enough money to begin negotiating with contractors. The step came after the Rasmuson Foundation announced a $500,000 grant to the project on June 30. Bethel Community Services Foundation is fundraising to build a 20-unit apartment complex. The...

More than 7,500 ballots were rejected in the special primary election to fill the remainder of the late Congressman Don Young’s term, according to the final vote tally. That’s a statewide rejection rate of 4.55%, double the rejection rate from the 2020 primary. The final ballot rejection rate in rural Alaska communities was even higher, with about 1 in 8 ballots not being counted. The primary was Alaska’s first statewide by-mail election.

During their June 28 meeting, the Bethel City council tabled a vote on taxing commercial flights. The move to postpone came after an attorney for Renfro’s Alaskan Adventures, Inc., a local tour company, called into the meeting to object to the city sales tax on flights. The attorney said that the local ordinance would violate a state law. Council members said that they would take up the vote again once the city attorney had a chance to look at it.

Anchorage, AK – In Nome, when the local shelter is closed during warmer months, people experiencing homelessness roam the streets, looking for a spot to sleep along the seawall, in abandoned vehicles, or around the small boat harbor. In Bethel, it’s been a similar story. Now, new housing...

More than 7,500 ballots were rejected in the special primary election to fill the remainder of the late Congressman Don Young’s term, according to the final vote tally. That’s a statewide rejection rate of 4.55%, double the rejection rate from the 2020 primary. The final ballot rejection rate in rural Alaska communities was even higher, with about 1 in 8 ballots not being counted. The primary was Alaska’s first statewide by-mail election.

On the agenda is a ballot proposition that will appear on municipal ballots this October. The ballot measure will determine whether the City of Bethel has the authority to issue mask mandates. Voting "yes" on the ballot means you think that the city should not be able to issue the mandates. Voting "no" means you think that it should have the authority. More than 117 residents signed a petition requesting that the proposition appear on the ballot.

The free fish bin has returned to Bethel. You can pick up free salmon from the green bin, which is located between the Brown’s Slough bridge and Corina’s Case Lot Groceries. The salmon come from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Bethel Test Fishery. The fishery harvests...

Bethel, Alaska (KINY) - An Alaskan man has been sentenced to more than a century behind bars for murder and attempted sexual assault. On Thursday, June 23, Bethel Superior Court Judge Nathaniel Peters sentenced Samuel Atchak to 115 years for the murder and attempted sexual assault of a 19-year-old Chevak woman.

Beginning next week, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC) expects to begin offering COVID-19 vaccinations to children ages 6-months to 5-years-old. In a statement, the health corporation said that it has ordered the vaccinations for this age group and expects to begin administering them on July 6, if the doses arrive as scheduled.

Orutsararmiut Native Council and the Native Village of Eek, Sovereign Tribal Governments from the Kuskokwim Region of Alaska, Challenge State’s Decision to Grant 12 Permanent Water Rights to World’s Largest Open Pit Gold Mine Project. While news about a proposed EPA action to protect Bristol Bay from the...

Last week we featured the Yukon/Kuskokwim adventure canoers 22 year old Thomas Dyment and 23 year old Luke Wenger from Bethel who paddled all the way from Fairbanks to Bethel via the Paimute Yukon/Kuskokwim Portage from May 13th to June 9th, 2022. We were able to meet up with them to ask a few questions about their trip.

My next article is a continuation of what I brought up not too long ago. A lifelong friend of mine and I openly discussed the homeless situation in Bethel because he has had a brush with the homeless on his property. The community of Bethel became a caterer to people who had no place to stay and were not Bethel residents, but people from various villages in the Y-K Delta.

Steven Pitka, 27 3rd Degree Assault 6 Mos., 2 Yrs. Prob. Jennifer M.L. Gusty, 32 Violate Condition of Release, 5th Degree Criminal Mischief 30 Days $150, 1 Yr. Prob. Daniel Kelila, 47 3rd Degree Assault 2 Yrs., 5 Yrs. Prob. Shondell M.R. Merculief, 21 4th Degree Assault, Unlawful Contact Per...

• Between 05/01/2022 and 05/27/2022, the Bethel Fire Department responded to 73 EMS and 11 Fire incidents. • On 05/03/2022 at 4:31 a.m., Firefighters responded to Ptarmigan Road for the report of a vehicle fire. Upon arrival, Firefighters observed an SUV that was fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters deployed hose lines and extinguished the fire. The cause of the fire was unintentional.

Two Bethel men made an epic journey from Fairbanks to Bethel on a single canoe, traveling approximately 850 miles while paddling their way down the Tanana, Yukon, and Kuskokwim Rivers. Thomas Dyment and Luke Wenger have been friends for years, working together as EMTs at the Bethel Fire Department. Their...