KYUK partners fully fund replacement of AM Tower

by Bethel Broadcasting Staff

KYUK now has the funds it needs to replace its sinking AM radio tower and antenna.

The final funding piece was recently awarded by the Alaska Community Foundation through the American Rescue Plan Act Nonprofit Recovery Fund grant program.

“It’s a huge relief and a major accomplishment for KYUK and our audience,” said KYUK General Manager Shane Iverson. “It was actually a double bonus because it triggered another, huge award from the Rasmuson Foundation.”

In Nov. 2021, the Rasmuson Foundation awarded KYUK a Tier 2 grant, contingent upon the station securing the remaining funds needed for the project. The $475,000 award is the largest from Rasmuson to KYUK in the station’s history.

“Our partners came through in a huge way,” said Iverson. “And it all started with Wells Fargo.”

Wells Fargo Banking discovered the project through their local staff. When they learned that a single antenna could serve most of the Y-K Delta with free and universal information in English and Yup’ik, they made the project’s first donation in June 2021.

“That first award provided the momentum we needed to find a local partner,” said Iverson. “And the timing worked out well.”

The City of Bethel had recently received funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, meant to mitigate the harmful effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bethel City Council approved a $200,000 donation to the project with those funds. Mayor Mark Springer was a vocal advocate for the donation, which received unanimous support from the council.

“KYUK is and always has been critical infrastructure for the community of Bethel and the Yukon- Kuskokwim Delta,” said Springer. “The council agreed it was perfectly appropriate to contribute COVID-19 funds to the project in recognition that KYUK, and public radio, provides a literal lifeline of information to us all, free for the taking.”

KYUK will complete the purchasing of equipment and materials over the summer barge season, and erect the new tower in fall 2022.