The Nome Nugget

NEST DEFENSE— A defensive semipalmated plover parent spreads its wings before luring me away with a broken-wing display. The parents respond to human intruders by crouching and running or feigning injury. Note the partial webbing at the base of the plover’s toes, for which the semipalmated plover is named.

Birder’s Notebook: Semipalmated Plover––the shorebird in a tuxedo

Semipalmated plovers are plump little shorebirds sporting a black-and-white face mask and a distinctive black band across the white chest––eye catching, one would think.

The Nome Common Council in session, on August 12. While HVAC installation is done at City Hall, the Richard Foster building serves as temporary council chambers.

City looking to hire a public relations firm

With only a few weeks left at the job, outgoing City Manager Glenn Steckman presented a host of requests for proposals to the Nome Common Council last Monday of things to be done prior to his departure: RFP’s for renovation and wiring projects for

Dr. Amy Phillips-Chan, former director of the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum and editor of the book, returned to Nome to host the event for a group of a couple dozen Nomeites.

Stronger Together: Reflecting on the pandemic through literature

Stronger Together, a book that catalogues Nome’s COVID pandemic experience was celebrated by the community that created it last week at the Richard Foster Building.

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE – A greater white-fronted goose takes off after a stopover at Safety Sound during spring migration. This goose species is named for the band of white feathers around its pinkish orange bill. They often call in flight with a high-pitched laugh that inspired an old name – laughing goose. A very similar, but smaller species, the lesser white-fronted goose, lives in northern Asia and Europe.

Greater white-fronted goose––a goose with family bonds that can last a lifetime

On a recent float trip down the Kougarok River, families of greater white-fronted geese hustled from the water’s edge, across gravel bars to disappear into the tundra as our kayaks approached.

OUTREACH— Greg Pollock, Principal Director for Arctic and Global Resilience, Office of the Secretary of Defense, center, met with Alaska Native leaders during a roundtable discussion on Aug. 1, 2024, in Nome

Dept. of Defense sends envoy to Nome to roll out Arctic Strategy

The U.S. Department of Defense sent a high-ranking official, Greg Pollock, Principal Director of the Arctic and Global Resilience Policy Office, to Nome last week.

DEVASTATING–A fire burned the Turner home to the ground in Shishmaref, on July 30.

Fire in Shishmaref destroys family home

A family home in Shishmaref burned to the ground in a fire last week, July 30.

Mary Peltola shows commanding lead in ranked choice primary official results

With official primary election results made public, there were few surprises left as Mary Peltola emerged as the leading candidate for Alaska’s lone U.S. House of Representatives seat. Alaska is practicing ranked choice voting in open primaries, a...

Moose hunting closed for 22C and 22D

Hunters in Game Unit 22C made quick business of moose hunting and had harvested a record number of 40 moose in just two days. Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game’s Nome office reported that GMU 22C closed the registration resident and nonresident moose...

TUB AND ROLL–The Running Club team makes their way down Front Street. In front: Elizabeth Phan, Douggie Coulter; Martin Bickford Paige Savok and Liliana Bickford pushing and Caleb and Ellen Stewart in the back.

When a cruise ship docks on Labor Day, Nome shows it’s best face

Nomeites were joined by a few extra spectators for the Labor Day festivities as the cruise ship visitors on the Hurtigruten ship Nansen, docked at the port of Nome, caught a look into the whimsy of Nome’s traditions. At high noon three bathtubs on...

Council holds off on authorizing hire of interim city manager

The Nome Common Council wanted to see a negotiated employment agreement before voting on a resolution to install former retired city attorney Brooks Chandler as the interim city manager. Outgoing City Manager Glenn Steckman is set to depart Nome on...