The Nome Nugget

DELIVERING THE SERUM— Gunnar Kaasen reenacted his arrival in Nome for a photographer to capture his dog team, with Balto in lead. Kaasen delivered the serum in the early morning hours of Feb. 2, 1925.

One hundred years ago, dogs came to the rescue of Nome

“With the arrival of Gunnar Kaasen on Monday morning with the package containing 300,000 units of diphtheria antitoxin a great strain was lifted from the minds of many of the population of Nome,” reads the Feb. 7, 1925 edition of The Nome Nugget.

SNOW DUMP— City crews don’t have to move much snow these days, as evidenced by the empty, icy snow dump facility off Greg Kruschek Ave.

No white Christmas for Nome and the region

It’s the turn of the New Year and there’s barely any snow on the ground. Nome did not get a white Christmas this year. The tundra is brown instead of slumbering under a blanket of white snow.

ELL DONE— Wyatt Ahmasuk is the 2024 ASAA/First National Bank state champion in the 189 lbs division.

Wyatt Ahmasuk wins at state wrestling championships

When Wyatt Ahmasuk was in elementary school, he watched his brother Oliver Hoogendorn wrestle for a championship win at states. His brother came second that year, but Ahmasuk was enthralled. He wanted to be as cool as his older brother.

BREEDING PAIR— A pair of rock ptarmigan pose in their rocky, alpine tundra habitat in early May during courtship. The male is in white courtship plumage, displaying his prominent red eye-combs. He keeps this plumage until his mate begins incubation and is no longer fertile. The female has already started transitioning into her summer camouflage. By the end of May she is brown, and able to sit unseen on her nest in the tundra.

Rock Ptarmigan ––A hardy grouse of the uplands

For the last two years, ptarmigan have been plentiful on the Seward Peninsula.

GOODBYE— Interim City Manager Brooks Chandler leaves Nome on December 16, after his three-month tenure.

Interim city manager Brooks Chandler reflects on his time in Nome

Three months has come and gone, and Interim City Manager Brooks Chandler is packing his bags to leave Nome, he hopes better than he found it.

CALL TO ORDER—Cole Cushman sits in front of a Lions International branded bell.

Bering Sea Lions Club serving Nome since the 1960s

On a Thursday evening last week, a dozen people in bright yellow vests filed into the Fire Hall building on Bering Street.

Nome suffers through another Quintillion fiber optic cable break, causing prolonged internet outage

On Saturday morning, the Quintillion subsea fiberoptic cable broke, leaving Nome and many other western and northwestern Alaska communities without internet. This is the second major network outage due to a subsea cable cut in two years. In June...

SAYING GOODBYE— Principal of Nome Elementary School Nick Settle announced his resignation at the last week’s school board meeting.

Nome Public Schools mull teacher cuts in first draft of 2026 budget

Nome Public Schools presented the first budget draft for the fiscal year 2026 to the Nome Board of Education, with a total operating cost of $16.8 million, which accounts for the “worst case scenario,” according to Superintendent Jamie Burgess. With...

One hundred years ago, dogs came to the rescue of Nome

SERUM RUN— Leonard Seppala’s lead dog Togo lead Seppala’s team over 82 miles in the Great Race of Mercy to deliver diphtheria antitoxin to Nome in 1925.

Nome celebrates centennial anniversary of 1925 Serum Run

Eighteen events and eight talks are scheduled to take place during the next week’s anniversary celebration to honor the mushers, dogs, medical personnel, and decision-makers involved in the heroic efforts to save lives in 1925, when a relay of dog...

CITY PLANNER— Erin Reinders presented an update on the new downtown zoning ordinance in a work session before the Nome Common Council meeting. A public meeting that was supposed to take place last month was canceled due to lack of quorum of the Planning Commission. The meeting is rescheduled to take place at a later date.

City of Nome to hire PR firm to improve communications with public

In its first meeting this year, the Nome Common Council breezed through an varied agenda, full of issues to be tackled in the year ahead. While the City is still looking for a permanent City Manager —City Clerk Dan Grimmer is still filling the role...

POLAR BROTHERS–Pat and Bill Krier stand outside the Polar Building on a smoke break, January 10. The Brothers recently sold Polar Enterprises after 25 years of their family’s ownership but will be sticking around for a few months to execute a smooth transition.

Polar Enterprises see change of ownership

It’s a new year, and, for Polar Enterprises, a new era. Though everything may have appeared business as usual to regulars, Sunday, January 5 marked the transfer of ownership to Mymy and Larry St. Clair from brothers Patrick “Pat” and William “Bill”...