Music Matters
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

7/31/14 KNBA News - Southeast health consortium to receive $53 million in overdue contract costs

As KTOO's Lisa Phu reports, the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium has signed an agreement to receive a $53 million settlement from the Indian Health Service for about 15 years of unpaid contract costs.

A large copper and gold mine to be located northeast of Ketchikan got the go-ahead from the British Columbia provincial government. British Columbia tribes worked with the province to develop permit requirements. However, the National Congress of American Indians, backing a coalition of southeast Alaska tribes, says Canadian laws and regulations have been weakened in recent years, and now allow activities that would not pass Alaskan standards. Seabridge Gold, of Toronto, still needs federal approval to develop the Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell prospect. The final comment period for the proposed KSM mine ends August 20.

Bethel public radio station KYUK has selected the tribes of Kongiganak and Goodnews Bay as partners for building low power FM stations that will repeat the KYUK signal. The station's will cost about $18,000 each, or $30,000 if the village wants to build a simple studio that would allow it to generate its own programming. KYUK's goal is to eventually build lower power stations in every Yukon-Kuskokwim delta village that does not get a reliable signal.