About

KAKN welcomes Bob and Margaret Lee as the new, permanent, station managers. Bob & Margaret have four grown children. They formerly served as missionaries in Bangladesh with World Mission Prayer League. Bob will be graduating from seminary in May and he and Margaret will arrive in Naknek in June.

We also welcome back Jeremy and Lacey Crowell, former KAKN interns. When Jeremy graduates from seminary in May, they will come to be a part of the ministry here in Naknek beginning in August. Jeremy is a pilot and certified flight instructor. Lacey will be helping the Lee’s with the work of KAKN.

About our service area

KAKN Radio - Bay Broadcasting serves the Southwest Alaska communities of Naknek, King Salmon, Dillingham, Egegik, and Manokotak with Christian programming. These communities depend mainly on the yearly salmon run for their livelihood. The population of Naknek swells from 600+ to over 4,000 during the six weeks or so that sockeye salmon make their yearly spawning run up the Naknek river. Other Bristol Bay communities experience similar changes.

The high price of fuel for fishing boats, for air transportation, and for heating creates a greater hardship here than in the lower 48. Experts feel that some families in the interior will spend as much as 40% of their income on heating oil this year. Profits from fishing have been cut severely by fuel costs and even a good salmon run will not prevent some from leaving the fishing industry.

Naknek, where our office and transmitter are located, is the seat for Bristol Bay Borough. Students from Naknek, King Salmon, and South Naknek attend the Bristol Bay Borough school, those from South Naknek have to fly across the river daily to attend school. KAKN broadcasts the school’s basketball games during the winter months.