Lauren Rosenthal/KUCB

Laying out neighborhoods isn’t the world’s most glamorous job. But every October, urban planners make an extra effort to get people interested in that work for National Community Planning Month.

In Unalaska, that meant helping some of the town’s youngest residents design a world all their own. KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal was invited to take a tour and brought back this report.

(Jennifer Canfield/KTOO)

Before the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention wrapped up in Anchorage last week, a handful of attendees made history. They watched as Governor Sean Parnell signed legislation making Alaska Native dialects -- like Unangam Tunuu -- official languages in the state. 

KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal heard from two speakers of the Aleutian-Pribilof language who were there to witness the event.

Courtesy of Greenpeace

Shell Oil might be known for selling fuel, but their logo isn’t limited to gas stations.

They’ve also appeared on Lego toy sets for the last 50 years under a unique marketing agreement.

Now, that’s breaking down under pressure from environmentalists. 

The airport long-term parking lot is littered with debris after a windstorm. (Courtesy: FAA)

Unalaska’s historic preservation commission met for the first time in six years to weigh in on a landmark in disrepair.

On Thursday, the commission -- now made up of planning board members and city staff -- voted in favor of a plan to demolish the torpedo storage facility near the airport.

Technically, it’s part of the National Historic Landmark at Fort Mears. But as the World War II-era building sheds debris, it's also gotten a reputation as a public hazard.

Courtesy of APIA

Food has been a crucial part of the Unangan culture for centuries.

But in the Aleutian and Pribilof islands, people are relying less on the land and sea and more on their local store.

KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal reports on a new effort to promote subsistence living -- in print.

The winning team (clockwise from bottom R): Sean Perry, Roger Bacon, Dawson Bacon, and Justin Perry. (Jeri Rosenthal/KUCB)

A heavy mist fell on Unalaska’s 4th of July festivities this weekend, but the weather was fine for fishing. As KUCB's Lauren Rosenthal reports, a group of anglers spent this holiday searching for a monster halibut -- and a big payoff. 

Derbies are an old tradition in Unalaska, dating back to the days when you could catch a record-breaking halibut right outside town.

The campsite at Korovin Beach on Atka. (Lauren Rosenthal/KUCB)

A pop-up subsistence school has opened in the Western Aleutians. As KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal reports, Atka’s second-annual culture camp is meant to keep Unangan traditions going strong.

Earlier this spring, Danny Snigaroff visited the campsite where he’d be teaching younger folks how to fish and hunt.

"At culture camp, we don’t eat no hot dogs -- no beef hamburgers, nothing [like that]," Snigaroff said. "It’s all Native food."

Snigaroff and other Unangan elders grew up on sea lions, birds, and seal.

Unalaska’s Independence Day celebration will kick off bright and early tomorrow morning with the return of an old tradition.

"The halibut derby is basically just a competition to see which boat can catch the heaviest halibut," says organizer Nick Cron. He’ll be at the Carl E. Moses harbor at 6 a.m. tomorrow to register fishermen.

Unalaska anglers haven't squared off in a halibut derby for years. It's back as a city-organized event, with support from the old hosts -- Pacific Stevedoring.

A new memorial plaque was placed on Killisnoo Island. / Credit: Lisa Phu

More than 70 years have passed since the U.S. government forced the people of Atka from their homes to an internment camp on Killisnoo Island in Southeast Alaska. Sending the Atkans to the old whaling and herring village -- 1,600 miles from their island in the Aleutians -- was supposed to protect them from Japanese invasion during World War II.

Their experiences have not been forgotten. As KTOO's Lisa Phu reports, group of Southeast Alaskans traveled to Killisnoo last weekend to memorialize the Aleut people of Atka.