Voice for Christ Radio

Village Name: Aniak

Translator Status: Voice for Chirst Ministries submitted an application to construct a translator station in Aniak in March of 2003. Final approval of that application was not granted by the Federal Communications Commission until November, 2013. The station was originally intended to be a satellite-fed repeater for the I-AM network's flagship station, KIAM. The arrival of high-speed internet service in the village made it technically possible to instead rebroadcast the programming of KYKD in Bethel, a station much more geographically and culturally related to Aniak than KIAM in Nenana, some 400 miles away in the central-interior of the state. In Febuary of 2014 special donations provided sufficient resources to purchase the required equipment and the Aniak Community Church agreed to host the station. Construction was completed on April 25th, 2014, when K232ER began broadcasting on 94.3 MHz.

Location: Aniak is located on the south bank of the Kuskokwim River at the head of Aniak Slough, 59 miles southeast of Russian Mission in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. It lies 92 air miles northeast of Bethel and 317 miles west of Anchorage. The approximate geographic location of the village is 61.58° north latitude and 159.52° west longitude.

The Google image below shows the village of Aniak, located downstream of the juncture where the Aniak River flows into the Kuskokwim River, just off the right edge of the image. The large light colored stream is the Kuskokwim River flowing west, to the left. The clearer and thus darker stream in the lower right on this image is Aniak Slough, an ancient channel of the Aniak River. Click on the image to open a link to a Google Maps web site for this village.

Climate: Climate is maritime in the summer and continental in winter. Temperatures range between -55 and 87 °F. Average yearly precipitation is 19 inches, and average yearly snowfall is 60 inches. The Kuskokwim is ice-free from mid-June through October.

History: Aniak is a Yup'ik word meaning "the place where it comes out," which refers to the mouth of the Aniak River. This river played a key role in the placer gold rush of 1900-01. In 1914, Tom L. Johnson homesteaded the site and opened a store and post office. The Yup'ik village of Aniak had been abandoned long before this time. Eskimos Willie Pete and Sam Simeon brought their families from Ohagamuit to Aniak, which reestablished the Native community. A Russian-era trader named Semyeon Lukin is credited with the discovery of gold near Aniak in 1832. A territorial school opened in 1936. Construction of an airfield began in 1939, followed by the erection of the White Alice radar-relay station in 1956, which closed in 1978. The city was incorporated in 1972.

Culture: Aniak's population is primarily Yup'ik Eskimos and Tanaina Athabascans. Subsistence foods contribute largely to villagers' diets. Many families travel to fish camps each summer.

Indigenous Language: Central Yup'ik.

Federally Recognized Tribe: Village of Aniak.

Transportation: Access to Aniak is limited to air and water. The state-owned airport has an asphalt runway that is lighted and is equipped for instrument approaches. Regular flights are provided by several carriers, including charter operators. Float planes can also land on Aniak Slough. Fuel and supplies are brought in by barge during the summer; other goods are delivered by air year-round. There is no road connection to other villages, although trails and the frozen Kuskokwim River are used by snow machines during winter. When the river is frozen, it is used as an ice road to access Chuathbaluk, Crooked Creek and Bethel. A winter trail is marked to Kalskag.

2010 Census Data: Total population was 501 persons, consisting of 262 males and 239 females. The median age was 33 years. Estimated population in 2013 was 546 persons.

Population by Race	Value	Percent
White	102	20.36 %
American Indian and Alaska Native Alone	348	69.46 %
Black or African American	1	0.20 %
Asian alone	0	0.00 %
Pacific Islander alone	0	0.00 %
Other alone	1	0.20 %
Two or More Races	49	9.78 %

Housing Units	Value
Total Housing Units	214
Occupied Housing (Households)	166
Vacant Housing	48
Vacant Due to Seasonal Use	13
Owner-Occupied Housing	104
Renter-Occupied Housing	62

Households	Value
Total Households	166
Average Household Size	4
Family Households	120
Non-Family Households	46
Pop. Living in Households	501
Pop. Living in Group Quarters	0

Municipal Facilities and Utilities: Piped sewer, landfill, library, Aniak Volunteer Fire Department, animal contorl, State funded Public Safety Officer (VPSO) and Search and Rescue.

Power Source: Diesel generators - Aniak Light and Power Company

Cost of Gasoline: $7.47 per gallon as of July 2014.

Some information on this page has been copied from the State of Alaska Community Database where additional information is available.

If you wish to help financially with the construction or operation of K232ER and other KYKD translator stations, you may send donations to Voice for Christ Ministries, P.O. Box 474, Nenana, AK 99760 or to give via credit card or PayPal, use this button:

Pictures of Aniak:

A view to the northwest of the Aniak airport runway, the ice-covered Kuskokwim River, and the portion of Aniak that lies between the two.

The shoreline at Aniak looking across the Kuskokwim River toward the Russian Mountains in the distance.

A small riverboat and barge tied to the shore of the Kuskokwim River at Aniak.

View to the northeast during "break up" of the ice-filled Kuskokwim River downstream (to the northwest) of Aniak. The Russian Mountains are across the river.

The Aniak City Hall.

The Aniak General Store near the river. There is also a newer and larger Alaska Commercial Company general store near the airport runway.

The Aniak Community Church, host of translator station K232ER.

Erecting the broadcast antenna on the roof of the Aniak Community Church during construction of the translator station in April 2014. Please pray that the Good News of Jesus being broadcast from this antenna will change lives for eternity in this part of Alaska.