KDLG Radio 670 AM - About KDLG

Our Mission
The mission of KDLG is to broadcast programming of high quality, which serves demonstrated community needs of an educational, informational, cultural, and entertainment nature, within its primary signal area. Such programming is intended for a general audience.

KDLG History

Public radio station KDLG started as a broadcasting class taught by the Dillingham City School District. In 1973 the FCC assigned the station the call sign KDLG and was allowed to operate at 1,000 watts of power. The stations antenna consisted of two wires strung between two telephone poles. In 1975 KDLG signed on the air at 670 kHz with an operating power of 5,000 watts, it eventually was upgraded to 10 kilowatts in 1987.

Operation includes a twenty-four hours a day broadcast schedule repeated on KNSA Unalakleet, KSDP Sand Point, and K201DA King Cove. KDLG is still owned and operated by the Dillingham City School District and continues to teach broadcasting classes for high school students.

KDLG’s coverage area is approximately the size of the state of Ohio.

Bristol Bay

The Bristol Bay region of southwest Alaska lies at the south end of the Bering Sea. The area is physically walled off by distance and terrain from the main body of central Alaska. This region is one of the most sparsely settled areas of Alaska. The only transportation to its widely scattered villages is by air.

The region has been inhabited by Alaska Natives for the past l0, 000 years. The first contact with Europeans came less than 200 years ago with the arrival of Russian traders. The predominate industry is commercial fishing, which is done in May for herring and in June and July for salmon. Subsistence hunting and fishing provides food during other times of the year. Fishing and hunting camps are isolated and KDLG provides the only link to home and the outside world.

The Bristol Bay region of Alaska is unique even within the unique environment of Alaska. It is one of the most productive fishing areas in the world. During the summer the population swells by thousands to accommodate the fishing and processing industry. Sport fishing enthusiasts swarm to the regions many wilderness destinations. The Wood-Tikchik state park (the largest state park in the nation at 1.6 million acres) entrance is but a 20 mile paved road trip from Dillingham.

Subsistence harvesting of natural resources including fish, game, wild greens, berries, etc. is the primary source of local food supplies and the real mainstay of the economy for the majority of the approximately 7,500 residents who reside in the more remote communities of the region.