In this episode …we wrapped up Women’s History Month by featuring the Women of KTNA! We reached out to a list of close to 60 current and past women who have been dee-jays, board members, volunteers and staff – either over the air or behind the scenes – since KTNA first went on air in 1993. Current Program Director Christie Seay and longtime member and volunteer Shoo Salasky join host Trisha Costello in the studio.
We had more content provided than what we were able to air during the live show. Here are some of those additional written and audio pieces (edited for clarity) related to this episode of Su Valley Voice: Women of KTNA Talkeetna
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Jodi Rodwell, Newsreader
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Email from Sue Deyoe – I was first a volunteer the winter of 2002, I think, sitting in for Al Gallo. I was hired as staff at the beginning of 2007 and was the reporter until october 2011. Then served on the board beginning in…December 2011, I believe…until 2017. I served as president for 3 or 4 years. During that time, the state funding was cut; those were tough times to be on the board! I was also a morning news reader, until covid when people didn’t come in the studio. When the Blue Tarp podcast was created, I volunteered on the advisory committee. I also was part of Nuggets in those years. Still have my Nuggets tshirt, by the way, Holly! The biggest kudos to Kathleen, Holly Stinson and the other women who have managed to be volunteers from before the station went on the air to the present day!
I’ll be listening in to the show when its posted online!
SueDee (as Kathleen says)
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KimAdelia Leff, KTNA Board of Directors
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Email from Geri Denkewalter
I’ve been mostly a newscaster, mostly mornings but fill in also random times. i started doing this very early in KTNA’s history, when lots of people needed a local radio to hear news and music, to get and pass messages, and to hear what’s going on in town. Nowadays, most people have cell phones and echoes have dwindled, but activities have ramped up so much It’s great to hear what’s going on and going to be going on in our town. The Book Shelf ran for 10-12 weeks early in KTNA’s- like mid 1990’s. I reviewed new additions at the library and also did theme-based synopses of books, comparing Stephen King and Frankenstein, likening John Steinbeck to our modern day lives, and reading snippets from children’s books. Occasionally we had an author visit . This show segued into Pappy reading bedtime stories, Jessica Stevens reading the Wind in the Willows, and Mary Palmer as Hank the Cow Dog It was great fun! The last time I looked, the small tape cassettes with their readings were still at the library- somewhere!
Romy Rauchenstein Byrd and I did a Sunday evening show called The Generation Gap. We played songs and told stories, added some local news. All these were in the little cabin on Second Street.
Adventures in Reading was every other Saturday for one season. Using Choose Your Adventure type books and having local authorities in the studio, a student and I made choices- sometimes we died quickly, sometimes we lasted to the end. We survived the Titanic, the Iditarod, an avalanche, a tidal wave, and being lost on Denali and being stranded on an island. Matthew Byrd died the most. Ben Bryan lived every time. Eka Kidd and Rowan Williams had the second best records.
I currently do the morning news on Wednesdays and fill in as needed.
I’ve been a volunteer. But I’ve always felt I’m a part of Talkeetna Radio.
What made you want to be involved in KTNA? I think I have some talents to share. And it’s fun!
The time spent developing and maintaining the station has been an enormous commitment to those who do the work. Thanks!
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Jenny Willoughby – News Producer
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Erin Arrington – Board member and previous newsreader
One of the first people I met when I moved to Talkeetna in 2019 was Shoo Salasky, who I shadowed as part of my training as a newsreader for KTNA. I thought it was a crazy coincidence when I ran into her again the next week at a yoga class at Studio Z. That’s when I learned one of the cardinal truths of living in Talkeetna – once you know someone one way, you’ll discover you suddenly know them five ways!
Apart from being an invaluable community resource, I love how KTNA is a testament to Talkeetna’s community values and scrappiness, and I’m grateful to have a small part in that legacy!
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Becky Hrdy – Newsreader, Dee-Jay
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If you have any questions or comments about this episode or suggestions for future shows, email us at dj@ktna.org or give the station a call at 907-733-1700.
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