Emilie Springer

Anchorage illustrator and arts educator Lee Post will be in Homer offering two free workshops about drawing comics on Friday and Saturday this week. Emilie Springer spoke with Lee Post for more details on his experience and what the workshops will entail.

Dr. Steve Anderson, geologist with the University of Colorado, now living in Ninilchik, will provide a presentation on “what rocks can tell us about the future” at the KPC campus on Tuesday July 22. The talk is co-hosted by the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies. KBBI’s Emilie Springer spoke with Dr. Anderson about what brought him to Alaska, his background in geology and a preview of what he’ll share at the talk.

Homer’s Kachemak Bay Campus is offering a one day upcoming Geology of Kachemak Bay class by kayak with local geologist Taz Tally. Emilie Springer spoke with instructor Tally and has these details to share.

Saturday July 19th is Alaska Invasive Green Crab Awareness Day and the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve will host a free, family-friendly molt walk, collect and identify crab molts at Bishop’s Beach and answer questions participants might have about the species. Emilie Springer spoke with Jasmine Maurer at the Research Reserve for more information.

Homer’s annual Peony Celebration which began in 2019, six years ago, has many local events starting in mid-June and runs through August. Rita Jo Schultz and her family with Alaska Perfect Peony had one of the first peony operations in the state of Alaska. KBBI’s Emilie Springer spoke with Schultz about the history of the farms in the state and Mina Gherman, marketing director at the Homer Chamber of Commerce about the various events this year’s festival will include.

Pier One Theatre presents a three week production of the Seagull by Anton Checkhov, directed by Cristen San Roman, with the first performance on Friday July 9th and additional shows running through the end of July. KBBI’s Emilie Springer spoke to the director and actors about some of the features of the show at a rehearsal last week.

The Sea Grant “Community Engaged Fellows” program is a national program that was started in 2020, Alaska Sea Grant based out of the University of Alaska Anchorage campus has a cohort of six undergraduate students working across the state of Alaska, particularly in rural communities on projects related to marine coastal sciences. Sea Grant faculty member Davin Holen and two of the students in the 2025 summer program, Deagen Carey and Alex Devon, explained the program and shared some of their experiences with KBBI’s Emilie Springer.

Homer’s Lisa Talbott, former pastor of the United Methodist Church where she has served since 2013, has recently started her new role as Assistant to the Bishop for Equity and Intercultural Competency for the greater northwest area which covers Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Idaho. She was appointed by Bishop Cedrick D. Bridgeforth.Talbott spoke with KBBI’s Emilie Springer and shared some of her personal history in Alaska, education, ministry and some of what she hopes to bring to this new role.

The Ninilchik Rodeo and beach horse races took place at the Ninilchik Fairgrounds in the first weekend of July. Homer’s Emilie Springer talked with Rodeo Coordinator Shirley Cox and some youth assistants about what the history of the event and what the 2025 event included.

At the end of June, Red flag fire warnings were in effect for interior Alaska after a week of high burn rates. KBBI’s Emilie Springer spoke with University of Alaska Fairbanks climate specialist Rick Thoman about the status of summer burns and a decrease in federal funding impacts to weather monitoring.