Alaska State Representative Ashley Carrick presented a longtime Fairbanks broadcast reporter with an award from the state legislature on Sept. 10.
Dan Bross reported for KUAC for over two decades, before retiring last year. Lawmakers from last year’s legislative session signed a proclamation recognizing Bross for his many years of reporting throughout the Interior — including from the Yukon Quest sled dog race. Bross also delivered local news nearly every morning during the station’s regular newscast.
Bross says it feels great — if unusual — to be recognized for something he did for a huge part of his life.
"For 31 years I was in Alaska Public Broadcasting, 21 here at KUAC," he said. "I mean, the trust the public put in me really means a lot. So, it was nice to have that recognized — but by no means do I feel like an individual. It was really a team effort."
He said the recognition comes at a particularly challenging moment for public media, as many stations scramble to fill the financial gap from recent federal funding cuts. Representative Carrick also remarked on the cuts, and said advocating for additional public radio funding is one of her priorities in the upcoming session.
Meanwhile, Bross said he’s enjoyed catching up on life since he hung up his headphones and microphone last summer. He spent much of the first year of his retirement on the road.
"My wife and I did a really long RV trip," he said. "We have a little van that we built and traveled around the western US, went to Mexico. And then it's just been like, wow. How did I ever have time for all this stuff?"
Bross produces Beyond the Weather with state climatologist Rick Thoman, a weekly climate and meteorology program supported by the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment.
This story was reported and written by Alaska Desk reporter Shelby Herbert and and edited by Alaska Desk managing editor Kirsten Dobroth. Under KUAC's protocol for reporting on itself, no KUAC corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.