Lori Townsend, Alaska Public Media
Lori Townsend is the News Director for the Alaska Public Radio Network. She got her start in broadcasting at the age of 11 as the park announcer of the fast pitch baseball games in Deer Park, Wisconsin.
She has worked in print and broadcast journalism for more than 24 years. She was the co-founder and former Editor of Northern Aspects, a magazine featuring northern Wisconsin writers and artists. She worked for 7 years at tribal station WOJB on the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibway Reservation in Wisconsin, first as an on-air programmer and special projects producer and eventually News Director.
In 1997 she co-hosted a continuing Saturday afternoon public affairs talk program on station KSTP in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Radio brought her to Alaska where she worked as a broadcast trainer for Native fellowship students at Koahnic Broadcasting. Following her work there, she helped co-found the non-profit broadcast company Native Voice Communications. NVC created the award-winning Independent Native News as well as producing many other documentaries and productions. Townsend was NVC’s technical trainer and assistant producer of INN.
Through her freelance work, she has produced news and feature stories nationally and internationally for Independent Native News, National Native News, NPR , Pacifica, Monitor Radio, Radio Netherlands and AIROS. Her print work and interviews have been published in News from Indian Country, Yakama Nation Review and other publications. Ms. Townsend has also worked as a broadcast trainer for the Native American Journalist’s Association and with NPR’s Doug Mitchell and as a freelance editor. Townsend is the recipient of numerous awards for her work from the Alaska Press Club, the Native American Journalists Association and a gold and a silver reel award from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters.
Townsend was the recipient of a Fellowship at the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting in Rhode Island as well as a fellowship at the Knight Digital Media Center in Berkeley.
She is an avid reader, a rabid gardener and counts water skiing, training horses, diving and a welding certification among her past and current interests.
ltownsend (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8452 | About Lori
Faith Leaders in Anchorage aim for unity and peace through new initiative | Alaska Insight
https://youtu.be/1WvGmRo-Fpg
Religious leaders in Anchorage are responding to deep divisions over racial equity, social justice, and economic inequality with a new initiative called "Reconciliation: Race, Justice, and...
COVID-19 cases are surging in Alaska. What’s the outlook for winter?
Alaska's Covid case numbers are accelerating at an alarming rate. Daily counts have been in the triple digits for weeks. Why are cases increasing so quickly now and what might it mean for winter transmission rates as Alaskans spend time indoors and distancing becomes more difficult?
Climate change is forcing some villages to move. What is the government doing to help? | Alaska Insight
https://youtu.be/hIRZZO__lCE
Increasingly violent and frequent storms driven by climate change are becoming the new normal. The reliable freeze-up that would stabilize shorelines before heavy winter weather helped...
Dan Sullivan wants to keep his seat in the Senate. Hear why he wants your vote | Alaska Insight
https://youtu.be/YWs2QHXlE2o
Rounding out our coverage of congressional races, we turn to Alaska's junior U.S. Senator, Dan Sullivan, who is campaigning to retain his seat in the Alaska...
LISTEN: Vote by mail or in person? Understanding the options this election season
What do you need to know about your voting options? How secure are the systems in place and what will the process be for counting ballots after November 3rd? State elections officials join us to clarify the voting process
Primaries or ranked choice? Vote Yes and Vote No make the case for ballot measure 2 | Alaska Insight
https://youtu.be/TTn7Ag4pvnw
Candidates aren't the only boxes on the ballot come November 4th. Ballot measure 2 seeks to shift elections from primaries to ranked choice voting, and would...
LISTEN: U.S. Senate incumbent Dan Sullivan is here to answer your questions
Republican Dan Sullivan, Alaska’s junior U.S. Senator for the last six years, is running for reelection. What does he think the most urgent needs are for the state and what are his plans for getting the work done in a fractured senate?
Al Gross is running for office for the first time. Here’s why he thinks he belongs in the U.S. Senate | Alaska Insight
https://youtu.be/GhFqfBGS4fs
Continuing our coverage of congressional races, we turn to the U.S. Senate candidates beginning with Independent candidate Al Gross. Gross is running for office for the...
LISTEN: Primaries or ranked choice? Vote Yes and Vote No make their case on Ballot Measure 2.
Ballot measure 2 seeks to make changes to the state’s election structure by replacing the political party primary and by selecting candidates through ranked choice voting. What would it mean for elections and what do you need to know about the measure before voting on it?
Alyse Galvin is taking on Alaska’s longtime congressman. Here’s why she thinks she’ll win | Alaska Insight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHEHyiFpU00
We continue our coverage of the Congressional candidates for the upcoming November election with U.S. House candidate-Independent Alyse Galvin. Galvin has returned to the ticket for...
LISTEN: U.S. Senate candidate Al Gross is here to answer your questions
Making his first run for public office, Al Gross wants to win the race for Alaska's U.S. Senate seat, currently held by incumbent Dan Sullivan. Gross is running as an Independent with support from state democrats.
LISTEN: U.S. House candidate Alyse Galvin is here to answer your questions
Challenging Alaska's lone and long-serving U.S. House representative for a second time, Alyse Galvin is running as an independent with support from state Democrats.
Fighting for his 25th term, here’s why Don Young says he’s not done yet | Alaska Insight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEVXzVFiTt4&feature=youtu.be
Alaska Insight is kicking off four weeks of discussions with Alaska Congressional candidates with U.S. House incumbent Don Young. Congressman Young is seeking his 25th term...
How districts are working to meet distance education needs in rural Alaska | Alaska Insight
https://youtu.be/obyHCWhCdDE
Most schools are underway across the state. Do rural students have better options for online instruction now than they had in the spring? And in areas...
LISTEN: U.S. House incumbent Don Young is here to answer your questions
Alaska has only one U.S. House seat and Congressman Don Young is seeking his 25th term in that position. What does he want to accomplish in the next two years if he is re-elected?
CARES Act funding is helping communities through the pandemic, but is it enough? | Alaska Insight
Lori Townsend speaks with the executive director of Alaska Municipal League and a local government specialist with the State of Alaska about how communities are spending CARES Act funding.
LISTEN: Not every student in Alaska has access to reliable internet. How are officials handling distance education in rural Alaska?
How will rural students access course materials in areas with little or no broadband? And how will teachers build relationships with students that can’t log on?
Months after initial closures, how is Alaska’s economy faring? | Alaska Insight
https://youtu.be/JZ3DG7Jx2ck
Five months after state and local governments' initial COVID-19 closures, where is Alaska at in its recovery? Where are the gaps that must be filled to...
LISTEN: Weathering budget cuts and COVID-19, the UA System preps for a new school year
COVID-19 has thrown higher education into turmoil. State budget cuts, loss of research funds and the sudden departure of the University system president are also challenging education leaders at an already difficult time. What’s the outlook?
Looking at the summer uptick in COVID-19 cases | Alaska Insight
https://youtu.be/Wiv5xJJyMeg
Life has changed rapidly in Alaska with the arrival of COVID-19. On the season premiere of Alaska Insight, Lori Townsend is joined by Alaska's Chief Medical...