We are very excited to welcome two new voices to KUAC FM and our newsroom — Shelby Herbert and Patrick Gilchrist.
Shelby is one of four reporters around the state who make up The Alaska Desk, a collaborative effort between Alaska Public Media and public media stations like KUAC. The Alaska Desk is made possible with a $936,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
“By partnering with Alaska Public Media and investing in the Alaska Desk, KUAC has the benefit of creating a stronger news team for Interior Alaska,” Gretchen Gordon, KUAC’s general manager said. “Both Shelby and Patrick bring significant experience to an already strong newsroom that Alaskans depend on for news and information that will better inform their daily lives.”
While Shelby is no Sourdough, this isn’t her first Alaska public radio rodeo. She comes to Fairbanks straight out of the rainforests of Southeast, where she led a small broadcast newsroom in Petersburg. This is her first time living in the Golden Heart City; but as an Army brat, she already feels right at home, having been raised on or near military bases up and down the East Coast.
While she’s embedded with KUAC’s news team, Shelby hopes to delve into everything from oil development and wildfires, to the military and mushing. When she’s not out reporting, you might find her out birdwatching or plucking a six string at an open mic. If Shelly were an ice cream flavor, she’d be pistachio.
Our other new reporter is Patrick Gilchrist, and you may have already heard him on the radio — his first local news story, on the Fairbanks City Council budget, aired on Dec. 3.
Patrick came to Fairbanks in June of 2022, working as a copy editor and page designer for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and as a multimedia journalist for Alaska’s News Source, formerly Newscenter Fairbanks (KTVF/KXDF). He has covered the courts, local government, transportation and renewable energy developments, and his reporting has tackled other issues affecting Interior Alaskans, like air quality and housing. KUAC looks forward to hearing his stories from the Yukon Quest trail in 2025.
Patrick was born and raised in the Nashville, Tennessee, area before moving to Interior Alaska. He has a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and a Master of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in a cabin near Ester with his wife, Maris, and dog, Willow. When he’s not pursuing a story, Patrick spends much of his time climbing, reading and playing board games.
