Steve Heimel

Steve Heimel has been a broadcaster for 43 years, the last 20 of them at the Alaska Public Radio Network, heard in nearly all communities in Alaska. His TALK OF ALASKA was one of public radio's first regional call-in shows. He learned his craft in small rural radio stations in Pennsylvania, but ended up working at the top rated stations in two of the nation's largest markets – Philadelphia and Houston. He shifted from commercial to public broadcasting in 1974, and in 1980 returned to rural radio to design the programming format and training program for WVMR, in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, a public radio station that includes religion in its programming. His reports from the Appalachian region were heard frequently on National Public Radio.

He has been a trainer in public radio for 30 years, on the NPR Training Channel, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's national Focus News Workshops, and on site for public radio stations across the country and the state of Alaska. He has won dozens of awards from the National Press Club, Alaska Broadcaster's Association, and the Regional Society of Professional Journalists. He has received the Edward R. Murrow Brotherhood Award and was part of the team that won a special citation from the CPB for coverage of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. He has managed both commercial and public radio stations.

He has covered science and environmental issues for many years, and has been a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science since 1979. He is a working artist, a former Artist in Residence at the Visual Arts Center of Alaska, and a partner in the Acme Art Company. He was educated in traditional Art Academies in Cincinnati and Philadelphia. He is an active public radio volunteer, and hosts THE TRUCK STOP, a weekly traditional country music show on KNBA in Anchorage. He hiked most of the Appalachian Trail in 1977 and intends to finish his hike before he turns 65.

Contact Steve Heimel
Email Steve
(907) 277-2776