News Releases

Make Molokai Beautiful

Thursday, September 11th, 2025

Molokai Bahá’í Community News Release
The Global Citizenship Speaker series resumes at the Molokai Public Library Sept.17 at 5:30 p.m. The first presentation features Molokai artist Kalaʻe Tangonan, who will share her passion for using the visual arts to make Molokai even more beautiful.
The program will feature moʻolelo behind the mammoth re-muraling project at Molokai High School and how multimedia arts can help make Molokai “the most beautiful island our hearts know is possible.”
Tangonan is a multi-media artist, a graduate of University of Hawaii, Hilo’s arts program, mother of nine children, and community arts activist, providing everything from face painting at keiki fairs to hair and makeup for proms, from decorating for parties to lei making for funerals.…

Molokai Boy is the Prince at the Aloha Festivals’ Royal Court

Thursday, September 11th, 2025

Hawaii Tourism Authority News Release

A Molokai boy is now the prince for the Royal Court for this year’s Aloha Festivals, the largest Hawaiian cultural celebration in the U.S. The 2025 Royal Court began their reign Sept. 6 during the Royal Court Investiture & Opening Ceremony in Honolulu.

The Royal Court, which consists of Mō‘ī Kāne (king), Mō‘ī Wahine (queen), Kamāli‘i Kāne (prince), Kamāli‘i Wahine (princess) and various court attendants, is an integral part of the festival’s perpetuation of the Hawaiian culture and is a visual reminder of the royal legacy of the Hawaiian people.

Sean Kaleohano Kekahuna Jr., of Hoʻolehua, Molokai, is the 2025 Kamāli‘i Kāne.…

Molokai Child Abuse Prevention Pathways Receives $240K Grant

Thursday, September 4th, 2025

MCAPP News Release

Molokai Child Abuse Prevention Pathways has been awarded a $240,000 grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to expand child abuse prevention and support programs for keiki, ‘ohana, and schools across Molokai over a two-year period. 

This grant directly supports OHA’s Mana i Mauli Ola Strategic Plan to advance policies, programs, and practices that strengthen Native Hawaiian well-being — including physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional health —and its related outcome of increasing availability and access to quality, culturally based, and culturally adapted prevention and treatment interventions in ʻohana, schools, and communities.

“This support from OHA allows us to continue our valuable partnerships with local preschools and public schools on Molokai, expand our programs on school campuses, and offer workshops for parents and school faculty,” Executive Director Talia Cardines said. …

HEA Awards Professional Development Grant to Kaunakakai Resident

Thursday, September 4th, 2025

HEA News Release
The Hawai‘i Education Association (HEA), a nonprofit organization founded more than 100 years ago to support educators and students aspiring to be teachers, recently awarded grants to four Maui County educators for professional development.
“We’re excited to support homegrown teachers in Maui county, for Maui county. At a time when the U.S. Department of Education is being dismantled and education is under siege at the federal level, HEA is glad to support Hawaii’s educators and students who give so much of themselves,” said Joan Kamila Lewis, HEA president and an instructional coach at Kapolei High School.
Kaunakakai resident Anna Marie Nip, the only grant recipient from Moloka‘i, received a $2,000 HEA student teacher grant, sponsored by the Helen MacKay Memorial.…

State Land Survey Division Digitizing Maps to Help Public

Thursday, August 28th, 2025

DAGS News Release
What did Hawaiʻi look like during the monarchy? What did it look like shortly after the Great Māhele — the Hawaiian land distribution system — took effect?
Those are questions the state’s Land Survey Division (Land Survey), a division of the State Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS), can answer from a cartography perspective. Now, it is planning to provide that information online.
This decades-long project started just after the turn of this century with Land Survey digitizing all the maps it has, some which go back to 1871 — the year the division opened. That’s about 90,000 maps reflecting all main Hawaiian Islands.…

Kukui Lei Hipuʻu Workshop

Thursday, August 28th, 2025

MAC News Release
The Molokai Arts Center’s Hawaiian Arts (HĀ) Program presents its second Kukui workshop on Saturday, Aug. 30, 10 a.m.-12 noon at Hoʻolehua Homestead Makeke, at 2240 Lihi Pali Ave. behind Molokai High School, just east of Purdy’s Mac Nut Farm.
Participants in the first August workshop learned the haku, or braiding style of lei kukui. The next workshop will feature the hipuʻu or knot style of lei kukui, taught by cultural practitioner Leimana Ritte-Camara.
Leimana, born and raised on Molokai, is a graduate of one of Molokai’s first Hawaiian Language Immersion classes. A generational lei maker, she is honored to raise her family here to continue her family’s traditional practices.…

Bissen Bringing Holomua Kākou Back to Molokai

Thursday, August 21st, 2025

Maui County News Release

Mayor Richard Bissen is bringing Holomua Kākou back to Molokai as part of his continuing efforts to take county government to the rural areas of Maui County. 

“Our rural communities deserve meaningful access to government in their hometowns,” Bissen said. “Our residents lead busy lives with work, family and community commitments, and we appreciate the time and valuable insights they share with us.”

“Mayor Bissen and Team in Your Town” events will be held in Molokai on Monday, Aug. 25, and Tuesday, Aug. 26. Office of the Mayor staff will be available to answer questions and provide assistance from 10 a.m.…

Addressing Obesity, Associated Chronic Diseases

Thursday, August 21st, 2025

Addressing Obesity, Associated Chronic Diseases

Na Pu’uwai News Release

Na Pu’uwai is reaching out in partnership to help address one of the most pressing health concerns facing our Moloka’i community — obesity and its associated chronic diseases.

In the United States, 41.9% of adults are living with obesity, with annual healthcare costs directly attributable to obesity estimated at $147 billion. Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and all-cause mortality, with risk increasing in a dose-response fashion: the higher the BMI, the greater the risk. 

Although Hawai’i as a state has a lower obesity rate than the national average, Molokai has the highest rate in the state at 34.4% compared to the state average of 26.1%, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders have a significantly elevated obesity rate at 51.7%.…

Fire Prevention Tips

Thursday, August 14th, 2025

HWMO News Release

Wildfire safety tip from Hawai‘i Wildfire Management Organization: Regularly maintain machinery that might spark — this includes weed whackers, chainsaws, grinders, welding equipment, and off-road vehicles. Dry vegetation is extremely flammable. All it takes is one spark to cause widespread damage. For more wildfire preparedness information visit hwmo.org.…

Livestock Brands Must Register with Department of Agriculture

Thursday, August 14th, 2025

Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity News Release

Owners of livestock brands in Hawai‘i have until Dec. 31, 2025 to reregister their brands with the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB) or risk losing their rights to their brands. Hawai‘i law requires owners of livestock in the state to register their brand to secure its validity and individuality. While it is not mandatory to use brands in Hawai‘i, it is mandatory for owners using brands to register them every five years. The registration fee is $10. 

During the period 2020-2025, there were 803 registered brands in Hawai‘i.  

“Owners of existing brands may re-register at any time before December 31, 2025,” state veterinarian Dr.…