• Failure notice from provider:
    Connection Error:http_request_failed

  • Submission Deadlines

    Advertising

    Thursday 4pm

    April 23, 2026

    Content

    Friday 4pm

    April 24, 2026

    To print on:

    Wednesday

    April 29, 2026

  • Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Google Plus Subscribe via RSS

Hana Keaka 2026

Thursday, February 12th, 2026

Hana Keaka 2026

He Lālā Au No Kuʻu Kumu

By The Molokai Dispatch Staff

The schoolchildren from a traditional charter school on Molokai put on a strong theater performance for a sold-out crowd during a fundraising event at the Molokai High School Gym last weekend.

The keiki from Ke Kula Kaiapuni o Kualapu‘u, an elementary public charter school, presented their Hana Keaka 2026, or Hawaiian theater program, before nearly 300 people at The Barn Feb. 7. 

“What you will see today represents months of intentional, instructed creativity and ʻike Hawaii integrated across science, math, reading and the arts,” emcee Lokelani Fergerstrom said. “The theme of this evening is He Lālā Au No Kuʻu Kumu — I’m a branch of a firm tree, and this sea reminds us that our success doesn’t stand alone.…

Posted in , , commentsAdd your comment

Lawmakers Secure $1.3M for ʻAha Pūnana Leo

Thursday, February 12th, 2026

Office of Sen. Brian Schatz News Release

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) secured $1.3 million in congressionally directed spending, also known as an earmark, in this year’s appropriations deal for ʻAha Pūnana Leo. The funding will be used to train teachers, support families, and develop new early childhood education Hawaiian language materials, such as books and videos, to help young children build literacy and math skills.

Learning language early matters because it shapes how kids think and learn for the rest of their lives,” said Schatz, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “This new earmark funding will help revitalize the Hawaiian language while making sure more kids have the resources to learn and grow.”…

Posted in , commentsAdd your comment

Hoʻolehua Homestead Makeke

Thursday, February 12th, 2026

Hoʻolehua Homestead Makeke

By Léo Azambuja | Interim Editor

The Hoʻolehua Homestead Makeke, a small community market on homestead land, has become one of Molokai’s hidden gems. Usually held twice a month in tandem with a Hawaiian arts workshop, the market offers locally grown produce, plants, snacks, drinks, a thrift shop and a place for ‘ohana to hang out.

“It’s the Hoʻolehua Homesteaders Association, the Molokai Arts Center, and then us as Hoʻolehua homesteaders that want to see our economics grow and have a space for people,” Hoʻolehua homesteader Kilia Purdy said.

The Makeke, or market, operates on a piece of land besides Purdy’s Mac Nut Farm in Hoʻolehua.…

Posted in commentsAdd your comment

Mud Bog Season Opens on Valentine’s Day

Wednesday, February 11th, 2026

Mud Bog Season Opens on Valentine’s Day

By The Molokai Dispatch staff

The Alcon ʻohana brought back the Molokai Mud Bog to the island last July, after more than three decades since the last one. It was just the beginning; this year, organizers want to deliver four mud bogs, with the first one, Molokai Rooted, on Valentine’s Day Feb. 14.

“We’re excited for what 2026 has in store,” organizers posted on Instagram earlier this year, adding they have been busy planning additional races for 2026 — all free and family-friendly — since the last mud bog.

The Molokai Rooted on Feb. 14 will be for Molokai racers only.…

Posted in commentsAdd your comment

What Is a Community?

Thursday, February 5th, 2026

What Is a Community?

By Kendrick Kansana Jr., Kualapuʻu 6th Grader

What is a community? Many people think a community is just a group of people. But a community is a group of people who help out each other.

First, a healthy community is a group of people who help each other strive by sharing resources. They also notice others’ needs and listen to each other. They also keep good relationships between each other, so they can stay a community.

Why is it important to participate in a community? One reason is because what goes around comes around. If you don’t help out with community events, then the community might not help you when you need help.…

Posted in , , commentsAdd your comment

12th Annual Cursive Is Cool Contest Launches Nationwide for Students in Grades K-7

Thursday, February 5th, 2026

AHAF News Release

The American Handwriting Analysis Foundation (AHAF) announced today that its annual Cursive Is Cool(r) handwriting contest is now open to students in Kindergarten through Grade 7, encouraging young writers to express themselves creatively through cursive handwriting.

Now in its 12th year, the Cursive Is Cool(r) contest continues to grow in reach and enthusiasm, engaging students, teachers, and families worldwide. Children are invited to submit original cursive writing entries, which are judged on legibility, neatness, and creative content.

“Our judges are excited every year to see what children write,” said Lauren Mooney Bear, CG, Campaign for Cursive Chair and immediate past President of AHAF.…

Posted in , commentsAdd your comment

AlohaCare Foundation Giving $75K in Scholarships

Thursday, February 5th, 2026

AlohaCare News Release

The AlohaCare Foundation is now accepting scholarship applications — from February 2 to March 16, 2026. Each scholarship recipient could get up to $10,000 while pursuing careers in healthcare or social services. AlohaCare members, or their family members, are eligible to apply. 

For more information or to apply for 2026–2027 scholarships, visit foundation.alohacare.org/scholarships.

In the 2025–2026 academic year, the Foundation awarded $75,000 in scholarships to 19 students across Molokai, Hawaii Island, Kauai, Maui and Oahu — all pursuing careers in healthcare or social services.

“Every scholarship recipient represents someone who can stay in Hawaiʻi and improve the lives of Hawaii families,” said AlohaCare CEO Francoise Culley-Trotman.…

Posted in , commentsAdd your comment

Bill Proposing to Shift Kalawao to Maui County

Thursday, February 5th, 2026

Bill Proposing to Shift Kalawao to Maui County

By Léo Azambuja

Members of the Maui County Council’s Aloha ‘Āina Committee visited Molokai last week to hear from local stakeholders their input on a proposal to transition Kalawao County, which encompasses the Kaulapapa Peninsula, to Maui County’s jurisdiction.

“The goal of today’s meeting is to bring everyone together to make clear the intention and expectations of the Kalawao County transition to Maui County,” committee chair Keani Rawlins-Fernandez said at the opening of a public meeting at Mitchell Pauole Center Jan. 29.

Currently, a pair of bills, SB 1432 and HB 1113, are making headway in the state Legislature. If one of them is approved, it will set forth the transition.…

Posted in commentsAdd your comment

Mauna Kea Authority Collecting Public Input

Thursday, February 5th, 2026

Mauna Kea Authority Collecting Public Input

By Léo Azambuja

Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority officials came to Molokai last week as part of a statewide tour to gather public input toward a new management plan being crafted for when they take over the lease of Mauna Kea’s summit on Hawaii Island in a couple of years.

“I really urge you to just share your deepest naʻau, your manaʻo about Mauna Kea, about the ways that properly mālama our very important wahi pana and help us develop the management plan that we think is the best management plan we can possibly come up with in order to make sure that the Mauna is there for generations,” MKSOA board member Noe Noe Wong-Wilson said through a video conference from Hilo on the slopes of Mauna Kea.…

Posted in commentsAdd your comment

Lauhala Anthuriums for Valentine’s Day

Thursday, February 5th, 2026

Lauhala Anthuriums for Valentine’s Day

By Léo Azambuja

The hala tree was one of the most important plants in old Hawaii. All parts of the tree were utilized — the fruit was a famine food also used for lei-making and paintbrushes, the roots and flowers had medicinal properties, the wood was used to build structures. But it was its leaves, called lauhala, that made the tree so popular until today. 

Weaved in a variety of ways, lauhala was used in crafting floor mats, hats, containers, burial vessels, baskets and even canoe sails.

“I am a third-generation weaver, taught by my tutu lady and my hanai mama and my hanai tutu.…

Posted in , commentsAdd your comment