Mat-Su Valley

Troopers cite driver after red-light crash on Palmer-Wasilla Highway

Troopers cited a driver for running a red light and crashing into another vehicle at Palmer-Wasilla Highway and Equestrian Avenue Friday. No injuries were reported, but the highway briefly closed.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Free Wasilla summit Monday helps students with disabilities plan for life after school

Mat-Su students with disabilities can practice job interviews and get help planning for life after high school at a free summit Monday in Wasilla.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Fish board plans a second vote on Cook Inlet drift limits that never took effect

The fish board voted in March to rein in Cook Inlet's drift fleet. The rules never took effect, and now it'll vote on them again, likely in January.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Tracking device leads troopers to political sign reported taken in Wasilla

Someone took a political sign from a Wasilla roadside. Its owner had hidden a tracker on it. Troopers followed it, got the sign back and referred charges.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Willow-area owners ask Mat-Su to let them split 40 acres without building a mile-plus road

Three Willow-area landowners want to split 40 acres into two recreational lots without building 6,800 feet of road. The Mat-Su Platting Board decides Nov. 5.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Contango begins drilling the east end of the historic Lucky Shot gold mine

Contango started underground drilling Oct. 22 on the east end of the old Lucky Shot gold mine's veins, a stretch it says no modern program has tested.

by Alaska News2w ago2 min read

Comments close Friday on Mat-Su plan setting which roads can get federal money

Public comment on MatSu 2050, the Valley's first federal transportation plan, closes Friday, Oct. 30. Without an adopted plan, the region loses access to federal road, pathway and transit money.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom Sep 30

Wasilla planning clerk says role lacks authority to sign commission resolutions

Wasilla's planning clerk says she lacks authority to sign Planning Commission resolutions or minutes. The acting city planner post sits vacant, raising legal questions.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Palmer airport advisers want to turn a tie-down apron into T-hangars

Palmer's airport advisers picked Apron D, where three planes are parked, as the first place to try T-hangars. None of the airport's T-hangars are for rent.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Central Mat-Su firefighters will hand out free reflective treat bags Saturday

Central Mat-Su Fire Dept hands out free reflective treat bags Saturday, 1 to 7 pm, at five stations. • Ester holds a free Halloween festival Saturday, Kodiak runs a haunted house Friday and Saturday for food bank donations.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Postal Service seeks a contractor to deliver mail to 741 Wasilla boxes through 2030

USPS is seeking a contractor to deliver mail to 741 Wasilla mailboxes from Dec. 14 through Sept. 30, 2030. Bids are due Nov. 9, with the route growing from 650 boxes and one vehicle since 2021.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Anchorage man charged with possessing child sexual abuse material

A 38-year-old Anchorage man was charged last week with possessing child sexual abuse material. Palmer police say they arrested him with APD's help.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Business adviser says a small Wasilla project faces $100,000 in permit requirements

A Wasilla business adviser told the council a small construction job is being treated like a big commercial project, at a cost of about $100,000 and a year.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Conservation district applies for 885 Point MacKenzie acres DNR plans to give AIDEA

A Wasilla conservation district wants the 885 Point MacKenzie acres DNR proposes to give AIDEA free, to keep hayfields farmed and build a farm hub instead.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Nearly 8 years after the quake, FEMA closes out repairs at two Mat-Su parks

FEMA closed out its 2018 quake project for roads and picnic shelters at two Mat-Su state parks. Eighty-five of the quake's 374 FEMA projects are still open.

by Melinda Communities.News2w ago1 min readFrom Oct 15

Nova Minerals plans antimony refinery beside federally funded Port MacKenzie rail line

Nova Minerals will build a rail siding linking its antimony refinery to the federally funded Port MacKenzie rail extension.

by Melinda Communities.News2w ago3 min readFrom Oct 21

Palmer council may meet in closed session Tuesday on an ethics complaint

Palmer's council may close the doors Tuesday to discuss an ethics complaint. What it alleges, and about whom, isn't in the 212-page meeting packet.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Palmer council will vote on $960,509 more for new library's second floor and kitchen

Palmer's council votes Tuesday on $960,509 more to finish the new library's second floor and build a bigger kitchen. Shoppers already pay a library tax.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Skeetawk gondola tops Mat-Su's $3.33 million list of community projects

A mile-long gondola at Hatcher Pass's Skeetawk ski area tops the community project list Mat-Su planners sent to the Assembly. Funding isn't promised.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min readFrom Oct 19

Mat-Su sets aside $704,763 for opioid settlement grants, two-thirds of its total

Mat-Su has collected $1.06 million in opioid settlement money and spent $89,461. Now it will offer local groups $704,763, up to $75,000 apiece.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min readFrom Oct 20

Fish and Game sets second Shaped by Wildlife storytelling night Nov. 13 in Palmer

Fish and Game hosts its second Shaped by Wildlife storytelling night Nov. 13 in Palmer. Proceeds support the Outdoor Heritage Foundation of Alaska.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Port MacKenzie would freeze 2027 dock rates and add fees for guards and late ships

Port MacKenzie would hold dock rates flat next year and add fees for armed guards and late ships. A commissioner says it has "a problem with no traffic."

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom Oct 19

Palmer's budget plan holds taxes flat and skips a required capital transfer

Palmer's 2027 budget plan holds property taxes and utility rates flat. It also skips $943,402 for capital projects that city code says must be set aside.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Truck crash blocks Glenn Highway in both directions east of Eureka Summit

A truck crash blocked the Glenn Highway in both directions near the Little Nelchina River Thursday morning. The state's traffic system says crews are on scene.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

Mat-Su school board denies community bid to reopen Meadow Lakes Elementary as a charter

Mat-Su's school board formally turned down a community plan to reopen closed Meadow Lakes Elementary as an outdoor charter school. The group can appeal.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Mat-Su parent asks school board to protect the school nurses her son relies on

A Mat-Su mom told the school board her first-grader needs trained care every two hours and asked it to keep school nurses. A committee is weighing options.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Wasilla council votes Monday on $200,000 contract for a new parks plan

Wasilla may pay $200,000 for a plan to guide its parks for 20 years. A city official already has a question: can sales tax keep paying for them?

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Wasilla council to vote Monday on a plan to fill Mayor Rubeo's old council seat

Wasilla's council votes Monday on how to fill the seat Mayor Alina Rubeo left behind. Applications would open Nov. 9, with interviews after Thanksgiving.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Mat-Su Assembly reverses vote, drops request for school to start after Labor Day

Two weeks after asking for a post-Labor Day school start, the Mat-Su Assembly took it back 1-6. Families picked August in the district's last survey anyway.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Follows: Mat-Su Assembly asks school board to start classes the day after Labor Day

Waterspout spins over Turnagain Arm hours after heavy wet snow hits Eagle River

A waterspout twirled over Turnagain Arm for 10-plus minutes Tuesday, after wet snow piled nearly 6 inches near Eagle River and barely stuck in west Anchorage.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

Mat-Su manager tallies $386 million in outside grants, led by $249 million rail award

Mat-Su Borough is getting $386 million in outside grants, led by $249 million to finish the Port MacKenzie rail extension.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Mat-Su Assembly accepts $2.5 million to refrigerate the ice at Big Lake's rink

Big Lake's rink waits on cold weather to make ice. The Mat-Su Assembly took $2.5 million from the Mat-Su Health Foundation to make its own instead.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Follows: Mat-Su Assembly weighs $2.5 million grant to refrigerate the ice at Big Lake rink

Mat-Su counts at least 763 buildings likely too close to lakes as Assembly weighs a fix

Mat-Su counts at least 763 lakefront buildings likely too close to the water, maybe double that. A one-page plan would give owners a year to go legal.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read

Follows: Mat-Su Assembly to revisit lake and river setback rules in a special meeting

Talkeetna residents ask Mat-Su Assembly for hearings on water tank site before Nov. 17

Talkeetna residents asked Mat-Su Assembly for formal hearings on a water tank site before a Nov. 17 briefing. They say the site pick drew opposition since January with no public input.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Archangel Road in Hatcher Pass closes to vehicles for the winter

Archangel Road in Hatcher Pass closed to cars for the winter Tuesday. Reed Lakes hikers, you're walking now. Snowmachiners, your season is coming.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

Fairbanks couple killed, toddler hurt in Parks Highway crash at Trapper Creek

A Fairbanks couple died Monday when their Subaru crossed the center line and hit a pickup near Trapper Creek. Their toddler was hurt. The Parks Highway closed for about five hours.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read

Hatch Act complaint targets Trump officials' remarks at Sullivan rally

Two groups want the special counsel to look at Carr, Burgum and Lutnick for talking agency business at Sullivan's Wasilla rally. Carr says he spoke personally.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read

NTSB investigating Cessna that lost control while landing in Meadow Lakes

A 1972 Cessna 206 lost control on the ground while landing in Meadow Lakes on Oct. 1. Nobody was hurt, and the NTSB opened a case, as it does.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readFrom Oct 1

Up to 6 inches of snow and slushy roads forecast for Anchorage and Mat Valley Tuesday

Winter weather advisory warns of 2 to 6 inches of snow and slushy roads for Anchorage and the Mat Valley Tuesday morning, with 6 to 12 inches on the Hillsides above 2,000 feet.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Houston plans a door-to-door income survey to qualify for an $850,000 fire station grant

Houston needs 51% of the people a fire station serves to be low or moderate income to get an $850,000 grant. HUD says 49.6%, so staff will knock on doors.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read