Mat-Su Valley

Man held without bail after indecent exposure arrest in Palmer

Troopers say they arrested a man near Seward Meridian Parkway early Thursday on a first-degree indecent exposure charge. He's held without bail.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Federal grant offers Native homeowners in Anchorage and Mat-Su a savings match and repair money

Native homeowners in Anchorage and Mat-Su who save $2,000 in a year could get an $8,000 match and up to $10,000 in repairs under a new grant program.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Registration permits open Friday for Chugach mountain goats after drawing hunt falls short of quota

Chugach goat hunters who struck out in the drawing get another shot: Unit 14A registration permits open Friday after drawing hunters took just 7 of 12 goats.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

MEA bills drop about $5 a month, giving back part of summer increase

MEA power bills drop about $5 a month starting Thursday. Good news, sort of: it gives back a little over a third of the increase that hit in July.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Mat-Su power bills climb about $15 a month, with more increases expected

Mat-Su gets $7.9 million federal grant for Port MacKenzie barge ramp

The Mat-Su Borough has lined up $12.1 million, mostly federal, for a barge ramp at Port MacKenzie so barges can land without fighting the tides.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 27

Wasilla man dies after motorcycle strikes guardrail supports on Wasilla Fishhook Road

A 28-year-old Wasilla man died early Tuesday when his motorcycle went out of control on Wasilla Fishhook Road. His passenger survived with minor injuries.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Knik Tribe to lead effort to keep drug-affected families together in Mat-Su and Kenai

The Knik Tribe will lead a five-year effort to keep children affected by a parent's drug or alcohol use safely with their families in the Mat-Su and Kenai.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Mat-Su Assembly member moves to reconsider the pricier Engstrom-Trunk road route

The Mat-Su Assembly picked the pricier northern route for the Engstrom-Trunk road 4-3. Now Maxwell Sumner wants a do-over, and it's on the Oct. 6 agenda.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Mat-Su picks a pricier road route over its advisors and landowners

Mat-Su resolution would ask school board to start classes after Labor Day

Mat-Su Assembly will vote Tuesday on a resolution asking the school board to start classes the day after Labor Day instead of earlier in August.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Wasilla sets Oct. 12 hearing on airport master plan that recommends higher lease rates

Wasilla airport leases have cost 6 cents a square foot for decades. A new 20-year master plan says that should go up. The public hearing is Oct. 12.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Wasilla weighs a plan to nearly double its airport runway

MatCom adds two fire and EMS dispatch positions paid for by the Mat-Su Borough

MatCom gets two more fire and medical dispatch positions so a second dispatcher and call taker can be on duty around the clock. The borough pays.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Wasilla weighs $569,600 for round-the-clock Fire/EMS dispatch at MatCom

Two council members and a former state senator run to replace term-limited Wasilla Mayor Glenda Ledford

Wasilla gets a new mayor this fall. Two council members and a former state senator are running, and if nobody tops 40%, it's back to the polls in November.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A year after Typhoon Halong, western Alaskans can still get job, training and winterization help

People still recovering from Typhoon Halong can get job training, winterization help and FEMA-paid flights. Disaster unemployment benefits have closed.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Sedan passenger seriously hurt in Knik Goose Bay Road crash in Wasilla

A sedan passenger was seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash Saturday night on Knik Goose Bay Road in Wasilla, a corridor with a fatal crash rate nearly four times the national average.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Troopers say 16-year-old shot and killed a family member near Slipper Lake in Sutton

Troopers say a 16-year-old shot and killed a family member near Slipper Lake in Sutton on Saturday, then drove to Seward and called 911. The teen is in custody.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Coast Guard orders $315 million fuel pier and cutter berths at Base Kodiak

The Coast Guard has now ordered about $458 million in new work at Base Kodiak this year, led by a $315 million fuel pier and berths for its biggest cutters.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 24

Judge upholds permit for Contango's Johnson Tract road after company finished building it

A judge upheld the permit for Contango's road and bridges at the Johnson Tract in Lake Clark. By then, the company had already finished building them.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 8

Wasilla pot shop near Knik Charter School surrenders its state license

The Wasilla-area pot shop 530 feet from Knik Charter School lost in court and now has no state license. Its name has moved to a store on Spenard Road.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Palmer junk hauler cited for dumping over 500 pounds of trash on Mat-Su land

A junk removal business is supposed to take the junk to the dump. Troopers say a Palmer man's took 500-plus pounds of it to a Point MacKenzie railbed instead.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Troopers say Eagle River hunter used a $5 license he did not qualify for

Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited an Eagle River hunter for falsely claiming low-income status to buy a $5 duck license instead of the $45 resident license.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

State extends Unit 9B resident moose season to Sept. 30 after bad weather limited hunting

Wind, rain and high water kept Iliamna-area moose hunters off the water. The state is adding five days, so the Unit 9B hunt now runs through Sept. 30.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

10-year-old boy reported missing in Big Lake is found safe, troopers say

A 10-year-old boy reported missing in the Big Lake area Friday has been found safe, Alaska State Troopers said, thanking the public for its help.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Mat-Su Regional gets $5 million in federal rural health money for a neonatal intensive care unit

Mat-Su Regional Medical Center gets $5 million in federal rural health money for a neonatal intensive care unit meant to keep more newborns out of Anchorage.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Alaska rural health notices pass $239 million with $30 million round

Where to celebrate Oktoberfest in Southcentral this weekend and next

Free Oktoberfest celebrations hit Girdwood, Anchorage and Valdez this weekend, Sept. 25-26. Ticketed adult events follow Oct. 3 in Palmer and Eagle River.

by Cale Green1mo ago3 min read

Houston commission recommends giving Holding District H landowners until March for fee-free zone changes

Houston landowners in the zoning holding district may get until the end of March to pick a new zone for free. The City Council still has to sign off.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Big Lake's trail groomers are asking the state for a snowmachine

The volunteers who groom 40 miles of Big Lake trail want a new snowmachine. Last time they asked the state for $35,000 and got about a third.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Police are searching for two missing teenagers in Anchorage and Wasilla

Anchorage police are searching for two missing teenagers: Sparrow Kowatch, 16, missing since Sept. 19, and Jay Moriwaki, 13, last seen Wednesday night.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

MEA lays out how rolling outages would work if Southcentral runs short of gas this winter

MEA's plan if the gas runs short: nine groups, 30 to 45 minutes dark apiece, turns every few hours. Step six of six, and the co-op hopes to never get there.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Mat-Su Ballot Ties Home Tax Break to New 1% Sales Tax

Mat-Su voters get one box to check on a homeowner tax break and the borough's first areawide sales tax. It's a package deal, like cable used to be.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 4

Coast Guard awards nearly $5 million to fix moisture damage in Cordova family housing

The Coast Guard is spending nearly $5 million to fix moisture damage in its Cordova duplexes. In fairness to the duplexes, they do live in Cordova.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Hemp plant proposal asks Houston council for land and permitting help

A foundation wants a hemp processing plant near Houston to serve Alaska fiber growers. The state's hemp registry currently lists only retailers.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Troopers arrest Nikiski man on felony DUI charge after rollover on Nikiski Avenue

Alaska State Troopers arrested a Nikiski man on felony DUI after his pickup rolled on Nikiski Avenue and he fled, tracking him via electronic monitoring for pending domestic violence charges.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Palmer's plan to test whether its two main wells can produce more clears state review

Palmer's plan to study and possibly expand Wells 4 and 5, which supply 90 percent of the city's water, cleared state environmental review. The city has requested a $1.5 million state loan for it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

The Alaska Court System awarded a $5.25 million contract to expand the Palmer Courthouse

The Legislature gave Palmer a fifth superior court judge this summer. The courthouse did not have room for the four judges it already had.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

Knik Tribe awarded $199,482 for Palmer fingerprinting site and mobile units

Fostering a child in Mat-Su can mean a long drive to get fingerprinted. Federal money is buying the Knik Tribe a station and two portable units.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Wasilla commissioner asks if city should pause commercial development

A Wasilla commissioner floated halting commercial development over road funding. The chair noted commerce is what pays the city's share of road projects.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Wasilla's road plan expired on a population forecast 38 percent too high

A teen moose hunter was flown to a hospital after a tree stand fall near Fairbanks

A teenage moose hunter fell from a tree stand southeast of Fairbanks and was flown out by trooper helicopter along with his father. Injuries weren't described.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

A Palmer barbecue restaurant's parking variance waits another month after neighbors object

A Palmer barbecue joint with zero parking spots says it counted 698 nearby on Google Earth. A dozen neighbors said that's not how this works.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

MEA surveys members on potential data center development

MEA is polling members about data centers while the state weighs handing 20,000 acres in its territory to AIDEA for a plan that lists data centers.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Mat-Su bans license plate readers before the borough owns any

Mat-Su banned borough use of license plate readers before owning any, with the sponsor calling himself a brick wall against Anchorage's surveillance push.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min read

Follows: Mat-Su considers banning plate readers before it has them