Mat-Su Valley

Palmer pilot and Michigan passenger killed in eastern Alaska plane crash

Two people died when a Piper Super Cub went down in eastern Alaska on Sept. 17, two days after a separate crash near Aniak killed two men.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 17

Troopers cite a Wasilla hunter over evidence of sex missing from his moose

A Wasilla hunter was cited near Eureka after troopers found his moose no longer had evidence of sex attached, a detail that turns a legal animal into a charge.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 4

Wasilla group reports $93,850 in September spending for six Republican legislative candidates

A group funded entirely by a national Republican committee has spent $93,850 on six Alaska House races, including $50,800 to a Wyoming canvassing firm.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Scammers posing as MEA are threatening Mat-Su members with shutoffs

Scammers posing as MEA are calling members, some with their account numbers, threatening to cut the power. MEA says hang up and call 907-761-9300.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 10

Troopers arrest woman for DUI after SUV hits median at Big Lake recreation area

Alaska State Troopers arrested a 47-year-old Big Lake woman on DUI and failure-to-report charges after her SUV struck a median at Big Lake North State Recreation Area early Sunday.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Railroad board to discuss $315 million Port MacKenzie extension Friday

The Alaska Railroad board will discuss a private consortium's Port MacKenzie proposal Friday. Any board action must occur in public session.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Troopers call Kenny Lake church fire suspicious

Alaska State Troopers are investigating a fire at Mountain View Baptist Church in Kenny Lake early Tuesday as suspicious.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 15

Alaska school tests show early gains and a one-in-five participation gap

Alaska's younger students gained ground, but one in five enrolled students had no AK STAR score. Correspondence testing barriers explain part of the gap.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom Sep 14

Mat-Su asks AIDEA to build at Point MacKenzie, not on 20,000 acres near Houston

The state proposed giving AIDEA 885 acres at Port MacKenzie for free, one day after the borough voted to send AIDEA there instead of Houston.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago4 min read

Arctic's warmest summer since 1950 included the rain that flooded the Susitna Valley

The July rain that flooded the Susitna Valley is now logged as an extreme event of the warmest Arctic summer since 1950, according to a new climate review.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A hydro plant sat on state land five years after its easement expired

A hydro plant east of Palmer has sat on state land for five years with no authorization to be there. The state now proposes to lease it the ground.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 14

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

Wasilla's road plan expired, its parent comprehensive plan was repealed in 2011, and it assumed 3,700 more residents than the city actually has.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A free crisis intervention course in Wasilla has 30 seats next month

Thirty free seats in a crisis intervention course in Wasilla next month, and Mat-Su officers and first responders get first crack at all of them.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

An Anchorage firm will run Job Corps in the South Bronx and Brooklyn

The Labor Department tried to shut down Job Corps last year and lost in court. Now it's signing new contracts, and an Anchorage firm got two in New York City.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

A jury convicted a former employee in a Trapper Creek killing

A Palmer jury convicted a former restaurant employee of first-degree murder in the 2023 killing of a 21-year-old server at a Trapper Creek lodge.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

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

Mat-Su picked a $21–31 million road route over a $9–10 million one, against every advisory body and landowners who won't sell, on a vote that first failed.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

After the tow trucks left, one family could reach their own land

Fifty vehicles came off a half-mile of road in Big Lake. One family could finally drive to their own property. It took $42,000 and eleven dumpsters.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Mat-Su kept the Long Trail sign, and the $300,000 that came with it

Mat-Su took $300,000 and kept the trail sign some members worried would invite federal control. The borough's own attorney said it would not.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A Big Lake man was killed in Houston. A 72-year-old faces murder charges.

A 43-year-old Big Lake man was shot and killed in Houston on Monday night. A 72-year-old Houston man was arrested on murder and assault charges.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

The Senate blocked federal crypto rules. Alaska already wrote its own

The Senate blocked the first federal crypto rules, with both Alaska senators voting to advance them. Alaska wrote its own kiosk law in July anyway.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alpine pipeline seeks nearly double metering capacity for Willow-era output

A North Slope pipeline wants to nearly double how much oil it can meter as Willow nears production. The filing changes measurement capacity, not Willow's approval.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A Wasilla workshop will walk job seekers through federal applications

State staff will help job seekers with federal applications Thursday in Wasilla — as Alaska's federal job market shrinks and resumes get capped at two pages.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Judge upholds federal permit for mining access inside Lake Clark National Park

A judge upheld the permit for a road, airstrip and tunnel inside Lake Clark park. The test was whether the Corps was arbitrary, not whether it was right.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Three Alaska disaster declarations have no Federal Register notice

Three Alaska disaster declarations have no federal notice, though rules require one. For the Mat-Su storm, the finished notice has sat unfiled since April.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Wasilla council commits to planning a regional dispatch center outside city limits

Wasilla agreed to help plan moving its emergency dispatch center out of town. The reason for the hurry is a fire station going up on Bogard Road.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

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

Wasilla council pulls airport master plan from introduction, delays public hearing

Wasilla's council postponed but didn't drop a plan to nearly double its airport runway, from 3,700 feet toward 6,000, at an estimated $279 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

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

Troopers identify driver who left Ester street light crash

Alaska State Troopers identified a driver who knocked down a street light near Chena Ridge Road in Ester and left the scene without reporting the crash.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Talkeetna residents ask Mat-Su commission to oppose Front Street water tank site

Talkeetna's wells have too much arsenic. The borough's fix would clear 1.4 acres of woods with a bear trail through it, and neighbors want another site.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

State moves to permit an antimony ore crusher near Port MacKenzie

The state tentatively approved an air permit for an antimony ore crusher near Port MacKenzie, without publishing any estimate of what it would put into the air.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Fairbanks votes Oct. 6 on capping taxes, moving elections and hand counts

Fairbanks voters decide Oct. 6 whether to cap borough taxes, move elections to November and count ballots by hand. Any of it locks for two years.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Mat-Su considers banning plate readers before it has them

Mat-Su votes Tuesday on banning license plate readers it doesn't own — the same night Anchorage debates regulating the ones it already has.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 1

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

Mat-Su electric bills rose about $14.50 a month this quarter as power costs climbed, and the co-op expects about 5% annual increases for three years.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Comment closes Monday on giving 20,000 Houston-area acres to AIDEA

Alaskans have until 5 p.m. Monday to comment on giving 20,000 acres north of Houston to a state agency for free — and only those who comment can appeal.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

A Seattle union gave its Alaska committee $500,000. It's spent $8,000 of it in cash.

A Seattle union gave its Alaska committee $500,000 to back Kreiss-Tomkins and six House candidates — and it's spent just $8,000 of it in cash.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Dunleavy proclaims Sept. 13-19 Suicide Prevention Week in Alaska

Alaska has marked this week for suicide prevention. The message is simple: if you are worried about someone, ask them directly, and stay with them.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Parents warn Mat-Su that cutting school nurses puts children at risk

Parents and staff told the Mat-Su school board that cutting nurses puts children at risk, as a Teeland Middle School nurse prepares to leave.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Aug 26

MEA is holding $451,000 in refunds for members it can't find

Matanuska Electric is sitting on more than $451,000 it owes members it can't find — one of them is owed about $15,000. Checking takes a phone call.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 1

Eight Unalaska roofs have failed, including the high school and water plant

Eight Unalaska roofs have failed or are failing, including the high school and the water plant. Fixing all 27 city roofs starts at $22 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 8

Three Mat-Su school roofs are failing, and the money may take years

Three Mat-Su school roofs are failing, and fixing them may take more than one budget cycle. The district's deferred repair backlog stands at $411 million.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Aug 26

Wasilla's parks commission backs a ball field expansion with no money behind it

Wasilla's parks commission endorsed a softball field expansion with no money behind it. The commissioner who moved to support it represents the softball league.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 9