Mat-Su Valley
RSSNews from Mat-Su Valley, Alaska
Places
Local organizations and topics
Numbers are stories in the last 30 days.
Have a story from Mat-Su Valley? Send a tip
Week of Aug 17
A Wasilla seatbelt stop turned up meth, a stolen debit card and two warrants
A Wasilla seatbelt stop unspooled into a lot more: troopers reported meth, someone else's debit card, a false name and two warrants, one for stealing a car.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Troopers arrest Wasilla driver on DUI charge after KGB Road crash
A Wasilla driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after his truck hit a guardrail and semi-trailer on Knik-Goose Bay Road on August 20.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska State Fair plans $10 million Borealis Theatre rebuild
The Alaska State Fair is rebuilding its Borealis Theatre, growing the concert venue from 5,200 to 6,500 with a bigger stage, better sound and a steeper lawn.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Wasilla staff float options to broaden the city sales tax, no vote yet
Wasilla staff are floating ways to widen the city sales tax, from renters to nonprofits to charitable gaming. It's a report Monday, not a vote.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A cable across the Koyukuk, a camp for a mining crew, and no named mine
A Wasilla man wants to hang a 25,000-pound cable across the Koyukuk and camp a mining crew beside it. The state's form never asks which mine.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Troopers investigate death of Homer woman, 37, who collapsed in Anchor Point
Erin Kitchen, 37, of Homer died Monday night in Anchor Point after collapsing. The State Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Troopers fly three stranded hikers out of Hatcher Pass
Alaska Wildlife Troopers helicoptered three hikers out of Hatcher Pass on Monday after high water and weather blocked their exit, the third rescue in the area this summer.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A company wants to rework historic Interior goldfields, mining two creeks for a decade
A company wants to mine gold for a decade from two creeks in Alaska's historic Ruby goldfields, first struck in 1911, disturbing about 35 acres of streambed.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
More from Mat-Su Valley
More Mat-Su families are paying at the door to keep their power on, as their co-op runs ahead of budget
More Mat-Su families are paying at the door to keep their power on — nearly $472,000 this year — even as their co-op runs $4.9 million ahead of budget.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
DOT says cameras don't read plates; vendor policy allows video storage
Alaska says new cameras in Palmer, Wasilla and Anchorage count people and cars, not plates — but the vendor's policy sets no limit on storing video.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
The state wants to give away land near Houston for housing, one piece of a statewide push
The state wants to give away 42 acres near Houston, free, for housing — one of several no-cost transfers to the Housing Finance Corporation across Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Yentna River passes flood stage near Lake Creek with water expected in lodge cabins
The Yentna is over flood stage near Lake Creek, with water expected in cabins at two lodges. It should crest around 21 feet Tuesday morning.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Mat-Su loses its fall silver harvest, with one river closed without even a count
Mat-Su loses its fall silver harvest on the Susitna and Little Susitna after four weak coho years — one river closed without a count, its weir washed out.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A family gold operation wants four more seasons on Cache Creek, mined since the early 1900s
A family gold operation wants to work Cache Creek near Petersville for four more seasons, on ground mined by family outfits since the early 1900s.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A $3.73 million contract will fix water intrusion at the Anchorage VA
A $3.73 million federal contract will fix water intrusion at the Anchorage VA Medical Center — a year of work by a Palmer firm, starting in September.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
Week of Aug 10
One donor supplied 99 percent of the non-individual money behind Alaska's ranked choice repeal
Aurora Action Network gave $1.83 million to Alaska's ranked-choice repeal campaign, over 99 percent of its non-individual funding, but the group's true funding sources don't appear in public records.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read
Coming up
Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly Regular Meeting
Assembly Chambers, 350 East Dahlia Avenue, Palmer, AK 99645; testimony by phone at 1-855-225-2326
Meeting
19th Annual Mat-Su Salmon Science and Conservation Symposium
Conference
Marijuana Control Board Meeting
Meeting
Alaska Supreme Court oral argument: Leif S. Backlin v. Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Hearing
Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly and School Board Joint Meeting
Meeting
About Mat-Su Valley
The Mat-Su Valley is a region of Southcentral Alaska that takes in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Its communities include Wasilla, Palmer, Big Lake, Houston, Willow, Talkeetna and Trapper Creek, and it is known for agriculture, Hatcher Pass and the Iditarod.
The Mat-Su Borough Assembly, its Platting Board and Planning Commission decide on land use, subdivisions, grants and library policy, while the Wasilla and Palmer city councils run their own towns. Port MacKenzie and its rail line draw industrial proposals such as a mineral refinery, and the Wasilla airport plans to lengthen its runway.
The Parks and Glenn highways carry traffic through the borough, and crashes along them recur. The region shares Southcentral Alaska with Anchorage, Cook Inlet and the Susitna River.
More from Mat-Su Valley
Willow Creek forecast to reach minor flood stage Tuesday under Susitna Valley flood watch
Willow Creek is forecast to reach minor flood stage Tuesday morning during Alaska's primary election, with 2 to 4 inches of rain expected across the Susitna Valley through Wednesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Wasilla man fined $320 for false residency claim on a fishing and hunting license
A Wasilla man paid $320 for fudging where he lives on a fishing license. The residency rule he ran afoul of just survived a veto fight in Juneau.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Troopers arrest Palmer man on felony charge over mobile home abandoned on Old Glenn Highway
Alaska State Troopers arrested Palmer resident Aaron Musquiz after an abandoned mobile home damaged the Old Glenn Highway near mile 12, causing about $3,000 in roadway damage.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A Chamber endorsement for Begich, labor's backing for Hill
Nick Begich's campaign says he's won the U.S. Chamber's endorsement, days after Speaker Johnson visited; challenger Bill Hill has the state AFL-CIO's backing.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom 
Valdez lost its fight not to be lumped in with Mat-Su. All that's left is an $11,000 bill.
Valdez lost its fight not to be grouped with Mat-Su in one House district. All that's left is an $11,000 cost bill it's appealing to the state Supreme Court.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Three anglers cited for over-limit sockeye on the Middle Kenai River
Three anglers were cited Aug. 1 on the Middle Kenai River for keeping more sockeye salmon than the limit allowed; the excess fish were seized and donated.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
The Alaska Supreme Court sent a 14-year Willow property fight back to Palmer, with the trail's path still undecided
The Alaska Supreme Court wiped out the judgment mapping an access trail around a Willow home and sent the 14-year fight back to Palmer, with the trail's path still undecided.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kasilof man under sexual abuse investigation dies of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound
Kasilof man under sexual abuse investigation dies of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A retired Wasilla man is spending $11,000 to oppose a candidate for governor
A retired Wasilla man is spending about $11,000 to oppose gubernatorial candidate Bernadette Wilson before Tuesday's primary. No law caps the total.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Fairbanks voters will weigh banning voting machines for hand counts
Fairbanks voters decide Oct. 6 whether to ban voting machines and hand-count all ballots — an initiative its backers call cost-saving and its critics contest.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Troopers arrest Charles Yingst in Big Lake on warrants topping $2 million
Alaska State Troopers arrested Charles Yingst in Big Lake on Wednesday on warrants totaling more than $2 million for fraud and escape charges.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Mat-Su sex offender sweep produces 17 arrests, 15 of them for registration violations
Alaska State Troopers arrested 17 people during a three-day sex offender compliance sweep in the Mat-Su Valley but located only 60 of 100 registered offenders targeted for checks.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Palmer man accused of DUI after forcing officer off Parks Highway
A Palmer man ran a Wasilla officer off the Parks Highway, then admitted to a bottle of wine and being too drunk to drive. His breath test came back at 0.109.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Two arrested after reported armed robbery at Big Lake campground
Alaska State Troopers arrested two Anchorage residents after three campers were robbed at gunpoint at Northshore Campground in Big Lake early Wednesday, Aug. 12.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Eklutna Tailrace closes stretch to anglers 16 and older Saturday
Alaska Department of Fish and Game closes a stretch of Eklutna Tailrace to anglers 16 and older on Saturday, Aug. 15, to give kids 15 and younger a youth-only coho salmon fishery from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska trains construction workers, then struggles to keep them
Just 19% of Alaska's ironworkers and 44% of electricians are still in the trade five years on, a study found — a retention gap atop a worker shortage.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
New $605k research asks why some Denali spruce survive the beetles
A spruce beetle outbreak has killed up to 60% of the spruce around Denali. New UAA research will dig into why some trees die and others survive.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Seward's shipyards are tooling up as the town becomes a Coast Guard port again
Seward's shipyards got $2.3M in grants as the town becomes a Coast Guard port again, with a fast response cutter and later an Arctic icebreaker bound there.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago2 min read
Sheep mortality has run near triple its long-term rate in three Alaska ranges, state research finds
A GPS collar on a Dall sheep ram triggered a mortality signal, leading state biologists to a kill site showing signs of bear predation in the Alaska Range.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Starplex recruits Alaska State Fair seasonal staff Aug. 18 in Wasilla
Starplex is hiring seasonal staff for the Alaska State Fair at a job fair in Wasilla on Tuesday, Aug. 18, with flaggers earning $25 an hour, parking staff $16, and event staff $15.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A Wasilla runway extension eyes nearby homeowners' land, if the money can be found
A Wasilla runway extension could put nearby homeowners' land in the city's sights — and it may not qualify for the federal money that usually pays for it.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Anchorage and Fairbanks airports finish swapping PFAS foam out of crash trucks
Anchorage and Fairbanks airports replaced PFAS firefighting foam in their crash trucks with fluorine-free alternatives, cutting PFAS levels up to 99.999% in the tanks.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
The state plans to sell Granite Construction gravel near Chickaloon, without competitive bidding
The state plans to sell Granite Construction 40,000 cubic yards of gravel near Chickaloon with no competitive bidding, on a Glenn Highway stretch it's repaving.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Artists with disabilities sell their work at the Embracing AK Disabilities Expo in Palmer
Artists with disabilities sell their work Aug. 24 at the Embracing AK Disabilities Expo in Palmer, where families can also meet service agencies all in one room.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
