Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska's fastest-growing region and commuter belt for Anchorage. Home of the Iditarod headquarters, Hatcher Pass, and the Alaska State Fair in Palmer.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK, USA
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Edna DeVries
“So that resolution was passed. What it is saying is we're encouraging ADA to assist us as well as the whole state with the West Sioux Access, um, project as well as the port project. And so that will now today gonna be forwarded to the state. That was adopted.”Mat-Su Borough: MAYOR POST BLOG ASSEMBLY MEETING SEP15, 2026 · Sep 18, 2026
Edna DeVries
“Another item that was under reconsideration was whether the assembly should support DNR's allocation of 19,000+ acres to ADA. Uh, in 2 weeks ago, there had just been a letter, and then there— after that letter had been adopted by the assembly, the next day there had been reconsideration by an assembly person. So that put the letter on hold, but that also gave, uh, Deputy Mayor time to do a resolution and get it on the agenda for last night.”Mat-Su Borough: MAYOR POST BLOG ASSEMBLY MEETING SEP15, 2026 · Sep 18, 2026
Edna DeVries
“there's been controversy and a need for better connections of Engstrom Road and Bogard, and that project has been going on for several years. The latest report is that there will be a roundabout, and it should be here within the next year, 18 months, but still a lot of traffic at that intersection.”Mat-Su Borough: MAYOR POST BLOG ASSEMBLY MEETING SEP15, 2026 · Sep 18, 2026
Simon Gilland
“It's owned by a developer. Um, the landowners that are going to end up with a mile and a half of road through the middle of their homestead, 100-year-old homestead, no desire to develop. There's no, no inklings that I've heard from the other landowner that's adjacent, the Buffalo Ranch, that he wants to develop. This is a, this is a road that helps one developer.”Assembly Meeting - Sep. 15 part 2 · Sep 15, 2026
Michael Bowles
“I hope every member of this assembly supports this. We have a duty to support this, and it is a constitutional right that we have to privacy.”Assembly Meeting - Sep. 15 part 2 · Sep 15, 2026
Ron Bernier
“That's a state right-of-way. Does this ordinance prohibit those type of cameras? As a second-class borough, we cannot regulate the state's rights-of-way.”Assembly Meeting - Sep. 15 part 2 · Sep 15, 2026
Mat-Su Assembly member moves to reconsider the pricier Engstrom-Trunk road route
Mat-Su Assembly member Maxwell Sumner moves to reconsider the Northern Route 1 choice for the Engstrom Road to Trunk Road corridor at the Oct. 6 Assembly meeting.
by Walter AlaskaNews3h ago2 min read
MatCom adds two fire and EMS dispatch positions paid for by the Mat-Su Borough
Wasilla approves $569,600 in Mat-Su Borough funding for a Fire/EMS dispatcher and call taker at MatCom, which dispatches fire and EMS calls for the borough.
by Walter AlaskaNews8h ago2 min read
Wasilla pot shop near Knik Charter School surrenders its state license
Shoreline Cannabis near Knik Charter School surrenders Wasilla marijuana license after losing Mat-Su Borough 1,000-foot school buffer case in court.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d 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 AlaskaNews1d ago1 min read
Mat-Su Ballot Ties Home Tax Break to New 1% Sales Tax
Mat-Su Borough Proposition C pairs a $75,000 homeowner property tax exemption with a 1 percent areawide sales tax on the Nov. 3 ballot, including Wasilla and Palmer.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
Mat-Su bans license plate readers before the borough owns any
The Mat-Su Borough Assembly banned borough use of automated license plate readers, while Anchorage weighs rules for systems it is already testing.
by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago4 min read
Mat-Su asks AIDEA to build at Point MacKenzie, not on 20,000 acres near Houston
Alaska's DNR proposed conveying 885 acres at Port MacKenzie to AIDEA at no cost, a day after the Mat-Su Assembly passed a resolution steering the authority away from Houston.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago4 min read
After the tow trucks left, one family could reach their own land
Mat-Su crews towed about 60 vehicles and hauled 50 tons of trash from Big Lake's Peaceful Place neighborhood, clearing a half-mile of public right-of-way.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Mat-Su picks a pricier road route over its advisors and landowners
he Mat-Su Borough Assembly chose the costlier northern route for the Engstrom-Trunk road over a cheaper southern option every advisory body had recommended.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Mat-Su kept the Long Trail sign, and the $300,000 that came with it
The Mat-Su Assembly accepted a $300,000 Rasmuson Foundation grant for Matanuska River Park, keeping an Alaska Long Trail gateway sign that drew objections.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Mat-Su considers banning plate readers before it has them
Mat-Su Borough considers Ordinance 26-106 Tuesday, barring it from buying or querying license plate readers, as Anchorage debates rules for a network it already runs.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Wasilla council commits to planning a regional dispatch center outside city limits
The Wasilla City Council agreed to join Mat-Su Borough planning for a regional dispatch facility that would move MatCom outside city limits to Bogard Road.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Talkeetna residents ask Mat-Su commission to oppose Front Street water tank site
Two Talkeetna residents asked the Mat-Su Planning Commission to oppose a 375,000-gallon water tank on Front Street that would clear 1.4 acres of woods.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Parents warn Mat-Su that cutting school nurses puts children at risk
Parents and staff warned the Mat-Su school board that proposed nurse cuts put students with chronic conditions at risk, as one school's nurse departs.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Comment closes Monday on giving 20,000 Houston-area acres to AIDEA
Alaska's DNR has issued a preliminary decision to convey 19,950 acres north of Houston to AIDEA at no cost for industrial development, with public comment closing at 5 p.m. Monday.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read
Three Mat-Su school roofs are failing, and the money may take years
The Mat-Su school board sent the borough a $39 million maintenance list led by roof replacements at three schools, against a $411 million repair backlog.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago1 min read
Wasilla weighs $569,600 for round-the-clock Fire/EMS dispatch at MatCom
A $569,600 budget amendment would put a second Fire/EMS dispatcher and a second call-taker on duty at MatCom 24 hours a day, paid entirely by a Mat-Su Borough contract change order. The Wasilla City Council introduces it Monday, with a public hearing Sept. 28.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Parent tells Mat-Su officials bus cancellations fall to parents
A parent testified at the joint Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly and School Board meeting Tuesday that repeated school bus cancellations leave families to arrange their own transportation. No Palmer day care the parent checked has a bus or van for students.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Mat-Su moves to lease Port MacKenzie land to an antimony company
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Port Commission recommended leasing 42.78 acres of Port MacKenzie land to an antimony company without publishing minutes.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago3 min read
Mat-Su weighs a council district for a group staff say does not meet the code
The Mat-Su Borough Planning Commission is advancing a Greater Oilwell Road Community Council District despite a staff finding that the applicant association, whose membership rests on landownership and dues, does not meet the borough's community council definition.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Tunneling into an old Alaska gold mine turned up veins nobody had mapped
Contango Silver & Gold reported 332 meters of underground development, first assay results, and two previously unmodeled vein structures at its Lucky Shot gold property near Willow.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago2 min read
Mat-Su cut school walking paths from its short-term road list
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Planning Commission approved Resolution 26-17 on Monday, Aug. 17, recommending 11 transportation projects and removing pathway and crossing work at two elementary schools in favor of road reconstruction and pavement preservation.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Troopers arrest two after 4-wheeler pursuit near Wasilla's Sage Road
Alaska State Troopers say a 4-wheeler fled a stop in the Sage Road area near Wasilla on Wednesday night. Cassandra Pitka, 32, of Wasilla, wanted on a warrant, and driver Mica Messinger, 45, of Anchorage, are jailed at Mat-Su Pretrial in Palmer.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Mat-Su explores building the troopers a new home and leasing it back
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly approved a resolution Tuesday directing its manager to negotiate a 20-year lease with the state and develop a proposal for an $8 million Alaska State Trooper facility and a $5 million regional 911 dispatch annex near Tate Drive and Bogard Road.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Mat-Su assembly member puts possible school closures on Sept. 8 joint agenda
Assemblymember Stephanie Nowers asked for a discussion of projected enrollment and future possible school closures at the Sept. 8 joint Mat-Su Borough Assembly and School Board meeting in Palmer. No schools are named, and no closure vote is scheduled.
by Alaska News4w ago1 min read
ENSTAR raised its gas line relocation estimates and Mat-Su road budgets absorb the cost
ENSTAR raised gas line relocation estimates on eight Matanuska-Susitna Borough road projects, and road service area budgets will absorb roughly $700,000.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago1 min read
Mat-Su Assembly rejects lowering its property tax cap to 7 mills
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly rejected lowering its property tax cap from 9.5 to 7 mills, after the administration warned it would force about $22 million in cuts.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago1 min read
Mat-Su sets aside Zero Lake Road land for a future shooting range
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly classified land on Zero Lake Road for a future shooting range, over objections from neighboring property owners.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago1 min read
Mat-Su voters will decide whether the borough can build roads anywhere
Proposition D would let the Matanuska-Susitna Borough acquire right-of-way and build roads anywhere in its boundaries, using funds not tied to road service areas.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Mat-Su assembly member proposes borough ban on license plate readers
A Matanuska-Susitna Borough ordinance would prohibit buying, installing or operating automated license plate readers, and bar borough departments from querying outside networks.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Mat-Su would sell a sinking public safety building for $13,176
A condemned Mat-Su public safety building near Lake Louise would sell to a local community association for $13,176 under an ordinance up for hearing Sept. 1.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A hiker was carried off a Hatcher Pass trail, the second rescue there this summer
Alaska State Troopers, State Parks, Palmer Rescue and Mat-Su Borough EMS carried an incapacitated adult hiker off Reed Lake Trail in Hatcher Pass on Thursday to a waiting ambulance. It was at least the second rescue on the route this summer.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
A proposed cap would limit how high Mat-Su can set its property tax rate
A proposed Mat-Su Borough ordinance would cap the areawide property tax rate at 7 mills, below the current rate, limiting what future assemblies could set.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
The Legislature let local voters decide school board term lengths — and Mat-Su is first in line
The Legislature unanimously passed SB 143, letting Alaska communities decide by vote whether school board terms run three or four years, as Mat-Su weighs putting the question on its November ballot.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
In Talkeetna, a debate over whether weather or a bridge is eroding the riverbank
At a Mat-Su Borough meeting on Talkeetna erosion, a longtime observer said a rebuilt railroad bridge narrowed the Talkeetna River channel and cannot pass the basin's water, citing recent flows of 44,000 CFS on the Talkeetna and 40,000 CFS on the Susitna.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Landowner gets variance to split land off Wasilla-Fishhook Road
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Platting Board approved a variance Thursday allowing a nearly 13-acre parcel near North Wasilla Fishhook Road to be split into two lots, after the state denied the property direct highway access and a board member questioned whether the hardship was self-created.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Mat-Su voters will decide whether the borough can tax valley-wide for big road projects
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly adopted an ordinance Tuesday putting a borough-wide road powers question on the Nov. 3 ballot, letting areawide money buy right-of-way and build roads, a power now held only by individual road service areas.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Governor's disaster declaration unlocks state aid for Talkeetna flooding
A July 25 disaster declaration authorizing state public assistance for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough over Talkeetna flooding was read into the Alaska State Senate record Tuesday during a technical session.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Mat-Su commission backs the $9 million road route over the $30 million one
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Planning Commission voted down its staff's recommended northern alignment for the Engstrom Road to Trunk Road connector Monday and adopted a substitute resolution backing a southern route estimated at about $9 million, after testimony on cost, safety and property rights.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A neighbor found the missing Butte woman walking near his home
An elderly woman who wandered from her Butte home was found safe nine hours later by a community member, after a borough-wide search by fire crews, drones and volunteers.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read