Stephanie Nowers
Assembly Member · Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly
29 articles · 12 transcripts · 13 clips
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
Stephanie Nowers is the Assembly Member for District 2 on the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly in Alaska, first elected in 2019 and re-elected in 2022. In this role she represents District 2 residents on the borough’s legislative body.
Affiliations
Mat-Su School Board race and term-length vote too close to call before certification
A Mat-Su School Board seat is 83 votes apart and longer School Board terms lead by 245, with up to 5,973 ballots left to count before Nov. 17 certification.
Mat-Su voters reject sales tax, lean against alcohol tax and road powers
Mat-Su voters rejected a 1% sales tax about 2 to 1 and were voting down an alcohol tax and road powers. Longer school board terms are too close to call.
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.
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.
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.
Mat-Su counts at least 763 buildings likely too close to lakes as Assembly weighs a fix
“I don't want to spit in the eye of people who have legally complied out here”
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.
Mat-Su Assembly to revisit lake and river setback rules in a special meeting
Mat-Su Borough Assembly special meeting Oct. 20 on waterbody setbacks, the 75-foot rule for lakes and streams, after an earlier advisory board's recommendations.
Mat-Su Assembly asks school board to start classes the day after Labor Day
Mat-Su kids would start school after Labor Day instead of mid-August if the school board agrees. It's only a request, and the vote may not even stand.
Mat-Su Assembly writes scenic trail opposition into Rasmuson grant resolution
Mat-Su Assembly added opposition to National Scenic Trail status for the Alaska Long Trail to a $300,000 grant resolution, citing use restrictions and loss of local control.
Mat-Su Assembly pulls Engstrom road reconsideration without debate
Mat-Su Assembly dropped a reconsideration of the Engstrom Road connector, leaving a September vote in place for the $21.6 million northern route over a $9.1 million southern option.
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.
Mat-Su bans license plate readers before the borough owns any
“there's a lot of potential for abuse in it”
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.
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.
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.
Mat-Su explores building the troopers a new home and leasing it back
Mat-Su is exploring building troopers a $13 million facility and leasing it back. Troopers now work from six buildings never designed for police work.
Mat-Su assembly member puts possible school closures on Sept. 8 joint agenda
Mat-Su Assembly and School Board will discuss possible school closures Sept. 8 after enrollment dropped 2,153 students since 2018.
Mat-Su Assembly rejects lowering its property tax cap to 7 mills
Mat-Su's Assembly rejected lowering its tax cap to 7 mills after the borough warned it would force $22 million in cuts — schools and ambulances included.
Mat-Su sets aside Zero Lake Road land for a future shooting range
Mat-Su set aside land for a shooting range over a year of neighbor objections. One cabin owner's structure sits about 1,000 feet downrange.
Mat-Su voters will decide whether the borough can tax valley-wide for big road projects
Mat-Su voters will decide Nov. 3 whether the borough can use borough-wide taxes to build big road projects no single service area can afford — with debate over whether it shifts money from urban to rural areas.
Two Delta Junction residents killed when a septic trench caved in on them
“My understanding is that the DEC requires a certified installer, but there's no engineer, and DEC has no staffing to come out and inspect these.”
Mat-Su Assembly declares Talkeetna flood emergency, seeks state aid for permanent fix
Mat-Su Assembly declared a local emergency over Susitna River flooding in Talkeetna to unlock state aid for a permanent fix that could cost over $20 million.
A $700 property tax break, paid for by a 1% sales tax
“this is the only proposal that we've had before us that ensures the benefit of reduced property taxes only accrues to people who live here. Every other proposal we've talked about would benefit large outside corporations who do business here and will not pass the savings on to us.”
Mat-Su weighs a flood emergency and a tax overhaul
The Mat-Su Assembly takes up a Talkeetna flood emergency and a November ballot plan that would swap a new 3% sales tax for a cap on property taxes.
Mat-Su Says No to Swapping Property Tax for Sales Tax
Mat-Su weighed trading its property tax for a 6.5% sales tax — same money, different payers — and decided renters, shoppers, and an untested legal handcuff made it a bad bet for the ballot.
Mat-Su removes gravel permit barrier in Knik-Fairview
“I'm trying to figure out what problem we're trying to solve because we're proving 11 out of 12 conditional use permits in the past six years.”
Assembly transfers nine riverfront parcels to state for erosion control
Alaska borough transfers nine riverfront parcels to the state to build erosion barriers before the Matanuska River threatens the highway.
Mat-Su Assembly blocks sales tax proposal before public hearing
“I think it's it's really important to have public input, and this is just another idea on the table. I've heard loud and clear that people want lower property taxes, and this is one way to get there, that it just gives people ideas.”
