Misplaced Pages

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46-756: In 2014, the organization purchased the Anchorage Daily News from McClatchy Newspapers , merging the two news operations under the masthead Alaska Dispatch News . In 2017, the combined news organization declared bankruptcy and was sold to Binkley Group; the newspaper reverted to its previous name. Alaska Dispatch began as an Alaska news blog in 2008, started by former Bloomberg and Newsweek correspondent Tony Hopfinger and his then-wife, journalist Amanda Coyne, who wrote articles and blogs for Alaska Dispatch until late 2012. In 2009, Alice Rogoff, former U.S. News & World Report chief financial officer and wife of Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein , bought

92-560: A Sunday newspaper until June 13, 1965. By then, the Anchorage Daily News had become a morning newspaper, making that switch on April 13, 1964. By the 1970s, the gradual downturn in the newspaper industry was taking its toll on the ADN . Lawrence Fanning had purchased the paper in 1968, but suffered a heart attack at his desk and died in 1971. His widow, Katherine Woodruff "Kay" Fanning , took over. Kay Fanning had previously been married into

138-530: A boom in residential and commercial real estate development. The local real estate market slowed in 2006. In 2008, suburban growth and dwindling snow forced organizers of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to bypass Wasilla permanently, due to a warming climate . The race had its start in Wasilla from 1973 to 2002, the year when reduced snow cover forced a "temporary" change to Willow . According to

184-584: A large campground, boat launch, and dog park on Lake Lucille, Newcomb Park on Wasilla Lake, and other parks, playgrounds, and a skate park. Alaska State Parks operates the Finger Lake State Recreation Area , and the Little Susitna River Public Use Area , which features a large campground, river access, and is the gateway to a 300,800 acres (121,700 ha) public game reserve. Wasilla is one of five cities featured in

230-532: A majority share in the website, and the organization moved into a hangar located along Anchorage's Merrill Field Airport, where Rogoff, a licensed pilot, also houses her Cessna 206 . With Rogoff's investment, the staff grew to include journalists who had previously worked for other Alaska news outlets, including the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner , the Anchorage Press , local NBC affiliate KTUU and

276-462: A particular focus on oil and gas policies in Alaska, fisheries and wildlife management, outdoor activities such as sled dog mushing and mountaineering, rural affairs and Alaska Native corporations, Alaska politics, and worldwide Arctic geopolitics and climate change. The organization also featured a "Bush Pilot" section, which covers aviation topics in Alaska and abroad. In April 2014, it was announced that

322-602: A site on the western edge of the city during the 1980s. An anti-moose mat was installed around the runway in 2005, giving a light shock to animals which might otherwise wander into the path of moving aircraft. The old airport site is currently home to a city park. Wasilla also has eight public-use seaplane bases located on area lakes. Private-use air facilities registered with the FAA include 43 land-based airstrips , eight additional seaplane bases, two heliports and one STOLport . The City of Wasilla operates several parks, including

368-474: A small two-story storefront building at the corner of West Seventh Avenue and I Street. The McClatchy Company purchased the Daily News in 1979, when it bought a controlling interest from Kay Fanning, who had been editor and publisher since Larry Fanning's death in 1971. Kay Fanning continued as the head of the paper until mid-1983. While retaining some financial interest in the paper, she went on to become

414-501: Is elected separately. A run-off election is held if no candidate for mayor receives more than 40% of the votes cast. Run-off elections are not held for city council seats. All positions are part-time. While Wasilla has an Alaska State Troopers presence, Wasilla falls under the jurisdiction of the Wasilla Police Department, founded in 1993, and employs 25 sworn officers. Emergency services and fire protection are provided by

460-522: Is headquartered in Anchorage , with bureaus in Wasilla and Juneau . The Anchorage Daily News was born as the weekly Anchorage News , publishing its first issue January 13, 1946. The paper's founder and first publisher was Norman C. Brown. The early president of the paper's parent company was Harry J. Hill, who was also assistant treasurer of The Lathrop Company . This established the theory that Cap Lathrop

506-556: Is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the state. The city's population was 9,054 at the 2020 census , up from 7,831 in 2010. Wasilla is the largest city in the borough and a part of the Anchorage metropolitan area , which had an estimated population of 398,328 in 2020. Established at the intersection of the Alaska Railroad and Old Carle Wagon Road,

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552-485: Is named after Chief Wasilla, a local Dena'ina chief . "Wasilla" is the anglicized spelling of the chief's Russian-given name, Васи́лий Vasilij , which corresponds to the English name Basil . Glacial ice sheets covered most of the northern hemisphere during the last glacial period, between 26,500 and 19,000–20,000 years ago, until they disappeared between 10,000 and about 7,000 years ago. Early humans moved through

598-536: The Anchorage Daily News . In 2009, the site earned positive coverage for its series on a massacre of caribou in the rural Alaska village of Point Hope . In 2010, the Columbia Journalism Review called Alaska Dispatch "a regional reporting powerhouse," while the American Journalism Review did a lengthy profile of the news site's willingness to fly a reporter thousands of miles to cover

644-581: The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico . In that same profile, an editor of the Anchorage Daily News newspaper, at the time one of the site's competitors, referred to Alaska Dispatch's coverage as inconsistent, and questioned the sustainability of its business model. In 2011, Alaska Dispatch won first place in the breaking news category in the "Best of the West" journalism competition for its coverage of

690-628: The George Parks Highway around 1970, nearby Palmer was the leading city in the Matanuska Valley. Wasilla was at the end of the Palmer-Wasilla highway and the road to Big Lake provided access to land west of Wasilla. The Parks Highway put Wasilla at mile 40–42 of what became the major highway and railroad transportation corridor linking Southcentral Alaska to Interior Alaska. As a result, population growth and community development shifted from

736-575: The Glenn Highway connects Wasilla to Anchorage and communities on the Kenai Peninsula . The Parks also links the Matanuska Valley northward to the rest of the state and Canada. The Alaska Railroad serves Wasilla. The city-owned Wasilla Airport , with a paved 3,700-foot (1,100 m) runway , provides air taxi services. The airport was formerly located in the city center before moving to

782-459: The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race , a popular and significant sporting event in Alaska, is located in Wasilla. Wasilla gained international attention when Sarah Palin , who served as Mayor of Wasilla before her election as Governor of Alaska , was chosen by John McCain as his running mate for Vice President of the United States in the 2008 United States presidential election . Wasilla

828-518: The Marshall Field family (she was the mother of Ted Field ). This was of no help to her, as the paper plunged further into debt as the decade wore on. In 1974, Fanning entered into a joint operating agreement with the Anchorage Times . Times publisher Robert Atwood cancelled the agreement 4 years later. By this point, the paper's news-gathering and editorial operations were operating out of

874-633: The Matanuska-Susitna Borough under Central Mat-Su Fire Department. Wasilla is served by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District . It has five high schools: There are also career training and technical colleges in Wasilla. Mat-Su Regional Medical Center opened in January 2006. It is outside the city limits halfway between Wasilla and its twin town of Palmer . The George Parks Highway in conjunction with

920-552: The United States Census Bureau , the city has an area of 12.4 square miles (32.2 km (12.4 sq mi). Of that, 11.7 square miles (30.4 km ) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km ) (5.64%) is water. Located near Wasilla Lake and Lake Lucille , Wasilla is one of two towns in the Matanuska Valley . The community surrounds Mi. 39–46 of the George Parks Highway , roughly 43 mi (69 km) by highway northeast of Anchorage . Nearly one third of

966-624: The Alaska Dispatch would be buying the Anchorage Daily News for $ 34 million. Now under new ownership, the Anchorage Daily News was renamed the Alaska Dispatch News , reflecting the newspaper's statewide focus while preserving its recognizable "ADN" abbreviation and domain name , three months later. The news outlets merged their websites in July 2014 as well. In 2017, Alaska Dispatch News declared bankruptcy following issues with its lease and

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1012-582: The August 2010 plane crash that killed former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens and four others, beating out the larger-market Oregonian and Seattle Times newspapers for the top prize. In 2012, a report detailing the problems surrounding a remote airport project servicing the Aleutian community of Akutan won first place in the Best General Reporting category. The site covered many statewide topics, with

1058-527: The Palmer area to Wasilla and the surrounding area. Wasilla was incorporated as a city in 1974. All non- borough municipalities throughout Alaska are designated cities. In 1994, a statewide initiative to move Alaska's capital to Wasilla was defeated by a vote of about 116,000 to 96,000. About that time, the Matanuska Valley began to recover from an economic collapse, beginning a sustained boom that involved dramatic population growth, increased local employment, and

1104-532: The area and left evidence of their passage. The Matanuska-Susitna valley was eventually settled by the Dena'ina Alaska natives who utilized the fertile lands and fishing opportunities of Cook Inlet . The Dena'ina are one of the eleven sub-groups comprising the indigenous Athabaskan groups extending down Canada's western coast. The area around downtown Wasilla was known to the Dena'ina as Benteh , which translates as "among

1150-421: The average family size was 3.27. In the community of Wasilla, the age distribution of the population shows 33.6% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30. For every 100 females, there were 99.5 males; for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males. The median income for a household in Wasilla

1196-557: The census of 2000, there were 5,469 people (up from 4,028 in 1990), 1,979 households, and 1,361 families residing in the city. The population density was 466.8 people per square mile (180.2 people/km ). There were 2,119 housing units at an average density of 180.9 units per square mile (69.8 units/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 85.5% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 5.3% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.3% from other races, and 5.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.7% of

1242-400: The city prospered at the expense of the nearby mining town of Knik . Historically entrepreneurial, the economic base shifted in the 1970s from small-scale agriculture and recreation to support for workers employed in Anchorage or on Alaska's North Slope oilfields and related infrastructure. The George Parks Highway turned the town into a commuter suburb of Anchorage. The headquarters of

1288-556: The economy. One hundred and twenty area residents hold commercial fishing permits; commercial fishermen work seasonally in Lower Cook Inlet and distant Bristol Bay or the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound (there are no commercial fisheries in Upper Cook Inlet). The Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry in Wasilla was established in 1967, "to give a home to the transportation and industrial remnants and to tell

1334-508: The editor of The Christian Science Monitor . The Daily News was the first of two newspapers that the then-122-year-old, California-based, McClatchy Company bought outside the state; the Kennewick, Washington , Tri-City Herald was the next. McClatchy would later grow to become a national newspaper company, including the purchase of the Knight-Ridder chain in 2006. In April, 2014, it

1380-706: The effect and influence of the Teamsters Union on the state's economy and politics. The Daily News was at that time the smallest daily newspaper and the first in the state to win the Public Service Pulitzer. The 1988 series was "A People in Peril," which documented the high degree of alcoholism , suicide and despair in the Alaska Native population. In 2020, the Daily News again won the Public Service Pulitzer for

1426-490: The entire year, there are 30–31 days of sub-0 °F (−17.8 °C) lows, 37–38 days of 70 °F (21.1 °C)+ highs, and 1.4 days of 80 °F (26.7 °C)+ highs. The average annual precipitation is 17 inches (430 mm), with 52 inches (1.32 m) of snowfall. Wasilla first appeared on the 1930 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village of 51 residents. Of these, all 51 were White. It has returned in every successive census and formally incorporated in 1974. As of

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1472-537: The general downturn in newspaper circulation. The organization was sold for $ 1 million to the Binkley Group, and paper reverted to its previous name Anchorage Daily News . Anchorage Daily News The Anchorage Daily News is a daily newspaper published by the Binkley Co., and based in Anchorage, Alaska . It is the most widely read newspaper and news website (adn.com) in the state of Alaska . The newspaper

1518-530: The gold fields at Cache Creek and Willow Creek. More than 200 farm families from the Upper Midwest were moved into the Matanuska and Susitna valleys in 1935 as part of a U.S. government program to start a new farming community to counteract this trend; their linguistic influence is still audible in the region. The area was a supply base for gold mines near Hatcher Pass through World War II. Until construction of

1564-649: The lakes". Near the mouth of the Matanuska River, the town of Knik was settled about 1880. In 1900, the Willow Creek Mining District was established to the north and Knik thrived as a mining settlement. In 1917, the U.S. government planned the Alaska Railroad to intersect the Carle Wagon Road (present Wasilla-Fishhook Road) which connected Knik and the mines. Local businesses and residents rushed to buy land nearby, and Knik declined. Wasilla Station

1610-570: The paper will reduce the number of print editions from six to two a week. Newsroom staff launched a campaign to unionize in September 2024 and voted two months later 13-4 in favor of unionization. The newspaper has won the Pulitzer Prize three times in the Public Service category, in 1976, 1989 and 2020. The 1976 Pulitzer was for its series "Empire: The Alaska Teamsters Story," which disclosed

1656-407: The paper's "Lawless" series, about the failings of Alaska's criminal justice system, particularly in rural Alaska. The Daily News shared that Pulitzer with ProPublica , with whom the Daily News had collaborated on the series. Wasilla, Alaska Wasilla ( Dena'ina :  Benteh ) is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska , United States, and the fourth-largest city in Alaska. It

1702-456: The people of Wasilla drive the 40-minute commute to work in Anchorage every day. Six miles to the southeast is Mount POW/MIA . Wasilla has a climate similar to that of Anchorage , classified as a subarctic climate ( Dfc ) by Köppen-Geiger climate classification , although with slightly warmer daytime maxima and colder nighttime minima due to its inland location. On average, over the course of

1748-406: The population. There were 1,979 households, out of which 43.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and

1794-663: The stories of the people and the machines that opened Alaska to exploration and growth." In 2010, the Menard Center lost a tenant when the Arctic Predators did not play as a member of the Indoor Football League . The Wasilla City Council is the city's legislature. It enacts laws and policy statements, sets the property tax rate, and approves the budget and funds for city services. It has six members, elected at-large by Wasilla residents for three year terms. The mayor

1840-458: The transition to a satellite bedroom community where many workers commute to Anchorage for employment. Local service employment has increased in recent years. About 35 percent of the Wasilla workforce commutes to Anchorage . The local economy is diverse, and residents are employed in a variety of city, borough, state, federal, retail and professional service positions. Tourism, agriculture, wood products, steel, and concrete products are part of

1886-436: Was $ 48,226, and the median income for a family was $ 53,792. Males had a median income of $ 41,332 versus $ 29,119 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 21,127. About 5.7% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.6% of those under the age of 18 and 9.7% of those 65 and older. According to the United States Census Bureau , the median household income in Wasilla from 2010 to 2014

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1932-532: Was $ 62,622, with a per capita income of $ 28,704 and a poverty rate of 11.2% in the same year. The estimated rent burden in Wasilla was 31.7% (2011). Wasilla began as a transportation logistics and trade center serving natural resource extraction (mining, trapping & timber) followed by small-scale agricultural activity circa 1935; around 1975, construction of the Parks Highway substantially reduced travel time to Anchorage (approximately 43 miles away), encouraging

1978-578: Was announced that the Alaska Dispatch web publication would be buying the Anchorage Daily News for US$ 34 million. The deal closed in May 2014. On Sunday, July 20, 2014, the Alaska Dispatch , renamed the paper the Alaska Dispatch News . Adn.com announced on August 13, 2017, that it had filed for bankruptcy after being sued for back rent by Alaska telecommunications company GCI . Control of operations

2024-417: Was immediately assumed by a group led by Ryan Binkley of Fairbanks, who were in the process of purchasing the paper. Binkley is the son of John Binkley , a Republican politician. In November 2017, the paper's Facebook page reverted its name back to Anchorage Daily News ; the paper itself rebranded to Anchorage Daily News on November 18. In April 2024, the newspaper's staff was informed by management that

2070-470: Was named for the nearby Wasilla Creek. Local miners used the name "Wasilla Creek", referring to Wassila, a chief of the Dena'ina. There are two sources cited for the name, one being derived from a Dena'ina word meaning "breath of air" while another stating Dena'ina derived it from the Russian name Васи́лий Vasilij . As Knik declined into a ghost town , Wasilla served early fur trappers and miners working

2116-426: Was really behind the publication, but didn't wish to have his name formally associated with it, unlike his other newspapers such as the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner . Brown did share Lathrop's views on the statehood issue . Brown became a leader in the short-lived mid-1950s movement to turn Alaska into a commonwealth rather than a state. The newspaper became an afternoon daily in May 1948, although it wouldn't publish

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