TALKEETNA COMMUNITY COUNCIL INC

In this episode we get our monthly check-in with Sunshine Community Health Center. Sierra Smith, Community Relations Manager and the Clinic’s Executive Assistant, Ronni Spaulding, both provide information on events, job postings, staff news and this month’s health theme: Weight Management. Then, host Trisha Costello is joined over the phone by Ashley Arezou Minaei and Ann Potempa, both with the State of Alaska’s Department of Health. Together they discuss the Fresh Start and the Play Every Day programs as well as other work they do to help Alaskans live the healthiest lives they can.

Trapper Creek Community Council elections are happening now. Seven candidates are running to fill six seats. Council president Jason Kresge will remain in office for another year to fulfill a two-year term.

The Upper Susitna Food Pantry has become somewhat of a lifeline for Upper Valley residents, especially since the State of Alaska is not processing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, applications within the required 30 days.

This Susitna Writers’ Voice i s a collection of poetry by a local book club produced by Kathleen Fleming. This Circle of Voices explores the Cycle of Seasons, and other concepts.

January 6, 2025 | Andrew Gelderman With the Talkeetna Ice Festival on the horizon, the Denali Arts Council hosted their annual ice carving class this past weekend.

January 8, 2025 | Andrew Gelderman After moving to Talkeetna in 2008, James Scott aimed to create a sustainable farm for him and his family, so he began stockpiling dry goods like beans, potato flakes, and pasta.

In this episode Host Trisha Costello is joined in the studio by Su Dog 300 organizer Kai Leddy and Linda Oxley, organizer with the Willow Winter Carnival. The Su Dog 300 dog mushing event – in this, its inaugura,l year – will officially kick off the Willow Winter Carnival ’s schedule of events on January 25, 2025. In discussing both the dog mushing event and the Carnival we also take a look back on the history of long distance mushing events in the Upper Valley as well as the long history of the Carnival, which dates to 1962.

It’s common to see someone with a chainsaw and a trailer right along the roadside cutting trees and loading them up. But according to Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Communications Director Shannon McCarthy, people should put away their chainsaws.

During this year’s Christmas Bird Count, there were a few surprises. Twenty-seven volunteers braved the wind and low temperatures to get those birds counted. Collectively, they traveled 70 miles and spent more than 32 hours.

Andrew Gelderman Alaska Trails is the nonprofit behind the proposed Alaska Long Trail–a project that would connect 500 miles of trails across the state. As part of their project, Alaska Trails asked for community input from each area the proposed trail will pass through. The organization made one such request at a recent Talkeetna Community Council meeting.