Warming temperatures are bringing a lot of water down the rivers and they tributaries and rivers are rising everywhere.  Flood watches have been issued for the Tanana, Yukon, and Kuskokwim rivers and locally, everyone is keeping a closer eye on the Susitna, Talkeetna, and Chulitna Rivers.

The Susitna River, at Gold Creek, has risen about 3 feet in the past 24 hours.  The water level was at 6.57 feet this afternoon, the Flood Stage is at 14 feet at that location.

The Talkeetna River, above the railroad bridge has come up about 2 feet in the last 24 hours.  Water level at that location is 4.81 feet with a Flood Stage of 12.5 feet.

Currently there is room for quite a bit more water…which is good news as there is a lot more water to come as the warm temperatures have arrived for the Memorial Day weekend.

For current information go to the hydrology pages of the National Weather Service website…found at http://aprfc.arh.noaa.gov/

The Mat-Su Borough Assembly has approved the creation of a new park at Sunshine Creek. The park is on borough land adjacent to the state public access to Sunshine Creek, a popular fishing spot. Restroom facilities and a boardwalk have recently been added.

Mayor Larry DeVillbiss had this to say:

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This Denali Report is about Mount Foraker, the second highest mountain in the Alaska Range, but much less well-trodden than Denali. Here’s some Foraker history, for background on next week’s report from Melis Coady, who is climbing Foraker.  Voiced by Will Peterson.

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KTNA is pleased to announce that Talkeetna resident Phillip Manning has been hired to fill the vacant News Producer position at the station.

Manning is no stranger to the KTNA airwaves as he has produced several news pieces on a free lance basis since July of 2012, most notably Manning helped KTNA provide radio coverage of the flood in September of last year.

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The National Park Service is reporting  A 59-year-old German mountaineer suffered a fatal cardiac arrest at the 13,500-foot level of Mt. McKinley on the evening of Sunday, May 19.   Klaus Bielstein of Muenster, Germany was ascending the West Buttress route as a member of an 11-person Alpine Ascents International guided expedition. Read More »

photos by Robin Song

Earth and Beyond host and producer Robin Song makes a visit to Saunders’ Field Crane Sanctuary in Trapper Creek, and shares the experience. Text follows audio. Audio runs 6 minutes.

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A spur-of-the-moment decision wound up paying off in a big way for me on May 12^th. I needed to make a trip to the store and while I was at the “Y” I decided to go see if there was any waterfowl at the Mile 101 lake. Read More »

KTNA is celebrating 20 years broadcasting to the Upper Susitna Valley by bringing you audio broadcast during the past two decades. We share the past with you every Friday at 12:35 on 88.9 FM.

This is story meant for young people, written and voiced by former longtime Talkeetna resident Mike Fisher in 2006. Mike was a machinist, a bicycle builder, pilot, and mechanic, to be brief. He passed away in 2009. His story is called Mike and Roger’s Excellent Adventure.

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The fourth-annual Cliff Hudson Fly-in kicks off this weekend, heralding a weekend of flight oriented events dedicated to one of the pilots who helped put Talkeetna on the map.

Sassan Mossanen is one of the event coordinators. He says part of the goal is to highlight the significance of the Talkeetna State Airport, and bring a different kind of user to town for the weekend.

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Visitors can take a stroll through the airport grounds to see some historic warbirds, like a Japanese world war two Mitsubishi “Zero,” a T-6 “texan,” an L-6 Grasshopper, and a Fairchild American Pilgrim Read More »

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On May 10th, an 18-ton Caterpillar D6 bulldozer broke through the ice and sank while traveling with a convoy of similar vehicles on the way to Stephan (step-PAN) Lake.  The operator, Donald Kiehl, 72, of North Pole, was killed when the heavy equipment sank.  In the wake of the incident, questions have arisen regarding the process that led the cat-train to travel on the tundra and lakes in May.  KTNA’s Phillip Manning spoke with some of the individuals involved in that process.

listen to full story [ 3:24] 

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