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. (more…)

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 (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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(more…)

When long-time Talkeetna Resident Ed Craver received a phone call from the judge of a state-wide creative writing contest, he knew he had won. But he had to wait until the winning story was published in the pages of the Anchorage Daily News to find out which of his essays had been chosen for the honor. Craver tells KTNA that he has many essays about his experiences in Talkeetna, some from as far back as 20 years ago. When a friend of his submitted a story for him on his behalf, it was selected for the Grand Prize in the contest.

After earning the Grand Prize, Craver says a publisher has contacted him about the other stories, which may one day be printed in a collection.

Here is Craver reading his story, “The Island”  [10"07]

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You can read the full story at Anchorage Daily News

A Bulldozer that was part of the Cat-train headed to Stephan (Step-PAN) lake fell through ice into a pond on Friday evening, killing its operator.

Alaska state troopers report that Donald Kiehl (age 72 from North Pole),  was deceased on scene.  State Troopers were able to secure transportation to the scene with a helicopter that was operating in the area.  Investigation revealed that a crew of men were transporting equipment and machinery to the Stephan Lake Lodge to construct an air strip and help establish a work-camp for studies for the Susitna Watana Dam. According to trooper’s reports, the crew was crossing a low mountain when the D6 Caterpillar driven by Kiehl broke through the ice on an alpine lake and sank.  Kiehl was retrieved from the lake and individuals on scene attempted CPR on Kiehl but he was unable to be resuscitated.

Wayne Dyok heads the Susitna Watana Dam project for the Alaska Energy Authority, who had given the contract to Stephan Lake Lodge to build the research camp.

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While the Alaska Energy Authority says it was the decision of Stephan Lake Lodge, who contracted to Alaska Diversified Services to bring the equipment overland, despite warming May temperatures.

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The investigation in to the tragedy is on-going.

The Borough is considering a change to the way residents are notified about land disposal or borough property or resources. Since 2006, residents within a mile of the proposed disposal received notifications in the mail. The new regulations, if passed, would reduce the radius to residents within 600 feet. The Borough says that because of advances in electronic notification, they will be saving money and effort by reducing the amount of paper mail sent.

The Talkeetna Community Council sent a letter to the Borough seeking a compromise, recommending the notification radius be cut to 1320 feet instead of 600 feet.

Talkeetna Water and Sewer Advisory board continues to wrestle with the challenge of establishing a rate structure that is equitable for all water customers.

Karen Schapansky notified the Talkeetna Council that a huge disparity exists between the amount of water pumped from the well, and the amount of water delivered at each customer’s meter. This year, the well has pumped over a million gallons of water, but only a quarter of that made it to the meters. There is no explanation for the discrepancy, but it makes developing a rate structure based on how much water is used much more difficult. In Schapansky’s opinion, if the rate is set based on how much water is pumped from the well, 2 cents per gallon would cover it. But if the rate was based on how much water was used by metered customers, it would have to be 25 cents per gallon. (more…)

Exploratory core-drilling rigs will be used in up to twelve sites in the Talkeetna Mountains this summer, after preliminary geophysical explorations indicate of precious metals. Alaska Earth Sciences project manager Michelle Johnson says the aerial and ground surveys conducted last summer provided enough indication that two areas near the headwaters of the Susitna river, roughly 40 miles west of Paxon, had potential for minerals like cobalt, zinc and chromium. This summer, two drill rigs will be employed to take core samples from selected sites to determine whether further development is a possibility. (more…)

The days are getting longer, and so are the meetings of the Talkeetna Community Council. Monday night’s monthly meeting of the Council was standing room only for the first few hours, and remarkable number of people stayed for the full four-and-a-half-hour session, which adjourned at 11:30 pm. Among the topics of discussion were the Railroad’s plan to apply pesticides to the tracks, latest developments in the Talketna Parks and Recreation committee, Talketna Water and Sewer Utility, and Flood mitigation and preparation in advance of the spring break-up. (more…)