On a rainy Monday, a bicycle built for 5 pedaled through Talkeetna. The Harrison family (the Pedouins, as they call themselves) drew small crowds as people swarmed around the 14 foot long bicycle. The family is traveling in the lap of relative luxury with a roof over their heads as they head south with their bicycle strapped to the side of a 1950 Viking Bus. The family, who showed up briefly in Talkeetna last August, stayed in Fairbanks for the winter and drove back through the upper valley on their way south.  Sue Deyoe caught up with the family as they headed out of town and has the story of their book tour:

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Last August, a bright yellow 14-foot long bicycle with 2 adults and 3 very small children aboard, pedaled along the Parks Highway and down the Spur Road into Talkeetna.  The Harrison family was seeing the U.S. by bicycle with an added goal of spending the winter in Fairbanks.  After pedaling 7000 miles, they did just that, spending almost 11 months in a dry cabin near Fairbanks and writing a book about their cross country bicycle adventure. (more…)

Any one traveling into downtown Talkeetna might think the old Talkeetna Christian Church has been taken over by a band of gypsy’s.  The buses, tents and equipment belongs to the New Old Time Chautauqua. The group is in town until Friday noon before they move on to Palmer and then to the Kenai Pennisula.  Sue Deyoe asks the group to explain Chatauqua and about their efforts….

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Shows are at 8:30 pm Wednesday at the Sheldon Community Arts Hanger and 7 pm Thursday.  Go to denaliartscouncil dot org for information and click on “events”

Governor Sean Parnell held a press conference on Monday to give an update on the progress of the Susitna Dam project that is headed to the FERC licensing process.

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Listen to the entire press conference and questions (about 27 minutes; question period is poorer audio)

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The Mat Su Borough Assembly voted against a memorandum on Talkeetna water utility metering Tuesday evening.

Assemblyman Vern Halter put a stop to the proposed engineering contract to study how and where to install meters for both residents and commercial properties. (more…)

Talk about a mixed mission statement -  The Denali Arts Council is facing a financial shortfall that is linked to the Talkeetna Sewer and Water utility’s latest crisis and tourism in Talkeetna.  The non-profit is looking at hundreds of dollars per month to supply public bathrooms for the village. The Board of Directors had the item on their latest monthly meeting and are wondering how they can continue paying for upkeep.

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Matanuska Electric Association customers recently received information on a decision made by voters at the last MEA annual meeting.

MEA has started a round UP program.  Customers bills will be rounded up to the nearest dollar and the 50 cents or less will be given to charities in the valley that apply for the program. (more…)

KTNA’s morning news, (no weather forecast), Denali echos, announcements for July 13th.  Host is Sue Deyoe. Headlines – DAC struggles with facility issues; Wildfires across AK half of last year; MEA starts Round Up program.  14 min.

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In a thrilling end to a long weekend at the annual softball tournament in downtown Talkeetna, the Mandigos took the Spurs by surprise in a huge comeback win.

The annual slow pitch, double elimination tournament brought in a dozen teams and perhaps close to 200 people, both competing and watching the tournament play throughout the weekend.  The weather was a complete opposite of last year and allowed teams to compete without rain for the entire 3 days. (more…)

The state of Alaska is one of a number of states that does not support a statewide preschool program.  There are communities that have managed to support their own preschool program, but those are either privately funded, Head Start programs or pilot programs.   Trapper Creek has managed to work out a program, with no support from the district or the state.  Talkeetna, due to enrollment levels,  recently lost a tutor position that was also used to support a preschool teacher.

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