Wasilla, Alaska
Encyclopedia
Wasilla is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough
, United States and the sixth-largest city in Alaska. It 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 7,831 at the 2010 census
. Wasilla is the largest city in the borough and a part of the Anchorage metropolitan area
, which had an estimated population of 364,701 in 2008.
Established at the intersection of the Alaska Railroad
and Old Carle Wagon Road, 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. Several state and federal agencies have offices in Wasilla, including the Alaska Departments of Environmental Conservation, Labor and Divisions of Public Assistance, Social Services.
Wasilla gained international attention when Sarah Palin
, who served as Wasilla's mayor before her election as Governor of Alaska, was chosen by John McCain
as his vice-presidential
running mate
in the 2008 United States presidential election.
Wasilla has a striking number of gun shops and strip malls.
Wasilla is named after Chief Wasilla, a local Dena'ina chief. "Wasilla" is the anglicized spelling of the chief's Russian-given name, Vasilij, which corresponds to the English name Basil
.
. The Dena'ina are one of the eleven sub-groups comprising the indigenous Athabaskan
Indian groups extending down Canada's western coast. Russians occupied Alaska from 1741, including strategic trading posts in Lower Cook Inlet, until Alaska's sale to the United States in 1867. 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. Knik businesses and residents rushed to purchase plattes and the town declined. Wasilla Station was named for the nearby Wasilla Creek. Local miners used the name "Wassila 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 "Vasili." As Knik declined into a ghost town
, Wasilla served early fur trappers and miners working 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 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 the area around Palmer 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 ballot initiative to move the capital of Alaska 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 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. 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 the United States Census Bureau
, the city has an area of 12.4 square miles (32.2 km²). 11.7 square miles (30.4 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) of it (5.64%) is water.
The Dena'ina (Tanaina) Native Americans
called the area Benteh, meaning 'among the lakes'.
Located near Wasilla Lake and Lake Lucille
, Wasilla is one of two cities in the Matanuska Valley
. The community surrounds Mi. 39-46 of the George Parks Highway
, roughly 43 highway miles (69.2 km) northeast of Anchorage
. Nearly one third of the people of Wasilla drive the 40-minute commute to work in Anchorage every day.
is 17 inches (431.8 mm), with 50 inches (127 cm) of snowfall.
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/km²). There were 2,119 housing units at an average density of 180.9 per square mile (69.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.46% White, 0.59% Black or African American, 5.25% Native American, 1.32% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 1.32% from other races, and 5.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.68% of 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 the average family size was 3.27.
In the city 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 the city 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 city 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.
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 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 & 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 the stories of the people and the machines that opened Alaska to exploration and growth."
The Alaska Avalanche
hockey team of the NAHL play home games in Wasilla at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center (formerly called the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex). In 2010, the Menard Center lost a tenant when the Arctic Predators
did not play as a member of the Indoor Football League
.
Charles Wohlforth
, in a Frommer's
travel guidebook on Alaska, described Wasilla as "...the worst kind of suburban sprawl of highway-fronting shopping malls and gravel lots."
Nude dancing and striptease acts are not allowed.
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
is elected separately. A run-off election will be 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.
The following is a list of mayors of Wasilla.
. It has four high schools:
In January 2006 a new hospital, Mat-Su Regional Medical Center
, opened. It is outside the city limits halfway between Wasilla and its twin town
of Palmer
.
connects Wasilla to Anchorage and communities on the Kenai Peninsula
, the Glenn, along with the George Parks Highway
link the Matanuska Valley to 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 (1,130 m) runway
, provides air taxi
services. 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 heliport
s and one STOLport
.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
-National protected areas:* Chugach National Forest * Denali National Park and Preserve ** Denali Wilderness * Lake Clark National Park and Preserve ** Lake Clark Wilderness -Demographics:...
, United States and the sixth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet
Cook Inlet
Cook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage....
in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley
Matanuska-Susitna Valley
Matanuska-Susitna Valley is an area in Southcentral Alaska south of the Alaska Range about 35 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska....
of the southcentral part of the state. The city's population was 7,831 at the 2010 census
United States Census, 2010
The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census of the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the reference date used in enumerating individuals...
. Wasilla is the largest city in the borough and a part of the Anchorage metropolitan area
Anchorage metropolitan area
The Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of the Municipality of Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough in south central Alaska....
, which had an estimated population of 364,701 in 2008.
Established at the intersection of the Alaska Railroad
Alaska Railroad
The Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad which extends from Seward and Whittier, in the south of the state of Alaska, in the United States, to Fairbanks , and beyond to Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright in the interior of that state...
and Old Carle Wagon Road, the city prospered at the expense of the nearby mining town of Knik
Knik River, Alaska
Knik River is a census-designated place in Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. Historically entrepreneurial, the economic base shifted in the 1970s from small-scale agriculture and recreation to support for workers employed in Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
or on Alaska's North Slope oilfields and related infrastructure. The George Parks Highway
George Parks Highway
The George Parks Highway , usually called simply the Parks Highway, runs 323 miles from the Glenn Highway 35 miles north of Anchorage to Fairbanks in the Alaska Interior...
turned the town into a commuter suburb of Anchorage. Several state and federal agencies have offices in Wasilla, including the Alaska Departments of Environmental Conservation, Labor and Divisions of Public Assistance, Social Services.
Wasilla gained international attention when Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
, who served as Wasilla's mayor before her election as Governor of Alaska, was chosen by John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
as his vice-presidential
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
running mate
Running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...
in the 2008 United States presidential election.
Wasilla has a striking number of gun shops and strip malls.
Wasilla is named after Chief Wasilla, a local Dena'ina chief. "Wasilla" is the anglicized spelling of the chief's Russian-given name, Vasilij, which corresponds to the English name Basil
Basil (name)
The name Basil , , has origins from the male Greek name Vassilios which first appeared during the Hellenistic period. It is derived from "basileus" a Greek word of pre-Hellenic origin meaning "king", from which words such as basilica and basilisk , as well as the eponymous herb derive, and the...
.
History
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 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 InletCook Inlet
Cook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage....
. The Dena'ina are one of the eleven sub-groups comprising the indigenous Athabaskan
Athabaskan languages
Athabaskan or Athabascan is a large group of indigenous peoples of North America, located in two main Southern and Northern groups in western North America, and of their language family...
Indian groups extending down Canada's western coast. Russians occupied Alaska from 1741, including strategic trading posts in Lower Cook Inlet, until Alaska's sale to the United States in 1867. 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.
Alaska Railroad
The Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad which extends from Seward and Whittier, in the south of the state of Alaska, in the United States, to Fairbanks , and beyond to Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright in the interior of that state...
to intersect the Carle Wagon Road (present Wasilla-Fishhook Road) which connected Knik and the mines. Knik businesses and residents rushed to purchase plattes and the town declined. Wasilla Station was named for the nearby Wasilla Creek. Local miners used the name "Wassila 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 "Vasili." As Knik declined into a ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
, Wasilla served early fur trappers and miners working the gold fields at Cache Creek and Willow Creek. More than 200 farm families from the Upper Midwest
Upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the midwest. Although there are no uniformly agreed-upon boundaries, the region is most commonly used to refer to the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and...
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
Hatcher Pass
Hatcher Pass is a mountain pass through the southwest part of the Talkeetna Mountains, Alaska. It is named after Robert Hatcher, a prospector and miner. The nearest incorporated communities are Palmer and Wasilla, approximately to the south, and Willow, approximately to the west...
through World War II. Until construction of the George Parks Highway
George Parks Highway
The George Parks Highway , usually called simply the Parks Highway, runs 323 miles from the Glenn Highway 35 miles north of Anchorage to Fairbanks in the Alaska Interior...
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 the area around Palmer 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 ballot initiative to move the capital of Alaska 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 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. The race had its start in Wasilla from 1973 to 2002, the year when reduced snow cover forced a "temporary" change to Willow
Willow, Alaska
Willow is a census-designated place in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2000 census the population was 1,658.-History:...
.
Geography
Wasilla is located at 61°34′54"N 149°27′9"W (61.581732, -149.452539).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has an area of 12.4 square miles (32.2 km²). 11.7 square miles (30.4 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) of it (5.64%) is water.
The Dena'ina (Tanaina) Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
called the area Benteh, meaning 'among the lakes'.
Located near Wasilla Lake and Lake Lucille
Lake Lucille
Lake Lucille is a lake within the municipal limits of Wasilla, Alaska, located at .Most of the lake shoreline is private property ,...
, Wasilla is one of two cities in the Matanuska Valley
Matanuska-Susitna Valley
Matanuska-Susitna Valley is an area in Southcentral Alaska south of the Alaska Range about 35 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska....
. The community surrounds Mi. 39-46 of the George Parks Highway
George Parks Highway
The George Parks Highway , usually called simply the Parks Highway, runs 323 miles from the Glenn Highway 35 miles north of Anchorage to Fairbanks in the Alaska Interior...
, roughly 43 highway miles (69.2 km) northeast of Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
. Nearly one third of the people of Wasilla drive the 40-minute commute to work in Anchorage every day.
Climate
January temperatures range from 4 °F (-15.6 °C) to 29 °F (-1.7 °C); July temperatures vary from 47 °F (8.3 °C) to 78 °F (25.6 °C). The average annual precipitationPrecipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
is 17 inches (431.8 mm), with 50 inches (127 cm) of snowfall.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
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/km²). There were 2,119 housing units at an average density of 180.9 per square mile (69.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.46% White, 0.59% Black or African American, 5.25% Native American, 1.32% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 1.32% from other races, and 5.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.68% of 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 the average family size was 3.27.
In the city 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 the city 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
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city 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.
Economy
Wasilla began as a transportation logistics & 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, encouraging the transition to a satellite bedroom community where workers commute to Anchorage for employment. Local service employment has increased in recent years.About 35 percent of the Wasilla workforce commutes to Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
. 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 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 & Prince William Sound (there are no commercial fisheries in Upper Cook Inlet).
Recreation
The Alaska Avalanche
Alaska Avalanche
The Alaska Avalanche are a Tier II Junior A ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's West Division. The team plays their home games at the Palmer Ice Arena in Palmer, Alaska.-Franchise history:...
hockey team of the NAHL play home games in Wasilla at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center (formerly called the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex). In 2010, the Menard Center lost a tenant when the Arctic Predators
Arctic Predators
The Arctic Predators are a professional indoor football team that played in 2010 as a member of the American Indoor Football Association.-History:...
did not play as a member of the Indoor Football League
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an...
.
Charles Wohlforth
Charles Wohlforth
Charles P. Wohlforth is an Alaskan author and writer.Wohlforth's books include The Whale and the Supercomputer: On the Northern Front of Climate Change, which won a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, in the Science and Technology category, in 2004. Wohlforth has also authored a number of travel...
, in a Frommer's
Frommer's
Frommer's is a travel guidebook series and one of the bestselling travel guides in America. The series began in 1957 with the publication of Arthur Frommer's book, Europe on $5 a Day. Frommer's has expanded to include over 350 guidebooks across 14 series, as well as other media including the award...
travel guidebook on Alaska, described Wasilla as "...the worst kind of suburban sprawl of highway-fronting shopping malls and gravel lots."
Nude dancing and striptease acts are not allowed.
Government
Hizzoner
Hizzoner is a corruption of the title "His Honour", used in particular to refer to the mayor of larger North American cities.The term can further refer to:*Hizzoner, a 1933 short film directed by Ray McCarey...
is elected separately. A run-off election will be 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.
The following is a list of mayors of Wasilla.
| Time in office | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1983–1984 | Richard "Ken" DeCamp | |
| 1985–1986 | Charlie Bumpus | |
| 1986–1987 | Harold Newcomb | |
| 1987–1996 | John Stein John Stein (mayor) John C. Stein, is a former American Republican later turned Democratic politician who served as the Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska from 1987 to 1996.- Early life and career :... |
|
| 1996–2002 | Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was... |
|
| 2002–2008 | Dianne M. Keller Dianne M. Keller Dianne Michelle Keller is an American politician and a former Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.Keller was born in Anchorage. She was elected as the Mayor of Wasilla in 2002 and re-elected in 2005. She survived a no-confidence vote in July 2008. She is a member of the Alaska Republican Party, and publicly... |
|
| 2008–present | Verne E. Rupright Verne E. Rupright Verne E. Rupright, an Alaskan lawyer, Vietnam veteran, and Republican Party member, is the current Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.-Background:Rupright was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, and graduated from Saugus High School in 1969. After high school, Rupright enlisted in the United States Air Force, and... |
Education and health
Wasilla is served by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School DistrictMatanuska-Susitna Borough School District
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District is a school district based in the city of Palmer, Alaska. It serves 40 schools, which have a range of 15 to 1300 students who are enrolled in each school. The estimated sum of the total number of students attending schools in this district is 15,969...
. It has four high schools:
- Burchell High School
- Mat-Su Career and Technical High School
- MidValley High School
- Wasilla High SchoolWasilla High SchoolWasilla High School is a public secondary school in Wasilla, Alaska, United States, serving students in grades 9–12. The school became nationally known following then-Governor Sarah Palin's nomination as the Republican vice-presidential running mate to John McCain in the 2008 United States...
In January 2006 a new hospital, Mat-Su Regional Medical Center
Mat-Su Regional Medical Center
Mat-Su Regional Medical Center is a 74-bed general hospital in the U.S. state of Alaska owned by Community Health Systems . Located between Palmer and Wasilla, it is the principal hospital for the Matanuska-Susitna Valley...
, opened. It is outside the city limits halfway between Wasilla and its twin town
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
of Palmer
Palmer, Alaska
Palmer is the borough seat of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the state of Alaska, USA. It is part of the Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 5,937....
.
Transportation
The Glenn HighwayGlenn Highway
-References:* Pasch, A. D., K. C. May. 2001. Taphonomy and paleoenvironment of hadrosaur from the Matanuska Formation in South-Central Alaska. In: Mesozioc Vertebrate Life. Ed.s Tanke, D. H., Carpenter, K., Skrepnick, M. W. Indiana University Press. Pages 219-236.-External links:**...
connects Wasilla to Anchorage and communities on the Kenai Peninsula
Kenai Peninsula
The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. The name Kenai is probably derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for Cook Inlet, which borders the peninsula to the west.-Geography:...
, the Glenn, along with the George Parks Highway
George Parks Highway
The George Parks Highway , usually called simply the Parks Highway, runs 323 miles from the Glenn Highway 35 miles north of Anchorage to Fairbanks in the Alaska Interior...
link the Matanuska Valley to northward to the rest of the state and Canada. The Alaska Railroad
Alaska Railroad
The Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad which extends from Seward and Whittier, in the south of the state of Alaska, in the United States, to Fairbanks , and beyond to Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright in the interior of that state...
serves Wasilla.
The city-owned Wasilla Airport
Wasilla Airport
Wasilla Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles west of the central business district of Wasilla, a city in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska...
, with a paved 3,700 foot (1,130 m) runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
, provides air taxi
Air taxi
An air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...
services. Wasilla also has eight public-use seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
bases located on area lakes. Private-use air facilities registered with the FAA include 43 land-based airstrips, eight additional seaplane bases, two heliport
Heliport
A heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...
s and one STOLport
STOLport
A STOLport or STOLPORT is an airport designed with STOL operations in mind, normally having a short single runway; shorter than . The term does not appear to be in common usage as of 2008...
.
Religion
- Wasilla Assembly of GodWasilla Assembly of GodThe Wasilla Assembly of God is a church in the town of Wasilla, Alaska. Founded in 1951, it is a member of the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal Christian denomination....
was founded in 1951 and is a member of the Assemblies of GodAssemblies of GodThe Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
denomination. The church's founding pastor was Paul Riley, and its current pastor is Ed Kalnins, who took over in 1999. - Wasilla Bible ChurchWasilla Bible ChurchThe Wasilla Bible Church is a non-denominational, evangelical Christian church in Wasilla, Alaska. Pastor Larry Kroon describes the congregation as "socially conservative." Wasilla Bible Church offers ministries devoted to family affairs, including the popular support group for Christian mothers...
, non-denominational, evangelicalEvangelicalismEvangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
church, was described by TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
as one of the largest and most influential churches in the city. - The Roman Catholic Sacred Heart Parish.
- St. Lazarus Russian Orthodox Mission, affiliated with the Orthodox Church in AmericaOrthodox Church in AmericaThe Orthodox Church in America is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North America. Its primate is Metropolitan Jonah , who was elected on November 12, 2008, and was formally installed on December 28, 2008...
, meets in the old chapel at Sacred Heart Parish. - St. Herman Mission, affiliated with the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North AmericaAntiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North AmericaThe Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America is the sole jurisdiction of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada with exclusive jurisdiction over the Antiochian Orthodox faithful in those countries, though these faithful were originally cared for by the...
. - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a stake based in Wasilla, with several wards meeting in a chapel on E Dellwood St.
- Wasilla Church of Christ
- St. David's Episcopal Church
- Meier Lake Episcopal Conference Center.
- Good Shepherd Lutheran Church was founded in the late 1970s and is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaEvangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaThe Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
(ELCA). Its current pastor is Rev. Duane Hanson, and its youth director is Ian McConnell.
Notable residents
- Chad CarpenterChad CarpenterChad Carpenter is an American cartoonist, well known for his comic panel Tundra. Carpenter launched the strip in the Anchorage Daily News in 1991, and since then he has self-syndicated it to over 330 newspapers, an unusually high amount for strips in self-syndication.-Early life:Carpenter was born...
, cartoonist and creator of the comic strip TundraTundra (comic strip)Tundra is a comic strip written and drawn by Wasilla, Alaska, cartoonist Chad Carpenter. The comic usually deals with wildlife, nature and outdoor life. Tundra began in December 1991 in the Anchorage Daily News and is currently self-syndicated to over 500 newspapers... - Mahala Ashley DickersonMahala Ashley DickersonMahala Ashley Dickerson grew up in Alabama on a plantation owned by her father...
, Alaska's first African-American lawyer - Lyda Green, former President of the Alaska SenateAlaska SenateThe Alaska Senate is the upper house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The Senate consists of twenty members, each of whom represents an equal amount of districts with populations of about 31,347 people . Senators serve four-year terms, without term...
- Diana Espen, known as April FlowersApril FlowersThis article is about the pornographic actress. For the erotic dancer involved in framing George Ratterman, see April Flowers April Flowers is an American pornographic actress.Flowers was raised in Wasilla, Alaska....
, adult film star - Charlie HugginsCharlie HugginsCharlie Huggins is a Republican member of the Alaska Senate, representing the H District since his appointment in 2004.-External links:* official government website* profile...
, Alaska SenateAlaska SenateThe Alaska Senate is the upper house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The Senate consists of twenty members, each of whom represents an equal amount of districts with populations of about 31,347 people . Senators serve four-year terms, without term...
, Silver StarSilver StarThe Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
recipient - Lisa KellyLisa Kelly (Ice Road Trucker)Lisa Kelly is an ‘Ice Road Trucker’ featured on the History channel documentary-style reality television series Ice Road Truckers. Each week the documentary follows several truck drivers as they make their way along the icy Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Deadhorse, frequently towing 'oversized'...
, Ice Road TruckersIce Road TruckersIce Road Truckers is a documentary-style reality television series that premiered on History on June 17, 2007.-History:In 2000, History aired a 46-minute episode titled "Ice Road Truckers" as part of the Suicide Missions series...
Season 3 and 4 Driver - Vic KohringVic KohringVic Kohring is a former Alaska State legislator. He was elected to seven consecutive two-year terms in the Alaska House of Representatives, beginning in 1994. Kohring represented District 14, Wasilla....
, state legislator - Specialist Jeremy Morlock, a U.S. Army soldier who murdered three civilians in Afghanistan.
- Members of the Palin family:
- Sarah PalinSarah PalinSarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
, former mayor of Wasilla, former Alaska Governor, and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate - Todd PalinTodd PalinTodd Mitchell Palin is the husband of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the 2008 vice-presidential nominee of the Republican Party. He is an American oil field production operator, commercial fisherman and champion snowmobile racer, winning the Tesoro Iron Dog race four times.-Early life:Palin...
, professional snowmobile racer, four-time Iron Dog race champion, husband of Sarah Palin - Bristol PalinBristol PalinBristol Sheeran Marie Palin is the second child and oldest daughter of former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd....
, Teen Abstinence Ambassador for the Candie's Foundation, daughter of Todd and Sarah Palin
- Sarah Palin
- Levi JohnstonLevi JohnstonLevi Keith Johnston is the former fiancé of Bristol Palin. He first received media attention in August 2008 when U.S. vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin announced that her daughter Bristol was five months pregnant with Johnston's baby and that the two were engaged...
, former fiancé of Bristol Palin, PlaygirlPlaygirlPlaygirl is a print quarterly adult magazine published in the United States that is marketed mainly to heterosexual women, but has also gained a considerable gay following...
model - John Gourley and Zachary Carothers, members of the indie rock band Portugal. The ManPortugal. The ManPortugal. The Man is an American psychedelic rock band based in Portland, Oregon, but originally from Wasilla, Alaska. The group released their first two albums with Fearless Records. They also released material on their own imprint Approaching AIRballoons through indie label Equal Vision Records...
- Landon Swank, magician, contestant on the sixth season of America's Got TalentAmerica's Got TalentAmerica's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...