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Girdwood football players lead South Anchorage Wolverines to team win

South Anchorage Wolverines players above, left to right, are Kyler Porter, 22; Arne Nedwick, 13; Henry Lantz, 6; and Carson Hawes, 18. The Wolverines topped the Bartlett Golden Bears in their home game by a score of 14-7 in overtime on Aug. 23. For the Wolverines, the group of Seniors put up some great stats with incredible clutch plays which revenged the 42-27 victory the Golden Bears walked away with the last time they faced off.  Turnagain News will have the results from their latest game, Aug. 30, against Lathrop. Come out and cheer your Girdwood gridiron players throughout the season! (Photo and story info by TNews Contributor Mandy Hawes)

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Assembly Member Zac Johnson addresses Holtan Hills, Girdwood and future
Assembly Member Zac Johnson addresses Holtan Hills, Girdwood and future

"I never liked this deal and I don't think I ever will."

—Assembly member Zac Johnson

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

This is an interview Turnagain News had with Municipality of Anchorage Assembly Member Zac Johnson. Four days after he challenged his colleagues in the Anchorage Assembly on the merits of a controversial housing development in Girdwood. Turnagain News interviewed Zac Johnson, who represents the community and South Anchorage. The article contains excerpts from our August 16 interview with Johnson.

TNews: Do you have a hard time getting information about the project as an assembly person? 

Zac Johnson: No, I'll say the administration and the folks at (the Heritage Land Bank) have been more than willing to sit down and talk through my questions with me. I think that's an advantage of the position I'm in. 

Leading up to action last Tuesday, I had several sit downs with HLB and the administration, raising my questions. And for the most part, getting answers to them. So I don't think there's any effort to stonewall there. 

I think HLB and the administration are kind of the same. This is the hand they were dealt, right? So it's their job to implement the development agreement and the ordinance that was provided by the assembly. That's just them doing their jobs, essentially. 

I guess I would just say in their defense that, one, HLB is a very small department... There's really just three of them there doing all that work. 

TNews: Was Tuesday night the first time you heard about the pro forma (projected revenue and expenses for "Holtan Hills")? 

Zac Johnson: So I've been asking for a pro forma, some tool I could use to try and weigh whether or not this feels like it's a good investment. And if it's a bad investment, how bad of an investment is it? 

The only thing we had was the pro forma for 2022, which certainly doesn't feel useful and doesn't include phase three. So I'd asked for it, but it's the developer that prepares the pro forma and it was unclear whether or not they were obligated to share that pro forma with us.

Read the entire interview at the link below: 

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/assembly-member-zac-johnson-addresses-holtan-hills-girdwood-and-future

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Pickleball tournament is a smash hit!

By Chase Berenson

TNews Contributor

 For five hours on Sat, Aug. 16, Girdwood’s pickleball courts were a competitive site as they hosted the Girdwood Pickleball Club Summer Tournament.  The Girdwood Pickleball Club is typically a casual group of players with a primary focus of fun, but the tournament gave everyone an opportunity to put their pickleball skills to the test.

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the US, and is booming here in Girdwood.  It is a fast-paced paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong, played on a court smaller than tennis with a net that’s lower than tennis.  Players use solid paddles to hit a perforated plastic ball, aiming to score points by making it difficult for opponents to return the shot.

Fourteen players were in for the tournament, making seven teams of two players each.  The day was divided into three segments: warm-up play, followed by seeding play, followed by the ranked tournament.  The warm-up period had classic fun games. 

The seeding play consisted of four ten-minute games with different teams and players in each one, where players were ranked on their win/loss ratio as well as the ratio of points earned to points lost to the opponent; this allowed every player to be ranked individually. 

Once this was completed the player rankings were announced, and teams were decided for the tournament based on rankings.  Then the serious fun started!  The seven teams played a double-elimination tournament

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/pickleball-tournament-is-a-smash-hit

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to close its doors after loss of funding

By Shauneen Miranda

Alaska Beacon, D.C. Bureau

WASHINGTON — The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced Friday that it will be shutting down.

The announcement came just one day after a major Senate appropriations bill omitted funding for the nonprofit that funds public media and a week after President Donald Trump signed a bill into law that yanked $1.1 billion in previously approved spending for CPB. 

CPB, which Congress authorized in 1967, provides funds for National Public Radio, the Public Broadcasting Service and hundreds of local stations across the United States. President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans have criticized NPR and PBS of left-leaning bias, an accusation the public media organizations have rejected.

“Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of CPB, said in a statement Friday.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://alaskabeacon.com/2025/08/01/repub/corporation-for-public-broadcasting-to-close-its-doors-after-loss-of-funding/

Girdwood Artists create Stained Glass Mosaic

Girdwood’s latest stained glass mosaic has just been completed. 

Named “the Cozmic Culvert” and done in the style of Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night, the mosaic depicts the night sky in Girdwood. The new mosaic was designed  by Thalia Wilkinson and Tommy O’Malley and was installed by volunteers.

Local astronomer John Gallup sited the design so that the stars of the Big Dipper will align with the North Star up in the night sky at winter solstice.  

The new mosaic is on  Timberline  Drive near Gstaad street.  

See more pictures of the mosaic at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/girdwood-artists-create-stained-glass-mosaic

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Holtan Hills Could be a Money Loser for Muni, Assembly Member Warns
Holtan Hills Could be a Money Loser for Muni, Assembly Member Warns

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

Given the structure of a deal between a developer and the Municipality of Anchorage on a planned subdivision called "Holtan Hills", the city will likely gain little, break even, or it will stand to lose money, an Assembly member said last week.

The city stands to gain about $1.5 million from the first phase of the project before subtracting expenses, according to data provided publicly for the first time. While the municipality splits proceeds from lot sales, it must subtract costs. For developer Connie Yoshimura revenue from selling lots is profit. 

"I don't think this is the way we should be playing with public money because that's what we're doing here," Zac Johnson, who represents Girdwood and South Anchorage said during the meeting. "The risks are real. The costs are real. And, the upside—the benefits—is entirely hypothetical at this point."

Yoshimura, Assembly members and a city spokesperson fired back at Johnson, saying the deal brings new homes, roads and an upgraded sewer system to a valley desperate for housing and infrastructure.

"I am well aware that what Girdwood needs is homes for teachers, for engineers. The calls I get for Girdwood lots... are from people who want to live in Girdwood. They have children that are in the ski program that this project is named after, 'Holtan Hills', Howard Holtan," Yoshimura told the assembly.

In the past four years, 80 percent of the new housing units sold in Girdwood have become unoccupied year round, or "dark homes", and of 25 new condos only one is occupied, Mike Edgington, chair of Girdwood's Board of Supervisors, said in public testimony.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/holtan-hills-could-be-a-money-loser-for-muni-assembly-member-warns

Holtan Hills Construction Unearths Decades-Old Landfill
Holtan Hills Construction Unearths Decades-Old Landfill

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

Workers constructing a municipal access road for a planned subdivision encountered tons of garbage from a landfill that was only partially excavated decades ago. 

Crews piled old car parts, crushed propane tanks and other debris into a 20-foot high mound and covered it with a white tarp. The clean up has caused construction delays for road and sewer line access for the 60-acre "Holtan Hills" development, according to a municipal official.

Refuse was uncovered at least two weeks ago. Questions sent to a municipal point-person were answered in a brief response Friday that verified the finding.

"Material needed to be excavated, sorted and tested prior to disposal which has caused a short delay in construction," wrote public involvement coordinator Kenny Friendly. "However, the project is still scheduled to be completed by September 30."

As of Saturday, the material remained on site. Calls and emails sent to a state agency that oversees contaminated sites did not respond to questions as of Friday, so whether the rubbish containes dangerous and toxic contaminates is still unknown.

Though Friendly's email suggested landfill material has been excavated, he wrote in another part of the message that "additional garbage/debris needs to be removed" before paving a road and bike path. 

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/holtan-hills-construction-unearths-decades-old-landfill

US housing secretary visits Alaska to gather insights into urban and rural challenges
US housing secretary visits Alaska to gather insights into urban and rural challenges

By Yereth Rosen

Alaska Beacon

The secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, visiting Alaska this week, said he hopes to learn about challenges facing both the state’s urban centers and remote rural communities.

“I came here to be a great listener, to understand the needs of the people of Alaska, to understand the challenges of the people of Alaska and particularly when it comes to homelessness and affordable housing,” Scott Turner, the Trump administration’s HUD secretary, said at a news conference Tuesday in Anchorage.

Turner is among several Trump administration cabinet members touring Alaska this summer.

He spent part of Tuesday meeting with Anchorage municipal officials who discussed the challenges of homelessness in the state’s largest city.

It is a national issue, Turner said.

That 770,000 people identified as homeless in the nation “is unacceptable to me, it’s unacceptable to my colleagues and I know it’s unacceptable to you,” he said.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/us-housing-secretary-visits-alaska-to-gather-insights-into-urban-and-rural-challenges

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Trump wants Congress to slash $9.4B in spending now, defund NPR and PBS
Trump wants Congress to slash $9.4B in spending now, defund NPR and PBS

By Jennifer Shutt

States Newsroom

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration sent its first spending cuts request to Congress on Tuesday, asking lawmakers to swiftly eliminate $9.4 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and various foreign aid programs.

The request for what are called rescissions allows the White House budget office to legally freeze spending on those accounts for 45 days while the Republican-controlled Congress debates whether to approve the recommendation in full or in part, or to ignore it.

The proposal calls on lawmakers to eliminate $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service. That means NPR and PBS would lose their already approved federal allocations, if the request is approved by Congress.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order in May seeking to block the Corporation for Public Broadcasting from providing funding for NPR and PBS, leading to twoseparate lawsuits citing First Amendment concerns.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/trump-wants-congress-to-slash-94b-in-spending-now-defund-npr-and-pbs

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Mount Spurr: Preparation Can Ease the Pain
Mount Spurr: Preparation Can Ease the Pain

By Allison Sayer

TNews Staffwriter

On March 12, The Alaska Volcano Observatory announced “an eruption [of Mount Spurr] is likely, but not certain, to occur within the next few weeks or months. The most likely outcome of the current unrest is an explosive eruption (or eruptions) like those that occurred in 1953 and 1992. Those eruptions each lasted a few hours and produced ash clouds that were carried downwind for hundreds of miles and minor ashfall (up to about ¼ inch) on southcentral Alaska communities.”

 Many simple, low cost preparedness tips are available from the Municipality of Anchorage Emergency Operations Center  and ready.alaska.gov. The common advice from these and other sources is to have a mask handy, stock up on relevant air filters, and put some forethought into what would happen if you must shelter in place somewhere.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/mount-spurr-preparation-can-ease-the-pain

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Cross Country: Native Alaskan Ava Earl stars as squad climbs to new heights
Cross Country: Native Alaskan Ava Earl stars as squad climbs to new heights

By Henry Frieman, Sports Editor

The Daily Northwestern

Girdwood, Alaska, population estimated at 2,500, sits in a valley at the base of Mount Alyeska, a ski resort in the winter and a hiking destination in the summer. The mountain town has one main road, a two-lane highway surrounded by hemlock and conifer. 

There is one elementary school, but the nearest high school is 30 miles away in Anchorage. There is a fire department, but no police station. Further away from the resort, the paved roads turn to gravel. 

It was on the gravel paths and dirt trails of the Alaskan woodlands where Northwestern cross country runner Ava Earl, now a senior, fell in love with running.

Read the entire story here:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/ava-earl-carries-alaskan-roots-to-nu-cross-country-stardom

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Raw Market: ‘Together, We Thrive’
Raw Market: ‘Together, We Thrive’

By Hannah Dillon

Assistant Editor

A red ribbon hung on the entrance to the Raw Market—just off Holmgren Ave. next to The Laundromall—as community members gathered around the store at 5 p.m. July 2. When the ribbon was cut, a new local market officially opened in Girdwood.

People quickly entered the intimately-sized store once the doors were open. Aesthetic lighting and plants hovered overhead as customers sorted through bell peppers, chocolate milk glasses, candles, locally made pottery, dried herbs, cherries and aloe vera plants.

Behind the register, employees created delicious acai bowls and smoothies for everyone in need of a cool treat on a warm sunny day.

Michelle Young, who, along with her husband James Glover, owns the Raw Market sat down with Turnagain News to discuss opening day and a little history of the store.

Young said the inspiration to establish a store like Raw Market stems from a visit to Maui, where nearly every small town had a juice bar that sold acai bowls, smoothies and juice. “We really loved the abundance of fresh food,” said Young.

Young’s experience with the fresh food available on the streets of Maui inspired Young and Glover to bring that experience to Girdwood.

Read the entire story here:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/raw-market-together-we-thrive

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Girdwood Board reverses community decision on Alyeska Development
Girdwood Board reverses community decision on Alyeska Development

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

The Girdwood Board of Supervisors, in a 3-2 decision Monday, rescinded an earlier community vote that rejected a subdivision proposed in a popular recreational area.

The board's move tells municipal planners it has no objection to plans by Alyeska Resort to build an assortment of housing, roads, parking lots, a tram and in the Glacier Creek watershed north of the town's airport.

The GBOS has since voted to reconsider its Monday vote and will discuss the reconsideration at a meeting Thursday at 1 p.m.

"I suspect [the vote] will be changed," said Supervisor Mike Edgington on Wednesday. "We're basically going back for a re-do."

He said he feels Pomeroy's goals for development are sound, but the location the company has chosen for development isn't.

In both meetings, community members expressed criticism, skepticism and dismay about Pomeroy Lodging's plan to acquire nearly 100 acres of municipal land in the upper valley for housing.

Read the entire story at:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/girdwood-board-reverses-community-decision-on-alyeska-development

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