Cosmic Party kicks off

The Cosmic Party kicked off Friday night in Eagle River. Pictured, left to right, are Peter Townsend, Steve Norwood, Tony Restivo, Romero Begay, and, on drums, Benjamin Trocki. Not pictured is songwriter, drummer and lead vocalist Ben "Jammin" Robinson. Read the first of our series of articles on the concerts below. (Photo courtesy Soren Wuerth)

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On Your Mark, Get Set, Crow!
On Your Mark, Get Set, Crow!

More Than 100 Runners Tackle Girdwood-Eagle River Wilderness Race

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

Around 108 runners stampeded off a bridge this rainy morning on their way to Eagle River, 22.6 miles away.

Confronting them is a three-mile, 2,000-foot climb to the top of Crow Pass, a 10-mile descent through an overgrown trail to eventually cross thigh or waist-high Eagle River, then another nearly 10-mile slog to the Eagle River Nature Center.

Runners had received a warning: it's going to be a cold one. A steady drizzle made the 50-degree morning feel downright chilly.

And with a capacity for 150 racers, only 108 bibs were picked up. 

This year the 41st-annual race is going to be a little "longer and slower", Race Director Matias Saari said as he packed up gear below a tent at the start.

A new trail section adds nearly a half mile to the run. The time limit for completion was increased to seven hours.

This year's event had 71 rookies and 15 runners come from out-of-state. Saari said the Crow Pass Crossing doesn't get too many regulars. Many runners just do it once to "bucket list it". 

That said, Palmer's Lance Kopsack, 61, holds the record for most crossings at 38.

A man approached his table, a "sweeper" who will check for stray runners up to the pass. Saari gave him a list of big numbers and asked that he text numbers. 

Thirteen volunteers from Alaska Mountain Rescue Group help to pull off the event. 

The race record, set in 2021, belongs to Scott Patterson, who crossed the wilderness trek in two hours, 50 minutes. 

This is a developing story. Please check here for updates.

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ARTICLES
Get Ready for a Cosmic Party

Iconic Girdwood Band Returns for Summer Shows

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

I had to look no further for old friends from the Photon community than the car right in front of me on the way to the venue. 

They passed the brewery. I passed the brewery. They turned. I turned.

An hour later we were all sweating with other long-lost friends on the dance floor to a "Space Tornado" of a song. 

The Cosmic Party (formerly known as The Photonz) are back for local gigs with jam music of such mystical effect, it moves one, almost helplessly, to boogie.

Returning after three years, the iconic Girdwood band is playing four shows of original music that lead singer and songwriter Ben Robinson describes as "psychedelic funk" (writer Jay Stange labelled the sound, in 1998, as "jangly folk rock"). 

It was the Creekbend concert venue in Hope that called them back this time.

"Steve Thomas reached out to us and gave us a solid guarantee so we could make this happen," Robinson said in an email. "He believed in us and he believed in the crowd that loves and supports us."

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/get-ready-for-a-cosmic-party

What is a 'Corn Dolly'? An Irish Tradition Hangs as Tan Ornaments at the Fair

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

Across decades and hundreds of vendors, the Forest Fair has had its share of knitted, cross-stitch, embroidered, and crocheted patterns and fabrics. 

Weaving with wheat may be a first of its kind at the fair, but it certainly isn't a new craft.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/what-is-a-corn-dolly-an-irish-tradition-hangs-as-tan-ornaments-at-the-fair

Local Trails Get Love by the Buckets

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

A group of 30 teenagers and three adults added 20 tons of gravel to sections of the Iditarod Trail this week—all by the bucketful.

Passing orange buckets in a 600-foot bucket brigade, the city-run "Youth Employment in Parks" team had completed by Thursday much of the middle portion of the Iditarod trail that runs adjacent to Crow Creek Road.

The group added 100-feet of turnpike—gravel beds enclosed by logs—over four days, according to Kyle Kelley, Girdwood's service area manager. 

See more photos at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/local-trails-get-love-by-the-buckets

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Young Entrepreneurs Bring Lemonade, and Style, to Fair
Young Entrepreneurs Bring Lemonade, and Style, to Fair

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

Tucked in a tent guarded by three enormous cottonwood trees, 11-year-old Hazel Kavaganis tallied her day's fortunes.

"I sold half my stock, a bunch of people signed up on my website, that I'm still working on, and, what else?" she said, clicking long, colorful fingernails. 

One a table beside her lay sets of 10 hand-painted Gel X Nails. Months before the Forest Fair, Hazel began to craft a product line for a booth she calls "Talk to the Hand". 

She ended up making 33 kits, some painted like bumblebees, others green and black aliens, others jade, others crimson, some pink. 

The nails are hot sellers. Names and email addresses crowd a clipboard resting nearby.

"This is her deal," said her father, Bill, a masseuse at the Alyeska Nordic Spa, who sat nearby. "But she gets her entrepreneurial skills from her mom."

And each year, there's been something different for the young entrepreneur. Last year, it was embroidery and magnets.

"Everybody thought it was cross-stitching. But it was embroidery," said Hazel, who wants to go to college for cosmetology and hopes to open a salon someday.

Hazel operates one of several "Kid & Teen" booths at the Fair, a vending reservation that gives younger people the opportunity to "take on the entrepreneurial skills to vend and create unique products," according to the Fair's website. Kids 12 and under receive free booth space while teens will have to pony up $150 for a space.

There are 32 kids booths. Last year's event had "an overwhelming number of applicants", the website reported. Only hand-crafted items are allowed to be sold.

"We are so grateful to the Forest Fair for making space available for kids," Bill said, looking on. 

Forest Fair, in its 51st Year, Launches This Weekend
Forest Fair, in its 51st Year, Launches This Weekend

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

Tara Starlight was putting the final touches on her booth "Starlight Coffee" when a volunteer approached. "Do you want some coffee?" she asked. "This one's on the house."

She was ready to go Thursday afternoon with a beverage menu of coffee, cold brew, mocktails and a special concoction called "Raspberry Danish":  cold brew with a cream cheese soft top. 

Starlight is in her second year as a vendor and took an opportunity to move her stand to a new location near the ballfield fence. "I can see the main stage from here," she said, smiling. Last year she said she sold at least 1,000 cold drinks alone. 

Her crew is her family. "The teenagers are sleeping in the back of the van," said Starlight, who works for the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition. 

Meanwhile, across a cluttered path, the Talkeetna Spinach Bread crew was busy assembling its stand. The widely popular food booth began more than two decades ago, said owner Ross Benischek. He nodded toward his son Finn, 22. "During our first year, my wife was pregnant with him," Benischek said.

Since lines are long for the crispy, garlicky, cheese-topped bread, Forest Fair volunteers moved the youth performance stage closer to the bread stand's queue, said Terri Adkins, the event's vice president. Youth performances run 11 a.m. through 5 p.m. on Saturday.

And while a couple new food booths have cropped up—like "Papaya Tree", which sells Southeast Asian street food—a main attraction may be the Fair's revamped wine garden. 

Read the entire story and more pictures of the Forest Fair at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/forest-fair-in-its-51st-year-launches-this-weekend

Portage Lake Tsunami Could Reach Turnagain Arm and Whittier
Portage Lake Tsunami Could Reach Turnagain Arm and Whittier

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

A hulking mountain face slowly sinking toward Portage Lake could collapse and send a massive wall of water hurtling into the Portage visitor center and down a valley six miles to Turnagain Arm, according to experts and a Forest Service emergency action plan. 

Geologists fear a landslide-triggered tsunami more than 1,000 feet high could, like sloshing water in a bathtub, sweep through valleys, enter the 2.5-mile long Whittier Tunnel and even breach the 500-foot Portage pass, sending muddy water and debris into Passage Canal. 

Yet, as catastrophic as it sounds—and given growing concern about landslides, sporadic news coverage and heightened awareness—few warnings have been issued about the possibility of a major disaster at a popular tourism destination that opens Friday.

"You think about some dramatic event like a tsunami on Portage Lake and it sounds pretty implausible until after it's happened. And that's kind of an instinct we, or at least a lot of people, have," said independent geologist Bretwood "Hig" Higman, who has consulted for the government on a number of landslide risk zones. 

Portage's Begich, Boggs Visitor Center, a popular tourism destination that sees up to 1,000 visitors a day, sits directly in the path of a potential tsunami and 2.5 miles from the toe of Portage Glacier. 

Higman estimated a catastrophic tsunami at Portage has one in 30 yearly chance of occuring and a wave that magnitude would give a person two to four minutes to evacuate. The landslide is currently moving at a rate of a meter per year.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/wgi9ksy0q9anl722d312tgv8c3zo5v

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Girdwood Sees Record Turnout for Local Anti-Trump "No Kings" Demonstration
Girdwood Sees Record Turnout for Local Anti-Trump "No Kings" Demonstration

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

Organizers estimate eight million people hit the streets in yesterday's "No Kings" demonstrations across the country.

If Girdwood is any indication, it was the largest day of protest yet seen since Donald Trump took office a little over a year ago.

All four corners of Alyeska Hwy. and Hightower Rd. were packed with locals holding signs and banners. Organizer Emma Kramer counted 110 at one point, the highest seen locally in the 10 held since the start of Trump's election.

"There was one in the summer where we had numbers close to this, but I think we exceeded it by 20 or 25 people," Kramer said. 

A variety of signs fluttered in the crowd, highlighted by morning sunshine rounding Max's Mtn. 

"I think the message here was 'bring a friend' because chances are you and your friend will both find reasons for things you wish were different, things you want to change, things you can't stand by and watch happening," Kramer said.

Read the entire story at the link below:

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100 Percent Dump Increase Beleaguers Local Residents 
100 Percent Dump Increase Beleaguers Local Residents 

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

A new rate increase that doubles the cost of trash disposal at municipal transfer facilities has some local residents storing their garbage and others laying a course to fight the fee.

Paying $10 to throw out a single bag of garbage is a high cost for a single person living paycheck to paycheck, said a municipal employee who declined to be identified. 

"There are elderly people stockpiling stinky trash in their house because they don't have a shed," the source said. 

The price to throw out one-to-four bags shot up from $5 to $10, a 100% increase. A load of a cubic yard or less went from $10 to $15 and a truck load climbed from $20 to $27.

Only a small part of the increase, 5 percent, pays for "rising operating costs" of Solid Waste Service, according to a flyer from the self-funded utility.

The bulk of the extra cost is a $4 surcharge to fund a "Healthy Spaces" crew of workers tasked with cleaning parks and other public spaces in the municipality. 

The measure, championed by Anchorage Assembly Member Chris Constant, passed the Assembly in September and took effect in January. At a press conference two weeks ago Mayor Suzanne LaFrance said the Healthy Spaces program added 10 year-round positions.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/100-percent-dump-increase-beleaguers-local-residentsnbsp

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Noncommercial Shrimp Season Reduced, Commercial Season Closed for 2026
Noncommercial Shrimp Season Reduced, Commercial Season Closed for 2026

By Allison Sayer

TNews Staffwriter

 On February 26, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced the noncommercial (sport + subsistence)spot shrimp fishery would be open from May 1 through June 8, and fishers would be limited to two pots. This is over six weeks less than last year, and almost four months shorter than the 2024 season.

 The guideline harvest limit (GHL) in the 2026 noncommercial fishery is 29,782 pounds. Managers determine the GHL as a proportion of the estimated population, which has declined each year since 2021. Pot and season limits are then implemented based on the limit.

 The 2025 GHL was 54,311 pounds of shrimp, and the season was open May 1 though July 31 with two pots. During 2025, fishers exceeded the GHL, catching 60,234 pounds. The noncommercial fishery catch has exceeded the GHL for seven of the past seventeen seasons, despite managers implementing pot and season limits.

 ADF&G commercial and sport fishery staff hosted an online meeting February 12 to discuss shrimp research and take public questions and comments. According to Area Management Biologist Brittany Blain-Roth, about 130 people tuned into the meeting. 

 One bright spot presented by Fisheries Biologist Alissa Cole was the 2025 shift in commercial and noncommercial season opening days from April 15 to May 1 reduced the percentage of egg-bearing females taken in the harvest- from 36% of the fishery to just 5%. Presumably, the later date gave most females time to release their eggs before being harvested. 

 Cole shared population estimates come from an annual survey that has been performed in October throughout Prince William Sound since 1992.

Read the entire story at the link below

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/noncommercial-shrimp-season-reduced-commercial-season-closed-for-2026

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Seward Highway project meeting held in Girdwood
Seward Highway project meeting held in Girdwood

By Chase Berenson

TNews Staffwriter

On Tuesday, January 13th, Girdwood residents met with representatives of the Alaska Department of Transportation (DOT) and their consultants HDR and Michael Baker International to discuss the Safer Seward Highway project.  This is a massive infrastructure project that would dramatically reimagine the Seward Highway between mileposts 98.5 and 118, or approximately from Bird Flats in the south to Rabbit Creek in the north.  In December 2025 the DOT published the draft Environmental Assessment (EA), and this meeting allowed the public to comment on the assessment.

The Safer Seward Highway project is a construction project that is predicted to cost $1.4 billion and to take 15-20 years of work.  This project will convert the road into a four-lane divided highway, like the Glenn Highway between Anchorage and Wasilla.  This project will straighten out the curves of the highway by blasting rock walls and cliffs, will destroy over 300 acres of wildlife habitat, and will fill in 101 acres of mudflats to provide space to expand the Alaska Railroad tracks and the Seward Highway itself.  The Environmental Assessment states that the project may entail highway closures for construction for some period of the day that may take place daily over the 15-20 years of construction.

The DOT’s goals with the project are threefold: reduce crashes, increase mobility/reliability, and accommodate mixed-use in the highway right-of-way.  It approaches these goals by expanding the highway to be safer, which the DOT claims should reduce accident-related closures and make the highway more reliable.  The project also includes a multi-use pathway from the northern end of the Bird-to-Gird all the way to Anchorage, accommodating pedestrians and bicyclists who want to connect Anchorage and Girdwood without using the highway.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/seward-highway-project-meeting-held-in-girdwood

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Turnagain Community Health: Don’t Give Up On Accessing Health Care
Turnagain Community Health: Don’t Give Up On Accessing Health Care

By Allison Sayer

TNews Staffwriter

 The deadline to enroll in Affordable Care Act (ACA) Health Insurance (also widely called “Obamacare”) is just days away- Thursday, January 15. I spoke to Turnagain Community Health Patient Assistance Program Coordinator Linda Mankoff on January 9 to learn more about options for health insurance in 2026.

 Free appointments for help understanding your options are available at Turnagain Community Health. Call 783-1355, choose option 1, and ask to be scheduled with a Community Health Worker.   The best times to call are Tuesday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You do not have to be a patient to receive help.

 Congressional wrangling over extending pandemic-era insurance subsidies has been all over national news. Mankoff feels there has been confusion about what Congress is actually fighting about. In 2021, extra subsidies were added to the already existing ACA program. In particular, substantial subsidies were extended to people making over $75,000 per year. Those extra subsidies expired December 31. Extending them was what Congress is fighting about.

 “We could not get people in here on the first of November [when the enrollment period started]. The way it came out in the media, it sounded like Obamacare was gone.” She felt people who were making $30,000 or $40,000 per year didn’t understand they could still be eligible for premium tax credits and lower premiums.  

 What if you earn more than $75,000? Mankoff said she has worked with Girdwood small business owners who initially thought, “I’m never going to be able to afford the marketplace.” However, she continued, “The Marketplace counts net profits for small business owners.” “I tell owners, if you made a big profit, but then you reinvested in the business, what did you actually see at the end of the day? You could be eligible.”

 There are people who will see a huge jump in premiums if the extra subsidies end. “If you are in a certain category, you may have paid $400 last year for insurance but it could be as much as $1500-1800 per month this year,” said Mankoff.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/turnagain-community-health-dont-give-up-on-accessing-health-care

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