Improvements planned for Bird Creek Campground
By Chase Berenson
TNews Staffwriter
Chugach State Park is looking to invest in improvements to the Bird Creek Campground, the only campground located on the waterfront of the north shore of Turnagain Arm. Chugach State Park is one of the four largest state parks in the United States, and it stretches from the Anchorage Bowl on the west side deep into the Chugach Mountains on the east side. Much of the park’s southern border is the Turnagain Arm. The park has multiple campgrounds, including the Bird Creek Campground. Bird Creek Campground is known for its views of Turnagain Arm with its bore tides and beluga whales. It is primarily located on the south side of the Seward Highway, but it also includes an overflow camping area on the north side of the Highway.
The campground improvements project has two key focus points, one which will be more visible to campground users and one which will improve campground operations. Campers will see new signage throughout the campground which will update aging and outdating signage in the park. However, the larger project work will be happening in a less visible context.
Campground users are typically familiar with the concept of a campground host who helps operate and manage the campground. In Alaska State Park campgrounds, the campground host is a volunteer role for someone who will typically stay the entire summer season at the campground. At Bird Creek, the campground host’s job duties include tasks such as interacting with campers, ensuring campers are following campground rules, performing janitorial services, and performing minor maintenance such as grass mowing. Campground hosts are important volunteer roles to ensure that campgrounds are functioning correctly.
Chugach State Park has struggled in the past to fill Bird Creek Campground’s campground host role, and one cause is that there are no sites in the campground that feature the full combination of water, sewer, and power hook-ups for the volunteer’s RV. The campground host role is particularly important for Bird Creek Campground, due to its proximity to the population center of the Anchorage Bowl and the campground’s high usage on holiday weekends and at prime fishing times on Bird Creek. The current campground host location is in the campground’s overflow area on the north side of the highway because that is the only part of the campground with any utility service.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/improvements-planned-for-bird-creek-campground
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:
In Final Hearing, Anchorage Commission Rejects Girdwood's Housing Concerns On ‘Holtan Hills’
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
Saying its hands were bound by the Assembly, an Anchorage commission denied recommendations by Girdwood officials to mollify development plans for the controversial "Holtan Hills" project.
Community members on Monday told the Anchorage Planning and Zoning Commission
that the new homes will be too expensive for local residents and warned of significant environmental impacts should the project move forward as designed.
Mike Edgington, a co-chair of Girdwood's Board of Supervisor, brought four recommendations from the community, including one asking for the commission to stipulate owner occupancy requirements. The Anchorage panel brushed off that concern, however, siding with city planners who promoted the "Holtan Hills" project and saying they were legally bound by an Anchorage ordinance passed two years ago.
"Girdwood needs housing at all income levels," said Daniel McKenna-Foster, a senior planner and contributor to Girdwood's Comprehensive Plan, alluding to a cost "rainbow" of housing desired in the valley. He cited the recently-updated area plan, which includes housing tracts behind the school, as justification for the "Holtan Hills" development.
But Girdwood needs homes for people who work in the community, Edgington said, and "Holtan Hills" will supply "less than a dozen" given local housing market trends.
"The original sin of this whole project is that it never considered the need for occupied housing in Girdwood and made the mistake that private development solves that problem," Edgington said.
He said later though the meeting was the last opportunity for public comment, GBOS can offer remarks on the project as a service area board. The commission and planners deflected demands for short-term rental restrictions and the offer of two lots for community housing to later decisions of a homeowners association.
"My frustration is that there were several aspects of details we were told by legal department that nothing could be changed. We can't do it now, we can't do it later. It seems a little like a bait and switch," Edgington said.
Read the entire story at the link below:
Food Pantry Met Increased Need in 2025 — Local Help Was Key
By Allison Sayer
TNews Staffwriter
The Girdwood Food Pantry could have had a tough year in 2025. According to figures provided by director Terry Sherwood, the Food Pantry has seen the highest demand for food since 2020.
Meanwhile, deliveries of non-perishable foods from the Federal Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which normally provides about one quarter of Girdwood Food Pantry food, have been “short.” Shelves at the Food Bank of Alaska Anchorage location, where Girdwood Food Pantry volunteers have often collected food, have been “empty.”
Even with these challenges, an increase in local donations enabled the Food Pantry to serve everyone who came through the door this year. “Girdwood residents have been generous,” said Sherwood, “It’s neighbors helping neighbors.”
In 2025, as of December 16, the Girdwood Food Pantry provided approximately 3370 food services. That figure comprises both one-time visitors and the sum of multiple visits by the same individual. Sherwood estimates 332 unique people from 195 households were served in 2025, as of December 16.
The 2025 figure is a 38% increase from 2024, during which 2442 individual services were provided.
Services include bimonthly deliveries to 28 families in Whittier and non-perishable food boxes for 48 Alyeska Resort employees.
In a phone interview, Sherwood stated that not only were more people seeking food, but there seemed to be more anxiety about whether it would be available. “For the first time ever in Food Pantry history, we’ve had a line at the door before we’ve opened. That’s never happened before. People are starting to worry and get here early.”
Recently, the State of Alaska provided some additional funding to the Food Bank of Alaska. This provided statewide pantrieswith additional non-perishable food. This week, food from the Girdwood School canned goods drive lined pantry shelves. Other local agencies and individuals have held drives, contributed money, and donated food.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/food-pantry-met-increased-need-in-2025-local-help-was-key
GBOS Asks Muni to Deny "Holtan Hills" Permit Barring New Land Use Plan
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
Girdwood officials voted Monday to ask Anchorage planners to, among other conditions, deny a permit for a "Holtan Hills" subdivision until a proper land use plan is drawn up.
The Girdwood Board of Supervisors passed three resolutions recommending changes to developers' application to develop 39 lots in 16 acres of ancient forest behind Girdwood's school. The project would be the first phase of a highly controversial, 60-plus acre housing development.
Included in the GBOS resolutions are a requirement for community housing, for some of the homes to be occupied year-round, and that the Planning and Zoning Commission reject a bid by developers to try to build a private cul-de-sac rather than a public road, as required by city code.
Read the entire story at the link below:
Local Committees Forward Remarks on ‘Holtan Hills’ Permit to GBOS
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
Local committees are recommending the city complete a land use plan before approving a conditional use permit for the first phase of the "Holtan Hills" subdivision.
The motion, passed unanimously on Dec. 1 by Girdwood's Housing and Economic Committee, is one of six measures supported Monday by the Land Use Committee.
Other items passed by GHEC include:
• a requirement for two lots to be deeded to a local non-profit to build community housing,
• that at least three of the lots contain duplexes, that some lots require the owner to live and work in Girdwood,
• and that the road to a cul de sac is a public, rather than private, road.
The LUC also agreed to recommendations by the Trails Committe to require developers pay the cost of moving the historic Iditarod Trail and that the trail is surveyed and recorded on the plat along with 25-foot easements on either side of it.
All these requirements will be taken up by Girdwood's Board of Supervisors Monday.
The GBOS plans to hear other comments, then send a resolution an Anchorage platting board with recommended changes to the conditional use permit for "Holtan Hills".
A land use plan is required by the municipality for large developments. Municipal planners are relying on a nearly 20-year old "Crow Creek Neighborhood Plan" that has been disregarded, or even dismissed, in development plans for "Holtan Hills", the GHEC argues. The plan needs to be updated, the committee agreed.
Read the entire story at the link below:
Application to Develop Phase One of "Holtan Hills" Out for Comment
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
A platting meeting on a contentious "Holtan Hills" subdivision has been set for Jan. 5, a little more than a month away.
The application which describes, for the first time, details surrounding the development plan was sent to Girdwood Board of Supervisors "a half-hour to an hour" before its Nov. 17 meeting, according to GBOS co-chair Mike Edgington.
"I definitely have not had a chance to look at it," Edgington said.
A 30-document has information and detailed maps for a 16-acre cul-de-sac with 39 housing lots. The tract is the first of three phases in a more than 60-acre development planned in hilly old-growth rainforest behind Girdwood's school.
It includes photos of enormous, mostly Anchorage, homes in barren, treeless landscapes to show "style examples" for the area.
A separate application includes a request for a variance to change the allowable length of a cul-de-sac by 70 feet for what the project engineers—The Boutet Company—are calling "Holtan Hills Circle".
The road would be 670 feet and is necessary because "the topography in the upper area of this development is very steep" and contractors couldn't build as many lots as they want, according to Boutet's application.
The variance requests quotes the Girdwood Comprehensive Plan to justify a longer road, stating development should be "compatible with the natural environment" and saying, without the extended road, the developer would have to build a second road.
A road that meets the municipal standard of no longer than 600 feet would "create undue hardship" on the developer.
Read the entire story at the link below:
NewsMatch enters 10th cycle at critical moment for community support of nonprofit news
INN’s NewsMatch program enters its tenth cycle tomorrow, Nov. 1, continuing to strengthen the sustainability of nonprofit news by helping outlets grow and diversify their sources of support.
Through NewsMatch, newsrooms leverage support from a network of local and national funders to spark community giving, building a base of donors who sustain fact-based reporting. Over the years, NewsMatch has leveraged $38 million in matching gifts to help drive $362 million in community support.
This year, 20 national and regional funders have pledged over $7.7 million to match donations for a record number of 422 participating organizations. This includes three new funders to date: the Golden Globe Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Press Forward.
And NewsMatch is more than just a match: Participants gain access to essential training and tools to boost their fundraising capacity long-term. Support includes on-demand fundraising training, free wealth screenings, customizable design assets, templated email pitches, and on-air promotional copy in English and Spanish to reach more audiences.
Read the entire story at the link below:
‘Our Kids and Our Kops’ community policing event held
From Tommy O’Malley
TNews Contributor
The Girdwood Board of Supervisors Public Safety Advisory Committee sponsored a community policing event on October 25th at the Ice Cream Shop.
“Our Kids and Our Kops” was an opportunity for families with children to get to know the officers of our police department. Children who brought their parents were treated to a free ice cream cone. Eighty Moms, Dads, Grandparents and children attended the event.
“Our Kids and Our Kops” was part of Community Helpers Month at Girdwood School. Ms. Brennan’s second graders school work was on display.
Some of the artwork emphasized by the children “Our Police make Girdwood safe: …byfinding people that are lost and helping people”; “by helping people in hard situations”; by giving speeding people tickets and I don’t mean movie tickets”.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/our-kids-and-kops-holds-community-policing-event
TURNAGAIN NEWS AGAIN QUALIFIES FOR NEWSMATCH GRANT PROGRAM
By Brooks Chandler
TNews Board of Directors
TNews was approved on Oct. 14 to participate in the 2025 NewsMatch challenge program.
TNews qualified as a NewsMatch “rural partner”. The first three thousand dollars ofIndividual donations made to TNews this November and December will be matched two for one. When total donations exceed $3,000 the NewsMatch “match” will be one for one until the total of individual donations reaches $12,000. .
The NewsMatch challenge program is funded by a coalition of national philanthropists in support of local nonprofit news.
This support has been critical in enabling TNews to build the initial capacity to deliver information to Turnagain Arm communities.
In hopes of expanding this capacity to include paid freelance reporters to supplement volunteer contributors, the TNews board has set a fundraising goal of $15,000 for 2025.
The campaign to meet the NewsMatch challenge will begin Nov. 1.
To contribute, go to https://square.link/u/4aQ9heEj which is our Square account. You may get a message after the donation as your receipt goes to your email address instead to ensure donation receipts are received.
Questions Remain After Girdwood Residents Grapple With ‘Holtan Hills’ Development Team
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
During a two-and-a-half hour long meeting Tuesday night, Girdwoodians pressed a developer on her vision for a so-called "Holtan Hills" subdivision, a sixty-plus acre housing tract planned to be carved from old-growth rainforest behind the community's school.
The meeting, which followed another a month ago, left the community with little doubt that the vision for the forested hills behind the school rests with Anchorage developer Connie Yoshimura.
And, yet, with a current land plan, or "pro forma", still undisclosed, many questions remain.
Still unsettled, for example, is how people who would live in the subdivision would get out should the main entrance, off Hightower Road, be blocked.
Yoshimura said she has $125,000 to pay for an "internal" exit onto Crow Creek Road, but she bears no cost beyond her development.
Crow Creek Road is unmaintained, suffers drainage problems, and has an eroding road bed. Planners estimated it would cost $6 million to upgrade the lower portion of Crow Creek Road to municipal standards.
Read the entire story at the link below:
‘No Kings’ Day Saturday in Girdwood
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
About 70 locals showed up for Girdwood's "No Kings" Saturday to demonstrate against the policies of the current administration.
Girdwoodians, peaceably assembled on the corner of Hightower and Alyeska, raised posters, peace signs and fists joining in demonstrations held across the planet to protest authoritatian rule.
See pictures from the event at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/no-kings-day-saturday-in-girdwood
Committee Agrees to Plat Land in Lower Girdwood Considered for Housing Development
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
An Anchorage land bank has set its sights on more forested wetlands for subdivision development in Girdwood, this time along a bluff it calls "Orca Mountain View".
The city's Heritage Land Bank, which owns most of the valley's undeveloped land, wants to plat three tracts totalling nearly 70 acres along Alyeska Highway north of Ruane Road. The majority of that land, between Alyeska Highway and Glacier Creek, would be set aside as open space leaving 13.5 acres "suitable for residential development", according to HLB.
Local officials, meanwhile, hope they can work in a "public/nonprofit partnership" with HLB to build affordable housing on the nearly half-mile long strip of forest.
A proposal to approve HLB's platting of the area passed a sparsely-attended Land Use Committee Monday night in a 7-5 vote.
That land "could house many, many folks there", said Ryan Yelle, of HLB. He added, however, "in terms of exactly who's going to be developing it, under what terms, those decisions are far from it, this is going to be a multi-year process to develop this tract. I'm hesitant to speculate on specifics about it because we just don't know at this point."
Critics of HLB's platting proposal said development of the forest would mean more drainage into a flood-prone watershed below. A pond and California Creek drain through plastic culverts below Ruane Road.
The floodplain can be temperamental. Four years ago, storm water overwhelmed the culverts causing Ruane Road to collapse and stranding water utility operators. Kyle Kelly, Girdwood's service manager, said the culverts will likely be replaced in 2027.
Read the entire story at the link below:
Seniors and teens becoming more important in Alaska’s workforce, statistics show
By Yereth Rosen
As Alaska’s population of working-age adults shrinks, according to economists, other demographic groups have become bigger segments of the labor force: seniors and teenagers.
Read the entire story at the link below:
Girdwood Grizzlies Boys Basketball Finish Undefeated Season
By Coach Kyle Kelley
Girdwood Grizzlies Boys Basketball Team
The Girdwood Middle School boys basketball team capped off an incredible season with a perfect 6-0 record, marking an unforgettable year for the Grizzlies. The team’s success came from a combination of determination, teamwork, and resilience — from a nail-biting overtime win to strong defensive performances that defined their undefeated run.
This season was significant as it marked the final year for four outstanding 8th graders: Julien Stiassny, Waylon Straley, Ezra Ranke, and Finn Pelkola. Each player made a lasting impact on the program and helped lead their team to perfection.
· Julien Stiassny (Point Guard/Forward) brought energy, hustle, and reliable scoring that kept the Grizzlies competitive in every game.
· Waylon Straley (Post Player) anchored the paint with strong defense and rebounding, giving the team a formidable inside presence.
· Ezra Ranke (Power Forward/Post) provided strength, grit, and leadership, often stepping up in key moments to swing the momentum.
· Finn Pelkola (Point Guard/Forward) led the team with poise and vision, running the offense and setting the pace for the Grizzlies’ success.
Together, this group of 8th graders, along with their 6th- and 7th-grade teammates, showed what it means to be a Grizzly — playing with heart, teamwork, and pride while setting an example for the younger players who will carry the program forward.
Coaches and parents praised the players’ dedication, noting that the team’s chemistry, defensive effort, and never-give-up attitude were what made this season truly special. Whether battling through overtime thrillers or closing out tough opponents with solid defense, every Grizzly contributed to the undefeated run.
Congratulations to the Girdwood Middle School boys basketball team on a perfect 6-0 season — a true testament to teamwork, perseverance, and Grizzly pride!
‘Rain, Wind, Cold Hands, and Blue Lips’
Seven Locals Finish 10th Girdwood Marathon
By Brian Pautzke
TNews Contributor
Cheers to the “Magnificent Seven” on the 10-year anniversary of the Girdwood Trail Marathon.
Hip, hip… hooray! Hip, hip… hooray!
Hip, hip, ah, mine are too sore to cheer.
Congratulations to the seven Girdwoodian distance runners holding court on our own backyard race. While we have a couple of special distance runners that didn’t run, the seven who did represented the town well. All Girdwood runners finished under 4 hours and 45 minutes.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/rain-wind-cold-hands-and-blue-lips
‘Holtan Hills’ Developer Gets an Earful During Required Public Meeting
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
Girdwood residents had a flurry of questions—and remarks—for the developers of the planned "Holtan Hills" subdivision during an emotionally-charged public meeting Tuesday night.
Some questions weren't answered, some received the promise of a later reply, and some questions were fielded by a team that wants to develop the old-growth forest behind Girdwood's school into a 66-acre subdivision for luxury and single-family homes.
Instead, it was mostly Girdwood locals who had information for the group, none of whom live in the community and who appeared to be ignorant of concerns raised about a $2.5 million paved road and sewer line project underway.
Developers said they hadn't been aware of a dump in the vicinity, that construction has split two connecting trails and that traffic safety has been compromised during development of an access road.
Remarks to a panel that included property developer Connie Yoshimura of CY Investments, were particularly poignant when it came to the safety of children crossing a slippery, hazardous and sometimes obstructed pathway to school.
Read the entire story at the link below:
Alaskans face massive health insurance cost increases unless Congress acts before year end
By James Brooks
More than 25,000 Alaskans who buy health insurance through the federal marketplace will face massive and possibly unaffordable cost increases if federal subsidies expire at the end of the year.
“I do think it’s important to recognize that we should be seeing thousands of people likely lose coverage from this,” said Jared Kosin, president and CEO of the Alaska Hospital and Healthcare Association.
In a panel discussion last month, local experts in Juneau laid out the stark reality for Alaska, which has the highest health care costs in the nation.
Speaking to a room at Juneau’s convention center, they said if federal subsidies end, the cost of health insurance would rise so much that many Alaskans will go uninsured, discouraging them from getting checkups that could prevent serious illnesses. Hospitals would see a larger number of emergencies from uninsured people, straining them. It might even lead to an exodus from the state, as people seek alternative options and cheaper places to live.
Read the entire story at the link below:
Public Participates in Parks Planning Process
By Chase Berenson
TNews Staffwriter
Girdwood Parks and Recreation hosted the first public workshop for the Girdwood Parks Plan on Tuesday, Sept. 16th. The Girdwood Parks Plan project is a year-long project to generate a Parks Master Plan that can provide guidance on improvements to Girdwood’s existing park spaces and the potential creation of new parks in the future. The project is spearheaded by Kyle Kelly, Girdwood Service Area Manager, and Bri Keifer, landscape architect with Huddle AK, a consulting firm brought on to help the project.
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/public-participates-in-parks-planning-process
Alyeska Climbathon Rises to the Top
By Chase Berenson
TNews Staffwriter
Once each summer for the last 18 years the North Face Trail up Mount Alyeska has converted from a peaceful but strenuous hiking trail to a scene of athletic endurance for Alyeska Climbathon, which took place on Saturday, September 6th. The premise of Climbathon is simple: from 9AM-7PM, competitors have ten hours to complete as many laps as possible hiking up the North Face and taking the Alyeska Tram back down to the base of the mountain. Of course, this isn’t just an easy hike; the 2.2-mile hike includes over 2,000 feet of elevation!
More important than just being a long, fun day on the mountain, Climbathon is a fundraiser for the Girdwood Health Clinic (in the process of rebranding to Turnagain Community Health) and Let Every Woman Know, an Alaskan non-profit organization that is dedicated preventing, facing, and ending gynecological cancers.
337 racers of all different skill levels and abilities joined together to race up Mount Alyeska. The group included some of Alaska’s most elite mountain runners as well as cancer survivors and supporters of cancer survivors for whom this was the first time they had completed this type of hike. According to Tessa Ely, the Executive Director of Let Every Woman Know, her favorite thing about the day was, “The range of people on the mountain all sharing the trail.” She continued, “Climbathon is an event that really brings people together.”
Read the entire story at the link below:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/alyeska-climbathon-rises-to-the-top