Wasilla, Alaska

Coordinates: 61°34′54″N 149°27′9″W / 61.58167°N 149.45250°W / 61.58167; -149.45250
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"Wasilla" redirects here. For the Sarmatian god of the same name, see Wasilla (god).
Wasilla, Alaska
city
U.S. Census Map
U.S. Census Map
CountryUnited States
StateAlaska
BoroughMatanuska-Susitna
Government
 • MayorDianne Keller
Area
 • Total12.4 sq mi (32.2 km2)
 • Land11.7 sq mi (30.3 km2)
 • Water0.7 sq mi (1.8 km2)
Elevation
341 ft (104 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total5,469
 • Density466.8/sq mi (180.2/km2)
Time zoneUTC-9 (Alaska (AKST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-8 (AKDT)
ZIP codes
99600-99699
Area code907
FIPS code02-83080
GNIS feature ID1411788

Wasilla is the largest town in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and is situated in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Alaska, part of the Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, its population was 5,469, but the 2007 estimate gives a population of 9,780.[1] This estimate (if accurate) would Wasilla the fourth largest population center in Alaska, after Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau. Wasilla was named after a respected local Dena'ina Indian, Chief Wasilla, whose name was derived from the Russian name "Vasili."[2]

Wasilla gained fame when Sarah Palin, who served as 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.

History

The history of Wasilla begins with the history of Knik, a collection of small Tanaina (Dena'ina) native villages which hosted a trading post circa 1903. Prior to that time, few white people visited or lived in the region. Wasilla became the first town in the Matanuska Valley, which by 1915 had a population of 500. The town served the early fur trappers and miners working the gold fields at Cache Creek and Willow Creek.

The Alaska Railroad established the Wasilla Station around 1916 during the construction of the railway linking Seward to Fairbanks. The name of the railroad station and the new village derived from the name of nearby Wasilla Creek. Local miners used the name "Wassila Creek", referring to Wassila, a chief of the Knik Indians. The name is apparently derived from the Russian surname, "Vasiliev."[3] A post office was established in 1917. Wasilla’s proximity to the railroad station lured Knik residents to move to the new town — some of them even dragging their homes and businesses with them. In a few years, Knik became a ghost town. The townsite was at the intersection of the Knik-Willow mining trail and the newly-constructed Alaska Railroad. It was a supply base for gold mines near Hatcher Pass through World War II. Until construction of the Parks Highway around 1970, Palmer was the leading town in the Matanuska Valley; Wasilla was at the end of the Palmer-Wasilla highway and the road to Big Lake provided access to the area 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.

The Wasilla was incorporated as a city in 1974;[4] (in Alaska, towns as small as 40 people are deemed '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.[5][6] 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 an extremely robust residential and commercial real estate development boom.[7] The local real estate market slowed in 2006.


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.[8]

Sarah Palin served as mayor from 1996 to 2002. When John McCain, presidential nominee of the Republican Party in the 2008 presidential election chose her as his vice-presidential nominee in August of 2008, Americans suddenly focused on Wasilla and Alaska. As a result many broadcasts and articles, including this one, reflected public interest, controversy, and prejudice about Palin's state and hometown.

In February 2008, suburban growth and poor snow conditions led organizers of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to move the starting point of the Iditarod to Willow, several miles northwest of suburban Wasilla.[9]

Geography

Wasilla is at 61°34′54″N 149°27′9″W / 61.58167°N 149.45250°W / 61.58167; -149.45250 (61.581732, -149.452539).Template:GR

Wasilla has an area of about 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) Indians called the area Benteh, meaning 'among the lakes'.[10]

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 km) northeast of Anchorage. Nearly one third of the people of Wasilla drive the 40-minute commute to work in Anchorage every day.[11]

Climate

January temperatures range from 4 °F (−16 °C) to 29 °F (−2 °C); July temperatures vary from 47 °F (8 °C) to 78 °F (26 °C). The average annual precipitation is 17 inches (430 mm), with 50 inches (130 cm) of snowfall.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000,[12] there were 5,469 people (up from 4,028[13] in 1990), 1,979 households, and 1,361 families residing in Wasilla. 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/sq mi (69.8/km²). The racial makeup of Wasilla 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 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.

The population is spread out, with 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 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 Wasilla 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

About 35 percent of the Wasilla workforce commutes to Anchorage.[11] The local economy is diverse, and residents are employed in a variety of city, borough, state, federal, retail and professional service positions.[14] Tourism, agriculture, wood products, steel, and concrete products are part of the economy. One hundred and twenty area residents hold commercial fishing permits.

Arts

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."[15]

The Alaska Avalanche hockey team of the NAHL play their home games in Wasilla.[16]

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."[17]

Government

Wasilla city Hall, August 2008

The Wasilla city council is made up of six members who are elected at-large by residents to designated seats. They serve for three years, unless appointed to fill a vacant seat. The Office of 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.

Wasilla has been claimed to be the target of a 2000 law supported by then-Governor Tony Knowles requiring municipal police departments to pay for forensic examinations of rape victims, although during the 6 committee hearings for the bill Wasilla was not mentioned[18]. The only specific instance on record of an Alaskan woman being charged was from distant Juneau[19]. Until the passage of the law, rape victims' insurance in Wasilla was allegedly billed for the examinations and materials, known as Rape Kits, which cost between $300 and $1,200 at the time. Wasilla Police Chief Charlie Fannon was opposed to the law, saying the town would have to pay $5,000 to $14,000 a year for the exams and materials, which would ultimately be paid by Wasilla taxpayers.[20][21][22] The City of Wasilla has reviewed records dating back around a year before the law was effected, and there is no record of this ever occurring, with records showing that both rape kits requested in fiscal year 2000 were paid for by the state.[23] Governor Palin now states that she opposes the charging of victims for rape kits.[24]

After Wasilla's mayor hired a well known professional lobbyist,[25] Wasilla residents became among the highest per capita recipients of earmark benefits in the nation, receiving in excess of $6 million dollars at a time when its population was approximately 6,000 citizens.[26] In 2005, Wasilla received national attention when a bridge providing secondary access to Wasilla was dubbed one of the two “bridge to nowhere” projects by fiscal conservatives, pointing to the two bridges as examples of pork barrel spending. As of 2008, the bridge that would benefit Wasilla, known as the Knik Arm Bridge, was in the planning and review stages, and was estimated to cost $1 billion.[27][28]

Education

Wasilla is served by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. It has four high schools:[29]

Transportation

The Glenn Highway 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.[30] Wasilla also has eight public-use seaplane bases located on area lakes.[31] Private-use air facilities registered with the FAA include 43 land-based airstrips, eight additional seaplane bases, two heliports and one STOLport.[31]

Religion

  • Wasilla Assembly of God was founded in 1951 and is a member of the Assemblies of God denomination.[32] The church's founding pastor was Paul Riley, and its current pastor is Ed Kalnins, who took over in 1999. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a former member of the church, renamed the street on which the church is located Riley Avenue in honor of Riley.[33]
  • The Roman Catholic Sacred Heart Parish.[35]

Notable residents

References

  1. ^ "Table 4: Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places in Alaska, Listed Alphabetically: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007" (CSV). 2007 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. June 21, 2006. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
  2. ^ http://www.cityofWasilla.com/index.aspx?page=82
  3. ^ Dictionary of Alaska Place Names, US Geological Survey Professional Paper 567 by Donald Orth, US Govt. Printing Office 1967.
  4. ^ "Visitors: What's the Climate Like?". city of Wasilla, Alaska. August 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-01. Agriculture and natural resources sustained growth and the city was incorporated in 1974.
  5. ^ "The 1994 Elections: State by State; West". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
  6. ^ "Alaska's 1994 General Election Results Summary". Alaska Division of Elections, State of Alaska. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
  7. ^ http://labor.state.ak.us/trends/jan03.pdf
  8. ^ "Our History". Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  9. ^ http://dwb.adn.com/news/alaska/matsu/story/8667081p-8559265c.html
  10. ^ http://qenaga.org/placenames.html
  11. ^ a b "Community Profile: At Work". city of Wasilla, Alaska. July 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  12. ^ "Wasilla, Alaska". Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  13. ^ "Wasilla city, Alaska - Population Finder - American FactFinder". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  14. ^ http://labor.state.ak.us/trends/jan03.pdf
  15. ^ "About Us". Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  16. ^ "North American Hockey League: Alaska Avalanche". OurSportsCentral.com. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  17. ^ Wohlforth, Charles (August 29, 2008). "Dispatch From Alaska: Palin? Really?". The New Republic. Retrieved 2008-08-30. I had written a Frommer's travel guidebook about Alaska (I live in Anchorage and was on the Municipal Assembly here at the time). In the book, I frankly described Wasilla as a place to skip, "the worst kind of suburban sprawl of highway-fronting shopping malls and gravel lots."
  18. ^ "House or Senate Minutes for Bill: HB 270"
  19. ^ Minutes of Finance Committee meeting, April 10, 2000
  20. ^ Dilanian, Ken; Kelley, Matt. "Palin's town used to bill victims for rape kits". USA Today. September 12, 2008. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
  21. ^ Pemberton, Mary. "Palin's town billed rape victims to get evidence". Associated Press. September 12, 2008. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
  22. ^ Bryson, George. "Ex-Gov. Knowles, Ketchikan mayor say Palin misleads". Anchorage Daily News. September 11, 2008. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
  23. ^ Mayor Dianne Keller. "Billing of sexual assault victims for forensic exams"
  24. ^ Dilanian, Ken; Kelley, Matt. "Palin's town used to bill victims for rape kits". USA Today. September 12, 2008. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
  25. ^ [1] Wasilla, Alaska Benefited from Nearly $27 Million in Earmarks from 1996 to 2002
  26. ^ The Fairy Tale of Palin the Reformer, Joe Conason , New York Observer, September 9, 2008[2]
  27. ^ Two 'Bridges to Nowhere' Tumble Down in Congress, CARL HULSE, New York Times, November 17, 2005[3]
  28. ^ The Fairy Tale of Palin the Reformer, Joe Conason , New York Observer, September 9, 2008[4]
  29. ^ "High School Listings". Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
  30. ^ Airport page at city of Wasilla web site. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
  31. ^ a b List of air facilities in Wasilla from AirNav. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
  32. ^ "About us". Wasilla Assembly of God.
  33. ^ Gorshi, Eric (September 4, 2008). "Pentecostalism obscured in Palin biography". Associated Press. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coathors= ignored (help)
  34. ^ Thornburgh, Nathan (September 2, 2008). "Mayor Palin: A Rough Record". Time.
  35. ^ "Main page". Wasilla Sacred Heart Parish.
  36. ^ Representative Wes Keller (August 27, 2008). "Tundra Creator Honored as Alaska's Cartoon Laureate" (Press release). Alaska State Legislature's House Majority. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  37. ^ Gardner, Alan (May 24, 2008). "Chad Carpenter wins Newspaper Panel Award". The Daily Cartoonist. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  38. ^ Richardson, Jeff (February 8, 2008). "'Tundra' cartoonist finds success in unexpected places". Fairbanks Daily News Miner. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  39. ^ Demer, Lisa (October 31, 2007). "Kohring neither defiant nor remorseful". Retrieved 2007-11-03. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |news= ignored (|newspaper= suggested) (help)

External links

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