MATANUSKA-SUSITNA BOROUGH NEWS
Special Santa program provides Christmas for more...
WASILLA - Christmas will be a bit happier for more than 3,000 Valley children who will find themselves on Santa's "nice" list this year.
Kohring provides details of lawsuits
PALMER - Vic Kohring had to hire a private investigator to track down and serve a lawsuit against the star witness in his public corruption trial.
Ewing joins state House race
WASILLA - Though he's been making noise about wanting to enter the race since at least July, Mark Ewing made it official this past week, filing to run for the state House of Representatives.
Wasilla, borough work on land deal
WASILLA - Once upon a time in 1978, the city built its downtown public library. Use of the library soon outgrew its 8,000 square feet of space, and more than 20 years of wishing to build a new facility is now moving from the fiction section to non-fiction.
Council politics turn personal
WASILLA - It seems even municipal bodies aren't immune to the emotional effects of social media. On the heels of a heated municipal election season, a Facebook post has opened a rift among some Wasilla City Council members.
Wasilla native among dead in Washington helicopter...
WASILLA - The Mat-Su Valley's  CWO3, Chief Warrant Officer Shan Joseph Satterfield was one of four Army aviators who perished when two helicopters crashed during training at Joint Base Lewis-McChord on Monday.
Group hopes to help prisoners return to society
WASILLA - The Valley's court system, probations offices and case workers have banded together to do something about a problem many might not be aware of - what to do with prisoners re-entering society.
Bikes-for-Books event returns to Mat-Su schools
PALMER - The Matanuska Foundation, sponsored by the Matanuska Masonic Lodge in Palmer, is conducting its Bikes-for-Books program at Swanson, Sherrod, Butte, Sutton, Pioneer Peak and Finger Lake elementary schools.
Copter crash claims Wasilla man
WASILLA - The Mat-Su Valley's CWO3 Shan Joseph Satterfield was one of four Army aviators who perished when two helicopters crashed Monday during training at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Coalition meets to discuss homelessness
WASILLA â?" Grant writers, volunteers, advocates and just about anyone with an interest in the topic will be talking about homelessness in the Valley at an all-day conference today.
'Homeless Summit' is tomorrow in Wasilla
WASILLA - State and local advocates and officials are set to meet Tuesday to discuss what to do about homelessness in the Valley.
Community councils change postponed
PALMER - A measure that would allow community councils to open their rolls to landowners rather than just residents was put off until April 2012.
Assemblyman may resurrect gravel debate
PALMER - Saying he wanted to see the entire ordinance in one place before voting to pass it, Mat-Su Borough Assemblyman Noel Woods resurrected a gravel ordinance that passed Dec. 6.
Menard recall election set
WASILLA - A unanimous vote by city council members officially puts Wasilla's first ever recall election on the calendar.
Wolves relocated
PALMER - A tourist attraction featuring wolves got rid of its animals Friday.

Search at pumperâ??s premises produces pot
HOUSTON - A septic pumper and erstwhile city council candidate arrested last week for allegedly threatening to shoot troopers was apparently also growing weed.
Houston septic pumper alleged to have threatened...
HOUSTON - A septic pumper with a checkered past is in jail after Alaska State Troopers said he threatened to shoot one of them, and there are hints of more charges to come.
Newly installed smoke alarms save 3 from Houston...
HOUSTON - Free smoke alarms installed just hours earlier are credited with likely saving the lives of three people on Thanksgiving Day.
Thompson retains Houston mayorâ??s job
MAT-SU - With the election over, the results certified and new members seated, the next step on a couple of local governing bodies is to elect officers.
Official count: Jorgensen, not Blanchard, wins...
HOUSTON - Early voting ballots are counted and one of the results of one of the city council races has changed.
Jorgensen wins Houston council seat
HOUSTON - New vote totals resulting from counting early voting ballots has changed the outcome of one city council race.
Fired Houston police chiefâ??s lawsuit moves...
HOUSTON - Whatever happened to that lawsuit the city's erstwhile police chief filed against the mayor?
Houston council candidates talk city services,...
HOUSTON - Probably the most surprising thing to come out of Friday's city council forum - a whole lot of agreement with the sitting mayor.
Crews search for victim, unaware no one was home
HOUSTON - The call that came across the airwaves Friday was the kind firefighters hate to hear.
Firefighters search for victim but no one was home
HOUSTON -- The call that came across the airwaves Friday was the kind of call firefighters hate to hear:
Rescued cats no longer living at Houston shelter
HOUSTON - As of Monday evening, the city's tiny animal shelter is a much less crowded place than it has been for the past several weeks.
Itâ??s official: Thompson is still mayor
HOUSTON - Though the number of outstanding ballots on election night wasn't enough to swing the election, the city counted them anyway and in the end, Mayor Virgie Thompson slightly increased the margin by which she survived an attempted recall.
Former Houston councilman Himes dies
HOUSTON - Former city councilman and longtime emergency responder Lee Himes died Monday from an ongoing illness.
6 in the running for Houston council
HOUSTON - Six people have signed up to run for Houston City Council, leaving just one uncontested race in the Valley's smallest city.
Thompson survives recall election
HOUSTON - If unofficial election night totals hold, Mayor Virgie Thompson has survived an attempt to recall her from office.
Houston recall voting ends
HOUSTON - If you've got an opinion on whether mayor Virgie Thompson should retain her position, you need to get to city hall by the end of the day today.
Houston recall voting ends at 8 p.m.
HOUSTON - If you've got an opinion on whether mayor Virgie Thompson should retain her position, you need to get to city hall by the end of the day today.
Houston recall is on
HOUSTON - If you've got an opinion on whether mayor Virgie Thompson should retain her position, you need to get to city hall by the end of the day today.
Locals step up to help rescued cats
HOUSTON - Having taken in more cats in a couple days than the city usually sees in a year, the city's animal shelter also has seen an influx of support from the community.
Houston takes in starving cats, worries about the...
HOUSTON - The number of cats taken in by the Houston animal shelter has swelled to two dozen and the city is wondering how long it can care for the animals captured in and around a home in the Enchanted Forest subdivision since Sunday.
2 dozen abandoned cats taken to Houston shelter
HOUSTON - City officials and animal rescue volunteers were at a home in the King Arthur Drive area Monday trying to corral 27 or more cats left behind by a homeowner who abandoned a residence following foreclosure.
Houston officials served with lawsuit at meeting
HOUSTON - The former head of the Valley's smallest police department, Charley McAnally, has filed a lawsuit against his former employer claiming he was fired for investigating city officials.
Houston braces for recall election, lawsuit
HOUSTON - The heat is rising again in Houston as the mayor braces for a recall election this month and a former police captain announces he's filing a lawsuit against the city and its top officials.
Houston students rally to help Dennis family
HOUSTON - This time last year, Cody Dennis, 14, was just an average boy dealing with ordinary teenage challenges.
Houston High graduates 64
WASILLA - Excited Houston High School seniors, their proud parents and squirming siblings crowded into the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla Wednesday night for the school's annual commencement ceremony.

  And they're off!
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