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Last weekend, the Nation celebrated its 250th Birthday by hosting parades across the country. But some  Su-Valley alumni remember marching in a different parade, 50 years ago, during America’s Bicentennial year. KTNA’s Colleen Love has more. In 1976, the United States of America celebrated its 200th year of being a new country. There had also been a recent Presidential election and in January of that year, a parade was held for the inauguration of new President, Jimmy Carter.

This week marks the the final days of climbing season. Although there are still climbers in the range, most of them are in the final days of their journey. KTNA’s Colleen Love has this week’s Denali Report. This is the Denali Report for July 2nd, 2026 As of mid-week, there were 981 climbers registered to climb Denali and 19 people registered to attempt Mt. Foraker. There are 84 climbers currently on Denali and no climbers currently on Mt. Foraker. 897 mountaineers have finished their expeditions.

July 2, 2026 | KTNA Staff This week on Su Valley Voice we’re featuring Sunshine Community Health Center for their monthly check-in and discussed their upcoming Community Celebration as well as July’s Health theme:  Try Not to Die in July. Host Trisha Costello was joined in the studio by clinic staff to also discuss the role that Patient Advocates play, specifically in terms of helping establish Advance Directives.

June 30, 2026 | Jenny Willoughby Two State-owned parcels on Front Street in Talkeetna will be transferred to the Mat-Su Borough to be used for water storage and a new well site, according to a Final Finding and Decision from Alaska Department of Natural Resources. But the 1.42 acres is still in the 100-year floodplain. This is one of the reasons for moving the well site from its C Street location.

Climbing season is winding down. KTNA’s Colleen Love has this week’s Denali Report. This is the Denali Report for Friday, June 26th, 2026. There are currently 981 climbers registered to climb Denali this year. As of mid-week, 128 of them are on the mountain and 853 have finished their expeditions. There are currently 19 climbers registered to climb Mt. Foraker, and all nineteen are now off the mountain. Teams that are still in the Range have shifted to climbing at night at the lower elevations.

June 25, 2026 | Jenny Willoughby Two women were murdered in Trapper Creek in the summer of 2023. Since then, the Trapper Creek community has revived discussions to reinstate the Alaska State Trooper post. The Talkeetna Post located at the Y was closed in 2015 due to budget cuts. At their meeting in May, the Trapper Creek Community Council hosted Captain Kid Chan to discuss the potential for a post at the local Trapper Creek Park or elsewhere in the Upper Valley.

Jazz and art workshops with Rocco John and Denise Fusco Iavacone are almost an annual tradition at Denali Arts Council. The Talkeetna Jazz Orchestra began rehearsals on June 18 th and will practice a total of six times before the final performance on July 2 nd . This year the orchestra features more traditional jazz instruments, like saxophone and trombone, and some non-traditional ones, like viola and banjo. Any musician or singer is welcome in the orchestra.

A skatepark in Talkeetna has been on the town’s wish list for almost a decade. The project has recently gained momentum, and this summer brought the first shredders to the designated site. The idea of a local skatepark was born in 2015, when Talkeetna’s local library was relocated. A group of parents started a grassroots effort to transform the former library site into a community skate park. The Borough was supportive, and the site sits adjacent to the Wildwood Playground.

Talkeetna’s Wildwood Playground is scheduled to re-open to the public this weekend. The popular playground has been temporarily closed for maintenance. After a recent inspection by Borough Recreation Services, it was discovered that the surface impact material had degraded to unsafe levels and was in need of replacement. According to Brian Robison, Outdoor Recreation Specialist for the Borough, 150 cubic yards of the old material was removed.

Kathleen Fleming has Summer Solstice / Father’s Day combo edition of StarDate Susitna. The below photo was taken on June 17th by Debra Ceravolo of southern British Columbia, Canada. Bright Venus was obscured/covered by the Moon, called an occultation, about an hour before it popped back out from behind the illuminated crescent side. The Sun had set in Brazil when the occultation occurred, but it was a daytime event for all of North America (the far north was excluded, see map).