Hold on! Summer is not quite over. There’s still plenty happening in the Greater Palmer MetroPlex to enjoy before the ice and snow get here.

How about some live music today? Drive up to Hatcher Pass Lodge to catch Barry Sless & Stephen Inglis from 2 to 5 p.m. If you can’t make that, Drew Sablon hits the stage at Everett’s at 6 p.m. Everett’s info is at mat-suresort.com.

Hatcher Pass Lodge features the Seth Freeman Band on Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m. and Ayla Ray on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m.

Is Trivia your groove? The Roadside Inn is the place for Nerdvana Trivia Night. Fast-paced rounds cover everything from movies and music to history, sports, pop culture, and more. The fun runs from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. tonight. The RoadSide Inn is at 7766 West Phlox Street in Wasilla. See nerdvanatrivia.com for info.

We’re down to the last couple Friday Flings of the Summer. Will Johnson provides live music from noon to 3 p.m. tomorrow at the Fling. He performs smooth vocals and features a diverse repertoire of crowd favorites. Stop in and give a listen.

The Palmer Museum of History and Art hosts local artist Jeri Breshears. She self describes as a Wife, Mom, and Gramma. Breshears will be at the museum at 11 a.m tomorrow. Drop in to meet her and enjoy her embroidery and mosaic creations.

The Summer concert season continues at the Musk-Ox Farm tomorrow at 7 p.m. with the Super Saturated Sugar Strings. Their take on modern Americana brims with polished instrumental arrangements and shout-to-the-rafter vocals. Find information at muskoxfarm.org

The 24th annual Running of the Bulls at the Musk Ox Farm is on Saturday morning. Participants do not actually run with the musk oxen. They navigate farm roads around the fields. The oxen observe the runners and walkers from their pastures. Information is at MuskOxFarm.org.

Blackwater Railroad takes the stage to support Kids Kupboard on Saturday at 3 p.m. Your attendance helps fight childhood hunger. Kids Kupboard provides meals to local children. Event information is at kidskupboard.org

The annual Hot Summer Nights Car Show takes over Downtown Palmer on Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m.

If you’ve never climbed Bodenburg Butte, now’s your chance. This guided outing offers a look at the geology that shaped the Butte and some cultural history. Join Revel Trek and Tours on Sunday for this hike up the Butte. Enjoy the awesome scenery and fresh air. Registration is required. Go to reveltreksandtours.com for information and registration.

Massive amounts of live music, running around the musk oxen, and hiking the Butte. Where else can you do that? We sure do live in a very special corner of the world. This is a sample of the fun to be had this weekend. Get out and enjoy our nifty neck of the woods.

Have a great day and a better tomorrow.

Page 2 airs weekdays at 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 11:50 a.m., and 6 p.m.

Tune in at 89.7 in Palmer, 89.5 in Sutton, 88.3 in Chickaloon and Glacier View or online at bigcabbageradio.org.

Please support Page 2 News and Big Cabbage Radio. Become a member: Donate today at bigcabbageradio.org.

Keith Peticolas reported this Page Two article and yours truly, Lee Henrikson produced it. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.

That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Thursday August 6, 2026.

Join host Mike Chmielewski and his guest, David Boortz, owner of Lekker Coffee and Baking Company. Listen in as David discusses his past businesses and his development of the Lekker Coffee and Baking Company.

Image/Photo Credit: Lekker Coffee and Baking Co.

From the Farm is a monthly show on Big Cabbage Radio. Staff from the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center give an update on farm activities.

Farm Manager Aimee Young and Mat-Su/Copper River District 4-H Coordinator Samantha Blumenkonig discussed activities at the farm and beyond on this month’s show.

The Alaska State Fair is coming up in a few weeks. Blumenkonig says that the 4-H is very busy during fair season. She described the many ways 4-H members are busy across the fairgrounds.

Young riders from across the state compete in the 4-H State Horse Show during the first weekend of the fair. This year’s focus is dressage.

Fairgoers can stop by the June Tull 4-H Building on the Red Trail to see the creativity and hard work of Alaskan youth. Displays include photography, artwork, baking, gardening, vegetables, flowers, and other projects completed throughout the year. Blumenkonig encourages fairgoers to take their time and appreciate the dedication behind every exhibit.

The Tull building also features interactive educational activities. Visitors can learn about livestock biosecurity and how farmers protect animals from diseases such as avian flu and African swine fever.

And the Worm Petting Zoo returns by popular demand. Visitors can gently handle red wiggler worms while learning about vermicomposting and soil health. The petting zoo may sound unusual, but last year’s event was a success. Even more worms will be on hand this year.

4-H and FFA members take over the livestock barn during the final week of the fair. About 150 youth are expected to auction cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, poultry, ducks, chickens, and quail in the 4-H & FFA Junior Market and Livestock Auction on Saturday, September 5th. Yes, even quail. Quail are a growing project for several local clubs.

Back at the Farm, July proved to be one of the rainiest months in recent memory. Measurable rain fell on 21 days. Young noted that the farm received about 3.35 inches of rain in July. Slightly more total rainfall fell 100 years ago, in July 1926, but over fewer days. These long-term weather comparisons offer insights into Alaska’s changing growing conditions.

Research crops are performing well at the Farm despite the cloudy summer. Lettuce variety trials continue to produce harvests, including a peppery variety called “Hot Shot.” Zucchini, garlic, rhubarb, and honeyberries have also done well.

Sunflowers and corn face challenges because of the lack of sunshine. The community gardens at the farm remain colorful with vegetables and flowers. Alaska gardens continue to thrive in even wet summers.

The Experiment Farm will host a free farm tour at noon on Thursday August 13. The tour will introduce visitors to the farm’s cattle and focus on livestock nutrition research. It will also highlight ongoing research that supports Alaska agriculture.

Whether you’re exploring the 4-H exhibits at the Alaska State Fair, supporting young people at the livestock auction, or visiting the Experiment Farm, August is a wonderful time to celebrate agriculture, research, and the next generation of Alaskan farmers.

Page 2 airs weekdays at 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 11:50 a.m., and 6 p.m.

Tune in at 89.7 in Palmer, 89.5 in Sutton, 88.3 in Chickaloon and Glacier View or online at bigcabbageradio.org.

Please support Page 2 News and Big Cabbage Radio. Become a member: Donate today at bigcabbageradio.org.

Mike Chmielewski reported this Page Two article and yours truly, Lee Henrikson produced it. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.

That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Wednesday August 5, 2026.

Photo credit: Mat-Su/Copper River 4-H District

Join host Mike Chmielewski and his guests, Aimee Young, Farm Manager from the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center, and Samantha Blumenkonig, 4-H Program Coordinator for the farm. Listen in as they discuss the Mat-Su Experiment Farm’s participation in the 2026 State Fair.

The Matanuska Experiment Farm is a working research farm serving Southcentral Alaska. It has 260 acres of cultivated land and 800 acres of forestland for research or demonstration purposes, including barns, feed storage facilities and pastureland. The experiment farm has a complete complement of farm equipment to produce and harvest grain, forage (hay and silage) and other crops. There are also field and laboratory facilities for research on soils, plants and livestock.

Image Credit: FFA/4H of Alaska

Ron Harvey has walked through the doors of the Palmer Bar and Grill every day for decades. He doesn’t drink alcohol. He was back again for the bar’s 90th birthday in July. He was sipping his root beer.

Bar co-owner Sherman leifer says that loyalty defines the place. A lot of old timers come in. They say that the bar that was the first place they had a drink.

Palmer’s two oldest institutions are a church and a bar.

Presbyterian minister Bert Bingle arrived in town in May 1935. This was four days ahead of the first colonists. Bingle joked he was relieved the Lord kept pace with the lawyers and barkeeps. This is according to local historians Margaret Miller and Ray Bonnell.

By Leifer’s account, the bar started in 1936. Neal and Marie Wright opened it across the street from the depot. Locals called that spot “the wrong side of the tracks.”

The joke around town was that the Colony sold the milk, and the bar sold the booze.

Ninety years later, both the church and the bar are still serving.

Old photographs and decades of State Fair posters cover the walls of the Palmer Bar and Grill. It’s like a scrapbook of the 90 years that started with Bingle and the Wrights.

This scrapbook is now in the hands of Leifer and his cousin Wes Artz. They bought the bar on July 11, 2020. The partners treat the day they signed the lease as the bar’s birthday. July 11 this year marked the bar’s 90th birthday. It’s the oldest continuous business in Palmer.

Researcher Doug Vandegraft helped Leifer pieced together the ownership history of the bar. Leifer admits the records are less than perfect. One ad in an old business directory has the founding year of the bar off by about a decade.

The bar has moved several times. It spent time in the basement of Bert’s Drug Store as the Palmer Cocktail Bar. It moved into the old Piggly Wiggly grocery store next to Bert’s Liquor Store.

The bar also changed hands several times. Five owners ran it between 1965 and 1985. Mary Lou Coddington and Jack Burnett bought it in 1985. They ran the bar for 35 years before deciding to sell.

Leifer was interested in the bar because he wanted to own a piece of history. Leifer said, “What cooler place was there than the Palmer Bar?”

Coddington and Burnett had several offers for the bar. They chose the Leifer and Artz. That trust has stuck with Leifer.

What he did not imagine was the responsibility that came with owning a piece of history. Leifer was stunned. He never dreamed of being on a community board.

He has served as president of the Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce board. He now sits on the State Fair board. This is fitting since the fair also turns 90 this year.

The bar did that. Leifer says, “When you belong to something like this, you inherit a vested interest.”

Leifer manages the books and handyman projects for the business while Artz manages the bar and grill. Leifer credits Artz and the staff for the bar’s growth. He says that they work to make it a gathering place first, and a bar second.

Leifer likes to hear that the Palmer Bar has some of the best service and food in town.

The bar was named Palmer Business of the Year in 2023. It won Battle of the Beverages at Colony Days and Colony Christmas in 2024 and 2025. They did not enter in 2026.

Leifer’s goal is for the bar to feel the same when it turns 100 years old as it does now.

Page 2 airs weekdays at 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 11:50 a.m., and 6 p.m.

Tune in at 89.7 in Palmer, 89.5 in Sutton, 88.3 in Chickaloon and Glacier View or online at bigcabbageradio.org.

Please support Page 2 News and Big Cabbage Radio. Become a member: Donate today at bigcabbageradio.org.

Emily Forstner reported this Page Two article and yours truly, Lee Henrikson produced it. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.

That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Tuesday, August 4, 2026.

Photo credit: Downtown Palmer 1940-1950 Palmer Museum of History & Arl–Wimmer Collection

Join host Kenni Psenak as she interviews Bill Hill, candidate for the U.S House from Alaska

Bill Hill

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Join host Kenni Psenak as she interviews David R. Ambrose II, candidate for the U.S House from Alaska

David R. Ambrose II

photo credit: elections.alaska.gov

Join host Kenni Psenak as she interviews Reece Roberts candidate for the U.S Senate from Alaska

Reece Roberts

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Join host Kenni Psenak as she interviews Heather McElwain, candidate for the U.S Senate from Alaska

Heather McElwain

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Join host Kenni Psenak as she interviews Scott Kohlhass, candidate for the U.S Senate from Alaska

Scott A. Kohlhass

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