Join host Mike Chmielewski and his guest, Kelley Shoemake, Executive Director of the Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce, as they discuss being a Chamber member.

Image Credit: Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce

Let it rain! Citizen scientists all over the country are collecting the rain drops. And hail pellets. And snowflakes.

This is CoCoRaHS, the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. Its mission is to increase the number of people having fun measuring precipitation. Rain, hail, and snow are all types of precipitation.

People like you measure and map precipitation. Kids can do it. Seniors can do it. Anyone who can find a clear spot to put up a rain gauge can do it.

Have you been frustrated when the weather forecast is wrong? Mountainous areas and microclimates make it challenging to know where the rain is going to fall. Rain is coming, but will it soak the land at the 3,000 foot level or the 300 foot level? That makes a big difference in who gets wet.

More data improves forecasts. And the best way to get more data is to have more people collecting it with rain gauges in their backyards.

It’s important that people are collecting data with the same equipment in the same way. CoCoRaHS helps with this. Each person that signs up is entered into a national network. They buy an inexpensive standardized rain gauge. The gauge is simple and tough. It has no moving parts.

Slideshows and short videos show you how to set up your gauge; how to measure rain fall; how to measure the size of hail; and how to measure snow depth and water content.

You submit data through a website or an app. You can enter as much or as little information as you want. You can report air temperature, whether it was windy when the precipitation began, whether the streams are low or high, and even the birds or animals you see.

The information is uploaded to a national map. You get instant gratification when you see your data on the map. You can compare your results to others’.

This information is important. The National Weather Service uses it to improve forecasts. That’s right. Your data can help make the forecast in your area more accurate! The data is also used by emergency managers, people tracking snowpack and river levels, and others.

It’s ok if you’re gone a lot and can’t read the gauge every day. You can enter a “multi-day accumulation” report when you get back.

You can still use interactive maps on the CoCoRAHs website even if you aren’t reporting precipitation.

What if you heard a storm was heading towards Montana where your brother lives? CoCoRAHs maps show you what people are reporting. You can see how heavy and widespread the rain is.

You can settle an argument with a friend about whether it snowed more in Palmer or in Buffalo. Go to the CoCoRAHs Station Explorer. You can even read personal notes about how precipitation is affecting a local area.

Only three stations in the Mat-Su have reported regularly over the last three months. These are station MS-30 in Palmer, MS-31 in Wasilla, and MS-22 in Chickaloon. Go to cocorahs.org to check them out.

And while you are there, sign up to be a CoCoRAHs observer. We can all use better weather forecasts.

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.

This Page Two article was reported by Kendra Zamzow and produced by yours truly, Lee Henrikson. 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, July 14, 2026.

The City of Palmer will hold elections on Tuesday, October 6. Three City Council seats are up this year: two three-year terms and one one-year term.

The candidate filing period runs from 8 a.m. next Monday to 4 p.m. on July 31.

Candidates must select one race. Those seeking a three-year term compete for the two available seats. The top two vote-getters win.

Candidates for the one-year seat run in a separate contest. The highest vote-getter wins.

A candidate can win by a single vote. In the event of a tie, the City Clerk will flip a coin to determine the winner.

Candidates must be registered voters in Palmer city limits. They must have lived in Palmer for at least a year as of the filing date. They must submit complete nomination paperwork by the July 31 deadline. This includes at least 20 signatures from registered Palmer voters. Candidates are encouraged to collect 25 to 30 signatures in case some signatures are not valid.

Candidates may pick up nominating petition packets from the Palmer City Clerk Office or download one from palmerak.org/elections no earlier than July 20, 2026.

A list of certified candidates with their contact information will be posted on the city website. Candidates have a few days to withdraw after the filing period closes. Anyone wishing to run as a write-in candidate must also register during the filing period.

Campaigning is straightforward. Candidates may go door-to-door, distribute literature, and put up campaign signs. Signs require a free permit from the Palmer Community Development Department. They must comply with placement rules.

Palmer municipal elections focus on city issues. Voter turnout is low at around six percent in council-only elections. Candidates play a major role in encouraging residents to vote. This includes personal outreach, signs, and community events. The city promotes elections through its website, social media, and public notices.

Early voting is at Palmer City Hall during the two weeks prior to Election Day.

On election day polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Matanuska-Susitna Borough building and the School District Administration Building..

Residents may request an application to vote absentee by mail from City Hall or the city’s website. Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received by the Friday following the election to be counted.

The canvass board oversees final vote counting. They review absentee ballots, verify voter eligibility on the question ballots, and audit election day results. All valid ballots are counted with electronic tabulation equipment. The canvass board meetings are open to the public. Residents may observe the process. They may not see any confidential voter information.

Johnson emphasized that residents should vote even if they are unsure whether they live within Palmer city limits. Election officials cannot turn eligible voters away. The officials can issue a questioned ballot if necessary. This process can also update a voter’s registration after a recent move within the city.

Residents must be registered to vote thirty days before Election Day. That’s September 6 this year. Residents can check their voter registration at myvoterportal.alaska.gov. They can update their registration at voterregistration.alaska.gov.

Johnson’s final message is simple: every vote matters, especially in local elections where a small number of ballots can decide the outcome. She encouraged all eligible Palmer residents to vote and make their voices heard.

In other news, the Palmer City Council meets tomorrow night at 6 p.m. in the Palmer Depot.

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.

This Page Two article was reported by Mike Chmielewski and produced by yours truly, Lee Henrikson. 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 Monday, July 13, 2026.

image credit: City of Palmer

Join John and Rachel this week as they review how congressional resistance to Trump has saved Alaska’s Ocean Station Papa and how it might also improve Alaska’s housing supply. We also discuss how the Supreme Court’s lifting of limits on political party assistance to federal candidates will likely land in Alaska.

Image Credit: Connect Mat-Su

Image Credit: Mat-Su Solid Waste Division.

The City Clerk’s Office serves as the official record keeper for the City of Palmer and plays a vital role in supporting transparent, efficient local government.

Image Credit: City of Palmer

The West Butte Trail is the most popular hike in the Mat-Su Borough. It’s being loved to death. The borough is going to save it.

“It’s the first hike someone might take if they live or visit the Mat-Su,” Operations Branch Manager of Outdoor Recreation Hugh Leslie said.

He says that repairs are overdue. 520 steps carry hikers up the steepest stretch. The wooden stairs and support posts have degraded and can’t be repaired.

The Assembly realized that something had to be done to preserve this popular trail, says Leslie.

$600,000 covers the cost of replacing the aging wooden staircase. The project required public and private funding. The Borough Assembly put $500,000 toward the repairs in the 2027 budget. The Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation put up the remaining $100,000.

A bid for design and engineering goes out this month. The new staircase will be built with serrated steel steps and railings. These steps need little maintenance and will last about 20 years.

The borough is targeting completion by the spring 2027 hiking season. Hikers can expect disruption and partial closures during construction.

The need for repairs comes amid explosive growth in trail use across the borough. 700 annual trail parking passes were sold in 2013. That number has climbed to 4,000 so far for 2026.

The growth is visible at the West Butte trailhead. 500 daily parking passes were issued at the trailhead parking lot in the last week of June. An unknown number of annual pass holders also parked there that week. Each pass represents one vehicle. The number of hikers is higher.

Ralph Basner has hiked the West Butte Trail three to four times a week for about 10 years. He stopped on the trail to chat. He has noticed an increase in traffic over that time. Even on a rainy Monday morning the parking lot was a third full.

Basner hadn’t heard about the planned repairs. “That’s great news! I had no idea!” Basner said. He noted that some of the steps are so eroded that it’s hard for him to fit his feet on them.

A dedicated crew maintains the trail. One year-round staffer is supported by 12 seasonal employees. More than half of the seasonal crew returns each year. It is one of the longest standing, fully funded trail crews in the state according to Leslie.

The trail is personal for Leslie. He first hiked the West Butte trail 11 years ago with his three-month-old daughter in a BabyBjörn backpack. His family had just moved to the Valley.

A photo of his daughter on the summit appears on the pamphlet available at the trailhead today. Her arms are stretched over her head in a classic “Butte Pose,” with Pioneer Peak and the surrounding fields behind her.

Once the West Butte staircase is improved, the crew expects to shift focus toward other trail systems, including Jordan Lake Park and the Settlers Bay Coastal Trail.

For Leslie, public access to trails isn’t optional. He said while they may seem a luxury, they’re not. They are essential infrastructure for the community that citizens are devoted to, one footstep, one staircase, at a time.

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.

This Page Two article was reported by -Emily Forstner and produced by yours truly, Lee Henrikson. 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 Friday July 10, 2026.

Photo y Emily Forstner for Big Cabbage Radio : The wooden steps on the West Butte Trail.

Joan Patterson

Photo Credit: City of Palmer