Join host Mike Chmielewski and his guest, Michelle Church of Moonstone Farm, as they discuss the farm’s history

photo credit: Moonstone Farm

Join host Mike Chmielewski with Peter House from Deep Tree as they discuss current cybersecurity threats and international travel dangers.

Image Credit: DeepTree

There’s a different kind of graduation ceremony happening this weekend. Sure, there will be caps and gowns. There will be handshakes and diplomas. There will be a keynote speaker, just like your public high school graduation. There will be feelings of accomplishment, of pride, of moving on, and of turning the page to a new chapter in life.

The feeling of accomplishment will be just as great, perhaps even greater than at a high school graduation. This is not your neighborhood school graduation where everyone is about the same age. There might be teenagers graduating. However, some of the graduates will be middle aged or older.

Each graduate has a unique story. And each story is about to turn to a new chapter.

Some graduates will have completed or almost completed their GED. GED stands for General Educational Development. It’s equivalent to a high school diploma.

Some will celebrate new certifications in fields like IT, Project Management, administrative assistant, and more.

Nine Star Education & Employment Services is sponsoring the event. Community Outreach Coordinator Jessica Egbert says that the public education system works for most people, but not everyone. Some aren’t ready to graduate on an arbitrary schedule. Nine Star helps people develop their skills when they’re ready.

Their mission statement reads “Through education and employment services help Alaskans Get a Job! Keep a Job! & Advance on the Job!”

Nine Star offers classes that prepare students for the GED exam. They also prepare students for the work-readiness test called WorkKeys. That test is for people who want to enter skilled trades.

Nine Star also offers guidance for mid-career people who are ready for a change. Some seek a less physical job. As we get older, Egbert says, physical labor can become difficult. Nine Star helps clients develop skills for jobs that require less physical labor.

Egbert shared one moving story. A student dropped out of high school under trying circumstances. He was homeless, living out of his car, and couldn’t finish school on time. Later he earned his GED with Nine Star’s help, got a job earning $30/hour, and moved into an apartment.

But not everyone who comes to Nine Star is looking at a job. Egbert has seen retired people come to Nine Star. They had no interest in re-entering the job market. They just wanted to prove they could earn a high school diploma.

The graduation ceremony will be at the Mat-Su Health Foundation on Saturday at 2 p.m. If you want to celebrate with the graduates, please RSVP at debl@ninestar.org.

If you would like to find out more about the services at Nine Star or if you want to volunteer for the nonprofit, you can find them at ninestar.org.

In other news:

The Matanuska Community Farmers Market is today from 4 to 6 p.m.

The Musk Ox Farm Summer Concert Series kicks off tonight with Dirty Cello at 7 p.m. Tickets and info at muskoxfarm.org.

The Links Resource Fair is tomorrow at Iditapark in Wasilla from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Discover exciting activities. Connect with your community and access valuable resources. Find more information at linksprc.org.

Evergreen Avenue near the Depot in Palmer will be closing today for upgrades.

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 David Cheezem and produced by yours truly, Lee Henrikson. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.

Photo credit: Mat-Su Sentinel

Join host Mike Chmielewski and his guests, Aundra Jackson and Gage Saxton with the Mat-Su MLKjr Foundation, as they discuss the upcoming Juneteenth Celebration in Palmer.

image courtesy of Mat-Su MLKjr Foundation

Ah, the snow’s long gone. And you know what that means? Community clean up across the borough!

Sutton went above and beyond a normal community clean up this year. Over 250 people pitched in. They filled dumpster after dumpster.

How did they do it? They partnered with the Borough Planning Department. Development Services Manager Wade Long leads the Borough CLEANS program. The program helps clean up areas struggling with borough code compliance.

The project area in Sutton encompassed 343 properties. It’s a large area, about 1,600 acres. There weren’t many code cases in the area, but the ones that existed were intense. The parcels were large. Some of the trash required heavy equipment to move.

Long reached out to the community. Librarian Juli Busby was the main point of contact. School principal Emily Jordan helped Long get to know the community. The word spread from there.

Long and his staff went door to door with information and the signups. People were already expecting them.

The cleanup days were May 27 through May 30. Most of the volunteers were from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Community members and borough staff also pitched in. They identified properties, staged dumpsters, and set up the flow of the work.

Coordinating dumpsters is a challenge when working outside the core area. It takes about an hour to drive to the landfill. And then they might have to wait in line. And then they have to drive back.

Not everyone wanted the clean-up crews on their property. Long says, “We respect property rights.” A lot of people put the trash by the road. And it was no problem to pick up.

The clean-up crews served about 100 of the 343 properties. The large clean-up in Sutton was like the one in the Williwaw neighborhood of Wasilla last September.

Long explained the program is designed for smaller parcels as well. He visits community councils to talk about the CLEANS program. Long says, “In the day-to-day, when we’re not doing these massive cleanups, the CLEANS program is a solution for people that have these code violation cases. They may not have the means to resolve this situation themselves. They may have financial hardship or a disability. They probably can’t clean it up. So, they may qualify for this program. And so, we want them to sign up.”

Code Compliance officers are passionate about serving people. Long encourages residents to welcome them. Long and his staff want to help people get to a solution.

The CLEANS program is real. It helps people. Long says, “We will clean the properties for free and restore this situation and get the borough off their back.” It’s important to Long that the borough serves more than the core area.

CLEANS stands for Community, Land, Enforcement, Abatement, and Neighborhood Support. It supports cleanup of private properties with code violations, Borough-owned lands, vacant lots, and community areas that have become hazardous or unsightly. To learn more about the CLEANS program, visit matsu.gov/cleans.

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. 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 June 16, 2026.

(photo: Williwaw neighborhood cleanup. credit: matsu.gov)

Aundra Jackson and Gage Saxton talk about the Juneteenth celebration in Palmer this Friday at 8 a.m., repeating at 5 p.m.

Chuck Kaucik talks about the 250th anniversary celebration of our country sponsored by St John’s Lutheran Church at about 8:15 a.m., repeating at 5:15 p.m.

Wed Jun 17

Michelle Church from Moonstone Farm joins host Mike Chmielewski on Ag Matters at 7:30 a.m., repeating at 5:30 p.m.

Peter House from Deep Tree talks about current cybersecurity threats at 8 a.m., repeating at 5 p.m.

Fri Jun 19

Palmer Airport Superintendent John Diumenti joins Mike Chmielewski on Inside the City at 8 a.m., repeating at 5:30 p.m.

Emily Forstner interviews Superintendent Randy Trani on Inside the District and Valley Edition at 5 p.m., repeating at noon on Saturday.

Sat Jun 20

Rachel Levitt and John Robertson review federal actions that impact Alaska on Home to Roost. Saturday at 12:30 p.m., repeating on Monday 5:30 p.m.

Join Dr. Jill Valerius and host Lee Henrikson as they continue a discussion on prostate cancer screening.

Image Credit: CDC

Three student radio station operators, the staff advisor, and the broadcast engineer from KRUA visited our studio last week. KRUA is the student-run radio station at UAA. The idea of a visit started because a board in one of their studios died. They needed a new sound board. We happened to have a spare board because of a recent upgrade. They came to check out the board and see our operations. And maybe just go home with that spare board.

Radio folks love to talk shop when they get together. And we had cool stuff to show off. We had upgraded the sound board and Studio Transmitter Link (aka STL) in our broadcast studio.

Our conversation went beyond the basics. It was a fun, wide ranging discussion.

We were interested in their opinion about the upgrades to our broadcast studio. We have replaced the analog board and its manual faders. Our new sound board is a digital touch screen. It’s state of the art. It still wows us. It wowed the visitors.

Of course, the true test comes in its use. We can operate the touch screen and control the broadcast studio from a distance. That means answering the phones, being part of a live broadcast, turning microphones on and off, and adjusting all aspects of the broadcast remotely. It means being able to do everything as if we were in the studio.

Mike and I had an unexpected trip outside last month. We tested the system because we had to. And it worked. We were able to do almost everything as if we were in the studio.

Cutting back to the verdict from the visitors: We were able to demonstrate the conversion of one studio to a state of the art digital operation. They applauded our work. Our operations manuals continue to be a work in progress. However, they are well on their way to guide new operators. And the questions the students asked pushed us to clarify explanations and think about next steps.

We also impressed them with our diagrams of the equipment connectivity and the flow of the audio from a DJ at the mic to the transmission towers. And the labels on all cables and individual electronic components really wowed them.

The KRUA students left with big smiles on their faces. It was like Christmas. They took a few pieces of used equipment, including the needed sound board. Those pieces will find a good home at KRUA.

And the students left us with observations about our operations that will inform the next evolution.

Thank you KRUA for taking the time to collaborate and make both of our stations better and more awake and aware .

In other news the borough assembly has two meetings tomorrow. At 4 p.m. they will hold a special meeting for the annual evaluation of the borough clerk. The regular meeting is at 6 p.m.

The school board meeting scheduled for Wednesday has been cancelled. The school board will meet again in August.

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. Become a member of Big Cabbage Radio. 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 June 15, 2026.