Talkeetna, Alaska

Talkeetna, Alaska
CDP
Location of Talkeetna, Alaska
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Borough	Matanuska-Susitna
Area
• Total	42.9 sq mi (111.2 km2)
• Land	41.6 sq mi (107.7 km2)
• Water	1.4 sq mi (3.6 km2)
Elevation	348 ft (106 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	772
• Density	18.6/sq mi (7.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC-9 (Alaska (AKST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-8 (AKDT)
ZIP code	99676
Area code	907
FIPS code	02-74830
GNIS feature ID	1410591

Talkeetna is a census-designated place (CDP) in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2000 census the population was 772.

Geography

Talkeetna is located at 62°18′41″N 150°5′13″W (62.311397, -150.087053)Template:GR at the confluence of three rivers, the Susitna, Chulitna and Talkeetna. The Talkeetna townsite was established in 1919 when the railroad surveyed and auctioned 80 lots. The average price at the sale was $14.25. Flightseeing, rafting, mountain biking, hiking, camping, fishing and hunting make up a large portion of the local economy. Talkeetna is a 2.5 hour drive from Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska. The core downtown area is classified as a National historic site, with buildings dating from the early 1900s including Nagley's General Store, Fairview Inn and The Roadhouse.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 42.9 square miles (111.2 km²), of which, 41.6 square miles (107.7 km²) of it is land and 1.4 square miles (3.5 km²) of it (3.19%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 772 people, 358 households, and 181 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 18.6 people per square mile (7.2/km²). There were 528 housing units at an average density of 12.7/sq mi (4.9/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 87.95% White, 3.76% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 1.30% from other races, and 6.87% from two or more races. 1.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 358 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.4% were non-families. 38.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 113.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.5 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $38,289, and the median income for a family was $46,818. Males had a median income of $34,732 versus $26,250 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $23,695. About 7.2% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Other

Talkeetna is close to world-class salmon fishing and Denali (also known as Mt. McKinley). Tourists travel to Talkeetna each summer to fish, raft and go flightseeing. Products from local artists, musicians and craftspeople are available in area stores. The annual Moose Dropping Festival is a celebration that takes place over two days in July each year in Talkeetna. The event is named after a lottery where participants bet on numbered, varnished pieces of moose turds dropped from a helicopter onto a target. Other events include a softball competition, a five-kilometre footrace, Mountain Mother contests and a parade. In December, the Wilderness Woman and Bachelor Auction & Ball takes place.

Talkeetna is served by Talkeetna Airport, which is home to several air taxi companies that provide flight seeing trips and support for mountain climbers. Many of the air taxi companies were started to ferry climbers from Talkeetna to Denali, as Talkeetna has the easiest access to the south side of the mountain where the main base camp is located.

Talkeetna is home to independent webcast and wiki Whole Wheat Radio. Talkeetna has a community radio station, 88.9 KTNA, with locally hosted shows and NPR programming. There are two local newspapers. The largest, the Talkeetna Good Times, has a distribution of 10,000 in summer and 9,000 in winter, and is currently published every other week in print and updated frequently online. The Alaska Pioneer Press is a monthly newspaper based in Talkeetna serving the area between Houston and Healy, including the Talkeetna area, with an online news component and news briefs updated on a regular basis.

In June 2007, Susitna Valley Junior-Senior High School burned to the ground while repairs were being made to the roof. Around 250 students were left without a school, and are currently holding classes in portables on the grounds of the Upper Susitna Senior Center. Since the fire, the students have boycotted unhealthy school lunches, requesting higher quality food. With help from members of the community, they prepared homemade meals to share. Construction of the new high school is well under way, with completion scheduled by mid-December of 2009. The contractor will receive a bonus for every day that the school is completed ahead of schedule.

The town of Cicely from the television series Northern Exposure is widely thought to be patterned after Talkeetna. Filming actually took place in Roslyn, Washington.

External links

• Template:Dmoz
• The Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce
• The Talkeetna Good Times
• AK Pioneer Press
• 88.9FM KTNA
• RSS mashup for Talkeetna