Wasilla is a city in
Matanuska-Susitna BoroughMatanuska-Susitna Borough is a borough located in the state of Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 59,322. The borough seat is Palmer and the largest city in the borough is Wasilla....
,
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the
fifth-largest city in the state. It is located on the northern point of
Cook InletCook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage....
in the
Matanuska-Susitna ValleyMatanuska-Susitna Valley is an area in Southcentral Alaska south of the Alaska Range about 25 air miles north northeast of Anchorage, Alaska known for producing huge vegetables during a 100-day growing season. It includes the valleys of the Matanuska, the Knik to the southeast, and the Susitna...
of the southcentral part of the state. The city's population was 5,469 at the
2000 censusThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
; the Census Bureau estimated that it had risen to 10,256 in 2008. Wasilla is the largest city in the borough and a part of the
Anchorage metropolitan areaThe Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of the Municipality of Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough in south central Alaska....
, which had an estimated population of 364,701 in 2008.
Established at the intersection of the
Alaska RailroadThe Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad which extends from Seward and Whittier, in the south of the state of Alaska, in the United States, to Fairbanks , and beyond to Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright in the interior of that state...
and Old Carle Wagon Road, the city prospered at the expense of the nearby mining town of
KnikKnik River is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. Historically entrepreneurial, the economic base shifted in the 1970s from small-scale agriculture and recreation to support for workers employed in
AnchorageAnchorage is a consolidated city-borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. With an estimated 279,243 municipal residents in 2008 , it is Alaska's largest city and constitutes more than 40 percent of the state's total population; only New York has a higher percentage...
or on Alaska's North Slope oilfields and related infrastructure. The
George Parks HighwayThe George Parks Highway , usually called simply the Parks Highway, runs 323 miles from the Glenn Highway 35 miles north of Anchorage to Fairbanks in the Alaska Interior...
turned the town into a commuter suburb of Anchorage. Several state and federal agencies have offices in Wasilla, including the Alaska Departments of Environmental Conservation, Labor and Divisions of Public Assistance, Social Services.
Wasilla gained international attention when
Sarah PalinSarah Louise Palin is an American politician who served as Governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009 and was the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States in 2008....
, who served as Wasilla's mayor before her election as Governor of Alaska, was chosen by
John McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
as his
vice-presidentialThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College to a four-year term...
running mateA running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...
in the 2008 United States presidential election.
Wasilla is named after Chief Wasilla, a local Dena'ina chief.
History
Glacial ice sheets covered most of the northern hemisphere until they disappeared between 10,000 and about 7,000 years ago. Early humans moved through the area and left evidence of their passage. The Matanuska-Susitna valley was eventually settled by the Dena'ina Alaska natives who utilized the fertile lands and fishing opportunities of
Cook InletCook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage....
. The Dena'ina are one of the eleven sub-groups comprising the indigenous
AthabaskanAthabaskan or Athabascan is the name of a large group of closely related indigenous peoples of North America, located in two main Southern and Northern groups in western North America, and of their language family...
Indian groups extending down Canada's western coast. Russians occupied Alaska from 1741, occupying strategic trading posts in Lower Cook Inlet until Alaska's sale to the United States in 1867. Near the mouth of the Matanuska River, the town of Knik was settled about 1880. In 1900, the Willow Creek Mining District was established to the north and Knik thrived as a mining settlement.
In 1917, the U.S. government planned the
Alaska RailroadThe Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad which extends from Seward and Whittier, in the south of the state of Alaska, in the United States, to Fairbanks , and beyond to Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright in the interior of that state...
to intersect the Carle Wagon Road (present Wasilla-Fishhook Road) which connected Knik and the mines. Knik businesses and residents rushed to purchase plattes and the town declined. Wasilla Station was named for the nearby Wasilla Creek. Local miners used the name "Wassila Creek", referring to Wassila, a chief of the Dena'ina. There are two sources cited for the name, one being derived from a Dena'ina word meaning "breath of air" while another stating Dena'ina derived it from the Russian name "Vasili." As Knik declined into a
ghost townA ghost town is a town or city that has been completely abandoned by human inhabitants, usually because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as flood, government action, uncontrolled lawlessness or war...
, Wasilla served early fur trappers and miners working the gold fields at Cache Creek and Willow Creek. The area was a supply base for gold mines near
Hatcher PassHatcher Pass is a high mountain pass in the Talkeetna Mountains, Alaska. The nearest incorporated communities are Palmer, approximately to the south, and Willow, approximately to the west...
through World War II. Until construction of the
George Parks HighwayThe George Parks Highway , usually called simply the Parks Highway, runs 323 miles from the Glenn Highway 35 miles north of Anchorage to Fairbanks in the Alaska Interior...
around 1970, nearby Palmer was the leading city in the Matanuska Valley. Wasilla was at the end of the Palmer-Wasilla highway and the road to Big Lake provided access to land west of Wasilla. The Parks Highway put Wasilla at mile 40-42 of what became the major highway and railroad transportation corridor linking Southcentral Alaska to Interior Alaska. As a result, population growth and community development shifted from the area around Palmer to Wasilla and the surrounding area. Wasilla was incorporated as a city in 1974. All non-
borough municipalities throughout Alaska are designated cities.
In 1994, a statewide ballot initiative to move the capital of Alaska to Wasilla was defeated by a vote of about 116,000 to 96,000. About that time, the Matanuska Valley began to recover from an economic collapse, beginning a sustained boom that involved dramatic population growth, increased local employment, and a boom in residential and commercial real estate development. The local real estate market slowed in 2006. In 2008, suburban growth and dwindling snow forced organizers of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to bypass Wasilla permanently. The race had its start in Wasilla from 1973 to 2002, the year when reduced snow cover forced a "temporary" change to
WillowWillow is a census-designated place in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2000 census the population was 1,658.-History:...
.
Geography
Wasilla is located at (61.581732, -149.452539).
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the city has an area of 12.4 square miles (32.2 km²). 11.7 square miles (30.4 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) of it (5.64%) is water.
The Dena'ina (Tanaina)
Native AmericansThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples...
called the area Benteh, meaning 'among the lakes'.
Located near Wasilla Lake and
Lake LucilleLake Lucille is a lake within the municipal limits of Wasilla, Alaska, located at .Most of the lake shoreline is private property, and many residents have docks for swimming, boating, or docking floatplanes...
, Wasilla is one of two cities in the
Matanuska ValleyMatanuska-Susitna Valley is an area in Southcentral Alaska south of the Alaska Range about 25 air miles north northeast of Anchorage, Alaska known for producing huge vegetables during a 100-day growing season. It includes the valleys of the Matanuska, the Knik to the southeast, and the Susitna...
. The community surrounds Mi. 39-46 of the
George Parks HighwayThe George Parks Highway , usually called simply the Parks Highway, runs 323 miles from the Glenn Highway 35 miles north of Anchorage to Fairbanks in the Alaska Interior...
, roughly 43 highway miles (69 km) northeast of
AnchorageAnchorage is a consolidated city-borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. With an estimated 279,243 municipal residents in 2008 , it is Alaska's largest city and constitutes more than 40 percent of the state's total population; only New York has a higher percentage...
. Nearly one third of the people of Wasilla drive the 40-minute commute to work in Anchorage every day.
Climate
January temperatures range from to ; July temperatures vary from to . The average annual
precipitationIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that is deposited on the Earth's surface. The main forms of precipitation include rain, snow, ice pellets, and graupel...
is , with of snowfall.
Demographics
As of the
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there were 5,469 people (up from 4,028 in 1990), 1,979 households, and 1,361 families residing in the city. The population density was 466.8 people per square mile (180.2/km²). There were 2,119 housing units at an average density of 180.9/sq mi (69.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.46% White, 0.59% Black or African American, 5.25% Native American, 1.32% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 1.32% from other races, and 5.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.68% of the population.
There were 1,979 households out of which 43.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the city the population was spread out with 33.6% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males; for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $48,226, and the median income for a family was $53,792. Males had a median income of $41,332 versus $29,119 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the city was $21,127. About 5.7% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.6% of those under the age of 18 and 9.7% of those 65 and older.
Economy
Wasilla began as a transportation logistics & trade center serving natural resource extraction (mining, trapping & timber) followed by small-scale agricultural activity circa 1935; around 1975, construction of the Parks Highway substantially reduced travel time to Anchorage, encouraging the transition to a satellite bedroom community where workers commute to Anchorage for employment. Local service employment has increased in recent years.
About 35 percent of the Wasilla workforce commutes to
AnchorageAnchorage is a consolidated city-borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. With an estimated 279,243 municipal residents in 2008 , it is Alaska's largest city and constitutes more than 40 percent of the state's total population; only New York has a higher percentage...
. The local economy is diverse, and residents are employed in a variety of city, borough, state, federal, retail and professional service positions. Tourism, agriculture, wood products, steel, and concrete products are part of the economy. One hundred and twenty area residents hold commercial fishing permits; commercial fishermen work seasonally in Lower Cook Inlet and distant Bristol Bay or the Gulf of Alaska & Prince William Sound (there are no commercial fisheries in Upper Cook Inlet).
Recreation
The Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry in Wasilla was established in 1967 "to give a home to the transportation and industrial remnants and to tell the stories of the people and the machines that opened Alaska to exploration and growth."
The
Alaska AvalancheThe Alaska Avalanche are a Tier II Junior A ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's West Division. The team plays their home games at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla, Alaska.-Franchise history:...
hockey team of the NAHL play their home games in Wasilla at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center (formerly called the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex). In 2010, the Menard Center will have another tenant when the
Arctic PredatorsThe Arctic Predators are a professional indoor football team in the Indoor Football League slated to begin play in 2010. They are scheduled to play their home games at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla, Alaska...
begin play as a member of the
Indoor Football LeagueThe Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an...
.
Charles WohlforthCharles P. Wohlforth is an Alaskan author and writer.Wohlforth's books include The Whale and the Supercomputer: On the Northern Front of Climate Change. That book won a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, in the Science and Technology category, in 2004 . Wohlforth is also an author of travel guides...
, in a
Frommer'sFrommer's is a travel guidebook series and one of the bestselling travel guides in America. The series began in 1957 with the publication of Arthur Frommer's book, Europe on $5 a Day. Frommer's has expanded to include over 350 guidebooks across 14 series, as well as other media including the award...
travel guidebook on Alaska, described Wasilla as "the worst kind of suburban sprawl of highway-fronting shopping malls and gravel lots."
Government
The Wasilla city council is made up of six members who are elected at-large by residents to designated seats. They serve for three years, unless appointed to fill a vacant seat. The Office of Mayor is elected separately. A run-off election will be held if no candidate for Mayor receives more than 40% of the votes cast. Run-off elections are not held for city council seats. All positions are part time.
The following is a list of
mayor"Mayor" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government....
s of Wasilla.
| Time in office |
Name |
Notes |
| 1985–1986 |
Charlie Bumpus |
|
| 1986–1987 |
Harold Newcombe |
|
| 1987–1996 |
John Stein John Stein, Democrat, was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska from 1987 to 1996.- Early life and career :Of Pennsylvania Dutch background, John Stein was born in 1944. His first son, Reber, was born in 1968 followed by Morgan in 1969 and finally Peter in 1971. All three with John's first wife, Sandee Snow...
|
|
| 1996–2002 |
Sarah PalinSarah Louise Palin is an American politician who served as Governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009 and was the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States in 2008....
|
|
| 2002–2008 |
Dianne M. Keller Dianne Michelle Keller is an American politician and a former Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.Keller was born in Anchorage. She was elected as the Mayor of Wasilla in 2002 and re-elected in 2005. She survived a no-confidence vote in July 2008. She is a member of the Alaska Republican Party, and publicly...
|
|
| 2008–present |
Verne E. Rupright Verne E. Rupright, an Alaskan lawyer, Vietnam veteran, and Republican Party member, is the current mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.-Background:Rupright was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, and graduated from Saugus, Massachusetts High School in 1969. After high school, Rupright enlisted in the United States...
|
|
Education and health
Wasilla is served by the
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School DistrictMatanuska-Susitna Borough School District is a school district based in the city of Palmer, Alaska. It serves 40 schools, which have a range of 15 to 1300 students who are enrolled in each school. The estimated sum of the total number of students attending schools in this district is 15,969...
. It has four high schools:
- Burchell High School
- Mat-Su Career and Technical High School
- MidValley High School
- Wasilla High School
Wasilla High School is a public secondary school in Wasilla, Alaska, United States, serving students in grades 9–12. This high school became known on a national scale as a result of Governor Sarah Palin's nomination as the Republican vice-presidential nominee in the 2008 United States...
In January 2006 a new hospital,
Mat-Su Regional Medical CenterMat-Su Regional Medical Center is a 74-bed general hospital in the U.S. state of Alaska owned by CHS. Located between Palmer and Wasilla, it is the the principal hospital for the Matanuska-Susitna Valley...
, opened. It is outside the city limits halfway between Wasilla and its
twin townTwin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
of
PalmerPalmer is a city in and the borough seat of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city was 4,533...
.
Transportation
The
Glenn HighwayThe Glenn Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, extending 187 miles from Anchorage near Merrill Field to Glennallen on the Richardson Highway...
connects Wasilla to Anchorage and communities on the
Kenai PeninsulaThe Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. The name Kenai is possibly derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for Cook Inlet, which borders the peninsula to the west.-Geography:...
, the Glenn, along with the
George Parks HighwayThe George Parks Highway , usually called simply the Parks Highway, runs 323 miles from the Glenn Highway 35 miles north of Anchorage to Fairbanks in the Alaska Interior...
link the Matanuska Valley to northward to the rest of the state and Canada. The
Alaska RailroadThe Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad which extends from Seward and Whittier, in the south of the state of Alaska, in the United States, to Fairbanks , and beyond to Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright in the interior of that state...
serves Wasilla.
The city-owned
Wasilla AirportWasilla Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles west of the central business district of Wasilla, a city in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska...
, with a paved 3,700 foot (1,130 m)
runwayA runway is a strip of land at an airport on which aircraft can take off and land and forms part of the maneuvering area. Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .By extension, the term has come to mean, in addition, any long, flat, straight area, such as that used in fashion...
, provides
air taxiAn air taxi is a for-hire passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis. It can be used to mean air charter, or the use of very light jets ....
services. Wasilla also has eight public-use
seaplaneA seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories: floatplanes and flying boats...
bases located on area lakes. Private-use air facilities registered with the FAA include 43 land-based airstrips, eight additional seaplane bases, two
heliportA heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...
s and one
STOLportA STOLport or STOLPORT is an airport designed with STOL operations in mind, normally having a short single runway. The term does not appear to be in common usage as of 2008...
.
Religion
- Wasilla Assembly of God
The Wasilla Assembly of God is a church in the town of Wasilla, Alaska. Founded in 1951, it is a member of the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal Christian denomination....
was founded in 1951 and is a member of the Assemblies of GodThe World Assemblies of God Fellowship or Assemblies of God is the world's largest Pentecostal Christian denomination. With over 300,000 churches and outstations in over 110 countries and approximately 57 to 60 million adherents worldwide, it is the fourth largest international body of Christians...
denomination. The church's founding pastor was Paul Riley, and its current pastor is Ed Kalnins, who took over in 1999.
- Wasilla Bible Church
The Wasilla Bible Church is a non-denominational, evangelical Christian church in Wasilla, Alaska. Pastor Larry Kroon describes the congregation as "socially conservative." Wasilla Bible Church offers ministries devoted to family affairs, including the popular support group for Christian mothers...
, non-denominational, evangelicalEvangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s.Most adherents consider its key characteristics to be: a belief in the need for personal conversion ; some expression of the gospel in effort; a high regard for biblical authority; and an emphasis on the...
church, was described by TimeTime is an American newsmagazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong. As of 2009, Time no longer publishes a Canadian advertiser edition...
as one of the largest and most influential churches in the city.
- The Roman Catholic Sacred Heart Parish.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a stake based in Wasilla, with several wards meeting in a chapel on E Dellwood St..
- St. David's Episcopal Church
- Meier Lake Episcopal Conference Center.
Notable residents
- Chad Carpenter
Chad Carpenter is an American cartoonist, well known for his comic panel Tundra. Carpenter launched the strip in the Anchorage Daily News in 1991, and since then he has self-syndicated it to over 150 newspapers, an unusually high amount for strips in self-syndication.-Early life:Carpenter was...
, cartoonist and creator of the comic strip TundraTundra is a comic strip written and drawn by Wasilla, Alaska cartoonist Chad Carpenter. The comic usually deals with wildlife, nature and outdoor life. Tundra began in December 1991 in Anchorage Daily News; it is currently self-syndicated to over 150 newspapers...
, self-syndicated to over 200 newspapers within the United States and, since 2007, has been syndicated internationally by King Features SyndicateKing Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers around the world...
.
- Mahala Ashley Dickerson
Mahala Ashley Dickerson grew up in Alabama on a plantation owned by her father...
, Alaska's first African-American lawyer.
- Lyda Green
Lyda N. Green is a former Republican member of the Alaska Senate, representing the G District from 1995 to 2009...
, President of the Alaska SenateThe Alaska Senate is the upper house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The Senate consists of 20 members, each of whom represents a district of about 31,347 people . Senators serve four-year terms, without term limits. Half of the Alaska Senate is up for...
- Charlie Huggins
Charlie Huggins is a Republican member of the Alaska Senate, representing the H District since his appointment in 2004.-External links:* official government website* profile...
, Alaska SenateThe Alaska Senate is the upper house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The Senate consists of 20 members, each of whom represents a district of about 31,347 people . Senators serve four-year terms, without term limits. Half of the Alaska Senate is up for...
, Silver StarThe Silver Star is the third highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is also the third highest award given for valor ....
recipient.
- Levi Johnston
Levi Keith Johnston is an American teenager who was the subject of extensive media scrutiny during and after the 2008 United States presidential election. He fathered a child with and was then the fiancé of Bristol Palin, whose mother is former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who was the Republican...
- Vic Kohring
Vic Kohring is a former Republican Alaska State legislator. He was elected to seven consecutive two year terms in the State House, beginning in 1994. Kohring represented District 14, Wasilla....
, a Wasilla legislator who was tried in the wide-ranging federal VECO corruption probe, and found guilty of bribery, conspiracy, and attempted extortion.
- Carlos Owens, an army mechanic who's built real life mecha
Mecha, also known as meka or mechs, are walking vehicles controlled by a pilot, often appearing in anime, science fiction, or other genres involving a fantastic or futuristic element. Mecha are generally, though not necessarily, bipedal, with arms, hands, and fingers capable of grasping objects...
.
- Bristol Palin
Bristol Sheeran Marie Palin is the eldest daughter of former Alaska governor and former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, and Todd Palin. A teenage parent, she is now an advocate for abstinence and regularly speaks out against teen pregnancy. Bristol and her son live with her parents in...
, Teen AbstinenceSexual abstinence is the practice of voluntarily refraining from some or all aspects of sexual activity.Common reasons for practicing sexual abstinence include:*religious or philosophical reasons...
Ambassador for the Candie's Foundation, a teen pregnancy prevention organization pro-abstinence organization
- Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician who served as Governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009 and was the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States in 2008....
, Former Alaska Governor, 2008 Republican Vice Presidential candidate, and a former mayor of Wasilla.
- Todd Palin
Todd Mitchell Palin is an American oil field production operator, former champion snowmobile racer. He is the husband of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the 2008 vice-presidential nominee of the Republican Party.-Early life:...
, husband of Sarah Palin
- Members of the indie rock band Portugal. The Man
Portugal. The Man is an American rock band from Wasilla, Alaska and based in Portland, Oregon. The band is made up of former members of the band Anatomy of a Ghost. The group was but is no longer signed to Fearless Records. They now have their own imprint label called Approaching AIRballoons...
.
- Lisa Kelly
Lisa Kelly is a singer of both Classical and Celtic music. She has taken part in many musical theatre productions and concerts, and is currently a member of the musical group Celtic Woman.Lisa Kelly was born into a musical family, with both her parents and sisters being singers...
Ice Road TruckersIce Road Truckers is a documentary-style reality television series that premiered on The History Channel on June 17, 2007....
Season 3 Driver
- Eric Howk, lead guitarist of Seattle-based power-pop band The Lashes
The Lashes are a Seattle-based power pop band.The band formed in Seattle in 2000. Named by Ben Clark's ex-girlfriend. The band had gone through 10 previous drummers before finding Mike Loggins....
.
External links