Wasilla ( Dena'ina: ''Benteh'') is a city in

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska Matanuska-Susitna Borough (often referred to as the Mat-Su Borough) is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its borough seat is Palmer, and the largest community is the census-designated place of Knik-Fairview. As of the 2020 censu ...

, United States, and the fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet (; Sugpiaq language, Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding ...

in the

Matanuska-Susitna Valley Matanuska-Susitna Valley (; known locally as the Mat-Su or The Valley) is an area in Southcentral Alaska south of the Alaska Range about north of Anchorage, Alaska. It is known for the world record sized cabbages and other vegetables displayed ...

of the southcentral part of the state. The city's population was 9,054 at the 2020 census, up from 7,831 in 2010. Wasilla is the largest city in the borough and a part of the

Anchorage metropolitan area The Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of the Anchorage, Alaska, Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the South Central Alaska, south central reg ...

, which had an estimated population of 398,328 in 2020. Established at the intersection of the

Alaska Railroad The Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad that operates freight and passenger trains in the state of Alaska. The railroad's mainline runs between Seward, Alaska, Seward on the southern coast and Fairbanks, Alaska, Fairbanks, near the center of ...

and Old Carle Wagon Road, the city prospered at the expense of the nearby mining town of Knik. Historically entrepreneurial, the economic base shifted in the 1970s from

small-scale agriculture A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...

and recreation to support for workers employed in

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

or on Alaska's North Slope oilfields and related infrastructure. The

George Parks Highway The George Parks Highway (numbered Interstate A-4 and signed Alaska Route 3), usually called simply the Parks Highway, runs 323 miles (520 km) from the Glenn Highway 35 miles (56 km) north of Anchorage to Fairbanks in the Alaska In ...

turned the town into a

commuter suburb A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

of Anchorage. The headquarters of the

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, more commonly known as The Iditarod (), is an annual long-distance sled dog race held in Alaska in early March. It travels from Anchorage to Nome. Mushers and a team of between 12 and 16 dogs, of which at lea ...

, a popular and significant sporting event in Alaska, is located in Wasilla. Wasilla gained international attention when

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomi ...

, who served as Mayor of Wasilla before her election as

Governor of Alaska A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, was chosen by

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

as his

running mate A 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 (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...

for

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

in the

2008 United States presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John Mc ...

. Wasilla is named after Chief Wasilla, a local Dena'ina

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

. "Wasilla" is the anglicized spelling of the chief's Russian-given name, , which corresponds to the English name

Basil Basil (, ; , ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' (, )), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a hardiness (plants), tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" r ...

History

Glacial ice sheets covered most of the northern hemisphere during the last glacial period, between 26,500 and 19,000–20,000 years ago, 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 native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

s who utilized the fertile lands and fishing opportunities of

. The Dena'ina are one of the eleven sub-groups comprising the indigenous

Athabaskan Athabaskan ( ; also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large branch of the Na-Dene language family of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, ...

groups extending down Canada's western coast. The area around downtown Wasilla was known to the Dena'ina as , which translates as "among the lakes". 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. Knik town site cabin

In 1917, the U.S. government planned the

to intersect the Carle Wagon Road (present Wasilla-Fishhook Road) which connected Knik and the mines. Local businesses and residents rushed to buy land nearby, and Knik declined. Wasilla Station was named for the nearby Wasilla Creek. Local miners used the name "Wasilla 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 . As Knik declined into a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

, Wasilla served early

fur trappers The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...

and miners working the gold fields at Cache Creek and Willow Creek. More than 200 farm families from the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a northern subregion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon, the region is usually defined to include the states of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wi ...

were moved into the Matanuska and Susitna valleys in 1935 as part of a U.S. government program to start a new farming community to counteract this trend; their linguistic influence is still audible in the region. The area was a supply base for gold mines near

Hatcher Pass Hatcher Pass (3,886 ft or 1,148 m) is a mountain pass through the southwest part of the Talkeetna Mountains, Alaska. It is named after Robert Hatcher, a prospector and miner. The nearest cities are Palmer and Wasilla approximately to ...

through World War II. Until construction of the

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 Palmer area to Wasilla and the surrounding area. Wasilla was incorporated as a city in 1974. All non-

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

municipalities throughout Alaska are designated cities. In 1994, a statewide initiative to move Alaska's capital 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

to bypass Wasilla permanently, due to a warming climate. The race had its start in Wasilla from 1973 to 2002, the year when reduced snow cover forced a "temporary" change to

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has an area of 12.4 square miles (. Of that, 11.7 square miles (30.4 km²) is land and (5.64%) is water. Located near Wasilla Lake and Lake Lucille, Wasilla is one of two towns in the

Matanuska Valley Matanuska-Susitna Valley (; known locally as the Mat-Su or The Valley) is an area in Southcentral Alaska south of the Alaska Range about north of Anchorage, Alaska. It is known for the world record sized cabbages and other vegetables displayed ...

. The community surrounds Mi. 39–46 of the

, roughly by highway northeast of

. Nearly one third of the people of Wasilla drive the 40-minute commute to work in Anchorage every day. Six miles to the southeast is Mount POW/MIA.

Climate

Wasilla has a climate similar to that of

, classified as a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(''Dfc'') by Köppen-Geiger climate classification, although with slightly warmer daytime maxima and colder nighttime minima due to its inland location. On average, over the course of the entire year, there are 30–31 days of sub- lows, 37–38 days of + highs, and 1.4 days of + highs. The average annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

is , with of snowfall.

Demographics

Wasilla first appeared on the 1930 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village of 51 residents. Of these, all 51 were White. It has returned in every successive census and formally incorporated in 1974. As of the census 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 . There were 2,119 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.5% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 5.3% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.3% from other races, and 5.9% from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...

of any race were 3.7% 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 couples 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 community of Wasilla, the age distribution of the population shows 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 Wasilla 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 income for the town 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.

Income and poverty

According to the

, the median household income in Wasilla from 2010 to 2014 was $62,622, with a per capita income of $28,704 and a poverty rate of 11.2% in the same year. The estimated rent burden in Wasilla was 31.7% (2011).

Economy

Wasilla began as a transportation logistics and 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 (approximately 43 miles away), encouraging the transition to a satellite bedroom community where many workers commute to Anchorage for employment. Local service employment has increased in recent years. About 35 percent of the Wasilla workforce commutes to

. 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

and distant

Bristol Bay Bristol Bay (, ) is the easternmost arm of the Bering Sea, at 57° to 59° North 157° to 162° West in Southwest Alaska. Bristol Bay is 400 km (250 mi) long and 290 km (180 mi) wide at its mouth. A number of rivers flow in ...

or the

Gulf of Alaska The Gulf of Alaska ( Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the ...

and

Prince William Sound Prince William Sound ( Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the ...

(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." In 2010, the Menard Center lost a tenant when the

Arctic Predators The Arctic Predators were a professional indoor football (a variation of American football) team that played in 2010 as a member of the American Indoor Football Association. IFL bid In May 2009, the Arctic Predators announced that they were see ...

did not play as a member of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

Government

The Wasilla City Council is the city's legislature. It enacts laws and policy statements, sets the property tax rate, and approves the budget and funds for city services. It has six members, elected at-large by Wasilla residents for three year terms. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

is elected separately. A run-off election is 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. While Wasilla has an

Alaska State Troopers The Alaska State Troopers, officially the Division of Alaska State Troopers (AST), is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a division of the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS). The AST is a full-service law enforcem ...

presence, Wasilla falls under the jurisdiction of the Wasilla Police Department, founded in 1993, and employs 25 sworn officers. Emergency services and fire protection are provided by the

Matanuska-Susitna Borough Matanuska-Susitna Borough (often referred to as the Mat-Su Borough) is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its borough seat is Palmer, and the largest community is the census-designated place of Knik-Fairview. As of the 2020 census ...

under Central Mat-Su Fire Department.

Education and health

Wasilla is served by the

Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD) is a school district based in the city of Palmer, Alaska, Palmer, Alaska. It serves 40 schools across Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, Mat-Su Borough, which each enroll from 15 to 1300 students ...

. It has five high schools: * Burchell High School * Mat-Su Career and Technical High School * MidValley High School * Wasilla High School * Colony High School Wes3

There are also career training and technical colleges in Wasilla.

Mat-Su Regional Medical Center Mat-Su Regional Medical Center is a 125-bed general hospital in the U.S. state of Alaska. The hospital is owned by Community Health Systems (CHS). Located in the Gateway census-designated place, between Palmer and Wasilla, it is the principal ...

opened in January 2006. It is outside the city limits halfway between Wasilla and its

twin town A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and f ...

Transportation

The

in conjunction with the

Glenn Highway The Glenn Highway (part of Alaska Route 1) is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, extending from Anchorage near Merrill Field to Glennallen on the Richardson Highway. The Tok Cut-Off is often considered part of the Glenn Highway, for a ...

connects Wasilla to Anchorage and communities on the

Kenai Peninsula The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan tribe ...

. The Parks also links the

northward to the rest of the state and Canada. The

serves Wasilla. The city-owned Wasilla Airport, with a paved

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

, provides

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. History The concept of air taxis existed as early as the 1910s. This concept goes back as early as 1917 with Glenn Curtiss’ prototype, the auto-plane. Furthermor ...

services. The airport was formerly located in the city center before moving to a site on the western edge of the city during the 1980s. An anti-moose mat was installed around the runway in 2005, giving a light shock to animals which might otherwise wander into the path of moving aircraft. The old airport site is currently home to a city park. Wasilla also has eight public-use

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

bases located on area lakes.List of air facilities in Wasilla
from AirNav. Retrieved September 17, 2008. Private-use air facilities registered with the FAA include 43 land-based airstrips, eight additional seaplane bases, two

heliport A heliport is a small airport which has a helipad, suitable for use by helicopters, powered lift, and various types of vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also hav ...

s and one

STOLport A STOLport or STOLPORT was an airport designed with STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) operations in mind, usually for an aircraft class of a certain weight and size. The term "STOLport" did not appear to be in common usage as of 2008, although wa ...

Parks

The City of Wasilla operates several parks, including a large campground, boat launch, and dog park on Lake Lucille, Newcomb Park on Wasilla Lake, and other parks, playgrounds, and a skate park.

Alaska State Parks Alaska’s state park system is managed by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. The system contains over 120 units spanning 3,427,895 acres, making it far larger than any other state park system i ...

operates the Finger Lake State Recreation Area, and the Little Susitna River Public Use Area, which features a large campground, river access, and is the gateway to a public game reserve.

In the media

Wasilla is one of five cities featured in the first season of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

reality series ''

Emergency Call An emergency telephone number is a number that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. The emergency number differs from country to country; it is typically a three-digit number so that it can be easily remembered and ...

'', which chronicles real-life

9-1-1 911, sometimes written , is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as ...

calls and the operator-dispatchers who handle them. Wasilla was also the setting of the short-lived MTV reality show Slednecks.

Notable people

* Troy Adams (born 1961), interior designer * Chad Carpenter (born ), cartoonist, creator of the comic strip ''

Tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

'' *

Larry Csonka Larry Richard Csonka (; born December 25, 1946) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Miami Dolphins. He also played in the NFL for three years with the ...

(born 1946), former

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

Pro Bowl Running Back, NFL Hall of Famer * David Eastman (born 1981), state legislator *

John Gourley John Baldwin Gourley (born June 12, 1981) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter from Alaska. He is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Portugal. The Man, with the hit song "Feel It Still". Gourley was previously the le ...

(born 1981), frontman of American band Portugal.The Man * Lyda Green (born 1938), former president of the

Alaska Senate The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or reje ...

* Levi Johnston (born 1990), media personality, former fiancé of Bristol Palin * Lisa Kelly (born 1980), of the

History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...

program ''

Ice Road Truckers ''Ice Road Truckers'' (commercially abbreviated ''IRT'') is a reality television series that aired on History Channel from 2007 to 2017. It featured the activities of drivers who operated trucks on ice roads crossing frozen lakes and rivers, i ...

'' *

Vic Kohring Victor H. Kohring (August 2, 1958 – September 6, 2022) was an American politician who was a member of the Alaska House of Representatives. Elections Kohring was elected as a Republican to seven consecutive two-year terms beginning in 1994. K ...

(born 1958), state legislator implicated in the

Alaska political corruption probe The Alaska political corruption probe refers to a 2003 to 2010 widespread investigation by the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service into political corrup ...

* Tom Mechler (born 1956), former chairman of the

Republican Party of Texas The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is the Texas affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in the United States. It is currently chaired by Abraham George (politician), Abraham George, who succeeded Matt Rinaldi in 2024 ...

* Jeremy Morlock, a U.S. Army soldier who murdered three civilians in Afghanistan *

Dorothy G. Page Dorothy G. Page (January 23, 1921 – November 16, 1989) was best known as ''"Mother of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race"'', the 1,049-mile (about 1,600 km) dog sled race across the U.S. state of Alaska. Page moved from New Mexico to Alask ...

(1921–1989), hailed by some as the "mother" of the Iditarod Trail sled dog race * Members of the

Palin family The surname Palin is a name of British origin, either English or Welsh. Possible derivations include an anglicization of the Welsh patronymic ''ap Heilyn'' ("son of Heilyn") or a reference to the English placenames Poling, West Sussex or Sea Palli ...

: **

(born 1964), former mayor of Wasilla, former

Alaska governor The governor of Alaska ( Iñupiaq: ''Alaaskam kavanaa'') is the head of government of Alaska. The governor is the chief executive of the state and is the holder of the highest office in the executive branch of the government as well as being the ...

, and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate **

Todd Palin Todd Mitchell Palin (born September 6, 1964) is an American businessman who was the first gentleman of Alaska from 2006 to 2009. He is the former husband of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee w ...

(born 1964), professional snowmobile racer, four-time

Iron Dog The Iron Dog or Iron Dog Race, originally known as the Iron Dog Gold Rush Classic and between 2000 and 2009 for sponsorship reasons as the Tesoro Iron Dog, is an off-road snowmobile race across Alaska, USA. It normally starts on a Sunday in mid-F ...

race champion, former husband of Sarah Palin **

Bristol Palin Bristol Sheeran Marie Palin (born October 18, 1990) is an American public speaker and reality television personality. She is the oldest daughter and second of five children of Todd Palin, Todd and Sarah Palin. Palin competed in the fall 2010 se ...

(born 1990), Teen Abstinence Ambassador for the

Candie's Foundation The Candie's Foundation, founded by CEO of Iconic Group Neil Cole, was a non-profit organization promoting abstinence-only education through paid advertising campaigns. After facing public criticism over financial decisions and stigmatizing campaig ...

, daughter of Todd and Sarah Palin

References

External links

City Website
{{authority control 1917 establishments in Alaska Anchorage metropolitan area Cities in Alaska Cities in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska Populated places established in 1917 Sarah Palin