Ka-ching

WASILLA — Gov. Sarah Palin’s nomination as the Republican vice presidential candidate appears to be good for morale in the Mat-Su Valley, and also good for business.

Reporters from news outlets around the world are poking around a normally quiet, subdued Wasilla, but they’re also spending money. Locals all say they can’t remember a time when so much interest was shown toward Alaska, much less Wasilla.

Mat-Su Borough Mayor Curt Menard said in his weekly “Mayor’s Minute,” an audio roundup of Borough issues, that Wasilla has been put on the map.

“We’re definitely in the spotlight with the national and international news media,” Menard said. “And the local news media.”

From hotels to watering holes, journalists looking for the next scoop on Palin and her family are bringing their news organization’s big budgets with them during their stay in the 49th state.

One person who is particularly happy is Grandview Inn General Manager Sandy Joynes.

“It is very good news for business,” Joynes said of the Palin frenzy. “We’re happy about it.”

Joynes said her hotel is playing host to at least a dozen or more reporters from the Lower 48 and abroad. She’s had writers from as far away as Spain and Norway staying at the Grandview.

“They hang out in the lounge and coffee area,” Joynes said of the reporters’ off-the-clock activities. “They also ask for the best location to go.”

They’re also dropping some serious coin with their long-term stays. And Joynes said many have checked out and driven away only to return later when editors hear of another angle on the Palin story.

“We’ve been getting inundated and we love it,” she said.

Just down the street at Evangelo’s restaurant, owner Evangelo Lamdernakis said he’s had a litany of reporters filming and eating at his place.

“One time I saw outside at least eight different cameras,” Lamdernakis said.

Lamdernakis said those poking around for stories also mean dollars in his register. The take-out business seems to be exploding as reporters eat while they work in their hotel rooms.

“We have a lot of orders to go,” he said. “Lots of delivery in their rooms.”

The barrage of news reporters in Wasilla have often focused their attention at the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce, said Lyn Carden, the chamber’s executive assistant.

Carden said chamber officials always recommend members first when visiting reporters ask the best place to grab a cup of joe, or maybe a quick bite to eat.

“It’s a really good thing for our economy and community as a whole,” Carden said.

Carden added that when reporters ask where to get coffee, often a staple of the business, she sends them around the corner to Lotus, a flower, coffee and gift shop.

Lotus owner Christina Mulneaux said she’s had a steady stream of caffeine-seeking reporters since news of Palin’s Republican vice presidential candidacy broke Aug. 29.

“We’ve seen a lot of friendly faces,” Mulneaux said. “Lots of new, interesting conversation.”

Mulneaux also said she thinks the national media coverage will give outsiders a chance to see Wasilla is a normal, American town.

“It’s had a good impact all the way around,” she said.

Contact Michael Rovito at michael.rovito@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.