49 great reasons to live in the Valley …

Frontiersman editorial board

What do you love about the Mat-Su Valley? Here at the Frontiersman, we've come up with a list of what we love about our community. It includes everything from the hometown feel of Palmer to the great hiking trails in Hatcher Pass.

There are the cultural experiences offered by Valley Performing Arts and local artists, and there are the community events such as Colony Christmas and Talkeetna Winterfest.

Then there is berry picking, hunting, giant vegetables, the Iditarod, golfing, the Alaska State Fair, the salmon derby, the friendly people … the list goes on and on.

We could devote an entire issue of the Frontiersman to just listing all of them, but we have trimmed our list to 49 -- 49 great reasons to live, work and play in the Mat-Su Valley.

During the upcoming year, each week in the Frontiersman you'll find a full page devoted to one of these terrific aspects of our community.

We debut this feature in this edition, on Page A10, with a look at one of the most popular areas in the Valley -- Hatcher Pass. Winter, summer, spring or fall, this place has it all, including the berry picking, hiking, skiing, snowboarding and snowmachining so many of us enjoy.

Next week, we'll take a look at Mat-Su College and the educational opportunities it offers Valley residents.

Each Friday during the next year, watch for spotlights on each of our local communities, from Willow to Sutton, along with features about wildlife viewing, historical centers, churches, clubs, the Mat-Su Miners and scenic drives, among many other great reasons to live in the Valley.

Inevitably many of our news stories focus on the strife and problems in our community, whether it be crime cases or political debates.

This new feature page will give us all a chance to be grateful for the good our community has to offer, to recall why we made our homes here and what we all have in common.

Join us this year in celebrating what it means to live in the Valley, and feel free to send us letters to the editor about your own reasons for choosing the Valley as your home and playground.