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Hillarie Gossett shares a story during Mat-Su Untold

Mat-Su Untold brings a night of laughter, community connection

February 10, 2025

The inagural event featured seven first-person stories from across Mat-Su.

Join TEXT MAT-SU and never miss the latest news

September 23, 2024

This text service delivers a selection of headlines straight to your phone each Friday morning.

About

Mat-Su Untold brings a night of laughter, community connection

February 10, 2025

The inagural event featured seven first-person stories from across Mat-Su.

About

Join TEXT MAT-SU and never miss the latest news

September 23, 2024

This text service delivers a selection of headlines straight to your phone each Friday morning.

Sign up for Mat-Su Sentinel, our free email newsletter

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The Mat-Su Sentinel is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan online news source publishing since June, 2024.

The Mat-Su Sentinel provides clear, fact-based, connect-the-dots news reporting for Mat-Su while fostering community health and connection through civic engagement.

Who is behind the Mat-Su Sentinel?

Staff and contributors

Founder and editor:
Amy Bushatz is an experienced journalist based in Palmer where she has covered Mat-Su news for the Anchorage Daily News and the Frontiersman. The former Executive Editor of Military.com, Amy’s work in local journalism is driven by a belief in the vital role consistent news reporting plays in maintaining healthy communities. Amy is a graduate of the George W. Bush Institute’s Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, a recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship, and holds a Masters in Public Leadership from the University of San Francisco. Amy’s husband is a member of the Alaska Army National Guard and her sons attend Valley schools.

Contributors:
Kyle Ivacic is a graduate of the University of Alaska Anchorage where he worked at the student newspaper as a reporter and editor. Kyle has lived in the Mat-Su Borough for most of his life and graduated from Mat-Su Career & Technical High School. Kyle is pursuing a master's degree in Teaching at the University of Alaska Southeast and plans to begin student teaching in August of 2025.

Board members

Kevin Thompson is a small business owner and military veteran based in Wasilla.

Steven Merritt is a longtime journalist based in Palmer.

Kristi Shea is a civics teacher in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District.

Megan Ernst is a former program manager for ROCK Mat-Su.

The Mat-Su Sentinel is seeking engaged community members who believe local news is vital to the care and keeping of Mat-Su. Interested in serving on our board? Email us at: contact@matsusentinel.com.

The Mat-Su Sentinel needs your support. Donate today.

Awards

Mat-Su Sentinel is honored to receive awards recognizing its nonpartisan journalism.

2025 Awards

Hearken Champion of Curiosity Award – Best Newcomer
Best reporting on government or politics (First place) - Alaska Press Club
Best comprehensive coverage (Third place) - Alaska Press Club

How is the Mat-Su Sentinel funded?

During its start-up phase, the Mat-Su Sentinel will be funded primarily through local and national grants, donations and sponsorships.

You can read our financial disclosure and support statement here.

The Mat-Su Sentinel is registered as a 501c3 nonprofit with the Internal Revenue Service.

Prior to establishing 501c3 nonprofit status, the Sentinel received donations under a fiscal sponsor agreement with the Tiny News Collective. Fiscal sponsorship is a common nonprofit arrangement for small nonprofits.

Why do we need the Mat-Su Sentinel?

Local news coverage is important for community health

A healthy community is one in which residents thrive as access to information fosters connection and participation.

Nonpartisan coverage of community events, solutions to common challenges, local government actions and elections provides residents with the necessary tools to engage, stay connected, and strengthen community ties.

Robust local newspapers are vital to civic engagement

In 2023, Palmer, Houston and Wasilla city elections were decided by less than 9% of registered voters, while multiple council seats saw only one candidate run. Did residents know there was an election? Were they informed about the issues on the ballot? Were they familiar with the decisions made by the people they’ve elected, or how those decisions impact their everyday lives?

Studies show that communities where a local paper has ceased reporting face falling voter turnout and fewer people running for office. That means voters are not only disconnected from the people making decisions on their behalf, but also have little choice about who they elect.

This trend is seen clearly in the Mat-Su. For example, in 2005 as the Valley saw robust news coverage from multiple sources, voter turnout in Wasilla sat at 27.4%. In 2023 following years of decreasing local news coverage, Wasilla city election turnout was 8.3%.

The direct tie between quality local journalism and a healthy community is clear. Areas without robust local coverage face a crisis of community civic health. The Mat-Su Sentinel seeks to address this problem by providing additional clear, accurate, nonpartisan news coverage.

We need you to make the Mat-Su Sentinel possible. Donate now!

In an age of stark divides, a nonpartisan local newspaper encourages common ground

The presence of a local paper also decreases polarization in both local government and in the community it serves, studies show.

Communities are stronger when they work together to find solutions to local challenges. In an era where agenda-driven websites and social media posts sow discord, it is more important than ever to focus on facts, first. Quality local news reporting does that.

The importance of local newsrooms to a healthy democracy is a bipartisan issue. From bastions of conservatism like the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas to a coalition of Democrat Senators, the cause of protecting and supporting local news transcends political divides.

Independent of financial gain and without fanfare, accurate and nonpartisan nonprofit local news keeps its community strong by helping neighbors fully understand complex issues.

A nonpartisan local newspaper serves as a watchdog

America’s founders believed a free press is vital to the care and keeping of democracy because it serves as a watchdog, ensuring that those entrusted with power are not abusing their positions.

A local newspaper serves as a spotlight on moments big and small, exposing the deceptions that harm us and celebrating the optimism that brings us together.

Nonpartisan, thorough reporting takes trained, dedicated staff members working tirelessly to understand and report on issues that impact readers.

The case for nonprofit news

A nonprofit newsroom is operated as a public service. Giving full, free news access through an online platform and email newsletter, it asks for but does not require readers to chip in through donations and membership-style financial support.

Nonprofit news also relies heavily on local and national grants and philanthropy aimed at community health and development, to which quality local news coverage is key. Sponsorships from local businesses and income from hosted events make up the rest of the funding.

Today hundreds of newsrooms nationwide are operated as nonprofits under this model, successfully growing their staff and coverage to best serve their readers. In Alaska, the Juneau-based Alaska Beacon follows this format. Outside, small communities from Belmont, Massachusetts to El Paso, Texas look to nonprofit newsrooms to provide local reporting.

Donate now to support nonprofit news in the Mat-Su Valley

Mat-Su Sentinel Professional Memberships

Mat-Su Sentinel is a member of these news support organizations.