It’s time for Page Two: News that might not make the front page for Monday, December 15, 2025.
Did you see the 20-foot menorah rising over Wasilla Lake? It celebrates Hanukkah. The Mat-Su Jewish Center Chabad-Lubavitch is rolling out its biggest Hanukkah celebration yet.
That’s according to the Mat-Su Sentinel.
Rabbi Mendy Greenberg leads the Mat-Su Jewish Center. He says the Hanukkah message is universal. The message is to come at darkness with positivity and goodness.
Hanukkah is known as the Festival of Lights. It commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The menorah celebrates the “miracle of the oil.” The one-day supply of oil in the temple lasted eight days.
The menorah’s nine branches represent each of those eight nights. And a ninth “helper” candle is used to light the others. Large public displays often use electric lights.
The eight-day festival began yesterday evening and runs through next Sunday.
The first public menorah lighting in Talkeetna took place yesterday at the Upper Susitna Senior Center.
“Jump Into Chanukah” happens tomorrow at the Glenn Massay Theater in Palmer. The event includes a menorah lighting, high-flying stunts from the Xpogo extreme pogo team, family activities, and traditional foods like latkes and doughnuts. Doors open at 5 and the program begins at 5:45.
Organizers expect at least 400 attendees.
Other menorah lightings will be held throughout the week at the Palmer Depot, the Menard Center, Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, and Iditapark in Wasilla.
All events are free and open to the public.
The Hanukkah festival concludes with a grand celebration at Wasilla Lake on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
Kathy Cottle will perform the final menorah lighting in honor of her late husband, former Wasilla Mayor Bert Cottle. Mayor Cottle was a longtime supporter of the Jewish community in the Mat-Su.
The events coincide with the center’s annual fund drive. Donations support construction of the ARK Center. ARK is short for “acts of routine kindness.” The new space will focus on fellowship and positivity according to Rabbi Greenberg.
For more information, visit matsujewishcenter.org or find the Center on Facebook.
The menorah at the Palmer Depot will be lit tonight at 5:30 p.m. Palmer Mayor Jim Cooper and local dignitaries will attend. Enjoy free latkes and doughnuts at the lighting.
The Palmer menorah will also be lit on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., and on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The Palmer City Council meets at 6 p.m. tomorrow at the Palmer Depot. The meeting includes a public hearing on the ordinance titled “Prohibited Sleeping On Public Sidewalks, Streets, Alleys Or Within Doorways.”
The Council will go into a Committee Of The Whole to discuss the Palmer Golf Course and the Palmer Municipal Airport.
We will stream the video and audio of the meeting from bigcabbageradio.org.
The Borough Assembly meets at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The School Board meets on Wednesday at 6 p.m. We will stream the audio of both meetings from bigcabbageradio.org.
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This Page Two article was written by Emily Forstner and Lee Henrikson. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.
That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Monday, December 15, 2025.