Alaska State Troopers tell Matanuska-Susitna Borough they are pursuing a new post near Trapper Creek and report staffing gains

The Alaska State Troopers told the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly on March 4 that they are seeking to reestablish a detachment post near Trapper Creek and that recruiting and training gains are improving their ability to do proactive enforcement.

The request for fiscal year 2026 funding would reestablish a post in the Upper Susitna near Trapper Creek, "which would greatly benefit those communities, reduce call response times," Captain Gorn, detachment commander for the Alaska State Troopers in the Mat-Su Valley, said during the assembly meeting. The proposed post would include a sergeant, three troopers, a wildlife trooper and civilian support staff, he said.

Troopers said the department's staffing picture is improving. "We currently have seven recruits in field training right now," Gorn said. The field-training program lasts about four months; troopers expect many of the recruits to be certified and on independent patrol within a few months. Lieutenant Tim Cronin, deputy commander and head of patrol operations for the detachment, told the assembly that additional staffed positions would enable more traffic enforcement, street-level drug interdiction and the possible reconstituting of a criminal suppression unit.

Cronin described several operational priorities as the valley shifts toward warmer weather: overdoses that arrive in "waves," motor-vehicle collisions linked to faster, summer-style driving and an intention to use drones to reduce roadway closure times for serious collisions. "It's not uncommon, for us to be able to get a serious or fatal motor vehicle collision, the road closed and opened within an hour and a half or so," Cronin said, crediting drone use with shortening closure times.

Assembly members asked how communities can best help when they see possible drug activity. "We can't be everywhere at once," Gorn replied. He urged continued tip reporting and noted that tips may feed into investigations even when immediate response is not possible. Troopers said they coordinate closely with borough emergency medical services and code compliance and that interagency collaboration has helped resolve local problems such as a recent issue at the Big Lake Motel.

Assemblyperson Bill Gamble and others thanked the troopers for their work and for coordinating with borough departments; Gamble said his phone calls about the Big Lake Motel "have finally quit ringing off the hooks" following trooper and borough action. The troopers emphasized that continued gains in staffing would be the key to expanding proactive enforcement and reducing response times.

The troopers' budget request will proceed through the state's FY26 budgeting process; the assembly did not take action on the request at the meeting.