Alaska, as a relatively late component in American territorial expansion, offered a set of opportunities to establish American institutions in a new frontier. MD Snodgrass became a key figure in the creation of many institutions new to Alaska. Snodgrass was neither influential or prominent in Kansas when he left for Alaska at the age of 31. In sharp contrast to his relatively uneventful Kansas years, he took advantage of frontier opportunities during his sixty years in Alaska to become a key player in the creation of Alaskan institutions. He served as a territorial legislator from both Fairbanks and the Matanuska Valley, he was on the first Board of Regents for the University of Alaska, he was one of the first three electors for Alaska when it became a state. He was a key figure in the creation and or operation of five of the seven federal experiment stations in Alaska and the pivotal organizing figure in what would eventually become the Alaska State Fair.

This is the first talk in the Cook Inlet Historical Society’s 2023-2024 Speaker Series. These presentations are virtual, free, and open to the public via Crowdcast; the same link can be used to review the recorded event after the program conclusion. Those attending in person should use the 7th avenue entrance to access the auditorium.

Chancellor Fran Ulmer appointed Talis Colberg as the tenth director of the Matanuska-Susitna College in August of 2010. Talis is a third generation Alaskan born in the Territory of Alaska in 1958. He graduated from Palmer High School in 1976, Pacific Lutheran University in 1979 and Pepperdine University School of Law in 1983. He earned a Ph.D. in Northern Political History and Culture from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2008. Governor Palin appointed him as the twentieth Attorney General for Alaska in 2006. He has also been twice elected to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly and twice elected as borough mayor. He has been president of the Alaska State Fair Board, Chair of the Alaska Humanities Forum, a member of the Alaska Sealife Center Board, Chair of the Alaska Historical Commission and serves on the Board of the Musk Ox Development Corporation. In 2015 Governor Walker presented Dr. Colberg with Alaska’s Distinguished Service to the Humanities Award. He has been a history instructor at the college since 1992.

Photo Credit: Matanuska Experiment Station, circa 1920. Jack H. Floyd Collection, Anchorage Museum, B1957.005.188.

Cook Inlet Historical Society Presents: MD Snodgrass - Federal Experiment Stations and Fairs in Alaska