This week's edition of FYI Fairbanks is brought to you by:
Brianna Reagan creates original art, custom logo designs, and visual identities that turn brands into memorable experiences—right here in Fairbanks.
You may have noticed a new look popping up around FYI Fairbanks over the last few weeks, and this week it's officially made its way to the newsletter!
Our new branding and designs were created by local designer Brianna Reagan Creates, who helped give FYI Fairbanks a look that feels fun, welcoming, and distinctly us. As we continue to grow, we're excited to have a brand that reflects the community we're building here.
Take a look around this week's edition, and let us know what you think of the new look!
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School's Back—Slow Down & Stay Alert
School is back in session, which means Fairbanks-area roads are once again busier with school buses, young drivers, and kids walking and biking to school.
As everyone settles back into the school-year routine, here are a few reminders to help keep our students and community safe:
Watch the signs. Speed limits and when they apply can vary, so follow posted signage rather than assuming you know the limit.
Maintain the posted speed limit for the full length of the school zone. Don't speed back up until you've completely exited it.
Remember that some areas near schools have reduced speed limits all day, not just during school hours.
Be ready to stop for school buses and give them plenty of space.
Keep an eye out for kids at crosswalks, intersections, bus stops, and along roadsides.
Give yourself a few extra minutes. Morning and afternoon school traffic can slow things down.
Put the phone away. Kids aren't always predictable around traffic, so give the road your full attention.
After a summer without the daily school commute, it's easy to get out of the routine. A little extra patience, slower speeds, and attention to posted signs can help keep Fairbanks students safe this school year.
Support events and businesses that help make Fairbanks a great place to live, work, and play. Click images for more information.
Looking Ahead
Registration for workshops are open now. Linked here.
Kaarin Tack with Balanced Books, LLC
For many small business owners, bookkeeping is one more task competing for time and attention. For Kaarin Tack, owner of Balanced Books, LLC, bringing order to the numbers is the fun part.
Kaarin spent 12 years working as an in-house bookkeeper before reaching a crossroads in 2019. After years of insisting she'd never own a business—and wishing for a career that gave her more freedom to travel—she decided it might be time to face that fear and start a virtual bookkeeping business of her own.
Today, Kaarin helps small businesses organize their financial data, manage their books, and run payroll. She especially loves cleanup projects for business owners who have fallen behind. One particularly memorable client arrived with two construction trash bags full of receipts. While that might sound like a nightmare to most of us, Kaarin loved turning the mess into organized financial records that were ready to hand over to the client's tax preparer.
Growing up with parents who owned a small business gave Kaarin an early appreciation for just how important entrepreneurs are to their communities. Her goal is to take bookkeeping off their never-ending to-do lists so they can spend more time doing the work they started their businesses to do.
Balanced Books is intentionally a one-person operation. When you work with Kaarin, Kaarin is the person doing your books—and the person answering your calls, texts, and emails. She built her business that way because she values consistency and wants to focus her energy on bookkeeping rather than managing a team.
Having called the Fairbanks area home for most of her life, Kaarin loves the wildness, toughness, and resilience of Interior Alaska—and the resourcefulness of the people who live here. She especially appreciates that Fairbanks is still the kind of community where finding a great local business often doesn't require reading online reviews. As she puts it, you just ask a friend, and they'll tell you who to hire.
Connect with Balanced Books, LLC:
Ongoing
Fairbanks Fungi Festival — August 28-30
Tuesday August 25
Southside Community Farmers Market — 4-6:30pm
Pioneer Park Pickers Weekly Music Jam — 6:30-8:30pm
Wednesday August 26
UAF Geophysical Institute Free Public Tour — 1pm
Jeff Crosby Concert at Arctic Harvest — 4-10pm
Thursday August 27
Food Truck Thursdays at Alaska Gear Company — 11am-3pm
Alaskaland Playground Phase 2 Open House — 4-6pm
FNSB Regular Assembly Meeting — 6pm
Friday August 28
The Workshop - Featuring Calypso Farm — 5:30-8:30p
Authors in Conversation: Mistee St. Clair and Annie Wenstrup Poetry Reading at Solstice Books — 6-7pm
Greater Fairbanks Racing Association End of Season Show — 7pm
Saturday August 29
The Workshop - Featuring Calypso Farm — 10:30am-6:30pm
4th Annual Pups and Plants at Hawk’s Greenhouse — 11am-5pm
Greater Fairbanks Racing Association End of Season Show — 7pm
Sunday August 30
The Workshop - Featuring Calypso Farm — 10:30am-2:30pm
Fairbanks Fungi Festival at Ester Community Park — 11am-5pm
Monday August 31
Chess Club at Noel Wien Library — 5:30-7pm
Fairbanks is full of interesting people, opinions, and stories. Each week, we'll ask a quick question just for fun and share some responses in the next edition.
Question: What's the best piece of advice you'd give someone before their first Fairbanks winter?
Last week we asked “What's your favorite sign that fall is arriving in Fairbanks?”
It sounds like golden leaves are the unofficial announcement that fall has arrived! Several readers mentioned watching the birch leaves turn yellow and seeing the hills change from green to gold—Barbara said it gives "there's gold in them thar hills" a very Fairbanks meaning. Others watch the fireweed as its blooms reach the top, while another chose the tradition of blueberry picking. And with our short fall season, one reader offered a good reminder: if you don't stop to look around, you just might miss it.
FYI Fairbanks is built by community members, for community members.
Have an event to share? Know a business we should meet? Interested in advertising? Have an idea for a future edition? Just hit reply, we’d love to hear from you.
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See you around town,
Your Friends at FYI Fairbanks
