; Whereas the Aurora Borealis is visible from Fairbanks an average of 243 days each year; Whereas Girdwood was recognized by National Geographic as the world’s best ski town; Whereas, in the northernmost town in Alaska, the sun does not set for approximately 80 days in the summer and does not rise for approximately 60 days in the heart of winter; Whereas President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the proclamation admitting Alaska to the United States on January 3, 1959; and Whereas Alaska is the largest State in the United States in land area at more than 586,000 square miles and constitutes almost 1/5 the size of the contiguous United States: Now, therefore, be it