Vang asylum centre to close

Innlandet news from the last 48 hours: UDI has decided to close the Vang i Valdres asylum centre on 31 December 2026, a decision criticised by the municipality’s mayor. At the same time, the locomotive driver strike is spreading and is expected to hit Kongsvingerbanen hard from Monday. Innlandet county is also affected by a bill on online poker and by the ongoing discovery of Norway’s largest Viking-age coin treasure.

Innlandet news: Vang asylum centre closure announced

At Vang i Valdres, in Innlandet, the mood is tense at the asylum centre. Mohammed Zuhair, a Palestinian from Gaza, smokes outside the entrance door. “This is our home now. Those who live here are our family,” he says (NRK Innlandet). Three other men nod in agreement. The conversation takes place in Arabic; Mohammed translates into English. A man in his forties says he has lived here for almost two years. Another for one year. “We like it in Vang,” says Mohammed. “It is a good place to wait,” he adds.

But from the New Year, it will be over. UDI has decided that the Vang centre is among 14 facilities that will close from 31 December 2026. Mayor Jørand Ødegård Lunde reacts strongly. “I do not understand UDI’s way of acting,” she tells NRK Innlandet. She points to management she considers unpredictable, with centres created and closed in just a few months.

Train strike: Kongsvingerbanen on the front line

In total, 46 locomotive drivers have been on strike since 18 September. The action has already caused major delays and many cancellations in Østlandet, including Innlandet county. On Tuesday afternoon, the head of the Norsk Lokomotivførerforbund (NLF), Rolf Ringdal, announced a further escalation from Monday. “We are sending a new contingent of strikers, 21 additional members, effective Monday,” he told NRK (NRK Innlandet, The Local Norway).

The strike will affect 164 departures on Tuesday. According to Rolf Ringdal, this escalation will first and foremost affect train services on the Kongsvingerbanen, the line connecting Innlandet to Oslo. Asked about possible public dissatisfaction, the union leader replies that people understand that this is a labour conflict and wage demands.

Online poker and Viking treasure: two stories followed in Innlandet

The government wants to allow Norwegians to play online poker at Norsk Tipping. A proposal to amend the law has been sent out for consultation. “We want people who want to play online poker to be able to do so within a legal framework, and it is natural that we give Norsk Tipping, as the exclusive provider, permission to do so,” says Minister of Culture Lubna Jaffery (Ap) to NRK (NRK Innlandet). Tobias Leknes, head of the Norsk Pokerforbund, says he is delighted, as he attends the Norwegian poker championships at Gardermoen, in Innlandet. It has been two years since Norsk Tipping asked the Ministry of Culture and Equality (KUD) for permission to offer online poker.

On an agricultural field in the county, archaeologists continue to extract coins from the Mørstadskatten. The 5000th coin has been lifted from the ground, to the smiles of the three people wearing noise-cancelling headphones and carrying metal detectors. In the spring, two people had reported 19 Viking-age coins found with the landowner’s permission. On the first day of excavations, 90 coins were uncovered. This is the largest Viking-age coin treasure discovered in Norway’s history, with coins dating from the late 10th century (NRK Innlandet).

Environment: low lake level and 1000 reindeer filmed

The Senterpartiet mayor of Nordre Land, Ola Tore Dokken, walks down the steep gravel slope towards Dokkfløyvann. The lake, dammed nearly 30 years ago, is 18 metres below its highest level and 16 to 17 % below normal for the season. “It is a lunar landscape,” he says (NRK Innlandet). He says he is not reassured by the producer Hafslund’s assurances about security of supply before winter, as electricity production could be affected by a dry autumn and an early winter.

At Venabygdsfjellet, in Innlandet, Per Gunnar filmed 1000 wild reindeer (NRK Innlandet).

📌 Local briefs

Thieves entered the Maxi Storsenter in Hamar during the night between Saturday and Sunday and took several luxury bags from the Vintage Lover shop, including Chanel bags worth between 19 000 and 75 000 kroner. Owner Grace Dahl says the premises were also sprayed with tar (NRK Innlandet).

Hamar Arbeiderblad also reports a scene of violence captured by a camera, in which a man is struck on the ground, as well as the theft of the same luxury bags, now being sought. GD Gudbrandsdølen, for its part, mentions a revived 350 million kroner project and a sports club forced to close its doors and asking its municipality for help.

Sources: NRK Innlandet, Hamar Arbeiderblad, GD Gudbrandsdølen, The Local Norway — Period: 29 September 2026 and 30 September 2026