Ben Boettger

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Happy and Jim Schneider are among the residents at Vintage Pointe Manor senior apartments who are facing a rate increase. In this  Tuesday May 30, 2015 photo of the couple in their 826 square foot apartment - the two talked about potentially being priced out of their apartment and having to move elsewhere.

Rents rise at Vintage Pointe

When the residents of Kenai’s Vintage Pointe Manor senior housing pay their rents for the month of July, it will cost them up to $35… Continue reading

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Happy and Jim Schneider are among the residents at Vintage Pointe Manor senior apartments who are facing a rate increase. In this  Tuesday May 30, 2015 photo of the couple in their 826 square foot apartment - the two talked about potentially being priced out of their apartment and having to move elsewhere.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion  Workers took a core sample of the earth near Autumn Road, Thursday October 9, 2014 in Nikiski where the Alaska LNG project has been buying land and planning to build an LNG facility at the terminus of a pipeline in a project that, if built, would be the largest of its kind in the world.

Alaska LNG exports to non-free-trade countries authorized

Editor's note: The estimated cost of the Alaska LNG project was originally misstated in this article. It is $45-65 billion.  The pipeline proposed by the… Continue reading

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion  Workers took a core sample of the earth near Autumn Road, Thursday October 9, 2014 in Nikiski where the Alaska LNG project has been buying land and planning to build an LNG facility at the terminus of a pipeline in a project that, if built, would be the largest of its kind in the world.

Kenai changes employee health plan

In its drafted Fiscal Year 2016 budget, Kenai will spend $291,629 more on employee health insurance than it did in the last fiscal year. This… Continue reading

Kenai Coast Guard Auxilliary to hold boat inspection

This Saturday the Kenai U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary will hold a free boat safety inspection in the parking lot of the Kenai Walmart from noon… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Watercolor artist Francine Long (left) talks with a visitor, with paintings by Kaitlin Vadla in the foreground, during the Emerging Artists Festival on Saturday at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna.

Local artists find venue at Soldotna festival

Soldotna Creek Park become an overcast and somewhat chilly gallery space for the regional artists who exhibited in the first annual Emerging Artists Festival Saturday.… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Watercolor artist Francine Long (left) talks with a visitor, with paintings by Kaitlin Vadla in the foreground, during the Emerging Artists Festival on Saturday at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna.

Kenai raises fees

Editor's note: This story has been changed to include previously omitted information about council member Brian Gabriel's ammendment to increase personal use fishery fees.  Rents… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion A member of the public speaks with DOWL Engineer Steve Nobel (right) over a map of the proposed Sterling Highway improvements at a Department of Transportation/Kenai WIldlife Refuge open house on Tuesday, May 19 at the Kenai WIldlife Refuge Visitors Center.

Sterling Highway improvements planned

The Alaska Department of Transportation’s proposed improvements to the Sterling Highway take into account the movement of both humans and animals. “From a strategic perspective,… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion A member of the public speaks with DOWL Engineer Steve Nobel (right) over a map of the proposed Sterling Highway improvements at a Department of Transportation/Kenai WIldlife Refuge open house on Tuesday, May 19 at the Kenai WIldlife Refuge Visitors Center.

Soldotna students receive graduation lectures from faculty

The two Soldotna High School staff members that the graduating class of 2015 chose to deliver keynote speeches during their Tuesday graduation ceremony at the… Continue reading

Cook Inlet Harbor Safety Committee seeking members

The proposed Cook Inlet Harbor Safety Committee is another step closer to reality. After writing and receiving comments on a draft charter, the group’s convening… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peininsula Clarion Graduating senior Brittany Gilman sings a solo in a performance of "Bridge over Troubled Water" during the Kenai Central High School graduation ceremony on Monday at Kenai Central High School.

Kenai Central High School students graduate

Editor's note: This story has been changed to add the missing name of KCHS graduate Riley Michael Weber to the graduate list.  The 108 members… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peininsula Clarion Graduating senior Brittany Gilman sings a solo in a performance of "Bridge over Troubled Water" during the Kenai Central High School graduation ceremony on Monday at Kenai Central High School.
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Wings Christian Academy graduate Tyler Ophus reads his graduation speech on Friday at Immanuel Baptist Church in Kenai.

Wings Christian Academy graduates one

On Friday evening, Wings Christian Academy, based in Kenai’s Immanuel Baptist Church, held a graduation ceremony for Tyler Ophus, its sole departing senior. The ceremony… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Wings Christian Academy graduate Tyler Ophus reads his graduation speech on Friday at Immanuel Baptist Church in Kenai.
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Organizer Scott Hamann (left) looks on while champion racer Wyatt Wasczak is placed on the starting ramp during the Kenai Rotary Soapbox Derby in the parking lot of Kenai's Challenger Learning Center.

New hill, same thrill: Soap box derby held in Kenai

“Do you know why it’s called a soapbox race?” asked soapbox derby racer Navy Poage. “Because soap used to come in big boxes, and kids… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Organizer Scott Hamann (left) looks on while champion racer Wyatt Wasczak is placed on the starting ramp during the Kenai Rotary Soapbox Derby in the parking lot of Kenai's Challenger Learning Center.

Construction season approaches

This week’s Skilak Lake Road closure was the first ripple of a wave of road maintenance set to sweep the Peninsula in summer 2015. The… Continue reading

Kenai draft budget increases $48,386

Editor's note: This story has been changed to clarify the increase in Kenai's health care costs and to correct the day of the budget work… Continue reading

Part of Skilak Lake Road Open

A portion of the closed Skilak Lake Road, the gravel road connecting the Sterling Highway to recreation areas on five lakes near Sterling, was reopened… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Myrna Kuchenoff swims backstroke during the Special Olympics swim meet on Saturday May 9 at the Soldotna High School swimming pool. Last year, Kuchenoff won a gold medal for 100 meter freestyle at the National Special Olympics in New Jersey.

Special Olympics held in Soldotna

Two Special Olympics teams met on Saturday at Soldotna High School to compete in swimming and basketball. The teams from Homer and from the Central… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Myrna Kuchenoff swims backstroke during the Special Olympics swim meet on Saturday May 9 at the Soldotna High School swimming pool. Last year, Kuchenoff won a gold medal for 100 meter freestyle at the National Special Olympics in New Jersey.

Temporary closure for Skilak Lake Road

Skilak Lake Road, the gravel road that leads from the Sterling Highway to recreation areas at Bottenintinin, Skilak, Engineer, Lower Ohmer and Hidden lakes, was… Continue reading

Division of Forestry A Division of Forestry helicopter releases a bucket of water on a five-acre fire on Monday April 4, between Anchor Point and Nikolaevsk.

Anchor Point fire extinguished

Firefighters responded to a fire on Monday around 4:00 p.m. near Jim Howard Road, between Anchor Point and Nikolaevsk. Alaska Division of Forestry Fire Management… Continue reading

Division of Forestry A Division of Forestry helicopter releases a bucket of water on a five-acre fire on Monday April 4, between Anchor Point and Nikolaevsk.
Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, Speaker of the House Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, and Rep. Kurt Olson, R-Soldotna, answer questions during a joint Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce luncheon Tuesday at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex. (Photo by Will Morrow/Peninsula Clarion)

Legislators share thoughts on session

With the Alaska Legislature on recess until the May 12 resumption of a special session called by Gov. Bill Walker, three Kenai Peninsula legislators gave… Continue reading

Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, Speaker of the House Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, and Rep. Kurt Olson, R-Soldotna, answer questions during a joint Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce luncheon Tuesday at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex. (Photo by Will Morrow/Peninsula Clarion)
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion A display at the new Kenai Wildlife Refuge Visitor's Center shows the Kenai Peninsula's anadromous streams in red lights and the borders of the Kenai Wildlife Refuge in green, at the Kenai WIldlife Refuge Soldotna headquarters on Friday May 1.

New wildlife refuge visitor center opens

Kenai National Wildlife Refuge staff said that their new visitor center, which began construction in 2013 and opened to the public for the first time… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion A display at the new Kenai Wildlife Refuge Visitor's Center shows the Kenai Peninsula's anadromous streams in red lights and the borders of the Kenai Wildlife Refuge in green, at the Kenai WIldlife Refuge Soldotna headquarters on Friday May 1.