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Snow is cleared from a roof near the Copper Center Soldotna, Alaska on Friday, Dec. 16, 2022. Several nearby businesses were closed after a roof collapse. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

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Fire chief addresses concerns about roof safety in wake of heavy snow

Fears are compounded by a string of reported building collapses this winter

Gov. Mike Dunleavy unveils proposals to offer public school teachers annual retention bonuses and enact policies similar so-called “don’t say gay” laws in states such as Florida during a press conference in Anchorage on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. (Screenshot from official livestream)

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Governor proposes ‘don’t say gay’-style law, year-end teacher bonuses

Dunleavy says bill is “pro-parent,” not anti-LGBTQ+.

Information about SNAP benefit amounts is posted on a wall at the Alaska Division of Public Assistance’s Kenai office on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Food bank sees demand jump amid SNAP benefit backlog

About 9.5% of the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s roughly 22,800 households received SNAP benefits in 2021

Defending champion Brent Sass mushes his dog team down Fourth Avenue during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race’s ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

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Iditarod kicks off

This is the 51st running of the Iditarod, but its 33 mushers are the smallest field ever to…

Dipnetters can be seen here fishing in the Kenai River on July 10, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion file)

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Board of Fisheries to meet

March 10 through March 13, the board will meet at the Egan Civic Convention Center to discuss 19…

Snow coats an eroding bluff near the mouth of the Kenai River on Friday, March 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Bluff project moves ahead

Kenai to buy last land parcels needed for stabilization effort

Soldotna City Hall is seen on Wednesday, June 24, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Soldotna to review mini grant applications next week

Five groups are vying for one of the two $1,000 grants available for the current cycle

A sign to Kenai National Wildlife Refuge trails is seen Wednesday, March 23, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

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Fish and Wildlife Service withdraws Kenai Refuge proposal

The service received around 45,000 public comments regarding the proposal

Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File “I voted” stickers await voters on Election Day 2022. That election was the first regular general election in Alaska to include ranked choice voting, which was narrowly approved by voters in 2020. Bills to do away with ranked choice voting have been introduced in the Legislature and a petition to put the matter before voters is circulating. However, a pro-ranked choice petition has been launched to show support for the state’s current elections system, which also includes open primaries.

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Pro-ranked choice petition launched

Signatures sought to persuade Legislature not to overturn RCV and open primaries.

A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)

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Low king salmon forecasts spur fishing restrictions

Most of the orders concern closures of various fisheries

This photo shows the Alaska State Capitol where lawmakers have been briefed on a plan state regulators say will allow more flexibility that benefits both businesses and the environment in “Alaska’s unique conditions.” However, some senators expressed skepticism over efforts to take over what are known as “Clean Water Act Section 404” permits. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

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Alaska seeking a 404 redirect for wetlands development

State wants to take over permitting control from feds, but costs and murky legal questions linger.

Foreground, from left: Kenai City Manager Terry Eubank and Kenai City Clerk Shellie Saner watch as Kenai City Attorney Scott Bloom wordsmiths an amendment to an ordinance during a council meeting on Wednesday at Kenai City Hall, March 1, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. Background from left: Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel, Deborah Sounart and Alex Douthit discuss the legislation, which allows more city residents to keep chickens on their property. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Kenai OKs chickens for more city residents

Council debate on the issue lasted for roughly four hours

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, (left) answers questions from attendees at a town hall event on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Bjorkman bill aims to expand local grading of lumber

The bill, if passed, would establish a lumber grade training program under the Alaska Division of Forestry

A wildfire moves towards the town of Anzac from Fort McMurray, Alberta., on May 4, 2016. Smoke from boreal fires in 2021 contributed the most to global fire CO2 emissions since 2000, according to a new study in Science being released with a press briefing at the annual AAAS meeting. Using satellite-based atmospheric measurements, researchers from around the world determined that boreal fire smoke made up 23% of global fire CO2 emissions when it typically accounts for 10% of these emissions. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP, file)

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Carbon emissions from boreal forest fires rose in 2021

Smoke from these wildfires made up 23% of global fire emissions

Team #2 — Bradley Kishbaugh, of Soldotna, and Ryan Sottosanti, of Wasilla — ride their snowmachine during the 2023 Iron Dog. (Photo provided by Bradley Kishbaugh)

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Local racers complete Iron Dog

Three teams featuring Kenai Peninsula athletes crossed the finish line this year, and a fourth participated in the…

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire State Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka, offers an overview Wednesday of Southeast Alaska’s commercial troll fisheries while asking for support on a resolution opposing a lawsuit by a Washington-based group that would shut the fisheries down due to their alleged impacts on species in that state. The resolution passed by a 35-1 vote.

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Juneau, state lawmakers join effort against salmon lawsuit

Washington case could halt some Southeast fisheries

Brent Sass heads down the Yukon River between Ruby and Galena, Alaska, on March 13, 2020, during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Only 33 mushers will participate in the ceremonial start of the Iditarod on Saturday, March 4, the smallest field ever. (Loren Holmes/Anchorage Daily News via AP, File)

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Iditarod begins with smallest field ever

Only 33 mushers will participate in the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday

Snow surrounds playground equipment at the softball greenstrip on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. The structure is being replaced this year. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Kenai to replace greenstrip playground

The park’s existing playground structure was installed in 1995 and has exceeded its usable lifespan

Signage denotes the entrance to Central Emergency Services at the agency’s original entrance on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. A bond package passed by voters allows the borough to incur up to $16.5 million in debt for the replacement of Central Emergency Services’ Station 1 in Soldotna.(Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Borough bond projects take step forward

Assembly approval comes about four months after Kenai Peninsula voters approved two bond initiatives

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire Alaska residents with disabilities and advocates providing services intended to support self-sufficiency wave a banner and noisemakers during a noontime Wednesday rally in a blizzard on the steps of the Alaska State Capitol.

News

Rally for disability services held at Capitol

About 20 people made their way to Capitol to seek solutions for service shortages.