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In this March 12, 2020 file photo, Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, addresses reporters at a news conference in Anchorage, Alaska. Alaska on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, reported its highest number of new COVID-19 cases, a day after the state’s largest hospital announced it had entered crisis protocol and began rationing care. When many people become ill at the same time, it overwhelms the state’s health care system. “And then we start to see excess mortality where more people dying from other things such as heart attacks and strokes and car accidents and bear maulings or whatever else happens,” Zink said. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

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Alaska records most daily COVID cases amid health care strain

Ashlyn O’Hara / Peninsula Clarion From left: Kenai City Council candidates Alex Douthit, Deborah Sounart and Victoria Askin attend an election forum Wednesday at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center.

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Council candidates discuss Kenai’s future at forum

Three of the five candidates vying for seats on the council participated in the event.

File

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Kasilof man arrested in connection to alleged death threats

Tarbell began in August making threats to individuals in Vermont and others states, according to an FBI affidavit.

A sign instructing patients and visitors on the COVID-19 screening process is seen in the River Tower of Central Peninsula Hospital in Soldotna, Alaska, on April 7, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

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Hospital ‘dealing with’ overcapacity

Central Peninsula Hospital was operating at a 112% occupancy rate Wednesday morning.

A podium marks the beginning of a StoryWalk at Soldotna Creek Park on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. The project was discontinued in August due to vandalism. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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StoryWalk vandalism results in project’s early end

The StoryWalk was made possible by a $2,500 donation from the Soldotna Library Friends.

A group spanning the length of five blocks marches in downtown Soldotna, Alaska, to celebrate Pride Month on Saturday, June 12, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

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Housing org seeks to create safe homestays for queer youth

Choosing Our Roots houses LGBTQ+ youth ages 13-24 with a host person or family

A protester stands outside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin building in Soldotna on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

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Parents divided on masks

Some parents said they will keep their kids home if masks are required; others say they’ll keep their…

Nathan Erfurth speaks before the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education on Monday, July 12, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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School board approves employee contracts, pay raises for school nurses

88% of KPEA’s voting members approved their contract and 99% of KPESA’s voting members approved their contract.

Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau, speaks in her office at the Alaska State Capitol on Wednesday, March 13, 2019. Hannan apologized Sunday for saying Nazi experimentation on prisoners “produced results.” (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

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Alaska Democratic lawmaker apologizes after Nazi comment

JUNEAU — A member of the Alaska Legislature has apologized for saying Nazi experimentation on prisoners “produced results.”

Senators converse during an At Ease in a floor session of the Alaska State Senate on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Senators passed a budget bill with a Permanent Fund Dividend of $1,100, but there’s disagreement over the fund sources that may lead to legal action. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

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Senate passes budget bill, $1,100 PFD hours before deadline

Next stop: The governor’s desk.

In this Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, file photo, a syringe containing a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine sits in a container during a vaccine clinic at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Overwhelmed by a surge in COVID-19 patients, Providence Alaska Medical Center, Alaska’s largest hospital, on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, implemented crisis standards of care, prioritizing resources and treatments to those patients who have the potential to benefit the most.(Loren Holmes/Anchorage Daily News via AP, Pool, File)

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Alaska’s largest hospital implements crisis care standards

The emergency room is overflowing at Providence, with patients wait for hours in their cars to see a…

Alaska State Troopers logo.

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FBI responds to abandoned explosive found on Sterling Highway

The dynamite was likely left from previous road construction in the area, troopers said.

This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. (CDC)

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7 more COVID deaths reported Tuesday

Deaths of 6 residents, 1 nonresident reported

Afghan refugees line up for food in a dining hall at Fort Bliss’ Doña Ana Village, in New Mexico, where they are being housed, Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. Between 50 to 100 Afghans refugees are set to relocate to Alaska through the Catholic Social Services Refugee Assistance and Immigration Services’ resettlement program in Anchorage. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Afghan refugees to make their way to Alaska

People can send welcome letters or purchase items from the organization’s Amazon wish list if they want to…

A bill aimed at helping Alaska’s hospitals died Monday after provisions were added by lawmakers barring vaccine mandates. In this file photo, a nurse holds a phial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Guy’s Hospital in London, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)

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Bill aimed at helping hospitals stalls after anti-mandate language added

Lawmakers added provisions barring vaccine mandates

Brie Drummond speaks in support of mask mandates on Monday, Sept. 13, for the Kenai Peninsula School Board meeting at Homer High School in Homer, Alaska. During a work session before the meeting, the district presented revisions to its COVID-19 mitigation protocols. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

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School district revises COVID-19 mitigation plans

The revisions come as COVID-19 cases continue to surge in Alaska and on the Kenai Peninsula.

Alaska state Sens. Bert Stedman, left, and Natasha von Imhof listen during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, in Juneau, Alaska. Legislators are meeting in a special session, which is expected to end Tuesday. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

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PFD unsettled as special session nears end

Legislators have spent most of this year in regular or special legislative sessions, with this year’s payout unresolved.

Chelsea Berg, a nurse at Peninsula Community Health Services, administers a flu shot during a free drive-thru flu shot event at Kenai Central High School on Oct. 24, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

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Officials: It’s time for the flu shot

State Epidemiologist Joe McLaughlin said there are some similarities with the flu and COVID-19 viruses.

This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. (CDC)

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1 new COVID death pushes Alaska to 445

The state announced another 1,473 positive COVID cases over the weekend.

Volunteers work the fermentation station at the Harvest Moon Local Food Festival at Soldotna Creek Park on Sept. 14, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion file)

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Serving up a passion for wellness, local foods

8th annual Harvest Moon Festival focuses on sustainability, locally sourced foods and food security.