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This hearty and warm split pea soup uses bacon instead of ham or can be made vegan. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)

Hearty split pea soup warms frigid January days

This soup is nutritious and mild and a perfect way to show yourself some kindness.

This hearty and warm split pea soup uses bacon instead of ham or can be made vegan. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy is photographed during a visit to Juneau, Alaska, in November 2022 . (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Opinion: Alaska’s charter schools are leading the nation — It’s time to expand their reach

Expanding charter schools isn’t just about offering alternatives; it’s about giving every child the chance to succeed.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy is photographed during a visit to Juneau, Alaska, in November 2022 . (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Photo by Christina Whiting
Selections from the 2025 Lit Lineup are lined up on a shelf at the Homer Public Library on Friday, Jan. 3.

A new Lit Lineup

Homer Public Library’s annual Lit Lineup encourages year-round reading.

Photo by Christina Whiting
Selections from the 2025 Lit Lineup are lined up on a shelf at the Homer Public Library on Friday, Jan. 3.
Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
A copy of “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness” rests on a desk in the Peninsula Clarion newsroom in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.

Off the Shelf: ‘Anxious Generation’ underserves conversations about cellphones

The book has been cited in recent school board discussions over cellphone policies.

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
A copy of “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness” rests on a desk in the Peninsula Clarion newsroom in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.
Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)

Life in the Pedestrian Lane: More of the same?

I have no particular expectations for the New Year

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)
(Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: Everyone pays the price of online shopping returns

Online shoppers in 2023 returned almost a quarter-trillion dollars in merchandise

  • Jan 5, 2025
  • By Larry Persily
(Juneau Empire file photo)
Mitch Gyde drowned not far from this cabin, known as the Cliff House, on upper Tustumena Lake in September 1975. (Photo courtesy of the Fair Family Collection)

The 2 most deadly years — Part 8

The two most deadly years for people on or near Tustumena Lake were 1965 and 1975

Mitch Gyde drowned not far from this cabin, known as the Cliff House, on upper Tustumena Lake in September 1975. (Photo courtesy of the Fair Family Collection)
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Christmas Bird Count spots more than 8,000 birds

Count Day was held on Dec. 21, after a weeklong postponement due to heavy snow

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”Window to the Soul” by Bryan Olds is displayed as part of “Kinetic” at the Kenai Art Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Movement on display

Kenai Art Center’s January show, ‘Kinetic,’ opens Friday

”Window to the Soul” by Bryan Olds is displayed as part of “Kinetic” at the Kenai Art Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Cars drive past the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. building in Juneau on Thursday. This year’s Permanent Fund dividend will be $1,312, the state Department of Revenue announced. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Opinion: The wisdom of late bloomers in education

In Alaska, the state’s 529 education savings plan isn’t just for children

Cars drive past the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. building in Juneau on Thursday. This year’s Permanent Fund dividend will be $1,312, the state Department of Revenue announced. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
These savory dumplings are delicious steamed, boiled, deep fried, or pan fried and are excellent in soups or added to a bowl of ramen. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)

Facing the new year one dumpling at a time

I completed another impossibly huge task this weekend and made hundreds of wontons by hand to serve our large family

These savory dumplings are delicious steamed, boiled, deep fried, or pan fried and are excellent in soups or added to a bowl of ramen. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Spencer Linderman was a game biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish & Game in 1975 when he and pilot Robin Johnson crashed while flying a goat survey in a glacial valley near upper Tustumena Lake. Neither man survived. (Photo from a eulogy in the Homer News)

The 2 most deadly years — Part 7

The two most deadly years for people on or near Tustumena Lake were 1965 and 1975

Spencer Linderman was a game biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish & Game in 1975 when he and pilot Robin Johnson crashed while flying a goat survey in a glacial valley near upper Tustumena Lake. Neither man survived. (Photo from a eulogy in the Homer News)
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Minister’s Message: The song of the season

There is another song of the season that the Gospel writer Luke records in the first chapter of his book

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Peppermint patties and a Charlie Brown tree

These icy mints are a nostalgic treat perfect for spreading holiday cheer

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Keanu Reeves is Shadow the Hedgehog in “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” (Promotional photo courtesy Paramount Pictures)

On the Screen: ‘Sonic 3’ brings craft, stakes to colorful kid’s movie

When I was a kid, in the early 2000s, Sonic the Hedgehog was a pretty big deal

Keanu Reeves is Shadow the Hedgehog in “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” (Promotional photo courtesy Paramount Pictures)
AnnMarie Rudstrom, dressed as the Ghost of Christmas Present, reads Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” at The Goods in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Reading of ‘A Christmas Carol’ warms a winter night at The Goods

The full text of the book was read live at the store across two weeks

AnnMarie Rudstrom, dressed as the Ghost of Christmas Present, reads Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” at The Goods in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Nick Varney

Unhinged Alaska: The little tree that could

Each year I receive emails requesting a repeat of a piece I wrote years ago about being away from home on Christmas.

Nick Varney
The mouth of Indian Creek in the spring, when the water is shallow and clear. By summertime, it runs faster and is more turbid. The hand and trekking pole at lower left belong to Jim Taylor, who provided this photograph.

The 2 most deadly years — Part 6

The two most deadly years for people on or near Tustumena Lake were 1965 and 1975

The mouth of Indian Creek in the spring, when the water is shallow and clear. By summertime, it runs faster and is more turbid. The hand and trekking pole at lower left belong to Jim Taylor, who provided this photograph.
Rep. Sarah Vance, candidate for State House District 6, participates in a candidate forum hosted by the Peninsula Clarion and KBBI 890 AM at the Homer Public Library in Homer, Alaska, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Point of View: Vance out of touch in plea to ‘make more babies’

In order to, as she states, “make more babies,” women have to be healthy and supported.

  • Dec 20, 2024
  • By Audrey Wallace
  • Opinion
Rep. Sarah Vance, candidate for State House District 6, participates in a candidate forum hosted by the Peninsula Clarion and KBBI 890 AM at the Homer Public Library in Homer, Alaska, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a press conference March 16, 2024, at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)

Opinion: A budget that chooses the right policies and priorities

Alaska is a land of unmatched potential and opportunity. It always has been, and it always will be if we choose the right policies and… Continue reading

  • Dec 19, 2024
  • By Gov. Mike Dunleavy
  • Opinion
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a press conference March 16, 2024, at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)