What’s Happening

Best Bets The KPC Showcase Series and 49 Writers present Don Rearden, author of “The Raven’s Gift,” and Deb Vanasse, author of “Cold Spell,” along… Continue reading

You could just cry; laugh instead

You could just cry; laugh instead

You could just cry. Nothing’s going right. You’re frustrated, out of patience, options, and energy. The camel’s back is broken. You’re about done. Yeah, you’d… Continue reading

You could just cry; laugh instead
In this image released by 20th Century Fox, Ben Affleck, left, and Rosamund Pike appear in a scene from "Gone Girl." The film, based on the best-selling novel, releases Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. (AP Photo/20th Century Fox, Merrick Morton)

Twist defines ‘Gone Girl’

“Gone Girl” 20th Century Fox 2 hour 25 minutes Thriller/Drama   “Gone Girl,” the new mystery from David Fincher and star Ben Affleck, based on… Continue reading

In this image released by 20th Century Fox, Ben Affleck, left, and Rosamund Pike appear in a scene from "Gone Girl." The film, based on the best-selling novel, releases Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. (AP Photo/20th Century Fox, Merrick Morton)

Business News

Chamber set schedules ■ The Soldotna and Kenai Chambers of Commerce will host a joint luncheon at noon on Tuesday at the Kenai Visitors Center.… Continue reading

Poem: Round and About

Round and AboutBy Norma Cooper, SoldotnaI went to buy a map todaySo I can sit and plan my routesAnd figure out an easy wayTo miss… Continue reading

In this photo taken on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014, Tamara Martz, exhibit and graphic designer at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, hangs wall boards in the background as a case including the Pillsbury Doughboy doll, California Raisins figurines and Mr. Peanut nut bowl is on display as the "Key Ingredients: America By Food" Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit is installed at the UAF Community and Technical College on Barnette Street in Fairbanks, Alaska. (AP Photo/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Eric Engman)

American food exhibit opens in Fairbanks

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — If you’re planning to stroll through the lobby at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Community and Technical College in the next… Continue reading

In this photo taken on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014, Tamara Martz, exhibit and graphic designer at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, hangs wall boards in the background as a case including the Pillsbury Doughboy doll, California Raisins figurines and Mr. Peanut nut bowl is on display as the "Key Ingredients: America By Food" Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit is installed at the UAF Community and Technical College on Barnette Street in Fairbanks, Alaska. (AP Photo/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Eric Engman)

Holiday cookie plan: Freeze now, bake later

It’s impossible to miss that the holidays are coming. From Halloween costumes and pumpkins for making pies, to ornaments for Christmas trees, dreidels and candles… Continue reading

  • Oct 7, 2014
  • By Sue Ade
  • Food

Pioneer Potluck: About learning to live off the Alaskan land

Moose, Fish And Spruce Hens. Daniels Lake, North Nikiski, Alaska 1968-69   In the late 1960’s we lived on shores of Daniels Lake. We had… Continue reading

  • Oct 7, 2014
  • By Grannie Annie
  • Food
In this Sept. 19, 2014 photo, a recipe for roasted pumpkin soup with black pepper croutons is seen in the cookbook "For the Love of Pumpkins' by author Marilyn Alice Tuckman at her home in Elk Grove Village, Ill. It is one of the 100 gourd recipes in the book. (AP Photo/Daily Herald, Joe Lewnard)  MANDATORY CREDIT, MAGS OUT

Illinois author, Marilyn Alice Tuckman, loves pumpkins

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. (AP) — The great artificial pumpkin-flavoring assault on our taste buds every fall can’t hold a candle to the natural supremacy… Continue reading

In this Sept. 19, 2014 photo, a recipe for roasted pumpkin soup with black pepper croutons is seen in the cookbook "For the Love of Pumpkins' by author Marilyn Alice Tuckman at her home in Elk Grove Village, Ill. It is one of the 100 gourd recipes in the book. (AP Photo/Daily Herald, Joe Lewnard)  MANDATORY CREDIT, MAGS OUT
This Sept.  22, 2014 photo shows roasted tomato and rice soup in Concord, N.H. (AP Photo/MatthewMead)

Tomato rice soup: A speedy bowl of creamy comfort

When I was a kid, creamy tomato and rice soup was one of my go-to comfort foods. My mom would make it for me, and… Continue reading

  • Oct 7, 2014
  • By J.M. HIRSCH
  • Food
This Sept.  22, 2014 photo shows roasted tomato and rice soup in Concord, N.H. (AP Photo/MatthewMead)
Abbigael Estelle Quiner

Community News and Notes

Quiners welcome daughter Matthew Lincoln Quiner and Angeline Morrill Quiner of Kenai announce the birth of their daughter, Abbigael Estelle Quiner, at 2:02 p.m. Sept.… Continue reading

Abbigael Estelle Quiner
Photo: Focus filled
Photo: Focus filled

Here’s the Thing: With PFD check comes reality check

It’s that time of year again. The Alaska Department of Revenue gives qualifying Alaskan citizens a chunk of money called a Permanent Fund Dividend, and… Continue reading

Research links the forests of the Kenai Peninsula and Amazon

Research links the forests of the Kenai Peninsula and Amazon

Recently, I and other researchers from the University of Arizona, Michigan State University, and the University of Washington visited the Kenai Peninsula to collaborate with… Continue reading

Research links the forests of the Kenai Peninsula and Amazon

Church news

On Sunday, all married couples are invited to spend an afternoon together in a Marriage Encounter retreat: Listening to the Heart in the Sacrament of… Continue reading

Cultivate ‘a new aesthetic of slowness’

The 1830s. Trains are picking up speed. New technology is leading to new limits. But how fast is too fast? It becomes clear that the… Continue reading

Photo courtesy Zachary Brown vie the Juneau Empire Zachary Brown arrives at the Hobbit Hole.

A trip north: Gustavus scentist kayaks to Alaska

A Gustavus-grown scientist recently completed a 2,000 mile journey by foot and kayak from Stanford, California to Southeast Alaska, aiming to raise money for a… Continue reading

Photo courtesy Zachary Brown vie the Juneau Empire Zachary Brown arrives at the Hobbit Hole.

Business Briefs

Chambers set schedules ■ The Soldotna and Kenai Chambers of Commerce will host a joint luncheon at noon on Wednesday at the Kenai Visitors Center.… Continue reading

This 2014 photo provided by Susan Vanderwiel shows shows the fire pit she and her family enjoy year-round at their lake house in Apple River, Ill. Vanderwiel is one of a growing number of homeowners who are using outdoor living spaces year-round thanks to features from fire pits and pizza ovens to heated floors and three-wall rooms. (AP Photo/Sue Vanderwiel)

Additions can make the yard a winter hangout too

As fun as summer at the lake is, Sue Vanderwiel and family also make the most of their Apple River, Illinois, vacation home in the… Continue reading

This 2014 photo provided by Susan Vanderwiel shows shows the fire pit she and her family enjoy year-round at their lake house in Apple River, Ill. Vanderwiel is one of a growing number of homeowners who are using outdoor living spaces year-round thanks to features from fire pits and pizza ovens to heated floors and three-wall rooms. (AP Photo/Sue Vanderwiel)

Poem: Fireweed

FireweedDee Rusin, KenaiThe air is full White fluff Spinning swirling Seeds scattering Different directions Carried by currents Seeking a site Settling in the soil Soon… Continue reading