Out with the old, in with the new

People who live near the ocean have a unique perspective on time. The water itself acts as a clock, marking a shift toward the first half of the day or the last as high and low tide trade places.

On the Kenai Peninsula, people have been linked to the water ever since the Dena’ina people walked across the Bering Land Bridge and traveled south to the area we now call home. Thousands of years ago, the years passed in the same ancient rhythm they follow today: bears leave their dens when tender green plants start to emerge from the snow, humpback whales return to feed when their empty stomachs tell them it’s time to head north, birds migrate south when the snow begins to fall. The land is in all of us as much as we are in it.

In many ways, this year will be no different than last. Winter will release its grasp and soften into spring before summer bathes the peninsula in endless light. On June 21, the days will begin to shorten again, falling off into autumn then plunging us back into the dark. Plants and animals will appear and hide according to the season. Us bipedal tetrapods aren’t as lucky.

2026 will bring more news, both bad and good. There will be more political unrest, tragedy and environmental disasters. There will also be moments of unity, days of triumph and steps toward a better and brighter future.

When the tide goes out, exhale along with it. Practice patience as the days lengthen and note the animals when daylight becomes scarce again. Take care of the land that holds you, and try to be excellent to everyone and everything else it holds too.

As we look toward a new year of unknowns, let’s reflect on the biggest news from 2025.

January

Dozens of families kicked off the New Year twelve hours early during the Soldotna Public Library’s ninth annual Noon-Year’s Eve Party, welcoming 2025 with songs, stories and balloons.

On Jan. 6, Frank Richards, president of the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, announced that the corporation had come to an agreement with an energy company to fund and lead the development of the Alaska LNG Project.

Two hours after Donald Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20, the first of many protests commenced in Soldotna. Three women stood near Ammo-Can Coffee, holding signs with quotes by Martin Luther King Jr. on kindness and resistance.

February

Facing a $17 million budget deficit, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education began the first of many conversations about potential school closures and staffing cuts during a Feb. 4 meeting.

The Homer girls and boys ski teams both secured Division II team titles at the state Nordic ski championships in Fairbanks. 2025 was the first time Mariners girls and boys both won state titles in the same year.

March

On March 10, Travis Larson of Homer was sentenced to five years’ probation for providing big game transportation services after four black bears were illegally taken from the Kenai Peninsula in 2018. Larson, who has been a licensed big game transporter since 2010, offered multiday hunting and fishing trips on a 65-foot liveaboard vessel called the Venturess through his company, Alaska Premier Sportfishing, LLC. In May 2018, Larson used a smaller boat to transport eight clients and the four black bears they had illegally harvested to and from the Venturess.

Mount Spurr made headlines when the Alaska Volcano Observatory said the volcano was showing signs of increased underground activity underground. Matt Haney, scientist-in-charge with the Alaska Volcano Observatory, said in an interview on March 24 that Spurr began showing signs of a potential eruption in early 2024. Data collected by AVO showed increased levels of volcanic gases at the summit and Crater Peak, but it was only under a yellow advisory until AVO lowered the alert to green on Aug. 20.

April

In a big step toward opening the Soldotna Field House, Soldotna’s City Council put the rental fees, staffing table, admission rates and booking policies in place. During a work session on April 9, Soldotna Parks and Recreation Director Joel Todd said the facility would host its grand opening on Aug. 16.

The KPBSD Board of Education adopted its preliminary budget during an emotional meeting on April 24. The budget assumed an increase in funding from the state would be approved by the Legislature and governor and hoped the maximum allowable amount of funding would be provided by the borough government.

May

The KPBSD Board of Education unanimously voted to close Nikolaevsk School. Nikolaevsk was included among a list of nine possible closures, including Sterling Elementary. Sterling students and staff spoke out against the school’s proposed closure during a protest on May 3.

The KPB Assembly established a funding floor of nearly $57.6 million as the minimum amount of money it would provide to schools. The district had asked for the maximum allowable amount of $62.4 million.

Around 40 people attended a vigil on the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in front of the Dena’ina Wellness Center in Kenai. According to a proclamation by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Alaska Native women are overrepresented in the populations of domestic violence and rape victims despite making up only 19% of the state’s population.

June

The KPBSD issued “notices of non-retention” to all its pool managers, library aides and theater technicians. Theater technicians and library aides were blindsided by the terminations because the budget the district advanced in April only described eliminating pool managers.

Some good news regarding education funding finally came in June when the propose Sterling Elementary closure was removed from the budget draft that advanced to the full KPBSD Board of Education. Then-board president Zen Kelly said although Sterling was safe this year, 2026 could be the year the school shuts its doors for good.

Hundreds of people joined a “No Kings” protest in Soldotna. Thousands of Alaskans joined the nationwide effort, which gathered millions of protesters all over the country. The New York Times reported around 2,000 “No Kings” protests throughout all 50 states just over the weekend of June 13-15.

July

The Soldotna Equestrian Association held the last of three rodeos over the weekend of July 25-27, drawing huge crowds and raising money for breast cancer patients. The nonprofit organization gives back to the community by making a donation after each event. The second rodeo raised money for the Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program, and the first benefited the Soldotna American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Seward’s 97th annual Mount Marathon Race fell on a weekend for the first time since 2015, drawing nearly a thousand participants and multiplying the town’s population with spectators. Klaire Rhodes of Anchorage defended her title and ran the seventh fastest time in race history at 50 minutes and 31 seconds. David Norris, from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, won his sixth Mount Marathon title in six years, running a blistering 42 minutes and 30 seconds.

The junior boys Mount Marathon race saw Anchorage South High’s Vebjorn Flagstad secure the title at 27:31. South freshman Calista Zuber, who said she had spent years trying to get into the race, won the very last bib number after her mom pleaded their case to race managers. Zuber toppled a stacked bracket, finishing in 32:14.

August

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. toured the Dena’ina Wellness Center in Kenai to learn about Native health and traditional food from the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, saying he would visit the tribe’s hydroponic greenhouses and fishing operation.

On Aug. 15, President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin met in Anchorage, resulting in protests all over the state, including Soldotna and Homer. Over 100 people gathered in Homer, holding homemade signs showing support for Ukraine.

September

Three candidates ran for Seward mayorship and six ran for city council. Tim McDonald and Leighton Radner ran for mayor against incumbent Sue McClure. Council members Kevin Finch and Randy Wells ran for reelection against new candidates Michael B. Calhoon, Lori Draper, Samantha LePera and James Michael Taylor.

In Sterling, three candidates went head-to-head for the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly’s Sterling and Funny River seat. Incumbent Leslie Morton was appointed to the seat after Bill Elam’s resignation. She faced Dale Eicher and Sadie Friedman.

On Sept. 24, two hikers were injured by a defensive brown bear while hiking on the Exit Glacier Trail in Seward. Both people sustained non-life threatening injuries after encountering the bear about a quarter mile from the trailhead, but they were able to fight the bear off and drive to an area hospital. The National Park Service closed the trail temporarily.

October

Five new members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly were sworn in during an Oct. 14 meeting: Scott Griebel, District 1 for Kalifornsky; Len Niesen, District 3 for Nikiski; Sergeant Truesdell, District 4 for Soldotna; Dale Eicher, District 5 for Sterling and Funny River; and Michael Hicks, District 7 for the central peninsula.

Incumbent Seward Mayor Sue McClure was reelected to her office. Lori Draper was elected to the city council, and Michael Calhoon beat Randy Wells by just five votes.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the government to approve the Ambler Access Project, a 211-mile industrial road leading to a proposed mine. The Ambler Road will cut through pristine wilderness, and multiple environmental groups and Native corporations have said the project will impact “Alaskan landscapes and the local communities and wildlife that rely on them,” according to reporting from the Alaska Beacon. Gov. Mike Dunleavy said the corridor will create jobs, access to minerals and development opportunities.

November

On Nov. 3, Kenai Aviation owner Joel Caldwell said in a Facebook that all flights would cease that afternoon due to the company being “financially insolvent.” Following Ravn Alaska’s closure in August, Kenai Aviation’s suspension left only Grant Aviation and Aleutian Airways to service the Kenai Municipal Airport. It left Unalakleet without regularly scheduled air service.

In a feat Kenai Central High School Athletic Director Jesse Settlemyer called “a great achievement for our volleyball program,” the KCHS varsity volleyball team won their third state championship title in four years.

December

In early December, the Department of Natural Resources began gathering community perspectives on the potential establishment of a Kenai Peninsula State Forest. Public input was mixed after several meetings throughout the peninsula.

The Soldotna High School girls wrestling team brought home their third state title in a row during the state championship tournament in Anchorage Dec. 19-20. The boys finished the Division I tournament in second place, losing by less than 30 points to the Student Wrestler Development Program, an independent private school in Fairbanks.

The Rasmuson Foundation awarded grants to two local artists: Lester Nelson-Gacal, a graphic artist based in Soldotna, and Keeley Boyle, a singer and songwriter raised in Kenai who now lives in Anchorage. Both artists received $10,000 from the Anchorage-based family foundation. Nelson-Gacal will use the funds to create an illustrated book telling the story of his father’s last year of life, and Boyle is halfway through creating an album detailing her grandparents’ home in Nikiski.