The front of the Kenai Police Department as seen on Dec. 10, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)

3 killed in car wreck last month identified

Two Kenai residents and one Florida visitor died in the wreck.

The front of the Kenai Police Department as seen on Dec. 10, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Participants in the Kenai River Junior Classic head down the Kenai River near Big Eddy Road in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Juniors get hooked fishing the Kenai

The annual event teaches kids about summer river recreation, fish habitat and water safety.

Participants in the Kenai River Junior Classic head down the Kenai River near Big Eddy Road in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
COVID-19 cases are showing up in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region. (Photo courtesy CDC)

Peninsula records 8% of state’s new cases

The Kenai Peninsula is second to last for vaccine rollout, only above the Matanuska-Susitna Borough’s 37.2% inoculation rate.

COVID-19 cases are showing up in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region. (Photo courtesy CDC)
A sign at North Kenai Beach warns pedestrians away from the eroding bluffs. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

‘This project is actually going to get done’

Federal infrastructure bill bodes well for bluff erosion

A sign at North Kenai Beach warns pedestrians away from the eroding bluffs. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai City Hall on Feb. 20, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Bridge Access pedestrian pathway to move forward

The pathway would run 1.2 miles from the intersection of Beaver Loop Road to the Kenai Spur Highway.

Kenai City Hall on Feb. 20, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
COVID-19. (Image via CDC)

258 new COVID cases, 33 locally

22.5% of all hospitalizations in the Gulf Coast — which includes the Kenai Peninsula — were COVID-related as of Tuesday.

COVID-19. (Image via CDC)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy outlines new measures the state will undertake to tackle sexual assault during a press conference streamed live from the Alaska Department of Public Safety Crime Lab in Anchorage on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. (Screenshot)

‘The days of getting away with it are over’

Dunleavy announces new process for tracking sexual assault cases, renewed effort to collect DNA from offenders.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy outlines new measures the state will undertake to tackle sexual assault during a press conference streamed live from the Alaska Department of Public Safety Crime Lab in Anchorage on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. (Screenshot)
Associated Press
President Joe Biden speaks about the bipartisan infrastructure bill from the East Room of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.

$1 trillion infrastructure plan passes Senate

Efforts to advance the legislation were spearheaded by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Associated Press
President Joe Biden speaks about the bipartisan infrastructure bill from the East Room of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
To avoid accidental 911 calls, Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency advises a number a measures, including not putting smartphones in vehicle cup holders. (File)

Emergency management seeks to reduce accidental 911 calls

According to OEM, 98% of accidental 911 calls are the result of smartphone and smart device technology.

To avoid accidental 911 calls, Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency advises a number a measures, including not putting smartphones in vehicle cup holders. (File)
Mayor Charlie Pierce speaks at a Kenai Peninsula Borough meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough seeks to change planning commission selection process

Traditionally, cities have advertised for their vacant seat on the commission, with applications forwarded to the city council for review

Mayor Charlie Pierce speaks at a Kenai Peninsula Borough meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Signs on Saturday, March 28, 2020, at the main entrance to South Peninsula Hospital in Homer, Alaska, warn visitors not to enter until they have been met by hospital staff. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Suspected foodborne illness outbreak under investigation in Homer

DHSS is investigating an outbreak after 70 hospital employees experience gastrointestinal illness.

Signs on Saturday, March 28, 2020, at the main entrance to South Peninsula Hospital in Homer, Alaska, warn visitors not to enter until they have been met by hospital staff. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
A young volunteer chases three piglets named Mary Hamkins, Petunia and Sir Oinks-a-lot through the race Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds during the Kenai Peninsula Fair pig races on Friday, Aug. 16, 2019 in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)

Fair coming back to Ninilchik this weekend

This year the fair celebrates 70 years.

A young volunteer chases three piglets named Mary Hamkins, Petunia and Sir Oinks-a-lot through the race Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds during the Kenai Peninsula Fair pig races on Friday, Aug. 16, 2019 in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Anglers gather along the banks of the Kenai River near Sportsman’s Landing in Cooper Landing in September 2018. (Peninsula Clarion file)

Sockeye limits increased on Upper Kenai and Russian rivers

The new limits are six per day and 12 in possession.

Anglers gather along the banks of the Kenai River near Sportsman’s Landing in Cooper Landing in September 2018. (Peninsula Clarion file)
COVID-19. (Image via CDC)

Man in 30s latest COVID death, hospitalizations and cases up

Over the weekend the state reported another 826 resident and 37 nonresident COVID cases.

COVID-19. (Image via CDC)
Olympic gold medalist Lydia Jacoby waves to the crowd in Seward during her celebratory parade on Thursday, August 5, 2021. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Jacoby taking time for herself

After medaling in Tokyo, Olympic champion Lydia Jacoby is enjoying the last of summer before senior year.

Olympic gold medalist Lydia Jacoby waves to the crowd in Seward during her celebratory parade on Thursday, August 5, 2021. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel cuts a ribbon during a ceremony at Kenai Municipal Airport on Friday, Aug. 6, 2021 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

‘I think everyone got it right’

Ribbon-cutting at Kenai Municipal Airport caps airport renovations

Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel cuts a ribbon during a ceremony at Kenai Municipal Airport on Friday, Aug. 6, 2021 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Courthouse is photographed on February 26, 2019 in Kenai, Alaska. (Clarion file)
Kenai Courthouse is photographed on February 26, 2019 in Kenai, Alaska. (Clarion file)
Alaska State Troopers logo.
Alaska State Troopers logo.
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)
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)
Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad personnel land and disembark from a Hughes 369D helicopter on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, at Temsco Helicopters Inc in Ketchikan, Alaska. The KVRS, U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska State Troopers and U.S. Forest Service responded to a radio beacon alert from a downed Southeast Aviation de Havilland Beaver float plane that was carrying five passengers from the Holland America Line cruise ship Nieuw Amsterdam, according to Coast Guard, Holland America and KVRS information. The sightseeing plane crashed Thursday in southeast Alaska, killing all six people on board, the U.S. Coast Guard said. (Dustin Safranek/Ketchikan Daily News via AP)

Poor weather hampers recovery of Southeast plane crash victims

The plane crashed Thursday as the pilot was returning five passengers to Ketchikan from Misty Fjords National Monument.

  • Aug 7, 2021
  • By Becky Bohrer and Mark Thiessen Associated Press
  • State News
Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad personnel land and disembark from a Hughes 369D helicopter on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, at Temsco Helicopters Inc in Ketchikan, Alaska. The KVRS, U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska State Troopers and U.S. Forest Service responded to a radio beacon alert from a downed Southeast Aviation de Havilland Beaver float plane that was carrying five passengers from the Holland America Line cruise ship Nieuw Amsterdam, according to Coast Guard, Holland America and KVRS information. The sightseeing plane crashed Thursday in southeast Alaska, killing all six people on board, the U.S. Coast Guard said. (Dustin Safranek/Ketchikan Daily News via AP)