People walk through a pared down version of the Homer Farmers Market on Saturday, May 30, 2020 in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)

Homer Farmers Market reopens with new director, more booths

Changes include new market director, relaxation of COVID-19 safety policies and return of craft and hot-foot vendors.

People walk through a pared down version of the Homer Farmers Market on Saturday, May 30, 2020 in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome, at center, chairs the first meeting of a bicameral conference committee tasked with negotiating the state's final budget bill in the Senate Finance Committee chambers on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. Lawmakers had said they wanted to finish before Memorial Day, but Foster said that didn't seem like a possibility. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Rep. Neal Foster, D-Nome, at center, chairs the first meeting of a bicameral conference committee tasked with negotiating the state's final budget bill in the Senate Finance Committee chambers on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. Lawmakers had said they wanted to finish before Memorial Day, but Foster said that didn't seem like a possibility. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Incoming KPBSD Superintendent Clayton Holland Testifies before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Public to weigh in on budget at upcoming assembly meeting

Departments have been working with the borough to craft their budgets over the past several months, and have outlined their goals heading into the next fiscal year.

Incoming KPBSD Superintendent Clayton Holland Testifies before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai Fire Department offers the Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccines at its mobile clinic during the first day of the Wednesday Market in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)

Wednesday Markets now include free walk-in vaccines

Dr. Anne Zink, chief medical officer for the state, made a trip to Soldotna on Wednesday as part of the “Sleeves Up for Summer” campaign.

The Kenai Fire Department offers the Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccines at its mobile clinic during the first day of the Wednesday Market in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)
Tthe Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Soldotna, Alaska, is pictured on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Wildlife Refuge to open its doors for summer

The refuge has been closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic for over a year.

Tthe Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Soldotna, Alaska, is pictured on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska State Troopers logo.

Nikiski woman trampled by mother moose

Never approach a calf moose or come between a cow and calf moose, troopers said.

Alaska State Troopers logo.
A vial of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is seen at Central Emergency Services Station 1 on Friday, Dec. 18 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Moderna vaccine proves effective in kids 12 and up

Nearly 3,000 12- to 15-year-olds in Alaska had received their first Pfizer dose as of May 20.

A vial of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is seen at Central Emergency Services Station 1 on Friday, Dec. 18 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
KPBSD Superintendent John O’Brien sits in his office in the George A. Navarre Administration Building, on Monday, May 24, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

A ‘second act’: O’Brien plans for life after KPBSD

Superintendent John O’Brien spoke with the Clarion about his 16 years of service in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District

KPBSD Superintendent John O’Brien sits in his office in the George A. Navarre Administration Building, on Monday, May 24, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The Swan Lake Fire can be seen from above on Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Alaska Wildland Fire Information)

Burn permits suspended on peninsula

Current conditions in the Kenai Peninsula Borough increase the chances of surface fires.

The Swan Lake Fire can be seen from above on Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Alaska Wildland Fire Information)
City of Seward logo.

Animal shelter top priority among Seward City Council members

The animal shelter also emerged as a priority among a similar question asked of 10 city department heads.

City of Seward logo.
In this April 22, 2021, photo, signs of spring thaw appear along the Tazlina River in Tazlina, Alaska. The Catholic Church wants to sell 462 acres that once housed the Copper Valley mission school to the Native Village of Tazlina, a federally recognized tribe. The tribe is scrambling to raise the nearly $1.9 million asking price so it can regain stewardship of its ancestral land. (John Tierney/Indian Country Today)

Alaska village eyes return of ancestral lands

A federally recognized tribe is scrambling to raise funds to regain stewardship of the lands.

In this April 22, 2021, photo, signs of spring thaw appear along the Tazlina River in Tazlina, Alaska. The Catholic Church wants to sell 462 acres that once housed the Copper Valley mission school to the Native Village of Tazlina, a federally recognized tribe. The tribe is scrambling to raise the nearly $1.9 million asking price so it can regain stewardship of its ancestral land. (John Tierney/Indian Country Today)
Firefighter medic Andy Tighe snaps a photo of the breakaway plus-class cruise ship Norwegian Bliss while Captain Tracy Mettler operates a fireboat in the Tongass Narrows in Ketchikan, Alaska, on June 4, 2018. President Joe Biden signed into law Monday, May 24, 2021, legislation that opens a door for resumed cruise ship travel to Alaska after the pandemic last year scrapped sailings. (Dustin Safranek/Ketchikan Daily News via AP)

Biden signs bill that may let cruises resume

Canada, amid COVID-19 concerns, has barred cruise operations through February.

  • May 25, 2021
  • By Becky Bohrer Associated Press
  • State News
Firefighter medic Andy Tighe snaps a photo of the breakaway plus-class cruise ship Norwegian Bliss while Captain Tracy Mettler operates a fireboat in the Tongass Narrows in Ketchikan, Alaska, on June 4, 2018. President Joe Biden signed into law Monday, May 24, 2021, legislation that opens a door for resumed cruise ship travel to Alaska after the pandemic last year scrapped sailings. (Dustin Safranek/Ketchikan Daily News via AP)
From left to right: Sens. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau; Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak; Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, and Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, speak on the floor of the Alaska Senate on Monday, May 24, 2021, the first day of one of two special sessions called by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
From left to right: Sens. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau; Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak; Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, and Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, speak on the floor of the Alaska Senate on Monday, May 24, 2021, the first day of one of two special sessions called by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
The sign outside Soldotna City Hall is seen here on July 16, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Lovers Lane to be repaired

The city installed temporary patches on sections of Lovers Lane that were “failing” last fall.

The sign outside Soldotna City Hall is seen here on July 16, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

State alert level drops to intermediate

The Kenai Peninsula Borough also remains in the intermediate alert division.

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
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Heroin overdose deaths increase, officials wonder if it’s pandemic-related

Alaska and other states saw a decrease in opioid overdoses in 2018, an increase in 2019 and then a 165% spike in 2020.

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Alaska State Troopers logo.
Alaska State Troopers logo.
The entrance to the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, AK as seen on February 26, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
The entrance to the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, AK as seen on February 26, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
This May 2020 photo shows an open sign illuminated on a Juneau business. Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development reports the state has added jobs but has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels of employment. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

Alaska gains jobs but doesn’t reach pre-pandemic levels

Numbers still lagged what they were before the pandemic, per state report.

This May 2020 photo shows an open sign illuminated on a Juneau business. Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development reports the state has added jobs but has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels of employment. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
Signs advertising COVID-19 safety protocoals stand outside the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Oct. 6, 2020, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Masks now optional at Soldotna city facilities

The Soldotna City Council will also consider the repeal of the city’s COVID-19 disaster declaration during their May 26 meeting.

Signs advertising COVID-19 safety protocoals stand outside the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Oct. 6, 2020, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)