News

Raymond Bradbury preserves his salmon while dipnetting in the mouth of the Kenai River on Saturday, July 10, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai River dipnetting to open 24 hours a day starting Friday

The change comes as a result of strong projections for the late run of sockeye salmon in the Kenai River

Raymond Bradbury preserves his salmon while dipnetting in the mouth of the Kenai River on Saturday, July 10, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska State Troopers investigate a shooting scene on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021, at the Anchor Point Warehouse in Anchor Point, Alaska, at the store on the Sterling Highway in which an Alaska State Trooper was shot.(Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Anchor Point man convicted of attempted murder, other charges in 2021 trooper shooting

The shooting prompted an overnight manhunt

Alaska State Troopers investigate a shooting scene on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021, at the Anchor Point Warehouse in Anchor Point, Alaska, at the store on the Sterling Highway in which an Alaska State Trooper was shot.(Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Contestants race down the Kenai River during the 16th Annual Cooper Landing Drift Boat Regata near the Eagle Landing Resort in Cooper Landing, Alaska on Saturday, May 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

State water monitoring project says Kenai River is safe for aquatic life

The project was developed in response to concerns about high concentrations of dissolved metals, specifically copper and zinc

Contestants race down the Kenai River during the 16th Annual Cooper Landing Drift Boat Regata near the Eagle Landing Resort in Cooper Landing, Alaska on Saturday, May 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A photo taken from Skyline Drive at about 11:20 p.m. Saturday, July 15, 2023, shows vehicles evacuating from the Homer Spit after a tsunami warning was issued. The warning did not affect the Homer area, but sirens sounded anyway. The warning was later canceled. (Photo by Shannon Cefalu/courtesy)

Tsunami alert, mixed messages trigger evacuation in Homer

Southwest earthquake lights up peninsula phones Saturday

A photo taken from Skyline Drive at about 11:20 p.m. Saturday, July 15, 2023, shows vehicles evacuating from the Homer Spit after a tsunami warning was issued. The warning did not affect the Homer area, but sirens sounded anyway. The warning was later canceled. (Photo by Shannon Cefalu/courtesy)
Discarded items await new homes at the “Sterling Mall,” located inside the Sterling Transfer Facility on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

‘Sterling Mall’ up and running

At the site, residents can drop off items for reuse that may otherwise end up in a borough landfill

Discarded items await new homes at the “Sterling Mall,” located inside the Sterling Transfer Facility on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Exit Glacier, as seen in August 2015 from the Harding Icefield Trail in Kenai Fjords National Park just outside of Seward, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Boy, 15, dies after going into cardiac arrest while hiking Harding Icefield Trail

A 15-year-old boy died Monday after going into cardiac arrest while hiking the Harding Icefield Trail in Seward, the Alaska Department of Public Safety reported… Continue reading

Exit Glacier, as seen in August 2015 from the Harding Icefield Trail in Kenai Fjords National Park just outside of Seward, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
A Mackey Lake voter fills out a special mayoral ballot at Soldotna Prep School on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Resources for those seeking local office available this week

Seats on city councils, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly and the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education will be up for grabs

A Mackey Lake voter fills out a special mayoral ballot at Soldotna Prep School on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Environmental Education and Visitor Services Intern Meredith Baker helps Blake Voss, 3, paint during Fish Week at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, July 18, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion file)

A fishy week of events at the refuge

Hands-on activities for kids will be available at the center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day through Saturday

Environmental Education and Visitor Services Intern Meredith Baker helps Blake Voss, 3, paint during Fish Week at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, July 18, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion file)
Two bald eagles perch Monday, March 14, 2022, on a tsunami warning tower on the Homer Spit. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News file)

Peninsula tsunami warning sirens to be replaced, tested in the next month

Sirens in Homer last saw use only days ago, when a Saturday night tsunami warning activated the system

Two bald eagles perch Monday, March 14, 2022, on a tsunami warning tower on the Homer Spit. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News file)
A mock up of the Soldotna Field House. (Photo via City of Soldotna)

Soldotna council OKs updated field house funding plan

City administration in June told council members that an updated project cost estimate had put the field house’s total price tag at $28 million

A mock up of the Soldotna Field House. (Photo via City of Soldotna)
A sockeye salmon rests atop a cooler at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Sockeye salmon counts spike in Kenai and Kasilof rivers

To date, around 140,000 sockeye have been counted on the Kenai

A sockeye salmon rests atop a cooler at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska State Veterinarian Dr. Bob Gerlach gives a presentation on Avian Influenza Virus at the 4-H Agriculture Expo in Soldotna, Alaska, on Aug. 5, 2022. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Health officials warn of avian influenza, activity still low

An epidemiology bulletin published by the State Department of Health late last month warns of the presence of H5N1, a highly pathogenic avian influenza, in… Continue reading

Alaska State Veterinarian Dr. Bob Gerlach gives a presentation on Avian Influenza Virus at the 4-H Agriculture Expo in Soldotna, Alaska, on Aug. 5, 2022. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Rainfall covers a windshield on Kalifornsky Beach Road in Soldotna, Alaska on Friday, June 9, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Prolonged rainfall forecast for this weekend

Prolonged, steady rainfall is forecast for the central Kenai Peninsula this weekend. A special weather statement issued by the National Weather Service on Friday warns… Continue reading

Rainfall covers a windshield on Kalifornsky Beach Road in Soldotna, Alaska on Friday, June 9, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska State Troopers logo.

Pilot, passenger uninjured after emergency plane landing, crash near Ninilchik

A plane performed an emergency landing Wednesday on the Sterling Highway near Ninilchik and then flipped, but both occupants walked away unharmed, according to a… Continue reading

Alaska State Troopers logo.
People vote in polling booths at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly bumps vote on resolution that would ask voters whether to align state, local election days

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday voted to postpone until August a vote on legislation that would ask peninsula voters whether to align local… Continue reading

People vote in polling booths at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Promotional poster for 66th Annual Progress Days in Soldotna. (Photo courtesy Soldotna Chamber of Commerce)

Progress Days brings packed schedule of attractions, contests to Soldotna

Soldotna will celebrate the 66th Annual Progress Days next weekend with a fair, a parade and other festivities stretching from Friday to Sunday, July 21… Continue reading

Promotional poster for 66th Annual Progress Days in Soldotna. (Photo courtesy Soldotna Chamber of Commerce)
Cam Choy, associate professor of art at Kenai Peninsula College, works on a salmon sculpture in collaboration with the Kenai Watershed Forum during the Kenai River Festival at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 8, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Draft Soldotna plan brainstorms best way to bring more art to the city

Creation of a regional arts council, the incorporation of art projects into existing city grant programs and development of a way for the city to… Continue reading

Cam Choy, associate professor of art at Kenai Peninsula College, works on a salmon sculpture in collaboration with the Kenai Watershed Forum during the Kenai River Festival at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 8, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
A sockeye salmon rests atop a cooler at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Northern Kenai Fishing Report for July 23: Kenai River still slow, expected to improve

A Northern Kenai Fishing report published by the Department of Fish and Game on Thursday says little has changed since last week. Fishing on the… Continue reading

A sockeye salmon rests atop a cooler at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
From left, Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly members Brent Johnson, Bill Elam, Tyson Cox and Brent Hibebrt participate in a meeting on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. All assembly members pictured voted in favor of a resolution that supporting the separation of transgender and cisgender girl student athetes. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly OKs resolution supporting separation of cisgender girls, other student athletes

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday voiced support for the separation of transgender and cisgender girls in high school sports. The body during its… Continue reading

From left, Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly members Brent Johnson, Bill Elam, Tyson Cox and Brent Hibebrt participate in a meeting on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. All assembly members pictured voted in favor of a resolution that supporting the separation of transgender and cisgender girl student athetes. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

COVID-19: Hospitalizations steady, 1 local death reported

An update to the Alaska COVID-19 Information Hub on Tuesday, the first since the platform shifted to monthly reporting, shows that COVID-19 levels have remained… Continue reading

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)