News

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, speaks during a joint luncheon of the Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Ruffridge receives national bipartisanship award

The award highlights what’s possible when leaders prioritize their communities over politics.

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, speaks during a joint luncheon of the Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikolaevsk School is photographed on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Nikolaevsk, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

School board approves initial Nikolaevsk charter application

The application will next be forwarded to the State Board of Education and Early Development for review.

Nikolaevsk School is photographed on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Nikolaevsk, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Soldotna City Hall is seen on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna council streamlines city election process

The Soldotna City Council last week voted to align city and state election dates and seek additional means of public noticing.

Soldotna City Hall is seen on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Monday released maps showing areas open to woodcutting by permit beginning on Nov. 19, 2025.

Kenai National Wildlife Refuge to allow permitted firewood collection

Permitted individuals may gather up to five cords of wood beginning Nov. 19.

The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Monday released maps showing areas open to woodcutting by permit beginning on Nov. 19, 2025.
An orphaned sea otter pup is pictured in the Alaska SeaLife Center. Photo courtesy of Kaiti Grant | Alaska SeaLife Center

Alaska SeaLife Center admits two rescued sea otter pups

The rescues mark an uptick in orphaned, injured and deceased sea otter reports across the state.

An orphaned sea otter pup is pictured in the Alaska SeaLife Center. Photo courtesy of Kaiti Grant | Alaska SeaLife Center
The industrial area of Nikiski, featuring a refinery and currently mothballed LNG and fertilizer plants, was selected by the producer-led consortium of the Alaska LNG Project before the state took over in 2017. (Photo/File/AJOC) The industrial area of Nikiski, featuring a refinery and currently mothballed LNG and fertilizer plants, was selected by the producer-led consortium of the Alaska LNG Project before the state took over in 2017. (File photo)

Harvest Midstream announces Kenai LNG terminal acquisition

The company is now seeking engagement from global LNG suppliers and potential offtake customers, a Nov. 11 press release says.

The industrial area of Nikiski, featuring a refinery and currently mothballed LNG and fertilizer plants, was selected by the producer-led consortium of the Alaska LNG Project before the state took over in 2017. (Photo/File/AJOC) The industrial area of Nikiski, featuring a refinery and currently mothballed LNG and fertilizer plants, was selected by the producer-led consortium of the Alaska LNG Project before the state took over in 2017. (File photo)
Goldenview Middle School student Luciana Liu's winning poster entry for the 2024 Alaska Radon Poster Contest. Photo provided by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources

Students invited to compete in statewide radon poster contest

The deadline to submit poster entries is Dec. 19.

Goldenview Middle School student Luciana Liu's winning poster entry for the 2024 Alaska Radon Poster Contest. Photo provided by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources
The aurora borealis is seen from Mendenhall Lake in Juneau on Nov. 12, 2025. A series of solar flares caused unusually bright displays of the northern lights across Alaska Tuesday and Wednesday nights. (Chloe Anderson/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: Aurora’s performance was worth the wait

A series of solar flares caused an unusually bright display of the northern lights Wednesday night.

The aurora borealis is seen from Mendenhall Lake in Juneau on Nov. 12, 2025. A series of solar flares caused unusually bright displays of the northern lights across Alaska Tuesday and Wednesday nights. (Chloe Anderson/Peninsula Clarion)
Volunteers gather around a captured salmon during one of Cook Inletkeeper’s Mapping Salmon Habitat Solution field days in August<ins> 2025</ins>. Every year, Cook Inletkeeper creates programs designed to get community members involved with mapping salmon habitat.

Cook Inletkeeper program promotes community engagement

Backyard Salmonscapes aims to map undocumented salmon habitat with the help of volunteers.

Volunteers gather around a captured salmon during one of Cook Inletkeeper’s Mapping Salmon Habitat Solution field days in August<ins> 2025</ins>. Every year, Cook Inletkeeper creates programs designed to get community members involved with mapping salmon habitat.
The KBBI Public Radio office and studio is on Kachemak Way, as seen in this photo taken July 2, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Kenai Peninsula public radio receives grant funding

The Alaska Community Foundation fund recently awarded $2.9 million in grants to public media stations statewide, including in Homer and Kenai.

The KBBI Public Radio office and studio is on Kachemak Way, as seen in this photo taken July 2, 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Low clouds hang over Cook Inlet north of Anchor Point on Oct. 23, 2025. The Trump administration is planning an oil and gas lease sale in federal territory of the inlet. It is set to be the first of at six Cook Inlet lease sales that Congress has mandated by held between now and 2032. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Trump administration sets terms for upcoming oil and gas lease sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet

The ‘Big Beautiful Cook Inlet Oil and Gas Lease Sale,’ scheduled for March, would follow a series of federal and state inlet lease sales that drew little industry interest.

Low clouds hang over Cook Inlet north of Anchor Point on Oct. 23, 2025. The Trump administration is planning an oil and gas lease sale in federal territory of the inlet. It is set to be the first of at six Cook Inlet lease sales that Congress has mandated by held between now and 2032. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Central Peninsula Hospital is seen on June 24, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Central Peninsula Hospital names new CEO

Angela Hinnegan will replace Shaun Keef as CEO following Keef’s retirement in January.

Central Peninsula Hospital is seen on June 24, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
Grant Aviation’s Cessna 208B EX Grand Caravan is pictured at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, March 4, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Federal mandate orders Grant Aviation to cut flights

Grant Aviation will cut 10% of its flights between Kenai and Anchorage by Nov. 14.

Grant Aviation’s Cessna 208B EX Grand Caravan is pictured at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, March 4, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Board of Education moves to increase school meal prices

In January, the cost of adult meals and elementary student lunches will increase.

The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Finding the magic of the holidays close to home in the Kenai Peninsula

Kick things off Thanksgiving weekend at the Kenai Arts & Crafts Fair

Participants jump into Resurrection Bay during the 2019 Polar Bear Jump in Seward<ins>, Alaska</ins>. Photo by Brice Habeger, courtesy of the American Cancer Society

Registration open for 41st annual Polar Bear Jump

The Seward event, scheduled for January, will raise money for cancer research and patients.

Participants jump into Resurrection Bay during the 2019 Polar Bear Jump in Seward<ins>, Alaska</ins>. Photo by Brice Habeger, courtesy of the American Cancer Society
The cast of Kenai Central High School’s upcoming production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” pose for a photo on Nov. 6, 2025. The play will open on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. Photo courtesy of Travis Lawson

Kenai students prepare to open ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

The play will premiere Friday at Kenai Central High School, with additional showings the following weekend.

The cast of Kenai Central High School’s upcoming production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” pose for a photo on Nov. 6, 2025. The play will open on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. Photo courtesy of Travis Lawson
The Challenger Learning Center is seen here in Kenai, Alaska on Sept. 10, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai City Council terminates Challenger Learning Center’s lease

Kenai City Council adopted a resolution to terminate the Challenger Learning Center’s lease

The Challenger Learning Center is seen here in Kenai, Alaska on Sept. 10, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion Jacob Caldwell, chief executive officer of Kenai Aviation, stands at the Kenai Aviation desk at the Kenai Municipal Airport on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2022<ins> in Kenai, </ins><ins>Alaska</ins>.

Kenai Aviation halts flight service due to debt

Kenai Aviation owner Joel Caldwell said in a Facebook post on Monday that all flights would cease that afternoon due to the company being “financially insolvent.”

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion Jacob Caldwell, chief executive officer of Kenai Aviation, stands at the Kenai Aviation desk at the Kenai Municipal Airport on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2022<ins> in Kenai, </ins><ins>Alaska</ins>.
Photos courtesy of Lisa Parker Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame inductee Lisa Parker is pictured with Aleut’s Senior Director, Public Policy and Lands Ethan Tyler in during the Kodiak Alaska Municipal League meeting in August 2024.

Soldotna vice mayor inducted to Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame

Vice Mayor Lisa Parker was inducted to the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame on Oct. 21, making her one of 10 women inducted this year.

Photos courtesy of Lisa Parker Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame inductee Lisa Parker is pictured with Aleut’s Senior Director, Public Policy and Lands Ethan Tyler in during the Kodiak Alaska Municipal League meeting in August 2024.