News

Flying over western Alaska, home to numerous Yup’ik communities, April 15, 2019. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Budget cuts leave Village Public Safety Officer Program on shaky ground

On June 28, the same day U.S. Attorney General William Barr declared a law enforcement emergency in rural Alaska, and made more than $10 million… Continue reading

Flying over western Alaska, home to numerous Yup’ik communities, April 15, 2019. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Students, Claira and Aliya, put their robot to the test in one of the many challenges in the Lego robotics UAA College of Engineering Summer Engineering Academies, on Wednesday, June 26, 2019, at the Kenai Peninsula College near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Local students learn robotics with Legos

The camp offers a series of weeklong, hands-on instructional sessions for students.

Students, Claira and Aliya, put their robot to the test in one of the many challenges in the Lego robotics UAA College of Engineering Summer Engineering Academies, on Wednesday, June 26, 2019, at the Kenai Peninsula College near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Swan Lake Fire prompts open fire ban in state and national parks on the peninsula

Swan Lake Fire prompts open fire ban in state and national parks on the peninsula

After a brief period of slowed growth, the Swan Lake Fire flared up again on Monday — reaching 99,086 acres, according to an update from… Continue reading

Swan Lake Fire prompts open fire ban in state and national parks on the peninsula
Public safety briefs for July 10, 2019

Public safety briefs for July 10, 2019

Read the latest reports.

Public safety briefs for July 10, 2019
A map shows the extent of the Swan Lake Fire as of Monday, July 8, 2019, which has grown to 96,889 acres on the Kenai Peninsula. (Courtesy Northwest Incident Management Team)

Swan Lake Fire expansion slows over weekend

The fire is 96,889 acres and moving into higher elevations.

A map shows the extent of the Swan Lake Fire as of Monday, July 8, 2019, which has grown to 96,889 acres on the Kenai Peninsula. (Courtesy Northwest Incident Management Team)
Michael Penn | Juneau Empire Ron Lumba, of the Alaska State Capitol’s maintenance staff, adds the Majority Leader plate to the front of the office of Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, on the first day of the Second Special Session of the Alaska Legislature in Juneau on Monday.

Special session starts with a manic Monday

All roads — and planes — may lead to Wednesday.

Michael Penn | Juneau Empire Ron Lumba, of the Alaska State Capitol’s maintenance staff, adds the Majority Leader plate to the front of the office of Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, on the first day of the Second Special Session of the Alaska Legislature in Juneau on Monday.
Michael Penn | Juneau Empire Hundreds attend a rally in front of the Capitol calling for an override of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget vetoes on the first day of the Second Special Session of the Alaska Legislature in Juneau on Monday.

“Override! Override! Override!’ Hundreds turn out in Juneau to protest Dunleavy’s vetoes

The response was overwhelming.

  • Jul 8, 2019
  • By Peter Segall Juneau Empire
  • State News
Michael Penn | Juneau Empire Hundreds attend a rally in front of the Capitol calling for an override of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget vetoes on the first day of the Second Special Session of the Alaska Legislature in Juneau on Monday.
A Pacific sleeper shark is being held at the Alaska SeaLife Center while a research team studies the bottom-dwelling fish, in Seward , Monday. (Photo courtesy of the Alaska SeaLife Center, Seward, Alaska)

Alaska SeaLife Center brings in Pacific sleeper shark for studying

The shark is a close relative of the Greenland shark, which can live hundreds of years.

A Pacific sleeper shark is being held at the Alaska SeaLife Center while a research team studies the bottom-dwelling fish, in Seward , Monday. (Photo courtesy of the Alaska SeaLife Center, Seward, Alaska)
This June 14, 2019 file photo shows Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy leading state and local officials out of Wasilla Middle School in Wasilla, Alaska, to a news conference. State lawmakers have rejected Dunleavy’s suggested location for a special session. House Speaker Bryce Edgmon and Senate President Cathy Giessel issued a joint statement Monday, June 24, 2019 saying they will convene July 8 in Juneau and hold most hearings in Anchorage. Dunleavy had called the session for Wasilla, his hometown and conservative base.(AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

Wasilla or Juneau? Disagreement over special session locale

Lawmakers commit to different cities

  • Jul 6, 2019
  • By Becky Bohrer Associated Press
This June 14, 2019 file photo shows Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy leading state and local officials out of Wasilla Middle School in Wasilla, Alaska, to a news conference. State lawmakers have rejected Dunleavy’s suggested location for a special session. House Speaker Bryce Edgmon and Senate President Cathy Giessel issued a joint statement Monday, June 24, 2019 saying they will convene July 8 in Juneau and hold most hearings in Anchorage. Dunleavy had called the session for Wasilla, his hometown and conservative base.(AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
Public safety briefs for July 7, 2019

Public safety briefs for July 7, 2019

Read the latest reports

Public safety briefs for July 7, 2019
Court reports for July 7, 2019

Court reports for July 7, 2019

Read the latest reports

Court reports for July 7, 2019
This June 14 photo shows a Wasilla sign on the outskirts of Wasilla. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has called lawmakers into special session in Wasilla beginning July 8, but some lawmakers have expressed concerns over security and logistics with the location more than 500 miles from the state capital of Juneau. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Where will your lawmaker be Monday morning?

Local lawmakers are divided on where to go

This June 14 photo shows a Wasilla sign on the outskirts of Wasilla. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has called lawmakers into special session in Wasilla beginning July 8, but some lawmakers have expressed concerns over security and logistics with the location more than 500 miles from the state capital of Juneau. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
People with their dogs swarm to DeLong Lake hoping to stay cool in the record breaking heat in Anchorage, Alaska, Friday, July 5, 2019. Alaskans who routinely pack knit caps and fleece jackets in summer on Friday were swapping them for sunscreen and parasols amid a prolonged heatwave. Residents of Anchorage and other south-central cities completed a fifth week of above-normal temperatures, including a record high 90 degrees (32.22 Celsius) on Thursday, July 4, in the state’s largest city. (Anne Raup/Anchorage Daily News via AP)

Residents put away jackets, get out sunscreen amid heat wave

The temperature Thursday in Anchorage hit 90 degrees at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport

  • Jul 6, 2019
  • By Dan Joling Associated Press
People with their dogs swarm to DeLong Lake hoping to stay cool in the record breaking heat in Anchorage, Alaska, Friday, July 5, 2019. Alaskans who routinely pack knit caps and fleece jackets in summer on Friday were swapping them for sunscreen and parasols amid a prolonged heatwave. Residents of Anchorage and other south-central cities completed a fifth week of above-normal temperatures, including a record high 90 degrees (32.22 Celsius) on Thursday, July 4, in the state’s largest city. (Anne Raup/Anchorage Daily News via AP)
Brandon Gustafson takes a selfie with third graders from the elementary school in San Cosme Y Damián, Itapuá District, Paraguay after teaching them about water contamination in this undated photo. (Courtesy Brandon Gustafson)

Making a difference abroad

Peace Corps volunteer from Kenai inspired by hometown to fight climate change in Paraguay.

Brandon Gustafson takes a selfie with third graders from the elementary school in San Cosme Y Damián, Itapuá District, Paraguay after teaching them about water contamination in this undated photo. (Courtesy Brandon Gustafson)
A map of the Swan Lake Fire on the Kenai Peninsula as of July 6, 2019. (Courtesy Northwest 13 Incident Management Team)

Heat, dry conditions fuel Swan Lake Fire

The fire reached 92,657 acres Saturday

A map of the Swan Lake Fire on the Kenai Peninsula as of July 6, 2019. (Courtesy Northwest 13 Incident Management Team)
The Swan Lake Fire can be seen from the East Fork Moose River bridge on Thursday, June 27, 2019. (Photo courtesy Robert Kuiper)

Dense smoke advisory in effect for interior Kenai Peninsula

Smoke from the Swan Lake Fire will reduce visibility to 1/4 mile or less at times

The Swan Lake Fire can be seen from the East Fork Moose River bridge on Thursday, June 27, 2019. (Photo courtesy Robert Kuiper)
The east entrance of the Upper Kenai River Trail is photographed on Sunday, June 23, 2019, in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Some campgrounds, trails reopened near Skilak

Hidden Lake Campground and the recreational trails accessed along Skilak Lake Road opened Thursday.

The east entrance of the Upper Kenai River Trail is photographed on Sunday, June 23, 2019, in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Smoke from the Swan Lake Fire can be seen on the Sterling Highway near the Mystery Hills Thursday, July 4, 2019, on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Swan Lake Fire continues to spread with no rain in sight

A community meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at Cooper Landing Elementary School.

Smoke from the Swan Lake Fire can be seen on the Sterling Highway near the Mystery Hills Thursday, July 4, 2019, on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
The KBBI Public Radio office and studio is on Kachemak Way, as seen in this photo taken July 2m 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Local stations grapple with cuts to public media funding

Dunleavy eliminated $2.7 million in state funding for public broadcasting.

The KBBI Public Radio office and studio is on Kachemak Way, as seen in this photo taken July 2m 2019, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
The Kenai River can be seen from the Funny River Campground on Sunday, June 23, 2019, in Funny River, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough approves resolution in favor of Funny River boat launch

A majority of the speakers were in support of the initiative, which came from Mayor Charlie Pierce.

The Kenai River can be seen from the Funny River Campground on Sunday, June 23, 2019, in Funny River, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)