KPEA President 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)

Soldotna teacher, union head arrested for sexual abuse of a minor

Nathaniel E. Erfurth, a former teacher at Soldotna High School and president of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s teachers union, was arrested Saturday on… Continue reading

KPEA President 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)
Alaska State Troopers logo.

Investigators seeking info in abuse case

Tyler Bryce Reid, 46, was arrested last weekend on seven counts of sexual abuse of a minor

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, Cindy Harris and first lady Rose Dunleavy stand for a photo at a ceremonial luncheon at the Governor’s Residence in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)

Harris selected by First Lady as a Volunteer of the Year

Harris worked to found the Alaska Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association

Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, Cindy Harris and first lady Rose Dunleavy stand for a photo at a ceremonial luncheon at the Governor’s Residence in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Office of the Governor)
A map displays the locations of a dozen projects scheduled by the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities for this summer. (Photo courtesy Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)

‘Robust’ summer of construction well under way

140 transportation improvement projects are scheduled across 64 communities.

A map displays the locations of a dozen projects scheduled by the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities for this summer. (Photo courtesy Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)
The Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center is seen on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai wary of extending city marketing contract

Council members on Wednesday appeared to generally agree in their dissatisfaction with Divining Point

The Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center is seen on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Tim Dillon, executive director of KPEDD, presents to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. (Photo by Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly boosts funding for economic development

The additional money will help KPEDD cover matching costs for projects

Tim Dillon, executive director of KPEDD, presents to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. (Photo by Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Connections Homeschool students prepare to enter the auditorium ahead of the Connections Homeschool graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 18, 2023, at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Connections Homeschool students prepare to enter the auditorium ahead of the Connections Homeschool graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 18, 2023, at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Coach Dan Gensel (front left) celebrates Soldotna High School’s first team-sport state championship on Friday, Feb. 12, 1993 in Soldotna, Alaska. Gensel, who led the Soldotna High School girls basketball team to victory, had promised his team earlier in the season that he would get his ear pierced if they won the state title. (Rusty Swan/Peninsula Clarion)

Gensel dies at 66

The longtime KSRM sports director spent two decades as Soldotna coach and teacher

Coach Dan Gensel (front left) celebrates Soldotna High School’s first team-sport state championship on Friday, Feb. 12, 1993 in Soldotna, Alaska. Gensel, who led the Soldotna High School girls basketball team to victory, had promised his team earlier in the season that he would get his ear pierced if they won the state title. (Rusty Swan/Peninsula Clarion)
River City Academy graduates celebrate Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at River City Academy inside Skyview Middle School just outside of Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

River City Academy graduates 26

Twenty also are students at Kenai Peninsula Middle College

River City Academy graduates celebrate Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at River City Academy inside Skyview Middle School just outside of Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Central High School graduates prepare to enter the auditorium for their graduation ceremony on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Central High School graduates prepare to enter the auditorium for their graduation ceremony on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Seward graduate Renee Elhard parades down 4th Avenue in Seward, Alaska on Friday, May 12, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Seward graduates 24

The town held a celebratory parade for the seniors on Friday

Seward graduate Renee Elhard parades down 4th Avenue in Seward, Alaska on Friday, May 12, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Graphic by Ashlyn O’Hara

Assembly takes in boundaries of Nikiski advisory group

The western boundary of the Nikiski Advisory Planning Commission now follows the eastern shore of Cook Inlet

Graphic by Ashlyn O’Hara
Nikiski Middle/High School graduates prepare to receive diplomas at a ceremony on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 in Nikiski, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski Middle/High School graduates prepare to receive diplomas at a ceremony on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 in Nikiski, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The Bookey property is seen in the foreground, with the Eagle Rock boat launch parking lot in the far right of the photo. (Photo by Carl Johnson/courtesy Great Land Trust)

35 acres next to Eagle Rock Boat Launch purchased for conservation

The land was sold on the condition that it will be permanently managed for public access, recreation and habitat protection

The Bookey property is seen in the foreground, with the Eagle Rock boat launch parking lot in the far right of the photo. (Photo by Carl Johnson/courtesy Great Land Trust)
In this aerial photo chunks of ice follow flooding from an ice jam in Crooked Creek, Alaska, May 15, 2023. Ice jams along two Alaska rivers unleashed major flooding over the weekend. (Jennifer Wallace, Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management via AP)

Breaking ice jams, rapid snowmelt flood homes, businesses and roads across Alaska

Flooding across Alaska has inundated scores of homes, with several of them knocked from their foundations by large ice chunks, and shut one of the… Continue reading

In this aerial photo chunks of ice follow flooding from an ice jam in Crooked Creek, Alaska, May 15, 2023. Ice jams along two Alaska rivers unleashed major flooding over the weekend. (Jennifer Wallace, Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management via AP)
Signage marks the entrance of the City of Kenai’s slash disposal site on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai slash disposal site to open Friday

This summer will be the second consecutive year that the city has made the site available for slash disposal

Signage marks the entrance of the City of Kenai’s slash disposal site on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Rep. Justin Ruffridge works in the Alaska State Capitol building on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)

Ruffridge vet bill heads to governor’s desk

The bill exempts veterinarians from opioid monitoring program

Rep. Justin Ruffridge works in the Alaska State Capitol building on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

COVID-19: Hospitalizations rise, cases still low

According to state data, 27 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Alaska

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
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)

Avian influenza expected to return to Alaska with migrating birds

The variant is described as “highly pathogenic” because it has the ability to kill poultry — representing a threat to food security and economics.

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)
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)

Secretaries to see pay boost after reclassification

Twenty-three secretaries working at schools in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District will be paid more during the upcoming school year. That’s following the successful… Continue reading

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)