News

A herd of Dall’s sheep graze on the side of one of the peaks in the Mystery Hills above the Skyline Trail in September 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Fish and Game expands monitoring for harmful sheep, goat bacteria

The state is asking hunters to bring in the heads of the animals they’ve harvested this season so biologists can test for a dangerous bacteria.… Continue reading

A herd of Dall’s sheep graze on the side of one of the peaks in the Mystery Hills above the Skyline Trail in September 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Dipnetter Brad Gamblin (left) digs in the sand of Kenai’s north beach with his grandchildren Stella (in blue) and Marly Wilson on Thursday, July 26, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. The three, plus grandmother Cher Gamblin, brought the grandchildren on their first dipnetting trip this year. The morning, Brad Gamblin said, “was very productive.” Getting up early, he said the family had caught a dozen salmon by 9 a.m. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai’s exclusivity offering fails to bring vendors to the dipnet

This year’s personal-use dipnet fishery hasn’t draw many vendors to the north and south beaches along the mouth of the Kenai River. Nor did the… Continue reading

Dipnetter Brad Gamblin (left) digs in the sand of Kenai’s north beach with his grandchildren Stella (in blue) and Marly Wilson on Thursday, July 26, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. The three, plus grandmother Cher Gamblin, brought the grandchildren on their first dipnetting trip this year. The morning, Brad Gamblin said, “was very productive.” Getting up early, he said the family had caught a dozen salmon by 9 a.m. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

2 candidates vie for District O Senate seat

Republicans will get to choose the senator who represents the central Kenai Peninsula in the Alaska Legislature for the next six years. With less than… Continue reading

Construction company says its trucks weren’t involved in boy’s death

Construction company says its trucks weren’t involved in boy’s death

Construction company Granite Construction says its gravel trucks weren’t involved in an incident July 19 that killed an 8-year-old boy. Noah Schwebach, of Eagle River,… Continue reading

Construction company says its trucks weren’t involved in boy’s death
Melody Miller (left) disentangles a salmon she just netted on Kenai’s north beach with the help of her daughter Manuia Tufi on Thursday, July 26, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. The two had recently after arrived from Anchorage and had caught the day’s first fish. Miller said this is her seventh year of dipnetting in Kenai. On Thursday afternoon, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the fishery will close two days early, at 12:01 a.m on Monday. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Dipnetting to close early, sockeye bag limit reduced

Personal-use dipnetting on the Kenai River will end two days early this year, and sportfishermen will be limited to a one fish per day for… Continue reading

Melody Miller (left) disentangles a salmon she just netted on Kenai’s north beach with the help of her daughter Manuia Tufi on Thursday, July 26, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. The two had recently after arrived from Anchorage and had caught the day’s first fish. Miller said this is her seventh year of dipnetting in Kenai. On Thursday afternoon, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the fishery will close two days early, at 12:01 a.m on Monday. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna mayor breaks tie, fails measure to give mayor a vote

The Soldotna City Council voted down a proposed ballot measure Wednesday that would include the mayor as part of the council, allowing him a vote,… Continue reading

Soldotna Rotary spearheads economic survey

The Soldotna Rotary Club is leading a new attempt to tackle economic questions with an assessment meant to match the interests of communities with types… Continue reading

Troopers: Phone scam targeting people on sex offender registry

Troopers: Phone scam targeting people on sex offender registry

The state is warning people about a phone scam targeting people on sex offender lists. The Alaska State Troopers issued a public safety advisory Wednesday… Continue reading

Troopers: Phone scam targeting people on sex offender registry
New diabetes prevention program provides help with healthy lifestyle changes through peer support

New diabetes prevention program provides help with healthy lifestyle changes through peer support

A healthier lifestyle may just be a phone call away. A free diabetes prevention program connecting peninsula residents with lifestyle coaches via telephone is slated… Continue reading

New diabetes prevention program provides help with healthy lifestyle changes through peer support

Homer woman allegedly steals, ditches motorhome

A Homer woman accused of stealing a motorhome was arrested last week after troopers allegedly found her trying to rescue the stranded vehicle from a… Continue reading

Sales tax initiative won’t go to ballot this year

Kenai Peninsula voters won’t have to decide on a half-percent increase in the sales tax this October, though they still may in 2019. A citizen… Continue reading

A brailer bag full of commercially-caught salmon is hoisted up to the Snug Harbor Seafoods dock for processing on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. On Tuesday the Alaska Department of Fish and Game downgraded its estimated Kenai River sockeye run from 2.5 million fish to less than 2.3 million, changing some of the management procedures for commercial fishing in Upper Cook Inlet. (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Fish and Game lowers Kenai River sockeye estimate

The sockeye salmon run to the Kenai River is weaker than the Alaska Department of Fish and Game predicted in the preseason forecast, according to… Continue reading

A brailer bag full of commercially-caught salmon is hoisted up to the Snug Harbor Seafoods dock for processing on Thursday, July 12, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. On Tuesday the Alaska Department of Fish and Game downgraded its estimated Kenai River sockeye run from 2.5 million fish to less than 2.3 million, changing some of the management procedures for commercial fishing in Upper Cook Inlet. (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
This August 2016 photo shows Skilak Lake with Mt. Redoubt in the background on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. The state of Alaska is engaged in two lawsuits at the federal level with national implications, one of which involves a set of rules for hunting on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, finalized in March 2016. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Bear that damaged tent at campground wasn’t going after food

The black bear that damaged a tent Saturday morning at the Lower Ohmer Lake campground didn’t get any food from the site and hasn’t hung… Continue reading

This August 2016 photo shows Skilak Lake with Mt. Redoubt in the background on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. The state of Alaska is engaged in two lawsuits at the federal level with national implications, one of which involves a set of rules for hunting on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, finalized in March 2016. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Conviction overturned in 2013 Sterling assault

A man convicted in 2013 of assaulting his mother and an Alaska State Trooper at a Sterling home has had his conviction reversed after appeal.… Continue reading

Deanna O’Connor plays with Chloe, an alpine goat, at her home in Nikiski, Alaska on Tuesday, July 3, 2018. O’Connor milks her 11 goats twice a day, and uses the milk to make homemade ice cream, cheese and soap. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

From surplus to soap: Peninsula goat farmers get crafty with products

Goat hobby herds are becoming more and more popular on the Kenai Peninsula. While some farmers sell their excess milk through herdshare programs — in… Continue reading

Deanna O’Connor plays with Chloe, an alpine goat, at her home in Nikiski, Alaska on Tuesday, July 3, 2018. O’Connor milks her 11 goats twice a day, and uses the milk to make homemade ice cream, cheese and soap. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Sterling woman charged in motorcyclist death

A Sterling woman has been charged with manslaughter in the death of a motorcyclist killed at a Sterling intersection Thursday night. Aprile D. Cresap, 53,… Continue reading

Sterling teen awarded Youth Salmon Fellowship

Eve Downing, a 16-year-old from Sterling, has been chosen as an Alaska Youth for Environmental Action Youth Salmon Fellow, an extension of the Alaska Center… Continue reading

Kenai Parks and Recreation employee Jacob Hart rakes Kenai’s south beach to demonstrate how the magnetic bar hanging behind his rake picks up nails and other metal debris buried under the sand, on Friday, July 20, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. The idea of using a magnetic rake to sweep up metal objects — left after many years of pallet bonfires, lost tent stakes, and general litter — came from Kenai Central High School sophmore Riley Graves, who created a magnetic leaf-rake prototype for this April’s Caring for the Kenai competition. Kenai Public Works Department shop foreman Randy Parrish built the rake after Graves’ idea, which he presented to the Kenai City Council on May 16. Since the July 10 beginning of this summer’s personal use dipnet fishery, Hart said the rake’s been deployed every evening. “When you drive over a dark spot in the sand, where you can tell it’s been a fire pit, you can hear the nails going tink, tink, tink,” he said. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Metal harvest: High schooler’s project make a dent in beach litter

A local teenager’s invention has been put into action cleaning Kenai’s beach. Since this summer’s personal use dipnet fishery season launched July 10, Kenai Parks… Continue reading

Kenai Parks and Recreation employee Jacob Hart rakes Kenai’s south beach to demonstrate how the magnetic bar hanging behind his rake picks up nails and other metal debris buried under the sand, on Friday, July 20, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. The idea of using a magnetic rake to sweep up metal objects — left after many years of pallet bonfires, lost tent stakes, and general litter — came from Kenai Central High School sophmore Riley Graves, who created a magnetic leaf-rake prototype for this April’s Caring for the Kenai competition. Kenai Public Works Department shop foreman Randy Parrish built the rake after Graves’ idea, which he presented to the Kenai City Council on May 16. Since the July 10 beginning of this summer’s personal use dipnet fishery, Hart said the rake’s been deployed every evening. “When you drive over a dark spot in the sand, where you can tell it’s been a fire pit, you can hear the nails going tink, tink, tink,” he said. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Multiple accidents lead to injuries, fatalities over weekend in Sterling, Cooper Landing

An Eagle River man was airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries after a head-on collision on the Sterling Highway Saturday afternoon. The accident, which… Continue reading

Three Skilak area campgrounds closed after bear damages tent, scratches camper

The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge has closed three campsites after a black bear damaged a tent at the Lower Ohmer campground and scratched the tent’s… Continue reading