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The stands of birch trees alight with fall colors line the Seward Highway near Tern Lake on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. The fall colors have hung onto the trees on the Kenai Peninsula this year, leading many out into the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and Chugach National Forest to enjoy the sunshine between rain showers. Clouds dropped rain on the western Kenai Peninsula Wednesday and Thursday, but the National Weather Service predicts that sunshine will grace the area on Friday and Saturday, with highs in the low 50s. However, the forecast is for the rain to return Saturday night and continue through Sunday. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Photo: Flaming colors

The stands of birch trees alight with fall colors line the Seward Highway near Tern Lake on Saturday near Cooper Landing. The fall colors have… Continue reading

The stands of birch trees alight with fall colors line the Seward Highway near Tern Lake on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. The fall colors have hung onto the trees on the Kenai Peninsula this year, leading many out into the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and Chugach National Forest to enjoy the sunshine between rain showers. Clouds dropped rain on the western Kenai Peninsula Wednesday and Thursday, but the National Weather Service predicts that sunshine will grace the area on Friday and Saturday, with highs in the low 50s. However, the forecast is for the rain to return Saturday night and continue through Sunday. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Commercial fishing vessels wait at anchor in the mouth of the Kenai River before a Saturday fishing period Friday, July 28, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Smallest sockeye harvest in last 10 years; late runs made openings complex

Sockeye salmon were scarcer in Upper Cook Inlet this year, but coho, chum and pink salmon were more plentiful than expected. Commercial fishermen in Upper… Continue reading

Commercial fishing vessels wait at anchor in the mouth of the Kenai River before a Saturday fishing period Friday, July 28, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Troopers ID officer in Seward shooting

Troopers ID officer in Seward shooting Alaska State Troopers have identified a Seward Police Department officer involved in a shooting that left a man dead… Continue reading

Soldotna looks to apply for loan for wastewater treatment plant

The Soldotna City Council has authorized the City Manager Mark Dixson to apply for a loan for $3,000,000 to finance construction of the 2017 wastewater… Continue reading

Ann Fraser (left) and Steve Waldron (right), both of Kasilof) wave signs opposing Kenai Peninsula Borough Proposition 1 on the corner of Pollard Loop and the Sterling Highway on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017 in Kasilof, Alaska. Voters in Kasilof and the other unincorporated communities of the borough voted Tuesday on Proposition 1, which asked whether commercial cannabis operations should be legal in the borough ouside the city limits. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough ballot props fail

Cannabis businesses in the borough outside the cities can continue operations as usual with the failure of Kenai Peninsula Borough Proposition 1, according to Tuesday’s… Continue reading

Ann Fraser (left) and Steve Waldron (right), both of Kasilof) wave signs opposing Kenai Peninsula Borough Proposition 1 on the corner of Pollard Loop and the Sterling Highway on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017 in Kasilof, Alaska. Voters in Kasilof and the other unincorporated communities of the borough voted Tuesday on Proposition 1, which asked whether commercial cannabis operations should be legal in the borough ouside the city limits. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Knackstedt, Navarre retain council seats

Kenai city council incumbents Henry Knackstedt and Tim Navarre will retain their seats for a further three year term, while challenger Bob McIntosh said he… Continue reading

Tauriainen beats Arness for Nikiski school board seat

A new face will be representing Nikiski and Tyonek on the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education. Jason Tauriainen has beat long-time board… Continue reading

Anderson, Cox, Baxter elected in Soldotna

There were no surprises in Soldotna on Tuesday night, with three candidates running unopposed for three open seats on the city council ballot. Nels Anderson… Continue reading

Hibbert, Smalley, Blakeley poised to join assembly

Hibbert, Smalley, Blakeley poised to join assembly

Norm Blakeley, Brent Hibbert, Hal Smalley, Kelly Cooper and Kenn Carpenter will fill five of the nine seats on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, according… Continue reading

Hibbert, Smalley, Blakeley poised to join assembly
Charlie Pierce speaks during a forum for borough mayoral candidates last month. (Photo by Will Morrow/Peninsula Clarion)

Pierce, Hutchings headed to runoff

Charlie Pierce and Linda Hutchings are headed to a runoff election in the race for Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor, according to unofficial results of Tuesday’s… Continue reading

Charlie Pierce speaks during a forum for borough mayoral candidates last month. (Photo by Will Morrow/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough Unofficial Election Results

Kenai Peninsula Borough Unofficial Election Results

Kenai Peninsula Borough Municipal Regular Election Oct. 3, 2017 Unofficial Results Proposition 1 (Commercial marijuana ban) No5,232 votes Yes2,941 Proposition 2 (Borough building HVAC) No6,598… Continue reading

  • Oct 3, 2017
Kenai Peninsula Borough Unofficial Election Results
Man dies after being shot by Seward police officer

Man dies after being shot by Seward police officer

A man has died after being shot by a Seward police officer during a confrontation Sunday. A Seward police officer shot Micah McComas, 41, of… Continue reading

Man dies after being shot by Seward police officer
Soldotna starts adopting sign code changes

Soldotna starts adopting sign code changes

Soldotna has adopted a new policy for temporary signage promoting community events in rights-of-way throughout the city. Since January, the members of the Soldotna Planning… Continue reading

Soldotna starts adopting sign code changes
A drift gillnet fishing vessel makes its way into the Kenai River on Friday, July 28, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Supreme Court says no to hearing UCIDA case

The lawsuit over whether the federal government or the state should manage Cook Inlet’s salmon fisheries won’t get its day in the U.S. Supreme Court… Continue reading

A drift gillnet fishing vessel makes its way into the Kenai River on Friday, July 28, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Kendall Dellasperanza’s fourth grade class from McNeil Canyon Elementary School prepares to scour a section of shoreline for trash Friday, Sept. 22 near Mariner Park in Homer. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News.)

CoastWalk cleans up beaches and monitors ecology

Students from McNeil Canyon Elementary School walking the Homer Spit beaches last Friday have become the latest generation of citizen scientists participating in CoastWalk, the… Continue reading

Kendall Dellasperanza’s fourth grade class from McNeil Canyon Elementary School prepares to scour a section of shoreline for trash Friday, Sept. 22 near Mariner Park in Homer. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News.)
This map from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game shows the winter and summer habitats of beluga whales in the state. (Courtesy the Alaska Department of Fish and Game)

Beluga research looks at failure to rebound

Two research efforts are taking new approaches to the question of why Cook Inlet’s endangered beluga whales haven’t recovered since hunting restrictions were placed on… Continue reading

This map from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game shows the winter and summer habitats of beluga whales in the state. (Courtesy the Alaska Department of Fish and Game)

Murkowski: Republican Party seems fractured

KETCHIKAN — Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska weighed in on the current state of the Republican Party and President Donald Trump, saying she… Continue reading

  • Oct 1, 2017
  • By The Associated Press

Upper Cook Inlet commercial fishing to close for 2017

Commercial fishing will be done for the 2017 season in Upper Cook Inlet effective Oct. 6. The east side set gillnet fishery in Upper Cook… Continue reading

In this Sept. 20, 2017 photo, Donald and Cathy Raunig pose during a visit to Kodiak, Alaska. For Donald Raunig, each visit to Kodiak takes him back in time. Unlike most cruise ship visitors, Raunig is already very familiar with Kodiak. In the early 1960s, Raunig was stationed at the U.S. Naval Operating Base on what is currently U.S. Coast Guard Base Kodiak.(JoAnn Snoderly/Kodiak Daily Mirror via AP)

Man who flew recon day of tsunami returns to Kodiak

KODIAK — For Donald Raunig, each visit to Kodiak takes him back in time. Unlike most cruise ship visitors, Raunig is already very familiar with… Continue reading

  • Oct 1, 2017
  • By JoANN SNODERLY
In this Sept. 20, 2017 photo, Donald and Cathy Raunig pose during a visit to Kodiak, Alaska. For Donald Raunig, each visit to Kodiak takes him back in time. Unlike most cruise ship visitors, Raunig is already very familiar with Kodiak. In the early 1960s, Raunig was stationed at the U.S. Naval Operating Base on what is currently U.S. Coast Guard Base Kodiak.(JoAnn Snoderly/Kodiak Daily Mirror via AP)
This photo, courtesy of the Alaska Department of Corrections, shows the Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward, Alaska. (Courtesy Alaska Department of Corrections)

Report says corrections officers improperly left inmates naked in cells for hours

The Alaska Department of Corrections acted wrongly when correctional officers forced a group of 12 male inmates in Seward to strip naked in front of… Continue reading

This photo, courtesy of the Alaska Department of Corrections, shows the Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward, Alaska. (Courtesy Alaska Department of Corrections)