News

Ninilchik launches Homer-Kenai bus service

Western Kenai Peninsula residents can now get to Homer, Kenai or Ninilchik by shuttle, courtesy of the Ninilchik Traditional Council. The tribal government, based in… Continue reading

Tyonek the beluga moved to Texas

Tyonek, the six-month old Cook Inlet beluga whale calf rescued from a mudflat in Sept. 2017, was transported from Seward’s Alaska SeaLife Center to his… Continue reading

Matt Quiner of the Nikiski Fire Department checks his gear before dropping through a hole in the ice covering Island Lake as part of a training drill Friday, March 9, 2018 in Nikiski, Alaska. The Nikiski Fire Department is working on bringing all the members of its ice diving team up to proper certifications. To attain full certifications, divers have to clock a number of hours in the water, including practicing beneath the ice. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Nikiski Fire trains up on ice diving

The old saying goes that there’s no bad conditions, only bad gear. The Nikiski Fire Department is testing exactly how far that goes with some… Continue reading

Matt Quiner of the Nikiski Fire Department checks his gear before dropping through a hole in the ice covering Island Lake as part of a training drill Friday, March 9, 2018 in Nikiski, Alaska. The Nikiski Fire Department is working on bringing all the members of its ice diving team up to proper certifications. To attain full certifications, divers have to clock a number of hours in the water, including practicing beneath the ice. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
This rodent has a lot to say about climate change

This rodent has a lot to say about climate change

The hoary marmot’s call sounds like an alarm. It’s a piercing high-pitched squeal so loud, researchers wear earplugs when studying them in the field, said… Continue reading

This rodent has a lot to say about climate change
Jay Butler, chief medical officer for the Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, discusses the causes of the opioid crisis with members of the community at the Your Voice, Your Community forum on Thursday, March 8, 2018 at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Opening up about opioids

Over the last two decades, an opioid epidemic has hit Alaska like a slow-moving tsunami, with multiple waves bringing new destruction to the social and… Continue reading

Jay Butler, chief medical officer for the Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, discusses the causes of the opioid crisis with members of the community at the Your Voice, Your Community forum on Thursday, March 8, 2018 at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Attendees of various user groups crowd near the front of the room during a break at the Board of Fisheries’ Upper Cook Inlet meeting Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017 in Anchorage, Alaska. (DJ Summers/Alaska Journal of Commerce)

Board of Fish to meet on peninsula in 2020

Central Kenai Peninsula fishermen will get to stay at home for the 2020 Board of Fisheries meeting. For the first time in 20 years, the… Continue reading

Attendees of various user groups crowd near the front of the room during a break at the Board of Fisheries’ Upper Cook Inlet meeting Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017 in Anchorage, Alaska. (DJ Summers/Alaska Journal of Commerce)

Storm brings snow, accidents

A storm that brought significant snowfall, icy roads and high winds to the peninsula on Thursday and Friday created perilous road conditions that snarled traffic… Continue reading

Teaching cuts looms over school district

As she thinks about how potential teacher cuts would affect her school, Kenai Central High School senior Brittany Gilman finds solace in “Shrek: The Musical.”… Continue reading

  • Mar 8, 2018
  • By KAT SORENSEN
As burial space decreases in Kenai’s cemetery — pictured here on March 17, 2017 — the Kenai City Council is taking steps on a long-planned expansion. On Wednesday council members voted unanomously to fund engineering plans for converting the vacant lot adjacent to the existing cemetery across Floatplane Road into new cemetery grounds. Construction of the expansion may begin this year. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai funds cemetery expansion plans

As burial space shrinks in the Kenai cemetery on Floatplane Road, the city government is taking steps toward the long-planned construction of new cemetery space… Continue reading

As burial space decreases in Kenai’s cemetery — pictured here on March 17, 2017 — the Kenai City Council is taking steps on a long-planned expansion. On Wednesday council members voted unanomously to fund engineering plans for converting the vacant lot adjacent to the existing cemetery across Floatplane Road into new cemetery grounds. Construction of the expansion may begin this year. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Trailer goes up in flames in Nikiski

A small travel trailer on a property in Nikiski was destroyed in a fire Thursday afternoon. Firefighters received a report of the fire, which took… Continue reading

A herd of Dall 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)

State Parks seeks information in sheep poaching case

Alaska park rangers are looking for tips on who might have poached a Dall sheep in the Cooper Landing area. Alaska State Parks rangers found… Continue reading

A herd of Dall 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)

Mayor proposes reorganization of public safety departments

The Kenai Peninsula Borough administration is working on a plan to reshuffle its various public safety departments. Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce has proposed an ordinance… Continue reading

Kenai resident Maggie Winston (center) and Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education Executive Director Patrick Reinhart (right) testify in favor of Senate Bill 174 to the Senate Health and Social Services Committe in Juneau, Alaska. Senate Bill 174 would add language to state administrative code giving people with disabilities a more active role in determining their services and care. (Photo courtesy Maggie Winston)

Bill would add flexibility for disability services

Advocates are pushing for a bill that would give people with disabilities more say in state services. Senate Bill 174, sponsored by Sen. Peter Micciche… Continue reading

Kenai resident Maggie Winston (center) and Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education Executive Director Patrick Reinhart (right) testify in favor of Senate Bill 174 to the Senate Health and Social Services Committe in Juneau, Alaska. Senate Bill 174 would add language to state administrative code giving people with disabilities a more active role in determining their services and care. (Photo courtesy Maggie Winston)
There are four different options to relocate a 15-mile stretch of the Sterling Highway in order to avoid Cooper Landing including the Juneau Creek Alternative, which Governor Bill Walker and the Alaska congressional delegation prefer, and the G-South Alternative, which is the federal governments choice route. (Photo courtesy of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)

Walker, congressional delegation advocate for northern Cooper Landing bypass route

Gov. Bill Walker and Alaska’s congressional delegation are asking for a resolution in the long-running dispute on how to build a 15-mile bypass of a… Continue reading

There are four different options to relocate a 15-mile stretch of the Sterling Highway in order to avoid Cooper Landing including the Juneau Creek Alternative, which Governor Bill Walker and the Alaska congressional delegation prefer, and the G-South Alternative, which is the federal governments choice route. (Photo courtesy of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Commissioner Mark Luiken (front left) signs the final Environmental Impact Statement for the long-awaited Cooper Landing Bypass project as Federal Highway Administration Division Administrator Sandra Garcia-Aline (front right) and (back row, from left) Rep. Gary Knopp (R-Kenai), Gov. Bill Walker and Sen. Peter Micciche (R-Soldotna) look on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 in Juneau, Alaska. The Cooper Landing bypass, officially known as the Sterling Highway Milepost 45&

Juneau Creek route ID’d as preferred in Cooper Landing road EIS

The final environmental permitting document for the long-planned Cooper Landing bypass ditches a controversial decision to relocate the Sterling Highway around Cooper Landing via a… Continue reading

Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Commissioner Mark Luiken (front left) signs the final Environmental Impact Statement for the long-awaited Cooper Landing Bypass project as Federal Highway Administration Division Administrator Sandra Garcia-Aline (front right) and (back row, from left) Rep. Gary Knopp (R-Kenai), Gov. Bill Walker and Sen. Peter Micciche (R-Soldotna) look on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 in Juneau, Alaska. The Cooper Landing bypass, officially known as the Sterling Highway Milepost 45&
This image released by A24 Films shows director Greta Gerwig, right, and Saoirse Ronan on the set of “Lady Bird.” (Merie Wallace/A24 via AP)

Reeling it in: ‘Lady Bird’ funny, poignant, sweet

“Lady Bird” A24 1 hour, 34 minutes Like most high school teachers, I have a healthy amount of skepticism when I watch movies based around… Continue reading

  • Mar 7, 2018
  • By Chris Jenness
This image released by A24 Films shows director Greta Gerwig, right, and Saoirse Ronan on the set of “Lady Bird.” (Merie Wallace/A24 via AP)

Poet’s Corner: A Response to Trump’s Feb. 21 Remarks

A Response to Trump’s Feb. 21 Remarks By Norm Olson, Nikiski Platitudes and empty words filled the room today As the children of the corn… Continue reading

  • Mar 7, 2018
The Bookworm Sez: Put your spy kills to work in real life

The Bookworm Sez: Put your spy kills to work in real life

You were always a first-rate Hide & Seek player. You knew all the places where nobody could ever find you. Once you were safe, you… Continue reading

The Bookworm Sez: Put your spy kills to work in real life

State applies for Medicaid innovation project

The state is moving forward with a plan to reorganize Medicaid services for certain individuals with mental health and substance use disorders. The Alaska Department… Continue reading

Kenai Peninsula College to host health fair Saturday

If you’ve been putting off that wellness checkup, this weekend is your chance to get back on a healthy track. Kenai Peninsula College will host… Continue reading