News

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

Illustration courtesy Alaska Department of Transportation This map illustrates the routes each of the four Cooper Landing Bypass alternatives would take, along with the existing Sterling Highway route. The project would likely cost between $250 and $304 million with construction beginning in 2018.

DOT unveils options for Cooper Landing Bypass

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities wants feedback on plans to move the Sterling Highway around Cooper Landing. DOT released a draft supplemental… Continue reading

Illustration courtesy Alaska Department of Transportation This map illustrates the routes each of the four Cooper Landing Bypass alternatives would take, along with the existing Sterling Highway route. The project would likely cost between $250 and $304 million with construction beginning in 2018.
Alaska Department of Transportation This map from an Alaska Department of Transportation website shows the preferred route of the 5.5-mile Cooper Landing bypass, expected to be added to the Sterling Highway around 2018.

Borough opposes DOT Cooper Landing bypass route

Several organizations, including the Kenai Peninsula Borough, have come out in opposition to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities’ selected route for a… Continue reading

Alaska Department of Transportation This map from an Alaska Department of Transportation website shows the preferred route of the 5.5-mile Cooper Landing bypass, expected to be added to the Sterling Highway around 2018.
Alaska Department of Transportation This map from an Alaska Department of Transportation website shows the preferred route of the 5.5-mile Cooper Landing bypass, expected to be added to the Sterling Highway around 2018.

Path chosen for Cooper Landing bypass

After considering several possible paths for a new highway section around Cooper Landing, the Alaska Department of Transportation named its preferred path for the new… Continue reading

Alaska Department of Transportation This map from an Alaska Department of Transportation website shows the preferred route of the 5.5-mile Cooper Landing bypass, expected to be added to the Sterling Highway around 2018.

Juneau Creek route for bypass unlikely

The state and the stakeholders are stuck between a rock and a number of legal hard places on the long-awaited Cooper Landing Bypass project. The… Continue reading

A young rider returns from a 50-mile loop of the Caribou Hills as part of the Way Out Women Ride, which raises money for cancer patients, on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018 near Ninilchik, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Riders with a cause

Although born out of loss, the annual Way Out Women Ride is a celebration of life — and snowmachining. “We try to combine our love… Continue reading

A young rider returns from a 50-mile loop of the Caribou Hills as part of the Way Out Women Ride, which raises money for cancer patients, on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018 near Ninilchik, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
D.A.R.E. grads receive goodie bags and congratulations from community leaders.

D.A.R.E., not scare

In the 1980s political leaders attempted to address the drug crisis among youth with a simple answer to a complex problem: “Just say No!” Programs… Continue reading

D.A.R.E. grads receive goodie bags and congratulations from community leaders.