In this Feb. 1, 2013, file photo, Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole, responds to a reporter’s question at the Capitol in Juneau. Wilson says she has relented and taken required training to prevent harassment and discrimination. She did so after being assured that an updated legislative policy addressing sexual and other harassment would be vetted by a third-party. (Michael Penn/The Juneau Empire via AP,File)

Lawmaker takes training after policy vetting pledge

JUNEAU — An Alaska state lawmaker said she has relented and taken required training to prevent harassment and discrimination after being assured that an updated… Continue reading

  • Mar 1, 2018
  • By Becky Bohrer
In this Feb. 1, 2013, file photo, Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole, responds to a reporter’s question at the Capitol in Juneau. Wilson says she has relented and taken required training to prevent harassment and discrimination. She did so after being assured that an updated legislative policy addressing sexual and other harassment would be vetted by a third-party. (Michael Penn/The Juneau Empire via AP,File)

Dunleavy makes rounds on peninsula in bid for governor

Former state Senator Mike Dunleavy is out touring the state, rounding up support for his gubernatorial bid. Dunleavy, who represented the Matanuska-Susitna Valley in the… Continue reading

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Thursday. The rocket is carrying the GOES-S weather satellite. (Craig Bailey /Florida Today via AP)

NASA launches advanced weather satellite for western U.S.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA launched another of the world’s most advanced weather satellites on Thursday, this time to safeguard the western U.S. The GOES-S… Continue reading

  • Mar 1, 2018
  • By MARCIA DUNN
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Thursday. The rocket is carrying the GOES-S weather satellite. (Craig Bailey /Florida Today via AP)
Juneau-Douglas High School sophomore Stella Tallmon testifies in front of the House Judiciary Committee in favor of HB 75, a gun violence protective orders bill, at the Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Local students champion gun-control bill in Legislature

Juneau high school students and dozens of other Alaskans offered two hours of impassioned testimony Wednesday afternoon on the first gun-control proposal considered by the… Continue reading

Juneau-Douglas High School sophomore Stella Tallmon testifies in front of the House Judiciary Committee in favor of HB 75, a gun violence protective orders bill, at the Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
The F/V Kupreanof and F/V Leading Lady are moored at the Homer Harbor in 2013. The smell of rotting fish came from the boats and a light oil sheen surrounded them. (Michael Armstrong/Homer News, file)

Legislature considering bill to crack down on derelict vessels

Harbormasters and state officials are looking for a little more authority to regulate junk boats around Alaska. Junk boats, or derelict vessels, haunt harbors and… Continue reading

The F/V Kupreanof and F/V Leading Lady are moored at the Homer Harbor in 2013. The smell of rotting fish came from the boats and a light oil sheen surrounded them. (Michael Armstrong/Homer News, file)
Fifth-graders fill out D.A.R.E. workbooks during a lesson at Soldotna Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

‘Just say no,’ no more

D.A.R.E. — the ubiquitous anti-drug campaign of the 1980s and 1990s — has come a long way since the days of “just say no.” Launched… Continue reading

Fifth-graders fill out D.A.R.E. workbooks during a lesson at Soldotna Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Poet’s Corner: The Pigskin Gladiators Face Off

The Pigskin Gladiators Face Off By Hedy-Jo Huss, Soldotna We are the Eagles. Patriots are our prey. It is Super Bowl Five-Two today. We raptors… Continue reading

  • Feb 28, 2018
Clayton Koroll, left, and Peter Anderson, juniors at Kenai Central High School, shadow Luke Thibodeau, owner of The Flats Bistro in Kenai, on Wednesday as part of the job shadow program through the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and the Alaska Job Center in Kenai. Koroll and Anderson both want to open small restaraunts and be their own bosses, just like Thibodeau. (Photo by Delbrian Parfitt/For the Clarion)

Annual KCHS job shadow shows students local industries

On Wednesday, Kenai Central high School Juniors got to answer the question they’ve been asked since they were children during their job shadow program, “What… Continue reading

Clayton Koroll, left, and Peter Anderson, juniors at Kenai Central High School, shadow Luke Thibodeau, owner of The Flats Bistro in Kenai, on Wednesday as part of the job shadow program through the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and the Alaska Job Center in Kenai. Koroll and Anderson both want to open small restaraunts and be their own bosses, just like Thibodeau. (Photo by Delbrian Parfitt/For the Clarion)
A salmon leaps above the surface of the Kenai River as it makes its way upstream near Centennial Park on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai plans second silver salmon derby

Kenai is taking another swing at hosting a silver salmon derby this fall. The city of Kenai and the Kenai Chamber of Commerce have obtained… Continue reading

A salmon leaps above the surface of the Kenai River as it makes its way upstream near Centennial Park on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Police allegedly find 18-year-old in vehicle with loaded gun, drugs

An 18-year-old was arrested over the weekend after police allegedly found him and another teenager in a car with drugs and a loaded gun. Jaycee… Continue reading

Personal-use dipnet fishermen fish for sockeye salmon on the north side of the Kasilof River’s mouth in this June 2017 photo near Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

State plans permit program for vendors at Kasilof dipnet

Personal-use dipnetters at the Kasilof River may have access to a variety of food carts, firewood salesmen and other vendors on the north beach. Every… Continue reading

Personal-use dipnet fishermen fish for sockeye salmon on the north side of the Kasilof River’s mouth in this June 2017 photo near Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Soldotna man arrested on drug and gun charges during traffic stop

A traffic stop for a broken headlight led to a drug bust after Alaska State Troopers allegedly found more than 5 ounces of marijuana, other… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to reporters after delivering an address to a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Monday in Juneau. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Sullivan: Debate over violence must be broader than guns

JUNEAU — U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said violence in video games and movies should be discussed as part of a larger debate on gun violence… Continue reading

  • Feb 26, 2018
  • By Becky Bohrer
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to reporters after delivering an address to a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Monday in Juneau. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Assembly to consider tax break targeted at fertilizer plant

The owners of the long-shuttered fertilizer plant in Nikiski may get another incentive to reopen it. International fertilizer company Nutrien, formerly known as Agrium, owns… Continue reading

Boone Theiler wipes out during a sled race at the Boys and Girls Club in Kenai for the Police Athletic League Club on Monday. The club is a sports-oriented opportunity for youth and law enforcement to interact and organizers set-up an Olympics inspired day where the kids competed for medals in different winter activities. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Law enforcement, kids continue Olympic spirit

The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang may have come to a close on Sunday, but the spirit lives on at the Kenai Peninsula Boys and… Continue reading

  • Feb 26, 2018
  • By KAT SORENSEN
Boone Theiler wipes out during a sled race at the Boys and Girls Club in Kenai for the Police Athletic League Club on Monday. The club is a sports-oriented opportunity for youth and law enforcement to interact and organizers set-up an Olympics inspired day where the kids competed for medals in different winter activities. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Council to vote on whether Soldotna mayor will sign letter to KRSMA board

The paper trail in response to a state draft water report that highlighted turbidity issues in the Kenai River may get bigger. Soldotna City Council… Continue reading

KPBSD students take to ice for annual fishing day

A conspiracy was developing among the elementary schools student on the ice atop Sport Lake on Thursday: clearly, only the holes further out would produce… Continue reading

The Juneau Arts and Humanities Council (JAHC) board listens to community member Catherine Hatch at its Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018 board meeting. More than 100 people showed up to speak about the issue of cultural appropriation. (Alex McCarthy | Juneau Empire)

JAHC: We ‘let the entire community down’ at Wearable Arts Show

The Juneau Arts and Humanities Council Board issued an apology Thursday afternoon to all involved in the fallout from running a piece that some found… Continue reading

The Juneau Arts and Humanities Council (JAHC) board listens to community member Catherine Hatch at its Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018 board meeting. More than 100 people showed up to speak about the issue of cultural appropriation. (Alex McCarthy | Juneau Empire)

Hildebrand steps down as Hilcorp CEO

Hilcorp’s founder and CEO Jeff Hildebrand has stepped down from his leadership role. Hildebrand, who founded the Houston, Texas-based oil and gas production company in… Continue reading

Alyse Galvin (right), a candidate for Alaska’s sole U.S. House of Representatives seat, speaks with Soldotna-area resident Bonnie Bernard during a meet-and-greet hosted by community coalition Many Voices at the Soldotna Public Library on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. Galvin is one of two candidates challenging incumbent Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) for the seat. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

2 challenge Young for House seat

Two candidates have thrown their hats into the ring so far to claim the U.S. House of Representatives seat from Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska). Young,… Continue reading

Alyse Galvin (right), a candidate for Alaska’s sole U.S. House of Representatives seat, speaks with Soldotna-area resident Bonnie Bernard during a meet-and-greet hosted by community coalition Many Voices at the Soldotna Public Library on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. Galvin is one of two candidates challenging incumbent Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) for the seat. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)