News

DNR grants one of three Chuitna Citizens Coalition water reservations

Editor's note: This story has been changed to add additional information and to correct the year of CCC's lawsuit against DNR. The Alaska Department of… Continue reading

Angela Rodell, CEO and executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., gives an overview of the fund to the House Finance Committee at the Capitol on Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Lawmakers could affect value of the Permanent Fund

As lawmakers consider using proceeds from the Alaska Permanent Fund to patch Alaska’s $2.5 billion budget deficit, they are pushing back against a stress test… Continue reading

Angela Rodell, CEO and executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., gives an overview of the fund to the House Finance Committee at the Capitol on Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
This July 12, 2017 file photo shows the newly renovated basement of the Joyce K. Carver Memorial Library in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Library checks out 2017 trends

In 2017, about 110,000 visitors walked through the doors of the Joyce K. Carver Memorial Soldotna Public Library borrowing more than 125,000 books and furthering… Continue reading

This July 12, 2017 file photo shows the newly renovated basement of the Joyce K. Carver Memorial Library in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
In this Dec. 25, 2015 file photo, Central Emergency Services employees and volunteers and their families gather for a Christmas Day potluck at Station 1 in Soldotna, Alaska. The central station, which handles the majority of the calls for the fire and emergency service area, was originally built in 1957 and last renovated in 1981. The service area is now seeking state funding to reconstruct or relocate the station. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

CES, Anchor Point ask state for funds for new fire stations

The peninsula’s busiest emergency services department is looking to relocate its main fire station. Central Emergency Services serves the majority of the Kenai Peninsula’s population,… Continue reading

In this Dec. 25, 2015 file photo, Central Emergency Services employees and volunteers and their families gather for a Christmas Day potluck at Station 1 in Soldotna, Alaska. The central station, which handles the majority of the calls for the fire and emergency service area, was originally built in 1957 and last renovated in 1981. The service area is now seeking state funding to reconstruct or relocate the station. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Powerful undersea quake shakes Alaska

A night that began with a dramatic 7.9 magnitude earthquake and the threat of region-wide tsunamis ended quietly for the Kenai Peninsula — with coastal… Continue reading

Legislative Information Office teleconference schedule for Jan. 25

Thursday, 8:00 a.m. The House Community & Regional Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing on HB 267 Release Hunting / Fishing Records to Municipalities.… Continue reading

  • Jan 24, 2018

Earthquake causes small refinery spill

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct an inaccurate use of the term "secondary confinement." The correct term is "secondary containment." While so… Continue reading

Invocation lawsuit progresses toward oral argument

Invocation lawsuit progresses toward oral argument

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include the date of the oral argument at the Superior Court of Alaska in Anchorage. A year… Continue reading

Invocation lawsuit progresses toward oral argument

8.2 earthquake south of Kodiak shakes Kenai Peninsula

An 8.2 magnitude earthquake occurred about 175 miles miles southeast of the city of Kodiak at about 12:32 a.m Tuesday morning, the U.S Geological Service… Continue reading

Teacher of the year nominations close Feb. 1

Nominations for the BP Teachers of Excellence are drawing to a close at the end of January. The award recognizes teachers throughout Alaska for their… Continue reading

FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2013, file photo, a driver passes a small boat harbor in King Cove, Alaska. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed a land exchange agreement Monday, Jan. 22, 2018, authorizing a swap of federal land in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge for land owned by King Cove Corporation that could lead to a road through the refuge so King Cove residents can have land access to an all-weather airport at Cold Bay, Alaska. (James Brooks/Kodiak Daily Mirror via AP, File)

U.S. approves land exchange for road through Alaska refuge

ANCHORAGE — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed a land trade agreement Monday that could lead to construction of a road through a national wildlife refuge… Continue reading

  • Jan 22, 2018
  • By Dan Joling
FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2013, file photo, a driver passes a small boat harbor in King Cove, Alaska. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed a land exchange agreement Monday, Jan. 22, 2018, authorizing a swap of federal land in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge for land owned by King Cove Corporation that could lead to a road through the refuge so King Cove residents can have land access to an all-weather airport at Cold Bay, Alaska. (James Brooks/Kodiak Daily Mirror via AP, File)

CES fire marshal arrested for alleged assault

The Central Emergency Services Fire Marshal was arrested over the weekend for allegedly choking and punching an adult family member inside a vehicle in the… Continue reading

Drivers skid around one of the corners on the ice track atop a frozen lake at the Decanter Inn on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. Every Sunday in the winter, the Decanter Inn hosts Peninsula Ice Racing events for drivers to try their hand at the frozen track on the shallow lake at the bottom of the hill behind the inn. The racers can use studded tires on their front wheels only and equip the sides of their vehicles with bumpers as other vehicles are likely to slip and slide into them. Spinning out is common. A tow truck waits on the sidelines to retrieve drivers who get stuck on the berms alongside the track. Fans gathered Sunday despite the cold to cheer the racers on. The men race in the morning, followed by the women’s races in the afternoon. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Ready, set, skid

Exhaust plumes toward the sky and engines rev, clattering against the icebound trees and windblown snow around the frozen lake. Drivers in refitted older cars,… Continue reading

Drivers skid around one of the corners on the ice track atop a frozen lake at the Decanter Inn on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. Every Sunday in the winter, the Decanter Inn hosts Peninsula Ice Racing events for drivers to try their hand at the frozen track on the shallow lake at the bottom of the hill behind the inn. The racers can use studded tires on their front wheels only and equip the sides of their vehicles with bumpers as other vehicles are likely to slip and slide into them. Spinning out is common. A tow truck waits on the sidelines to retrieve drivers who get stuck on the berms alongside the track. Fans gathered Sunday despite the cold to cheer the racers on. The men race in the morning, followed by the women’s races in the afternoon. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Dellan Vanbuskirk in a 2016 mug shot. (Photo courtesy Homer Police)

Troopers catch theft suspect after 4-hour standoff in AP

A four-hour standoff in Anchor Point on Tuesday night that involved Alaska State Troopers and a Special Emergency Response Team ended without incident when troopers… Continue reading

Dellan Vanbuskirk in a 2016 mug shot. (Photo courtesy Homer Police)
123rf.com Stock Photo

Quiet wires: Alaska illegally fails to report its wiretaps to public

The Alaska Department of Law is failing to disclose when it taps the phone of an Alaskans, the Empire has learned through a public records… Continue reading

123rf.com Stock Photo
Gary Fandrei, the executive director of Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association, stands for a portrait on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. After 27 years with the organization, Fandrei is preparing to retire. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

CIAA director looks back at career

Out in the Alaska wilds, it’s easy to miss the subtler goings on: a wolverine passing through the underbrush, the sound of a bear snuffling… Continue reading

Gary Fandrei, the executive director of Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association, stands for a portrait on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. After 27 years with the organization, Fandrei is preparing to retire. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
District students start ‘Singin’ in the Rain’

District students start ‘Singin’ in the Rain’

You know, someone once told Don Lockwood “If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all,” but it wasn’t true in 1952’s ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’… Continue reading

District students start ‘Singin’ in the Rain’
Eagle River residents want to fight back against crime

Eagle River residents want to fight back against crime

EAGLE RIVER (AP) — Armed and angry, Chugiak-Eagle River residents say it’s time to get tough on crime. “I feel safer in some Asian countries… Continue reading

  • Jan 21, 2018
  • By Matt Tunseth
  • Crime
Eagle River residents want to fight back against crime

Alleged boat thief indicted

A man was indicted last week in the Kenai Superior Court for allegedly stealing an aluminum fishing boat from a Kenai residence in May 2017.… Continue reading

Volunteers at the Alaska SeaLife Center feed a milk and electrolyte mix to a beluga calf, rescued on Sept. 30 after being stranded in Trading Bay, by holding a tube to its lips (a method they’ve found works better than bottle-feeding) on Friday, Oct. 6 in Seward, Alaska. The calf is the first Cook Inlet beluga under human care. Activities in this picture have been authorized by NOAA’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program under the Marine Mammal Protection Act/Endangered Species Act

Stranded beluga will remain in captivity

Tyonek, a Cook Inlet beluga that has been under 24/7 care from experts at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, will not be released back… Continue reading

  • Jan 21, 2018
  • By KAT SORENSEN
Volunteers at the Alaska SeaLife Center feed a milk and electrolyte mix to a beluga calf, rescued on Sept. 30 after being stranded in Trading Bay, by holding a tube to its lips (a method they’ve found works better than bottle-feeding) on Friday, Oct. 6 in Seward, Alaska. The calf is the first Cook Inlet beluga under human care. Activities in this picture have been authorized by NOAA’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program under the Marine Mammal Protection Act/Endangered Species Act