News

Attendees at the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s drone technical conference check out drones on a side table at the Challenger Learning Center on Tuesday in Kenai (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Peninsula professionals talk drones

Kenai Peninsula professionals are starting to look at using unmanned aerial vehicles for industries ranging from real estate to ecosystem management. A crowd of about… Continue reading

Attendees at the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s drone technical conference check out drones on a side table at the Challenger Learning Center on Tuesday in Kenai (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Alaskans tendency is to vote no to judge retention

Alaskans may pass a negative judgement on their judges too easily, despite Alaska’s merit-based process for selecting and retaining judges, according to retired Alaska Superior… Continue reading

FILE - In this Nov. 26, 2003, file photo, from left, Clemson’s Maggie Slosser, Lakeia Stokes, Julie Talley and Julie Aderhold sit on the bench after Clemson’s 61-58 loss to Alasaka-Anchorage in the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout on in Anchorage, Alaska. Shootout fans over the years witnessed the best of college basketball, with Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan State and UCLA winning titles, but the end is near. The 40th Shootout will be the last, a victim of changed rules and competition.(AP Photo/Michael Dinneen, file

Competition, expense bring curtain down on Alaska Shootout

ANCHORAGE — Four decades ago, Alaska Anchorage head basketball coach Bob Rachal was looking to promote the program, and while rubbing shoulders with coaches from… Continue reading

FILE - In this Nov. 26, 2003, file photo, from left, Clemson’s Maggie Slosser, Lakeia Stokes, Julie Talley and Julie Aderhold sit on the bench after Clemson’s 61-58 loss to Alasaka-Anchorage in the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout on in Anchorage, Alaska. Shootout fans over the years witnessed the best of college basketball, with Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan State and UCLA winning titles, but the end is near. The 40th Shootout will be the last, a victim of changed rules and competition.(AP Photo/Michael Dinneen, file

Board of Game turns down feral cat proposal

Colonies of domestic feral cats occupy corners of Alaska, and after the state Board of Game turned down two proposals Friday related to controlling their… Continue reading

In this September photo made with a drone, a young resident killer whale chases a chinook salmon in the Salish Sea near San Juan Island, Wash. The photo, made under a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) permit, which gives researchers permission to approach the animals, was made in collaboration with NOAA Fisheries/Southwest Fisheries Science Center, SR3 Sealife Response, Rehabilitation, and Research and the Vancouver Aquarium’s Coastal Ocean Research Institute. Endangered Puget Sound orcas that feed on chinook salmon face more competition from seals, sea lions and other killer whales than from commercial and recreational fishermen, a new study finds. (John Durban/NOAA Fisheries/Southwest Fisheries Science Center via AP)

Endangered orcas compete with seals, sea lions for salmon

SEATTLE — Harbor seals, sea lions and some fish-eating killer whales have been rebounding along the Northeast Pacific Ocean in recent decades. But that boom… Continue reading

  • Nov 20, 2017
  • By PHUONG LE
In this September photo made with a drone, a young resident killer whale chases a chinook salmon in the Salish Sea near San Juan Island, Wash. The photo, made under a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) permit, which gives researchers permission to approach the animals, was made in collaboration with NOAA Fisheries/Southwest Fisheries Science Center, SR3 Sealife Response, Rehabilitation, and Research and the Vancouver Aquarium’s Coastal Ocean Research Institute. Endangered Puget Sound orcas that feed on chinook salmon face more competition from seals, sea lions and other killer whales than from commercial and recreational fishermen, a new study finds. (John Durban/NOAA Fisheries/Southwest Fisheries Science Center via AP)
Two moose trot through deep snow to seek fresh browse near Kenai’s Floatplane Road on Monday, Nov. 20, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. The pair were accompanied by a third, older moose (not pictured), possibly a mother. Drivers should keep in mind that moose are often accompanied by their calves through the winter — after a near miss with a moose on the road, it’s best to remember that a younger moose may follow it out of the woods. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Moose riding caboose

Two moose trot through deep snow to seek fresh browse near Kenai’s Floatplane Road on Monday in Kenai. The pair were accompanied by a third,… Continue reading

  • Nov 20, 2017
Two moose trot through deep snow to seek fresh browse near Kenai’s Floatplane Road on Monday, Nov. 20, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. The pair were accompanied by a third, older moose (not pictured), possibly a mother. Drivers should keep in mind that moose are often accompanied by their calves through the winter — after a near miss with a moose on the road, it’s best to remember that a younger moose may follow it out of the woods. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Budget cuts hit prosecutors hard

To see how state budget cuts are affecting Alaska’s legal system, head to Juneau’s courthouse and search the court calendar for misdemeanor drug crimes. You’ll… Continue reading

Dawson Lockwood lets off a shot at a flying clay target through filtering snow during an event at the Snowshoe Gun Club on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. A group of shooters gathered at the shooting range Sunday as part of the club’s annual Thanksgiving event, which features “Annie Oakley” trap shooting game as well as several other events. Despite the snow, a number of people turned out to try the shooting games and to enjoy the warm central building on a chilly Sunday afternoon. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Target practice

Dawson Lockwood lets off a shot at a flying clay target through filtering snow during an event at the Snowshoe Gun Club on Sunday in… Continue reading

Dawson Lockwood lets off a shot at a flying clay target through filtering snow during an event at the Snowshoe Gun Club on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. A group of shooters gathered at the shooting range Sunday as part of the club’s annual Thanksgiving event, which features “Annie Oakley” trap shooting game as well as several other events. Despite the snow, a number of people turned out to try the shooting games and to enjoy the warm central building on a chilly Sunday afternoon. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
In this November 2015 photo, a diner gathers a plate of food for the Thanksgiving meal at the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank’s Fireweed Diner near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Community organizations, volunteers offer Thanksgiving dinner

Not everyone has the traditional combination of family, food and friends for Thanksgiving within reach at Thanksgiving. Volunteers are stepping up to make dinner all… Continue reading

In this November 2015 photo, a diner gathers a plate of food for the Thanksgiving meal at the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank’s Fireweed Diner near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Alaska VA to expand, continue work on wait time issues

Leaders at Alaska’s veterans health care system are planning to expand the agency’s workforce in the state. The agency, which provides health care services to… Continue reading

Kimani Nyambura, foreground, signs to a deaf student from Nanwalek while the school skypes into his presentation with human rights lawyer Chris Mburu Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 at Port Graham School in Port Graham, Alaska. The pair, who are the subject of a documentary called “A Small Act,” presented about their journeys to education from a small village in Kenai to several Kenai Peninsula schools this week. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)

A small act

A small act changed Chris Mburu’s life. Hilde Back, a holocaust survivor living in Sweden, decided to sponsor the education of a student in Kenya… Continue reading

Kimani Nyambura, foreground, signs to a deaf student from Nanwalek while the school skypes into his presentation with human rights lawyer Chris Mburu Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 at Port Graham School in Port Graham, Alaska. The pair, who are the subject of a documentary called “A Small Act,” presented about their journeys to education from a small village in Kenai to several Kenai Peninsula schools this week. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)

Anchorage port gets new name, but problems remain

ANCHORAGE — The Port of Anchorage is no more. No, it did not slough off into Cook Inlet overnight, though parts of it have. Rather,… Continue reading

  • Nov 18, 2017
  • By ELWOOD BREHMER

Alaska Native graduation rates rise

Graduation rates for Native Alaskan students in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District continue to rise, with 91 percent of Native students graduating in fiscal… Continue reading

Special legislative session staggers toward end

JUNEAU — The special legislative session is staggering toward its end scheduled for Tuesday, with a small contingent of lawmakers holding so-called technical sessions to… Continue reading

Kenai acquiring land for bluff erosion

Kenai’s municipal government is steadily buying the land necessary for a planned mile-long rock berm meant to halt the three-feet-per-year erosion wearing away the ground… Continue reading

Light quake shakes Central Peninsula

A 4.4 magnitude earthquake was felt throughout the central peninsula on Friday afternoon. The quake occurred at 12:16 p.m. and was followed by two smaller… 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)

Board of Game takes no action on permit requirement for domestic sheep, goats

Owners of domestic sheep and goats won’t have to get permits for their animals for now, though members of the state Board of Game urged… 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)
Zac Buckbee works on the ‘canstruction’ of Puncity while classmates visit the small city, made of donated food in the hallways of Redoubt Elementary School in Soldotna on Thursday. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

‘Canstruction’ continues at Redoubt Elementary

Puncity seems like a nice place, it really has it all. Just past a corn field of canned corn is the ranch, marked by a… Continue reading

Zac Buckbee works on the ‘canstruction’ of Puncity while classmates visit the small city, made of donated food in the hallways of Redoubt Elementary School in Soldotna on Thursday. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)
In this undated photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, caribou from the Porcupine Caribou Herd migrate onto the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska. A showdown is looming in the nation’s capital over whether to open America’s largest wildlife refuge to oil drilling. A budget measure approved by the Republican-controlled Congress allows lawmakers to pursue legislation that would allow drilling on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge takes up an area nearly the size of South Carolina in Alaska’s northeast corner. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)

Congress debates oil drilling in largest US wildlife refuge

ANCHORAGE — Sometime next April, pregnant cows in the Porcupine Caribou Herd in Canada will take the lead in an annual migration of nearly 200,000… Continue reading

  • Nov 16, 2017
  • By Dan Joling
In this undated photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, caribou from the Porcupine Caribou Herd migrate onto the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska. A showdown is looming in the nation’s capital over whether to open America’s largest wildlife refuge to oil drilling. A budget measure approved by the Republican-controlled Congress allows lawmakers to pursue legislation that would allow drilling on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge takes up an area nearly the size of South Carolina in Alaska’s northeast corner. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)

Kenai Peninsula Food Bank director Linda Swarner to retire

After 15 years as Executive Director of the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank, Linda Swarner will be retiring from the position in spring 2018. Swarner announced… Continue reading