News

Mayor addresses state, borough outlook

Though the Kenai Peninsula Borough and the state are separate entities in charge of their own finances, the two are so intertwined that the future… Continue reading

Kenai Central High School ninth grader Chelsea Plagge, 15, tests out the height of a hanging ball just before a practice run of a high kick game Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017 at the Yaghanen Youth Programs building off of Kalifornsky Beach Road near Soldotna, Alaska. She and dozens of other local kids will participate in the 2017 Peninsula Winter Games Native Youth Olympics Invitational which features traditional Native games this weekend. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)

Kids gear up for annual Native Youth Olympics

Culture and friendly competition will collide this weekend in the annual Peninsula Winter Games Native Youth Olympics Invitational, during which kids from all over Southcentral… Continue reading

Kenai Central High School ninth grader Chelsea Plagge, 15, tests out the height of a hanging ball just before a practice run of a high kick game Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017 at the Yaghanen Youth Programs building off of Kalifornsky Beach Road near Soldotna, Alaska. She and dozens of other local kids will participate in the 2017 Peninsula Winter Games Native Youth Olympics Invitational which features traditional Native games this weekend. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)
This map generated by the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge shows the areas that are open and closed to snowmachining on the Kenai Peninsula. The refuge opened all areas traditionally allowed for snowmachining Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017 after the peninsula got enough snowfall over the weekend. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Refuge opens to snowmachining

Snowmachiners of the Kenai Peninaula can rejoice for the first time in three years — the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge has opened every area where… Continue reading

This map generated by the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge shows the areas that are open and closed to snowmachining on the Kenai Peninsula. The refuge opened all areas traditionally allowed for snowmachining Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017 after the peninsula got enough snowfall over the weekend. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Deficit is distant thunder as Legislature convenes

For one day, there were smiles. At times resembling students returning for the first day of a new high school year, the 30th Alaska Legislature… Continue reading

Police seek man suspected of stealing car with child inside

Police search for man who stole car with child inside ANCHORAGE (AP) — A warrant has been issued for a man suspected of stealing a… Continue reading

  • Jan 17, 2017

School district continues work on transgender policy

School district administrators and board members are working on guidelines for how the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District should accommodate transgender students. National controversy arose… Continue reading

Delegation revs up for another ANWR fight

Alaska’s congressional delegation is hoping the 13th time will be the lucky one for legislation to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and… Continue reading

  • Jan 16, 2017
  • By ELWOOD BREHMER
Republican Representative-elect Gary Knopp sits in his office at the Alaska Capitol on Monday, Jan. 16, 2017, in Juneau, Alaska. Knopp is among the newly elected legislators who will be sworn in Tuesday. Among Alaska’s newest legislators, there is optimism and an eagerness to get to work on addressing the state’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Optimism, eagerness among newest legislators

JUNEAU — Among Alaska’s newest legislators, there is optimism and an eagerness to get to work on addressing the state’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit. Rep.-elect George… Continue reading

Republican Representative-elect Gary Knopp sits in his office at the Alaska Capitol on Monday, Jan. 16, 2017, in Juneau, Alaska. Knopp is among the newly elected legislators who will be sworn in Tuesday. Among Alaska’s newest legislators, there is optimism and an eagerness to get to work on addressing the state’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
Kids learned the basics of visible and invisible light during a presentation from the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska on Monday, Jan. 16, 2017 at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska. There wasn’t much sunlight, but the kids attending the event heard about the electromagnetic spectrum and learned how to use a spectrometer to see the types of light in the world around them. Summer Lazenby, the director of educational operations at the Challenger Learning Center, brought filters and spectrometers for the kids to see firsthand how light moves and is split into its different components of color.

Photo: Let there be light

Kids learned the basics of visible and invisible light during a presentation from the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska on Monday, Jan. 16, 2017 at… Continue reading

Kids learned the basics of visible and invisible light during a presentation from the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska on Monday, Jan. 16, 2017 at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska. There wasn’t much sunlight, but the kids attending the event heard about the electromagnetic spectrum and learned how to use a spectrometer to see the types of light in the world around them. Summer Lazenby, the director of educational operations at the Challenger Learning Center, brought filters and spectrometers for the kids to see firsthand how light moves and is split into its different components of color.

Board of Education sees preliminary budget

With still unknown budget allocations from the state and borough for next year, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education is working on… Continue reading

Trees grow on the side of Mt. Marathon overlooking Resurrection Bay on Nov. 6, 2016 near Seward, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

New plants appear on peninsula as climate shifts

Are exotic plants still exotic when the climate around them changes so that they fit right in? That’s the question a local biologist posed to… Continue reading

Trees grow on the side of Mt. Marathon overlooking Resurrection Bay on Nov. 6, 2016 near Seward, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
In this July 20, 2016 photo, a dipnetter walks along the banks of the lower Kenai River downstream of the Warren Ames Bridge in Kenai, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

KRSMA board asks for sunset on dipnet bank closure proposal

The citizen advisory board for the Kenai River Special Management Area wants to see an end date set on the Alaska Department of Fish and… Continue reading

In this July 20, 2016 photo, a dipnetter walks along the banks of the lower Kenai River downstream of the Warren Ames Bridge in Kenai, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
A drift gillnet fishing vessel makes its way out of the mouth of the Kenai River in this July 2016 file photo near Kenai, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion0

Victorious Inlet drifters file to vacate salmon rule

A Cook Inlet salmon plan will take a lot more work from federal managers in the next few years. The United Cook Inlet Drift Association,… Continue reading

  • Jan 15, 2017
  • By DJ SUMMERS
A drift gillnet fishing vessel makes its way out of the mouth of the Kenai River in this July 2016 file photo near Kenai, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion0

Assembly resolution: Members only speak for themselves

A resolution planned for hearing at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly would clarify that each assembly member’s opinions about the assembly’s controversial invocation policy are… Continue reading

Juneau population drops to 2012 levels

If employment is the pulse of an economy, population is its blood pressure — a sign of its overall condition. Juneau’s blood pressure is dropping,… Continue reading

Peninsula schools take part in orchestra concert

Kenai Peninsula students will get a chance to play and sing along with the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra in a set of concerts this week. Through… Continue reading

Snow begins to fly in the mountains around Skilak Lake near the Skyline Trail on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Friday, Jan. 13, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. The Kenai Peninsula saw a warm day Friday, with temperatures up to 20 degrees on parts of the peninsula, but will plunge into a cold snap along with the rest of the state in the coming week. Sunday’s high is 13 degrees with a chance of snow, and by Wednesday, the high will be approximately 4 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. In the Interior, the National Weather Service predicts a high of minus 18 degrees for Fairbanks on Sunday. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Photo: Winter days

… Continue reading

Snow begins to fly in the mountains around Skilak Lake near the Skyline Trail on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Friday, Jan. 13, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. The Kenai Peninsula saw a warm day Friday, with temperatures up to 20 degrees on parts of the peninsula, but will plunge into a cold snap along with the rest of the state in the coming week. Sunday’s high is 13 degrees with a chance of snow, and by Wednesday, the high will be approximately 4 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. In the Interior, the National Weather Service predicts a high of minus 18 degrees for Fairbanks on Sunday. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Board of Game reauthorizes wolf control on lower peninsula

The Alaska Board of Game passed a proposal at its Bethel meeting reauthorizing a predator control area for wolves in part of a game management… Continue reading

Nikiski family has carbon monoxide scare, fire department installs alarms

As temperatures drop and the heaters kick on in homes across the Kenai Peninsula for longer periods of time, emergency responders warn that the risk… Continue reading

ConocoPhillips announces oil discovery

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — ConocoPhillips has announced an oil discovery where production could start as early as 2023. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the site… Continue reading

  • Jan 14, 2017