News

State employees union to file grievance over DOT outsourcing

The state’s largest public employee union plans to file a class action grievance against the Walker administration regarding the outsourcing of design work within the… Continue reading

  • Dec 25, 2016
  • By LISA PHU
ADVANCE FOR SATURDAY DEC. 24, 2016 AND THEREAFTER - In this Dec. 13, 2016 photo, Pioneers Home resident Joe Nistler, 90, reacts to a virtual reality video of a herd of elephants walking while Lincoln Markham, right, watches in Fairbanks, Alaska. Lincoln Markham and Dan Markham are the father-son duo behind the extremely popular What's Inside YouTube channel. (Matt Buxton/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP)

Father-son YouTubers share virtual reality with seniors

FAIRBANKS (AP) — With a chilly Fairbanks morning framed in the rec room window, seniors at the Pioneers’ Home took turns taking a trip to… Continue reading

  • Dec 25, 2016
  • By Matt Buxton
ADVANCE FOR SATURDAY DEC. 24, 2016 AND THEREAFTER - In this Dec. 13, 2016 photo, Pioneers Home resident Joe Nistler, 90, reacts to a virtual reality video of a herd of elephants walking while Lincoln Markham, right, watches in Fairbanks, Alaska. Lincoln Markham and Dan Markham are the father-son duo behind the extremely popular What's Inside YouTube channel. (Matt Buxton/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner via AP)

UAA joins entrepreneurship program

With its terrain, tough climate and remoteness, Alaska has its challenges.In certain fields, like energy, the state has become a kind of incubator for new… Continue reading

  • Dec 25, 2016
  • By Tim Bradner
Photo courtesy Dave Remley/The Kenai Peninsula College Historical Photo Repository This 1958 photo by Dave Remley shows the Spencer family's homestead on Beaver Creek, now in Kenai. David Spencer, the first manager of the Kenai National Moose Range, now the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, and his family lived on the homestead until they moved to Anchorage in 1968.

A matter of trust

Step by step, a father outlined the edge of his land every morning. His daughter rode on his shoulders, taking in the sight of the… Continue reading

Photo courtesy Dave Remley/The Kenai Peninsula College Historical Photo Repository This 1958 photo by Dave Remley shows the Spencer family's homestead on Beaver Creek, now in Kenai. David Spencer, the first manager of the Kenai National Moose Range, now the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, and his family lived on the homestead until they moved to Anchorage in 1968.
A fixture is lifted into place above the entrance canopy at the Alaska State Capitol building on Thursday.

New-look Capitol awaits lawmakers

There are two ways to look at the just-completed four years of renovations at the Alaska State Capitol: Inside and out. “I don’t think you’ll… Continue reading

A fixture is lifted into place above the entrance canopy at the Alaska State Capitol building on Thursday.
In this Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, photo Emma Bohman, a sales associate at Skinny Raven sporting goods, shows two kinds of exterior cleats attached to running shoes in Anchorage, Alaska. Exterior cleats are one of many ways Anchorage residents cope with up ice on streets up to seven months per year. (AP Photo/Dan Joling)

Footwear options abound to stay upright

ANCHORAGE — Darrell Bachmann doesn’t wear ruby slippers, but when he clicks his heel, something magical happens.Bachmann invented KickSpikes, a boot designed to walk on… Continue reading

  • Dec 24, 2016
  • By Dan Joling
In this Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, photo Emma Bohman, a sales associate at Skinny Raven sporting goods, shows two kinds of exterior cleats attached to running shoes in Anchorage, Alaska. Exterior cleats are one of many ways Anchorage residents cope with up ice on streets up to seven months per year. (AP Photo/Dan Joling)

8 applicants seek Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly seat

Eight people — coming from diverse backgrounds in media, management, academics, utilities, and business — have applied to fill the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly seat… Continue reading

Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Broken plates of ice lay on the banks of the Kenai River as mist obscures the view of Mt. Redoubt on Thursday, Dec. 22 in Kenai.

Photo: Down by the river

Broken plates of ice line the banks of the Kenai River as mist obscures the view of Mt. Redoubt on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016 in… Continue reading

Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Broken plates of ice lay on the banks of the Kenai River as mist obscures the view of Mt. Redoubt on Thursday, Dec. 22 in Kenai.

Science in the sky

As young boys growing up in Nikiski, Ben and Nick Kellie spent hours upon hours creating memories together by flying through the Alaska sky. Today,… Continue reading

Wildlife officials say 3 wolves hunted, trapped on Douglas

JUNEAU — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has closed wolf hunting and trapping on Douglas Island after three wolves were killed by harvesters.The… Continue reading

  • Dec 22, 2016

Mayor plans to boot homeless

In a work session early next month the Juneau Assembly will begin work on an ordinance that — if passed in its current form —… Continue reading

  • Dec 22, 2016
  • By Sam DeGrave

BLM says survey method could save $60M, state not so sure

The State of Alaska and the Interior Department have found yet another reason not to exchange greetings cards this holiday season.The Bureau of Land Management… Continue reading

  • Dec 22, 2016
  • By ELWOOD BREHMER
In this Dec. 7, 2016 photo, Jim Sproul, a member of the dissolved Grant County Public Forest Commission, gestures while visiting Malheur National Forest near John Day, Ore. The armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters caused a sensation and global headlines, but a quieter and perhaps more important struggle is being waged by those trying to use the levers of power, and not firearms. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

1 year after refuge takeover, quieter land battle unfolds

JOHN DAY, Ore. — On a recent wintry evening, members of the Grant County Public Forest Commission walked into the warmth of a rustic diner… Continue reading

  • Dec 22, 2016
  • By ANDREW SELSKY
In this Dec. 7, 2016 photo, Jim Sproul, a member of the dissolved Grant County Public Forest Commission, gestures while visiting Malheur National Forest near John Day, Ore. The armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters caused a sensation and global headlines, but a quieter and perhaps more important struggle is being waged by those trying to use the levers of power, and not firearms. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)
Lauree Morton, Executive Director of the Council on Domestic Violence at the Alaska Department of Public Safety, welcomes people to the One Billion Rising for Justice event at the State Office Building's atrium on Friday, Feb. 14, 2014.

State’s leader on domestic violence forced out

Lauree Morton ended her 30-year career fighting sexual assault and domestic violence after a Nov. 18 meeting with Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. “I was… Continue reading

Lauree Morton, Executive Director of the Council on Domestic Violence at the Alaska Department of Public Safety, welcomes people to the One Billion Rising for Justice event at the State Office Building's atrium on Friday, Feb. 14, 2014.

Governor’s budget would cut DOT jobs

The proposed cuts in Gov. Bill Walker’s fiscal year 2018 budget would fall heavily across the state, including broad reductions to the Alaska Department of… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Comet (right) and Crash (left), reindeer owned and raised by Jenna Hansen of Nikiski, pose for pictures with people who drop by Trustworthy Hardware 2 on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2016 in Soldotna, Alaska. The Hansen family and the reindeer make regular appearances in town around Christmastime. On Friday evening, they'll make a stop at the Klimpke family's Christmas lights display.

Photo: Party crashers

… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Comet (right) and Crash (left), reindeer owned and raised by Jenna Hansen of Nikiski, pose for pictures with people who drop by Trustworthy Hardware 2 on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2016 in Soldotna, Alaska. The Hansen family and the reindeer make regular appearances in town around Christmastime. On Friday evening, they'll make a stop at the Klimpke family's Christmas lights display.

State receives AK LNG work; land issue unresolved

The State of Alaska is now halfway to officially leading the Alaska LNG Project after the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. board unanimously approved a resolution… Continue reading

  • Dec 21, 2016
  • By ELWOOD BREHMER
Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Sterling resident Laurel Lee listens during a sentencing hearing Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016 at the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska. Lee was convicted of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor in May and was sentenced to five years in jail Tuesday.

Sterling woman gets 5 years for sex abuse of minor

Sterling resident Laurel Lee was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday in the final hearing of a sexual abuse case more than two years… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Sterling resident Laurel Lee listens during a sentencing hearing Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016 at the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska. Lee was convicted of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor in May and was sentenced to five years in jail Tuesday.

Former access point to Lower Trail Lake remains closed

Access to a trailhead off the Seward Highway near Moose Pass will stay blocked off because of safety concerns on the nearby railroad tracks.Boaters were… Continue reading

Health insurance enrollment up

Those seeking health insurance for the upcoming year have a little over a month left to get their coverage lined up.The open enrollment period for… Continue reading