News

Bed tax fails, sales tax cap goes to ballot

Kenai Peninsula voters will consider an increase to the cap on taxable sales in the borough this fall. The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly approved a… Continue reading

Students run off some energy before taekwondo class begins at Challenge Martial Arts Studio on Monday, Aug. 14, 2017 in Nikiski, Alaska. The studio, which opened in June, offers taekwondo and kickboxing classes in a renovated studio a few doors down from the M&M Supermarket on the Kenai Spur Highway. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Couple opens taekwondo studio in Nikiski

The theme of the day in the Challenge Martial Arts taekwondo class was self-control, and the students repeated the phrase in chorus while preparing for… Continue reading

Students run off some energy before taekwondo class begins at Challenge Martial Arts Studio on Monday, Aug. 14, 2017 in Nikiski, Alaska. The studio, which opened in June, offers taekwondo and kickboxing classes in a renovated studio a few doors down from the M&M Supermarket on the Kenai Spur Highway. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
4-H club members guide their pigs around the barnyard during hog confirmation judging at the Kenai Peninsula State Fair in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)

Kenai Peninsula fair returns this weekend

The Kenai Peninsula racing pigs will be running through a “Tunnel of Fun” at this year’s Kenai Peninsula Fair in Ninilchik. The annual three-day event… Continue reading

4-H club members guide their pigs around the barnyard during hog confirmation judging at the Kenai Peninsula State Fair in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)
Commercial fishing boats sit anchored near the mouth of the Kenai River on Friday, July 28, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Commercialset gillnet fishermen and drift gillnet fishermen were able to go out for a fishing period Saturday after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game opened an additional period from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Most commercial fishing ends Monday

Most commercial fishing in Upper Cook Inlet ended Monday, with the set gillnet fishermen in the Kasilof section getting one extra day Tuesday. The east… Continue reading

Commercial fishing boats sit anchored near the mouth of the Kenai River on Friday, July 28, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Commercialset gillnet fishermen and drift gillnet fishermen were able to go out for a fishing period Saturday after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game opened an additional period from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Kasilof man arrested after Saturday chase

After a chase along Kalifornsky Beach Road, Alaska State Troopers arrested Clayton Nelson, 23, of Kasilof on Saturday after a Friday incident in which he’d… Continue reading

Soldotna hires consultants to open annexation conversation

The city of Soldotna is continuing its research into the annexation of nearby areas currently outside of city boundaries by creating a forum for public… Continue reading

A trumpeter swan floats in the shallows of Tern Lake near the intersection of the Seward and Sterling highways Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Midnight swim

A trumpeter swan floats in the shallows of Tern Lake near the intersection of the Seward and Sterling highways Wednesday near Cooper Landing. With the… Continue reading

A trumpeter swan floats in the shallows of Tern Lake near the intersection of the Seward and Sterling highways Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Welles to resign from assembly

Assembly member Stan Welles has submitted his resignation from the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly. Welles submitted his resignation in a resolution to be considered by… Continue reading

Tribe bringing awareness to suicide in community

In 2015, the State of Alaska’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 44.2 percent of Alaska Native youth felt so sad or hopeless every day… Continue reading

Six-year-old David Clyde joins Ty Grenier at the top of the rope climb at the Kenai Municipal Park’s Enchanted Forest playground Sunday, August 13, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. After a bout of rainy weather, the playground was filled with families and friends enjoying the good weather. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

A welcomed, sunny Sunday

Blue skies, sun shining… Continue reading

Six-year-old David Clyde joins Ty Grenier at the top of the rope climb at the Kenai Municipal Park’s Enchanted Forest playground Sunday, August 13, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. After a bout of rainy weather, the playground was filled with families and friends enjoying the good weather. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Drilling fluid released from Hilcorp platform

Two gallons of oil-based drilling fluid spilled into Cook Inlet during a drilling operation aboard Hilcorp’s Steelhead Platform on Monday after a burst hose on… Continue reading

Auction ready: 4-H club prepares for annual auction event

Auction ready: 4-H club prepares for annual auction event

Fair warning, don’t get in between two fighting pigs, according to Elora Reichert, a member of the 4-H Club and last year’s winner of the… Continue reading

Auction ready: 4-H club prepares for annual auction event
A young goat explores the land at Karluk Acres in Kenai on July 12. The Office of the State Veterinarian is looking for owners of sheep and goats to take part in a study on the prevalence of a pneumonia inducing bacterium in Alaska. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

State vet asking for goats and sheep for study

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect the correct name of the bacterium and the correct sponsor of the study. The Office of the… Continue reading

A young goat explores the land at Karluk Acres in Kenai on July 12. The Office of the State Veterinarian is looking for owners of sheep and goats to take part in a study on the prevalence of a pneumonia inducing bacterium in Alaska. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)
Steve Schoonmaker of Kasilof serves salmon chowder to Diane Taylor of Kasilof at Soldotna Creek Park in celebration of Alaska Wild Salmon Day, an annual event to recognize the importance of the unique Alaska resource. “I’m here to show respoect for these honorable creatures,” Schoonmaker said. “&

Alaska Wild Salmon Day

The banks of the Kenai River in Soldotna Creek Park may be a little quieter, but the love for the salmon that fills the banks… Continue reading

Steve Schoonmaker of Kasilof serves salmon chowder to Diane Taylor of Kasilof at Soldotna Creek Park in celebration of Alaska Wild Salmon Day, an annual event to recognize the importance of the unique Alaska resource. “I’m here to show respoect for these honorable creatures,” Schoonmaker said. “&

Footing Alaska’s bill: Legislators talk about state budget

The Kenai Peninsula’s three legislators spoke Wednesday to an audience of Kenai and Soldotna Chamber of Commerce members about the legislative session that concluded last… Continue reading

Competitors, rural customers raise price complaints over GCI sale

Old grievances between Alaska’s telecoms have resurfaced with allegations that GCI holds a monopoly over the state’s broadband internet services, and after benefiting from the… Continue reading

Raindrops disturb the surface of the Kenai River as it riffles over a rock near Soldotna Creek Park on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017 near Soldotna, Alaska. The family of a man who went missing after falling into the Kenai River near Soldotna last week is still searching the water and banks downstream for traces of him and plans to continue the search Thursday. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Missing man’s family continue search on Kenai River

The family of a man who went missing on the Kenai River last week coordinated a search effort on the river Wednesday to look for… Continue reading

Raindrops disturb the surface of the Kenai River as it riffles over a rock near Soldotna Creek Park on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017 near Soldotna, Alaska. The family of a man who went missing after falling into the Kenai River near Soldotna last week is still searching the water and banks downstream for traces of him and plans to continue the search Thursday. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Fireweed blooms on the banks of the Kenai River in Soldotna Creek Park on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Though fireweed is not Alaska’s state flower, the pink blossoms are ubiquitous across the fields of the Kenai Peninsula and elsewhere in the state in the late summer months. The flower actually ranges all across northern North America, growing from sea level up to the alpine zone everywhere from Alaska to Arizona, according to the U.S. Forest Service.The name comes from the perennial plant’s ability to quickly colonize and take over former burn area, according to the Forest Service. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Photo: Signals of summer

Signals of summer Fireweed blooms on the banks of the Kenai River in Soldotna Creek Park on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Though… Continue reading

Fireweed blooms on the banks of the Kenai River in Soldotna Creek Park on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Though fireweed is not Alaska’s state flower, the pink blossoms are ubiquitous across the fields of the Kenai Peninsula and elsewhere in the state in the late summer months. The flower actually ranges all across northern North America, growing from sea level up to the alpine zone everywhere from Alaska to Arizona, according to the U.S. Forest Service.The name comes from the perennial plant’s ability to quickly colonize and take over former burn area, according to the Forest Service. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Jordan Goldthwaite, 15, caught this 75 pound halibut Monday, Aug. 7, 2017 while fishing out of Homer, Alaska on his fathers boat, Dad’s Dream. (Photo courtesy Frank Goldthwaite)

Fishing report: River traffic quiets as sockeye taper off, silvers begin

The crowds on the Kenai River fishing docks have thinned out for the time being as the river’s salmon runs transition from red to silver.… Continue reading

Jordan Goldthwaite, 15, caught this 75 pound halibut Monday, Aug. 7, 2017 while fishing out of Homer, Alaska on his fathers boat, Dad’s Dream. (Photo courtesy Frank Goldthwaite)

Nature photographer focuses on hard-to-see birds, plants

From deep in the trees comes the voice of a bird. Even without looking up from his fishing, George Kirsch can identify it by the… Continue reading