News

Black bears prompt Rotary Park closing

Soldotna’s 52-acre Rotary Park located along Funny River Road is temporarily closed due to black bear activity. Soldotna Parks and Recreation Director Andrew Carmichael said… Continue reading

A sockeye salmon’s tail protrudes above the edge of a bin on a setnet site in this July 11, 2016 photo near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Commercial fishing season slow so far, big chum harvest for drift fleet

Upper Cook Inlet’s commercial fishing season has been relatively slow so far, but it will likely pick up speed soon. The earliest commercial fishing in… Continue reading

A sockeye salmon’s tail protrudes above the edge of a bin on a setnet site in this July 11, 2016 photo near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
A retired U.S Airforce Lockheed T-33 fighter jet stands on a pedestal in front of the Kenai Municipal Airport on July 7, 2017 in Kenai. The Kenai Airport Commission is discussing giving the plane a fresh coat of paint this summer. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Airport T-33 may get new paint

The aircraft mounted in the grassy lot in front of the Kenai Municipal Airport — a retired U.S Air Force Lockheed T-33 “Thunderbird”— may be… Continue reading

A retired U.S Airforce Lockheed T-33 fighter jet stands on a pedestal in front of the Kenai Municipal Airport on July 7, 2017 in Kenai. The Kenai Airport Commission is discussing giving the plane a fresh coat of paint this summer. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
This Feb. 2, 2008 file photo shows the ConocoPhillips LNG facility in Nikiski. (Clarion file photo)

ConocoPhillips to mothball LNG facility

JUNEAU — In 2016, ConocoPhillips announced that it was putting its liquefied natural gas plant in Kenai on the market. But, the company hasn’t yet… Continue reading

  • Jul 12, 2017
  • By Rashah McChesney
This Feb. 2, 2008 file photo shows the ConocoPhillips LNG facility in Nikiski. (Clarion file photo)
Tom Lyman of Michigan holds up a sockeye salmon he caught in the Kenai River on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Lyman, who is visiting Alaska with his son, said he hadn’t been casting for long when he hooked into the fish. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Fishing report: Some sockeye showing on Kenai, big pulse yet to come

Kenai River sockeye salmon are making their way up the river in growing numbers, though it’s still a little slow. Tom Lyman, a Michigan resident… Continue reading

Tom Lyman of Michigan holds up a sockeye salmon he caught in the Kenai River on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Lyman, who is visiting Alaska with his son, said he hadn’t been casting for long when he hooked into the fish. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Clarion reporter Kat Sorensen demonstrates how to tie an angler’s loop knot to create a stringer so sportfishermen can hang onto their catches on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. For a full video demonstration, check out the Peninsula Clarion’s Facebook page. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Photo: Learn to tie an angler’s loop knot

By Elizabeth Earl Peninsula Clarion… Continue reading

Clarion reporter Kat Sorensen demonstrates how to tie an angler’s loop knot to create a stringer so sportfishermen can hang onto their catches on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. For a full video demonstration, check out the Peninsula Clarion’s Facebook page. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

District recommends changes to hospital contract

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education wants a different billing arrangement with the Central Peninsula Hospital, according to a letter from the… Continue reading

Kenai Peninsula still has high per-capita opioid prescription rate

The Kenai Peninsula Borough is among the counties leading the nation in per-capita opioid prescriptions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A… Continue reading

Dog rolls truck into Kenai River

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include that the dog had died after the vehicle was submerged in the river.  The “Dipnet Kenai”… Continue reading

  • Jul 10, 2017
  • By KAT SORENSEN

Army Corps leaders speak on Kenai bluff erosion

Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct the date of the meeting to July 6. Last week Kenai residents provided input on one… Continue reading

A dipnetter reaches to retrieve a sockeye salmon caught in her net on the Kenai Beach on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Tuesday was the second day of the Kenai River personal-use dipnet fishery, which will remain open until July 31. The fishery was relatively quiet Tuesday, with a dipnetter hauling in a fish every once in awhile, and unlike many July weekends, there was plenty of room in the water for more participants. Sockeye salmon have been relatively slow to enter the Kenai this year, with about 94,885 past the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s sonar as of Monday, significantly less than in 2016 but ahead of years like 2013, 2012 and 2011, according to Fish and Game data. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Police prepared for safe dipnet season

As business and traffic ramps up in Kenai as thousands of dipnetters arrive from all over the state, members of the Kenai Police Department find… Continue reading

A dipnetter reaches to retrieve a sockeye salmon caught in her net on the Kenai Beach on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Tuesday was the second day of the Kenai River personal-use dipnet fishery, which will remain open until July 31. The fishery was relatively quiet Tuesday, with a dipnetter hauling in a fish every once in awhile, and unlike many July weekends, there was plenty of room in the water for more participants. Sockeye salmon have been relatively slow to enter the Kenai this year, with about 94,885 past the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s sonar as of Monday, significantly less than in 2016 but ahead of years like 2013, 2012 and 2011, according to Fish and Game data. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough to settle Dunne free speech case

The court case between a current Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly member and the borough administration has reached a conclusion. Willy Dunne, who has represented District… Continue reading

Audience members clap along to the Blackwater Railroad Company’s afternoon performance Aug. 7, 2016 at Salmonfest 2016 in Ninilchik, Alaska. Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion

Salmonfest returns for its seventh year

For three days at the beginning of August, thousands of people will fill the Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds in Ninilchik for Salmonfest, a celebration of ‘fish,… Continue reading

Audience members clap along to the Blackwater Railroad Company’s afternoon performance Aug. 7, 2016 at Salmonfest 2016 in Ninilchik, Alaska. Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion

District reinstates 7.5 teaching positions

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education has approved a revised Fiscal Year 2018 budget that reinstates 7.5 teaching positions, but administrators remain… Continue reading

Summer of Heroes still accepting nominations

Summer vacation continues on, but the nomination period for the 2017 Summer of Heroes program, sponsored by Alaska Communication and Boys & Girls Clubs —… Continue reading

  • Jul 10, 2017
  • By KAT SORENSEN
Eagle Scout candidate Derek Brown and fellow members of Kenai’s Boy Scout Troop 152 Joey Freeman (left) and Jimmy Freeman (right) paint the flower box outside Kenai’s American Legion post as part of Brown’s Eagle Scout community service project on Monday, July 10, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. To earn Boy Scouting’s highest rank, Brown organized the troop, along with friends and family members, in repainting the flower box red, white, and blue, and planting it with a pattern of red, white, and blue flowers, along with purple petunias to symbolize the Purple Heart military decoration given to wounded soldiers. Brown, who began planning the project about two weeks ago, said his two brothers had previously done Eagle Scout projects to benefit schools and churches. “I wanted to do something for the veterans, and this was the best I could come up with,” Brown said.

Doing a good turn

Eagle Scout candidate Derek Brown and fellow members of Kenai’s Boy Scout Troop 152 Joey Freeman (left) and Jimmy Freeman (right) paint the flower box… Continue reading

Eagle Scout candidate Derek Brown and fellow members of Kenai’s Boy Scout Troop 152 Joey Freeman (left) and Jimmy Freeman (right) paint the flower box outside Kenai’s American Legion post as part of Brown’s Eagle Scout community service project on Monday, July 10, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. To earn Boy Scouting’s highest rank, Brown organized the troop, along with friends and family members, in repainting the flower box red, white, and blue, and planting it with a pattern of red, white, and blue flowers, along with purple petunias to symbolize the Purple Heart military decoration given to wounded soldiers. Brown, who began planning the project about two weeks ago, said his two brothers had previously done Eagle Scout projects to benefit schools and churches. “I wanted to do something for the veterans, and this was the best I could come up with,” Brown said.

Assembly to consider bed tax

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will consider whether to send a borough-wide bed tax to voters at its next meeting. The tax, proposed by Borough… Continue reading

Local leaders brainstorm on future economic development

Local business and government leaders discussed ways to expand the Kenai Peninsula and Alaska beyond relying primarily on resource extraction at a two-day forum at… Continue reading

Kenaitze Executive Director resigns

After 10 years as executive director of the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, Jaylene Peterson-Nyren has resigned. Peterson-Nyren resigned effective June 16, according to a statement issued… Continue reading

Raindrops glisten on the petals of woolly geranium flowers growing near the boardwalk in Soldotna Creek Park on Sunday, July 9, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Heavy rainfall Saturday night cleared off briefly Sunday morning before turning back to heavy showers Sunday afternoon on the central peninsula, dousing anglers out fishing on the Kenai River briefly before abating and allowing a little blue sky to peek through. After a rainy weekend, the National Weather Service is predicting the weather to warm in the coming week and for the clouds to clear by Wednesday, with temperatures reaching the high 60s and low 70s. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Photo: Summer showers, wildflowers

Raindrops glisten on the petals of woolly geranium flowers growing near the boardwalk in Soldotna Creek Park on Sunday in Soldotna. Heavy rainfall Saturday night… Continue reading

Raindrops glisten on the petals of woolly geranium flowers growing near the boardwalk in Soldotna Creek Park on Sunday, July 9, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Heavy rainfall Saturday night cleared off briefly Sunday morning before turning back to heavy showers Sunday afternoon on the central peninsula, dousing anglers out fishing on the Kenai River briefly before abating and allowing a little blue sky to peek through. After a rainy weekend, the National Weather Service is predicting the weather to warm in the coming week and for the clouds to clear by Wednesday, with temperatures reaching the high 60s and low 70s. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)