News

Interior Department OKs survey for Izembek road

ANCHORAGE — A proposed road through a national wildlife refuge in Alaska, rejected by President Barack Obama, is getting new life in the Donald Trump… Continue reading

  • Jun 26, 2017
  • By Dan Joling
Derek Lewis, a Soldotna High School student, poses for a photo with Mike Rowe at a luncheon hosted by mikeroweWORKS, before the national SkillsUSA competition. Photo &

Soldotna student receives scholarship

A dirty job may not be in his future, but Soldotna High School student Derek Lewis was able to travel to Louisville, Kentucky thanks to… Continue reading

Derek Lewis, a Soldotna High School student, poses for a photo with Mike Rowe at a luncheon hosted by mikeroweWORKS, before the national SkillsUSA competition. Photo &
An otter swims while eating a clam in Homer Harbor Tuesday, June 20, 2017 in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Harborside dining

An otter swims while eating a clam in Homer Harbor Tuesday, June 20, 2017 in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)… Continue reading

  • Jun 25, 2017
  • By KAT SORENSEN
An otter swims while eating a clam in Homer Harbor Tuesday, June 20, 2017 in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough finalizing plans for North Road extension

About two decades after the Kenai Peninsula Borough first got federal funding to extend the Kenai Spur Highway northward, the borough is working on finalizing… Continue reading

This map included in a geographic names report by the Alaska Historical Commission shows the proposed names for three peaks and a ridge near Moose Pass, Alaska. (Courtesy the Alaska Historical Commission)

Assembly denies support for naming Moose Pass mountains

What’s in a mountain’s name? Sometimes it’s the history of a mountain, like Mount Marathon, named for the annual race run there since 1915. Sometimes… Continue reading

This map included in a geographic names report by the Alaska Historical Commission shows the proposed names for three peaks and a ridge near Moose Pass, Alaska. (Courtesy the Alaska Historical Commission)
Kimberly Sweet, chief judge for the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, applauds a participant of the Henu’ Community Wellness Court during a court hearing for the program’s seven participants Friday, June 23, 2017 at the Dena’ina Wellness Center in Kenai, Alaska. Though the joint therapeutic court between the state and the Kenaitze Indian Tribe has been running since January, it had a grand opening Friday on the tribe’s campus in Old Town Kenai. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)

Joint therapeutic court between tribe, state holds grand opening

Plenty of rain, and a few tears, fell in Old Town Kenai on Friday as creators of the Henu’ Community Wellness Court unveiled the therapeutic… Continue reading

Kimberly Sweet, chief judge for the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, applauds a participant of the Henu’ Community Wellness Court during a court hearing for the program’s seven participants Friday, June 23, 2017 at the Dena’ina Wellness Center in Kenai, Alaska. Though the joint therapeutic court between the state and the Kenaitze Indian Tribe has been running since January, it had a grand opening Friday on the tribe’s campus in Old Town Kenai. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)
A janitor vacuums at the Capitol just before midnight Thursday, June 23, 2017, after both the House and Senate voted to approve a budget and keep the State of Alaska from shutting down on July 1. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Legislature averts shutdown, but more work remains

The morning after the Alaska Legislature averted a statewide shutdown, you could find more tourists than legislators in the Capitol. Though the Legislature’s second special… Continue reading

A janitor vacuums at the Capitol just before midnight Thursday, June 23, 2017, after both the House and Senate voted to approve a budget and keep the State of Alaska from shutting down on July 1. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Star photo by Matt Tunseth Glen Trombley stands aboard his pontoon boat “The Dip Ship” outside his home in Peters Creek, Alaska on Monday, June 19, 2017. Trombley and his son, Kody, will operate the boat this summer in the Kenai River personal use salmon fishery.

Peters Creek father, son start Kenai River dipnet guide service

Glen Trombley knows his boat will get some attention this summer on the Kenai River, so he gave it a name to remember. “It’ll be… Continue reading

  • Jun 24, 2017
  • By Matt Tunseth
Star photo by Matt Tunseth Glen Trombley stands aboard his pontoon boat “The Dip Ship” outside his home in Peters Creek, Alaska on Monday, June 19, 2017. Trombley and his son, Kody, will operate the boat this summer in the Kenai River personal use salmon fishery.

Lawton Acres to have appraisal by July 5

In an ongoing debate about a city of Kenai-owned property contested for its value as either commercial land or a wooded residential buffer, the Kenai… Continue reading

An angler fillets his sockeye salmon caught on the Kenai River near the confluence with the Russian River on Sunday, June 11, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Russian River Sanctuary opens, bag limit doubles

Starting Saturday, anglers at the Russian River confluence can head up into the heart of the fishery to target sockeye salmon and can retain more… Continue reading

An angler fillets his sockeye salmon caught on the Kenai River near the confluence with the Russian River on Sunday, June 11, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Senators gather in the hallway of the Capitol on Thursday, June 22, 2017, after passing a budget that will keep that the State of Alaska from shutting down on July 1. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Alaska Legislature averts shutdown with nine days to spare

With nine days to spare, the Alaska Legislature has averted a statewide government shutdown. At 1:04 p.m. Thursday afternoon, a joint House-Senate conference committee approved… Continue reading

Senators gather in the hallway of the Capitol on Thursday, June 22, 2017, after passing a budget that will keep that the State of Alaska from shutting down on July 1. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Alaska lawmakers reach deal to avert deficit, but final vote awaits

Alaska lawmakers have agreed upon a plan to avert a statewide government shutdown, but at press time Thursday, the Alaska Legislature’s various factions were struggling… Continue reading

In this November 2016 photo, the Seward Highway stretches southward toward the town of Seward near Moose Pass, Alaska. The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly recently approved an ordinance forming an emergency medical service area corridor along the highway system on the eastern Kenai Peninsula to provide more thorough emergency response coverage for the thousands of travelers that cross the highway every year. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Assembly confirms Eastern Peninsula Highway Emergency Service Area board members

The five seats on the newly formed East Peninsula Highway Emergency Service Area’s board of directors have been filled. The board’s first job is to… Continue reading

In this November 2016 photo, the Seward Highway stretches southward toward the town of Seward near Moose Pass, Alaska. The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly recently approved an ordinance forming an emergency medical service area corridor along the highway system on the eastern Kenai Peninsula to provide more thorough emergency response coverage for the thousands of travelers that cross the highway every year. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Geri Litzen laughs as her horse, Silke, hastily snatches a snack of dandelions out of her hand Wednesday, June 14, 2017 at her home in Nikiski, Alaska. Silke is one of five horses Litzen utilizes in her new business, Milestones Equine Therapy. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)

Nikiski woman offers equine therapy to young, old

Nikiski resident Geri Litzen has long had a heart for helping kids with special needs, and has long known the power of animals when it… Continue reading

Geri Litzen laughs as her horse, Silke, hastily snatches a snack of dandelions out of her hand Wednesday, June 14, 2017 at her home in Nikiski, Alaska. Silke is one of five horses Litzen utilizes in her new business, Milestones Equine Therapy. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)
This computer-generated graphic, included in a U.S Army Corps of Engineers report on the Kenai bluff erosion mitigation project, illustrates the Army Corps’ preferred plan to create a rock berm at the base of the bluff, allowing it naturally shift to a stable slope in the next 3 to 15 years, according to the Corps’ projection.

Army Corps finds negative cost-benefit of Kenai bluff erosion project

In a new report on a collaboration with the city of Kenai to halt erosion on the nearly mile-long bluff below Old Town Kenai, the… Continue reading

This computer-generated graphic, included in a U.S Army Corps of Engineers report on the Kenai bluff erosion mitigation project, illustrates the Army Corps’ preferred plan to create a rock berm at the base of the bluff, allowing it naturally shift to a stable slope in the next 3 to 15 years, according to the Corps’ projection.
The East Fork wildfire burns in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge as seen from the air Thursday, June 15, 2017 near Sterling, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Tim Mowry, Alaska Division of Forestry)

Work continues on East Fork fire break

The East Fork wildland fire burning near Sterling in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is shrinking in size as fire managers prepare to clear fuels… Continue reading

The East Fork wildfire burns in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge as seen from the air Thursday, June 15, 2017 near Sterling, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Tim Mowry, Alaska Division of Forestry)
Tsalteshi Trails Maintenance Manager Bill Holt explores the newest edition to the organization’s trail system, a parcel of land to the west of the Sterling Highway on Monday, June 19, 2017 outside Soldotna, Alaska. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Tsalteshi 2.0: Work starts on new trails

Through the fluorescent green of ferns and birch trees across from the Central Peninsula Landfill, Tsalteshi Trails Association Maintenance Manager Bill Holt has started work… Continue reading

Tsalteshi Trails Maintenance Manager Bill Holt explores the newest edition to the organization’s trail system, a parcel of land to the west of the Sterling Highway on Monday, June 19, 2017 outside Soldotna, Alaska. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)
This March 29, 2017 photo shows Central Peninsula Hospital’s River Tower, which houses specialty medical services, in Soldotna, Alaska. The tower was completed in January 2017 as part of a multi-year service and infrastructure expansion at the hospital. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly introduces new hospital operating agreement

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly is wading into the legal thicket of renewing Central Peninsula Hospital’s lease and operating agreement. The Kenai Peninsula Borough owns… Continue reading

This March 29, 2017 photo shows Central Peninsula Hospital’s River Tower, which houses specialty medical services, in Soldotna, Alaska. The tower was completed in January 2017 as part of a multi-year service and infrastructure expansion at the hospital. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

What’s Happening

Best Bets n The Summertime in Soldotna – Music in the Park Concert Series will feature the Robb Justice Band and 907 from 6-9 p.m.… Continue reading

  • Jun 21, 2017
Smoke rises from the burn area of the East Fork Fire on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on June 16, 2017 near Sterling, Alaska.  (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Plan for East Fork fire includes clearing black spruce stand

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct inaccurate statements of the width of the 30-foot cleared area above the Enstar pipeline and of the amount… Continue reading

Smoke rises from the burn area of the East Fork Fire on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on June 16, 2017 near Sterling, Alaska.  (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)