News

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion A broken pin sits on a workbench in the backroom of the Kenai bowling on Saturday, Nov. 14 in Kenai. The bowling alley is now owned by the city of Kenai, which will soon begin seeking management for it.

Kenai to search for new bowling alley management

Editor's note: This story has been changed to remove an inacurrate statement of Charlotte Yamada's cost estimate to renovate the Kenai bowling alley. The Kenai… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion A broken pin sits on a workbench in the backroom of the Kenai bowling on Saturday, Nov. 14 in Kenai. The bowling alley is now owned by the city of Kenai, which will soon begin seeking management for it.

Kenai sells bowling alley

After 11 months of receiving offers and holding negotiations, the Kenai City Council has sold the former AlaskaLanes Bowling Alley, a closed business located on… Continue reading

Kenai bowling alley sold to Dean You

Bowling balls may soon be rumbling again down the lanes of Kenai’s bowling alley, bought this week by a group of business people that includes… Continue reading

Dustin Hill, of Kenai, races down the track at the All-American Soap Box Derby on Saturday, May 20, 2017 in the Kenai Municipal Rink parking lot in Kenai, Alaska. The Kenai Rotary Club has hosted the derby for ten years and aims to empower local youth through hard work and creativity in designing and building cars, the spirit of competition on race day and sportsmanship and comradery. The derby is the only Soap Box Derby race in Alaska. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Derby days

Dustin Hill, of Kenai, races down the track at the All-American Soap Box Derby on Saturday, May 20, 2017 in the Kenai Municipal Rink parking… Continue reading

Dustin Hill, of Kenai, races down the track at the All-American Soap Box Derby on Saturday, May 20, 2017 in the Kenai Municipal Rink parking lot in Kenai, Alaska. The Kenai Rotary Club has hosted the derby for ten years and aims to empower local youth through hard work and creativity in designing and building cars, the spirit of competition on race day and sportsmanship and comradery. The derby is the only Soap Box Derby race in Alaska. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska’s newest drug detection canine will be named Mak thanks to a suggestion from Hannah Dolphin’s sixth-grade class at Kalifornsky Beach Elementary School. (Photo Courtesy Office of the Governor)

K-Beach Elementary class wins contest to name new police dog

Move over, Fido — there’s a new dog in town, and his name is Mak, thanks to the students at Kalifornsky Beach Elementary School. Mak… Continue reading

  • May 21, 2017
  • By KAT SORENSEN
Alaska’s newest drug detection canine will be named Mak thanks to a suggestion from Hannah Dolphin’s sixth-grade class at Kalifornsky Beach Elementary School. (Photo Courtesy Office of the Governor)

District says goodbye to dedicated staff

As the school year comes to a close, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is saying goodbye to more than just this year’s graduating class.… Continue reading

  • May 21, 2017
  • By KAT SORENSEN

Photo: Double trouble

A mother moose feeds her two calves Saturday, May 20, 2017 on a trail off of Spruce Street in Kenai, Alaska. With calving season well… Continue reading

Legislature allows Uber, Lyft to operate in Alaska

Alaska’s future with Uber is in the hands of Gov. Bill Walker. On Wednesday, the Alaska Senate voted unanimously to approve House Bill 132, which… Continue reading

The four-story Dragseth Mansion, which the Kenai municipal government sold on Wednesday to the transportation and contraction company PRL Logistics for $825,000, sits on Kenai’s south beach Friday, May 19, 2017 in Kenai. A concrete barrier blocks the southern end of a city-owned airstrip that PRL is also seeking to buy from Kenai, requiring a permit from the Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission that will be discussed May 24. The airstrip parallels the beach alongside the Kenai River flats, valuable habitat for migratory birds, prompting concern from birders and bird advocacy groups. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai sells mansion, will consider airstrip sale

The four-story, 7,556-square foot mansion on Kenai’s south beach belongs to the transportation and contracting company PRL Logistics, after the Kenai City Council unanimously sold… Continue reading

The four-story Dragseth Mansion, which the Kenai municipal government sold on Wednesday to the transportation and contraction company PRL Logistics for $825,000, sits on Kenai’s south beach Friday, May 19, 2017 in Kenai. A concrete barrier blocks the southern end of a city-owned airstrip that PRL is also seeking to buy from Kenai, requiring a permit from the Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission that will be discussed May 24. The airstrip parallels the beach alongside the Kenai River flats, valuable habitat for migratory birds, prompting concern from birders and bird advocacy groups. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
Elijah Newbern, left, Ellimarie Bravo-Moe and Shelby Noel sing “I Have Been Blessed” at their graduation ceremony on Friday, May 19, 2017 at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Kenai, Alaska. Newbern and Bravo-Moe are graduates of the Wings Christian Academy. Noel is a home school graduate. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Wings Christian Academy graduates 3 students

Each of the three graduates at Wings Christian Academy’s graduation and awards program spoke to three points as they celebrated the end of their schooling… Continue reading

Elijah Newbern, left, Ellimarie Bravo-Moe and Shelby Noel sing “I Have Been Blessed” at their graduation ceremony on Friday, May 19, 2017 at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Kenai, Alaska. Newbern and Bravo-Moe are graduates of the Wings Christian Academy. Noel is a home school graduate. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)
This screen capture from the city of Kenai’s live-feeding camera above a local eagle nest shows an eagle parent roosting with two eggs on Thursday, May 18, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Presently the eagle camera is streaming to Kenai City Hall, where administrators hope to raise the city’s profile by putting a live eagle feed online sometime in the coming weeks. (Screen capture courtesy of Jamie Heinz/City of Kenai)

Kenai eagle nest to stream live online

Update, Friday May 19, 11:00 a.m — The city of Kenai's eagle cam is now online and streaming at http://www.kenai.city/eaglecam​  When Kenai’s eagle camera begins… Continue reading

This screen capture from the city of Kenai’s live-feeding camera above a local eagle nest shows an eagle parent roosting with two eggs on Thursday, May 18, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Presently the eagle camera is streaming to Kenai City Hall, where administrators hope to raise the city’s profile by putting a live eagle feed online sometime in the coming weeks. (Screen capture courtesy of Jamie Heinz/City of Kenai)

Income tax needed for Alaska

I read with amazement the sayings of Senate President Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks, on the income tax proposal that was defeated in the Senate. Sen. Kelly… Continue reading

  • May 19, 2017
  • By Emery Thibodeau
This map shows the newly formed Eastern Peninsula Highway Emergency Service Area, which authorizes the Kenai Peninsula Borough to provide emergency services along the Sterling and Seward Highways, where thousands of drivers pass through largely empty land on their way to the peninsula every day. (Courtesy the Kenai Peninsula Borough)

Assembly forms eastern peninsula highway service area

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly has taken the first step toward providing a safety net of emergency services for scarcely-population potions of the eastern peninsula… Continue reading

This map shows the newly formed Eastern Peninsula Highway Emergency Service Area, which authorizes the Kenai Peninsula Borough to provide emergency services along the Sterling and Seward Highways, where thousands of drivers pass through largely empty land on their way to the peninsula every day. (Courtesy the Kenai Peninsula Borough)
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker gestures during a news conference on Thursday, May 18, 2017, in Juneau, Alaska. Thursday marked the first day of a special session called by Walker to address the budget and a fiscal plan for the state. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Q&A: Alaska Legislature opens special session

JUNEAU — The Alaska Legislature on Thursday convened a special session, called by Gov. Bill Walker, after failing to come to terms on a budget… Continue reading

  • May 18, 2017
  • By Becky Bohrer
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker gestures during a news conference on Thursday, May 18, 2017, in Juneau, Alaska. Thursday marked the first day of a special session called by Walker to address the budget and a fiscal plan for the state. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Alaska lawmakers approve REAL ID measure

JUNEAU (AP) — The Alaska Legislature has passed a bill aimed at bringing the state into compliance with national proof-of-identity standards. The House gave final… Continue reading

  • May 18, 2017
William Konig of Kenai’s Parks and Recreation department tills the Field of Flowers, preparing it to be planted with wildflowers, on Wednesday, May 17 in Kenai. The Field of Flowers is part of a 16 acre city-owned strip known as Lawton Acres, which sits between the Kenai Spur Highway and a neighborhood to the south where residents have been fighting commercial development of the land since the late 1980s. On Monday, many spoke at a Kenai City Council work session about possible resolutions to the dispute.

Lawton Acres options include ballot proposition, land trade, purchase

Prompted by a standing-room only crowd in the Kenai City Council Chambers on Monday night, Kenai council members discussed options for concluding a 30-year dispute… Continue reading

William Konig of Kenai’s Parks and Recreation department tills the Field of Flowers, preparing it to be planted with wildflowers, on Wednesday, May 17 in Kenai. The Field of Flowers is part of a 16 acre city-owned strip known as Lawton Acres, which sits between the Kenai Spur Highway and a neighborhood to the south where residents have been fighting commercial development of the land since the late 1980s. On Monday, many spoke at a Kenai City Council work session about possible resolutions to the dispute.

Kenai man arrested for Safeway arson

A Kenai man has been arrested and charged with arson after an early-morning incident at Kenai’s Safeway store. Kenai Police responded to the store around… Continue reading

Poet’s Corner: Spring Housecleaning

Spring Housecleaning By Gaye LaRane Susan cleans her house with a cloth and a broom. Billy cleans his house with a vacuum and shovel. I… Continue reading

  • May 18, 2017
  • By Gaye LaRane

Fish biologists talk escapement goals

Representatives from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and Alaska Board of Fisheries reiterated the role that escapement goals play in the peninsula’s commercial… Continue reading

  • May 17, 2017
  • By KAT SORENSEN
Several Alaska state representatives gather around Rep. Lance Pruitt, seated, during a break in a House floor session on Wednesday, May 17, 2017, in Juneau, Alaska. Shown are, from left, Reps. Tammie Wilson, Steve Thompson, Jennifer Johnston, Pruitt and Chuck Kopp. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Alaska lawmakers face special session on budget, fiscal fix

JUNEAU — Alaska legislators are set to convene a special session called by Gov. Bill Walker to complete work on a budget and plan for… Continue reading

Several Alaska state representatives gather around Rep. Lance Pruitt, seated, during a break in a House floor session on Wednesday, May 17, 2017, in Juneau, Alaska. Shown are, from left, Reps. Tammie Wilson, Steve Thompson, Jennifer Johnston, Pruitt and Chuck Kopp. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)