News

Downing resigns fom school board

In a bittersweet moment during the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meeting on Monday in the Homer High School theater, board member… Continue reading

School district seeks Alaska Native student representatives

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is seeking representatives for the 1,232 Alaska Native and Native American students enrolled in local schools. Parents, students and… Continue reading

  • Sep 12, 2016
  • By Kelly Sullivan

Business Briefs

■ The Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce will meet at noon Sept. 21 at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center. A forum for candidates… Continue reading

  • Sep 12, 2016
Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Lowbush cranberries grow on a hillside along the Seven Lakes Trail near Hidden Lake on Aug. 14, 2016 on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.

Local foragers notice effects of climate change

Berry pickers foraging on the Kenai Peninsula have noticed lately that things have been a little out of whack.Currants, the first local species to ripen,… Continue reading

  • Sep 12, 2016
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Lowbush cranberries grow on a hillside along the Seven Lakes Trail near Hidden Lake on Aug. 14, 2016 on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.
Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Gov. Bill Walker (left) signs HB 100 into law as Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives Mike Chenault (right) watches Monday, Sept. 12, 2016 in Kenai, Alaska. Walker visited the central Kenai Peninsula Monday to give a speech at a joint Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce luncheon and to participate in a worksession with the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly.

Walker talks finances, LNG in Kenai

Gov. Bill Walker reiterated a call Monday for a fix to Alaska’s budget deficit while also signing into law a tax credit designed to incentivize… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Gov. Bill Walker (left) signs HB 100 into law as Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives Mike Chenault (right) watches Monday, Sept. 12, 2016 in Kenai, Alaska. Walker visited the central Kenai Peninsula Monday to give a speech at a joint Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce luncheon and to participate in a worksession with the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly.

Kenai nuisance ordinance passes

Kenai has defined a new type of public nuisance — abandoned residential or commercial structures that are unoccupied or disconnected from utilities for 180 days… Continue reading

Around the District

School board to meet The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meets at 6 p.m. in the borough building at 148 N. Binkley… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion A crows of area residents packs into a room, leaving standing room only, to hear Sammy Crawford speak about her travels through six countries along a portion of the Silk Road during a presentation Friday, Sept. 9, 2016 at the Joyce K. Carver Memorial Library in Soldotna, Alaska.

Local talks her trip down the Silk Road

Some central Kenai Peninsula residents got a taste of the ancient Silk Road from right in their back yard when one of their own shared… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion A crows of area residents packs into a room, leaving standing room only, to hear Sammy Crawford speak about her travels through six countries along a portion of the Silk Road during a presentation Friday, Sept. 9, 2016 at the Joyce K. Carver Memorial Library in Soldotna, Alaska.

Search suspended for missing cruise ship passenger

ANCHORAGE — The search is suspended for a missing woman who was on a cruise ship traveling from Seattle to Glacier Bay when she fell… Continue reading

  • Sep 11, 2016
Photo courtesy Xandria Simms Xandria Simms works on a cake in her kitchen for her new business Boho Bakes.

Student takes school cooking course to the next level

Scattered between photos of friends and family on her phone, Xandria Simms also keeps snapshots of the intricately decorated cakes and baked goods she’s put… Continue reading

  • Sep 11, 2016
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo courtesy Xandria Simms Xandria Simms works on a cake in her kitchen for her new business Boho Bakes.
Kenai Peninsula Borough, modified by the Peninsula Clarion The blue-shaded area of this Kenai Peninsula Borough map shows the Walker strip in Kenai, a wooded city-owned property between the residential nieghborhood on Walker Lane and the commercial center to the west. The Kenai comprhensive plan, passed Wednesday, gives the northern highway-fronting area of the Walker strip a general commercial designation while designating the rest as parks, recreation, and open space.

Kenai Council passes comprehensive plan

The Kenai City Council passed its comprehensive plan — a state-required document that gives authority for future land use policies — at its Wednesday meeting.… Continue reading

Kenai Peninsula Borough, modified by the Peninsula Clarion The blue-shaded area of this Kenai Peninsula Borough map shows the Walker strip in Kenai, a wooded city-owned property between the residential nieghborhood on Walker Lane and the commercial center to the west. The Kenai comprhensive plan, passed Wednesday, gives the northern highway-fronting area of the Walker strip a general commercial designation while designating the rest as parks, recreation, and open space.
Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion The weir at the top of Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association's Paint River fish ladder, photographed Friday, Sept. 2, 2016 near the McNeil River Game Sanctuary, Alaska, screens fish into a small opening before allowing them to pass into the upper part of the Paint River. CIAA operates the fish ladder to allow salmon to pass into the upper reaches of the remote river system to spawn.

CIAA fish ladder allows salmon to colonize Paint River system

Nearly every stream connected to the ocean in Alaska has native salmon. Each summer, they make their way up to their birthplaces, homing in using… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion The weir at the top of Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association's Paint River fish ladder, photographed Friday, Sept. 2, 2016 near the McNeil River Game Sanctuary, Alaska, screens fish into a small opening before allowing them to pass into the upper part of the Paint River. CIAA operates the fish ladder to allow salmon to pass into the upper reaches of the remote river system to spawn.
Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Maggie Grenier, a student at Nikiski North Star Elementary School, holds a flag during a flag dedication ceremony Friday, Sept. 9, 2016 at the Nikiski Senior Center in Nikiski, Alaska. The senior center staff and community members raised money themselves for the flag poles over the course of about six weeks earlier this summer, said Jill Smith, the senior center's executive director.

Photo: Raise the colors

… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Maggie Grenier, a student at Nikiski North Star Elementary School, holds a flag during a flag dedication ceremony Friday, Sept. 9, 2016 at the Nikiski Senior Center in Nikiski, Alaska. The senior center staff and community members raised money themselves for the flag poles over the course of about six weeks earlier this summer, said Jill Smith, the senior center's executive director.
Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Kenai Lions Club secretary and treasurer Dennis Swarner tosses a rubber duck into the air during the organization's 20th Rubber Ducky Race fundraiser Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016 on the Kenai River at Cunningham Park in Kenai, Alaska. This is the largest general fundraiser for the Kenai Lions Club, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The organization sold about 550 ducks this year, Swarner said.

Photos: Float on

… Continue reading

  • Sep 10, 2016
Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Kenai Lions Club secretary and treasurer Dennis Swarner tosses a rubber duck into the air during the organization's 20th Rubber Ducky Race fundraiser Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016 on the Kenai River at Cunningham Park in Kenai, Alaska. This is the largest general fundraiser for the Kenai Lions Club, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The organization sold about 550 ducks this year, Swarner said.

Flasher removed from Tsalteshi Trails

Tsalteshi Trails Maintenance Manager Bill Holt had to manage more than his usual duties last week when he helped remove a man who had been… Continue reading

VA preps vets for changes in appointment scheduling

Peninsula veterans were briefed on continuing changes to the way their appointments will be scheduled and given a chance to air their concerns to the… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Virginia Shook of Kenai makes a fingerprint on a painting the patients of Peninsula Radiation Oncology Center made at the center's second annual Patient Appreciation Luncheon on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016 at Central Peninsula Hospital in Soldotna, Alaska. Shook, who said she is now cancer-free, said her own cancer surprised her during a routine checkup that she had thought about skipping. "It just totally didn't see it coming," she said. She encouraged everyone to always have regular screenings.

Keeping in touch

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula ClarionKeeping in touchVirginia Shook of Kenai inks a fingerprint on a painting the patients of Peninsula Radiation Oncology Center made at… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Virginia Shook of Kenai makes a fingerprint on a painting the patients of Peninsula Radiation Oncology Center made at the center's second annual Patient Appreciation Luncheon on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016 at Central Peninsula Hospital in Soldotna, Alaska. Shook, who said she is now cancer-free, said her own cancer surprised her during a routine checkup that she had thought about skipping. "It just totally didn't see it coming," she said. She encouraged everyone to always have regular screenings.

Murkoswki encourages viability of Energy bill

WASHINGTON — Congressional efforts to approve the first major energy bill in nearly a decade got a jump-start Thursday as lawmakers convened a long-delayed meeting… Continue reading

  • Sep 8, 2016
  • By MATTHEW DALY

Sterling fuel break moves forward

Progress is being made on a fuel break planned for the Sterling area where it meets the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.As previously reported by the… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Kenai City Council candidate James Glendening speaks to a small crowd Wednesday at a candidate forum at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center in Kenai, Alaska. Glendening is one of five vying for the council's two open seats that will be filled during the upcoming Oct. 4 election.

Kenai candidates make pitch for council at forum

Kenai’s airport, small business community and future decisions on the marijuana industry are all things to invest time in, according to the five candidates running… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Kenai City Council candidate James Glendening speaks to a small crowd Wednesday at a candidate forum at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center in Kenai, Alaska. Glendening is one of five vying for the council's two open seats that will be filled during the upcoming Oct. 4 election.