News

Connections student invited to STEM congress

A Funny River Connections home-school student will travel to Massachusetts this summer as an Alaska delegate to the Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders.… Continue reading

Mitch Seavey, of Sterling, Alaska, runs towards the finish line under the Burled Arch, winning the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, in Nome, Alaska, Tuesday, March 14, 2017. Seavey won his third Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Tuesday, becoming the fastest and oldest champion at age 57 and helping cement his family’s position as mushing royalty. (AP Photo/Diana Haecker)

Mitch Seavey becomes oldest, fastest musher to win Iditarod

ANCHORAGE — Mitch Seavey won his third Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Tuesday, becoming the fastest and oldest champion at age 57 and helping… Continue reading

  • Mar 14, 2017
  • By Mark Thiessen
Mitch Seavey, of Sterling, Alaska, runs towards the finish line under the Burled Arch, winning the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, in Nome, Alaska, Tuesday, March 14, 2017. Seavey won his third Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Tuesday, becoming the fastest and oldest champion at age 57 and helping cement his family’s position as mushing royalty. (AP Photo/Diana Haecker)
Former trooper wins civil suit from 2012 crash

Former trooper wins civil suit from 2012 crash

A former Alaska State Trooper who was involved in two major accidents was found not responsible for the harm caused to him by the first… Continue reading

Former trooper wins civil suit from 2012 crash

Assembly member files complaint against borough

A Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly member is challenging a clause included in a legal nonprofit’s contract to defend the borough in an ongoing lawsuit over… Continue reading

No injuries in Soldotna trailer fire

Central Emergency Services extinguished a burning trailer in Soldotna’s River Terrace mobile home park on Monday afternoon. The trailer was a total loss, though according… Continue reading

Program certifies green tourism businesses

Tourism businesses in Alaska are getting certified for green practices, both as a way to move toward sustainability and a way to attract customers. The… Continue reading

This Dec. 11, 2004 photo provided by Marlene Minnette show reindeer from the herd owned by the Native village of Mekoryuk on Alaska’s Nunivak Island. The tribal government is expanding its commercial reindeer subsidiary with $1.8 million in federal grants, with plans to include sales of the meat to larger urban markets. (Marlene Minnette via AP)

Village aims to serve up reindeer meat far and wide

ANCHORAGE — A remote Eskimo village on a tundra-covered island in western Alaska is hoping to counter its steep unemployment rate and achieve greater self-sufficiency… Continue reading

This Dec. 11, 2004 photo provided by Marlene Minnette show reindeer from the herd owned by the Native village of Mekoryuk on Alaska’s Nunivak Island. The tribal government is expanding its commercial reindeer subsidiary with $1.8 million in federal grants, with plans to include sales of the meat to larger urban markets. (Marlene Minnette via AP)

Fairbanks to implement stricter air quality regulations

FAIRBANKS (AP) — The Fairbanks North Star Borough is preparing to enforce more burn bans as part of stricter rules aimed at cleaning the city’s… Continue reading

  • Mar 12, 2017

New burn permits required starting next month

As winter rolls reluctantly into spring, residents of the Kenai Peninsula have another item to add to their to do list: get an updated burn… Continue reading

Karen Stroh, shelter manager at the LeeShore Center, shows guests around the shelter’s recently remodeled kitchen Thursday, March 9, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)

LeeShore unveils remodel thanks to statewide shelter rehab project

The remodel to Kenai's LeeShore Center kitchen and other upgrades at the shelter are thanks to a project that targeted deferred maintenance at 17 shelters… Continue reading

Karen Stroh, shelter manager at the LeeShore Center, shows guests around the shelter’s recently remodeled kitchen Thursday, March 9, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)
FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2014, file photo, snow falls around a sign in Barrow, Alaska. A court hearing is set for Thursday, March 9, 2017, in Alaska for the two sides in a lawsuit challenging the new Inupiat Eskimo name of the nation’s northernmost town. A judge in Alaska has dealt a legal blow to opponents of the new Inupiat Eskimo name approved by voters in the nation’s northernmost town. Superior Court Judge Paul Roetman on Friday, March 10, 2017, denied a request to halt implementation of the transition from the old name of Barrow to Utqiagvik until a lawsuit filed by a local Alaska Native corporation is resolved. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

Judge rules against halting town’s new name

ANCHORAGE — A judge in Alaska dealt a legal blow Friday to opponents of the new Inupiat Eskimo name approved by voters for the northernmost… Continue reading

  • Mar 11, 2017
  • By RACHEL D’ORO
FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2014, file photo, snow falls around a sign in Barrow, Alaska. A court hearing is set for Thursday, March 9, 2017, in Alaska for the two sides in a lawsuit challenging the new Inupiat Eskimo name of the nation’s northernmost town. A judge in Alaska has dealt a legal blow to opponents of the new Inupiat Eskimo name approved by voters in the nation’s northernmost town. Superior Court Judge Paul Roetman on Friday, March 10, 2017, denied a request to halt implementation of the transition from the old name of Barrow to Utqiagvik until a lawsuit filed by a local Alaska Native corporation is resolved. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

Senate panel moves bill to use permanent fund money

JUNEAU — A state Senate committee advanced legislation Friday calling for structured draws from Alaska’s oil-wealth fund to help pay for government as the state… Continue reading

Kindergarten students at Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science acted out a scene from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on Thursday, March 9, 2017 as the culmination of Artist In Residence Elizabeth Ware’s work with the students. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kaleidoscope students channel the Bard

All the world’s a stage, and on Thursday afternoon, the students at Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science were the players. After two weeks with… Continue reading

  • Mar 11, 2017
  • By KAT SORENSEN
Kindergarten students at Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science acted out a scene from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on Thursday, March 9, 2017 as the culmination of Artist In Residence Elizabeth Ware’s work with the students. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Stock: In Alaska, travel bans affect soldiers, oil workers, families

After President Donald Trump released his Jan. 27 executive order suspending people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S, the first call Anchorage immigration… Continue reading

This map, included in a Tuesday, March 7 workgroup presentation to members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough, outlines in yellow the boundary of a proposed emergency service area covering the highway corridors of the eastern peninsula, with existing borough emergency service areas shaded in purple. Green dots show volunteer-staffed emergency service stations in Cooper Landing, Moose Pass, and Hope. Red dots are the stations of existing service areas.

Borough to explore emergency services fix

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly took a first step Tuesday toward securing emergency services in an area that has few residents, but sees thousands of… Continue reading

This map, included in a Tuesday, March 7 workgroup presentation to members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough, outlines in yellow the boundary of a proposed emergency service area covering the highway corridors of the eastern peninsula, with existing borough emergency service areas shaded in purple. Green dots show volunteer-staffed emergency service stations in Cooper Landing, Moose Pass, and Hope. Red dots are the stations of existing service areas.

Alaska senators meet with president, appeal for lands access

ANCHORAGE — President Donald Trump has never been to Alaska, so the state’s two U.S. senators brought Alaska to him. In a one-hour “Alaska-centric” meeting,… Continue reading

  • Mar 9, 2017
  • By Dan Joling
In this Oct. 10, 2014, file photo, snow falls around a sign in Barrow, Alaska. A court hearing is set for Thursday, March 9, 2017, in Alaska for the two sides in a lawsuit challenging the new Inupiat Eskimo name of the nation’s northernmost town. Voters in the town formerly known as Barrow approved the new name, Utqiagvik, by six votes last October. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

Judge weighs lawsuit challenging new name of Alaska town

ANCHORAGE (AP) — Those suing over the new Inupiat Eskimo name of the nation’s northernmost town said Thursday that the Alaska city broke its own… Continue reading

  • Mar 9, 2017
  • By The Associated Press
In this Oct. 10, 2014, file photo, snow falls around a sign in Barrow, Alaska. A court hearing is set for Thursday, March 9, 2017, in Alaska for the two sides in a lawsuit challenging the new Inupiat Eskimo name of the nation’s northernmost town. Voters in the town formerly known as Barrow approved the new name, Utqiagvik, by six votes last October. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

KWF’s Adopt-A-Stream program seeks funding

The Kenai Watershed Forum’s Adopt-A-Stream program will cease operations this May unless new sources of funding are found. The program has worked to educate central… Continue reading

  • Mar 9, 2017
  • By KAT SORENSEN

Soldotna moves forward to clear ‘nuisance’ property

Soldotna is taking the next step in clearing off a piece of property in town that neighbors have described as an eyesore and a cause… Continue reading

Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, lower right, holds a graph showing the rise in opioid overdose deaths during a Senate Majority press conference on justice reform at the Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. Attending also are Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole, lower left, Sen. Chip Bishop, R-Fairbanks, upper left, Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, Senate President Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks, and Sen. Anna MacKinnon, R-Eagle River, upper right. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire)

Lawmakers, law enforcement take another look at criminal justice reform

Debate about how to balance offender reform with the need for public safety continues as legislators shoot to roll back some provisions of a controversial… Continue reading

Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, lower right, holds a graph showing the rise in opioid overdose deaths during a Senate Majority press conference on justice reform at the Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. Attending also are Sen. John Coghill, R-North Pole, lower left, Sen. Chip Bishop, R-Fairbanks, upper left, Sen. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, Senate President Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks, and Sen. Anna MacKinnon, R-Eagle River, upper right. (Michael Penn/Juneau Empire)