Big Lake musher Cim Smyth nears the finish line of the Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race with his team Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017 in Kasilof, Alaska. Smyth claimed his fourth T200 win, completing the race through the Caribou Hills in just over 26 hours. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)

Cim Smyth claims 4th Tustumena 200 win

Big Lake musher Cim Smyth has reclaimed his title as winner of the Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race as the event returned from a three-year… Continue reading

Big Lake musher Cim Smyth nears the finish line of the Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race with his team Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017 in Kasilof, Alaska. Smyth claimed his fourth T200 win, completing the race through the Caribou Hills in just over 26 hours. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)

Avalanche near Cooper Landing leaves 1 dead

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include that Bryant Evans was also buried in the avalanche but was able to be rescued sooner… Continue reading

This Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017 photo, taken near Cooper Landing, Alaska, shows the slide path of an avalanche from a mid-slope bench in the Chugach National Forest where two snowmachiners were likely caught in the slide Saturday. The avalanche, which the snowmachiners triggered, left one man dead, though rescuers were able to free the other. (Photo courtesy Wendy Wagner/Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center)

Rescuer details Cooper Landing avalanche that caught 2, killed 1

The promise of good snowpack for recreation is drawing people out into the backcountry of the Kenai Peninsula, but the danger of avalanches is very… Continue reading

This Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017 photo, taken near Cooper Landing, Alaska, shows the slide path of an avalanche from a mid-slope bench in the Chugach National Forest where two snowmachiners were likely caught in the slide Saturday. The avalanche, which the snowmachiners triggered, left one man dead, though rescuers were able to free the other. (Photo courtesy Wendy Wagner/Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center)
Walker hopeful about working with feds on resource issues

Walker hopeful about working with feds on resource issues

JUNEAU — Alaska Gov. Bill Walker on Monday expressed renewed hope for working with the federal government on oil, gas and land issues, praising President… Continue reading

Walker hopeful about working with feds on resource issues

Missing plane located, passengers ‘alive and well’

ANCHORAGE (AP) — Officials say three people were found “alive and well” when a missing aircraft was located. The airplane was reported missing Sunday on… Continue reading

Nonprofits adjusting to new sales tax requirements

Anyone who purchases a shirt at a Salvation Army store on the Kenai Peninsula now has to pay sales taxes on that purchase, under borough… Continue reading

DOT plans work to repair 2012 flood effects

This summer the Alaska Department of Transportation will be repairing and replacing culverts and lining shorelines with rock at four sites on the Kenai Peninsula… Continue reading

Homer council takes steps to help homeless

Planning and zoning issues dominated discussion Monday night at the Homer City Council’s regular meeting. With temperatures falling earlier this month below zero, one proposed… Continue reading

Musher Wade Marrs reached out for a high five from a spectator as he and his team take off from the starting line of the Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 in Kasilof, Alaska. Marrs and 22 other teams will travel through the Caribou Hills down to Homer and back in the 200-mile race. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)

Off and running: Tustumena 200 back on the trails

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the number of years the Tustumena 200 race was canceled. Twenty-three mushers and their canine teams… Continue reading

Musher Wade Marrs reached out for a high five from a spectator as he and his team take off from the starting line of the Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 in Kasilof, Alaska. Marrs and 22 other teams will travel through the Caribou Hills down to Homer and back in the 200-mile race. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)

Central Peninsula Hospital receives detox center grant

The central Kenai Peninsula will get its first detox center with a kickstart from a state grant. Central Peninsula Hospital in Soldotna will get $500,000… Continue reading

Setnetters make their way back to the beach near a site on July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Setnetters seek looser restrictions from fish board

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to show that setnetter Gary Hollier is an advocate of cutting net depth. Some east side Cook Inlet… Continue reading

Setnetters make their way back to the beach near a site on July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Rep. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee presents a question to Rep. Jason Grenn, I-Anchorage, during his introduction of HB 44 in the at the Capitol on Friday. HB 44 would require a legislator to abstain from taking or withholding official action or exerting official influence that could benefit or harm an immediate family member or certain employers. Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka, is seen in the background. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

New lawmaker squarely targets Legislature’s conflicts of interest

Ray Metcalfe sat at a desk next to a wallet full of million-dollar bills and asked Alaska lawmakers to curtail corruption. On Friday, members of… Continue reading

Rep. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee presents a question to Rep. Jason Grenn, I-Anchorage, during his introduction of HB 44 in the at the Capitol on Friday. HB 44 would require a legislator to abstain from taking or withholding official action or exerting official influence that could benefit or harm an immediate family member or certain employers. Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka, is seen in the background. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

AOGCC offers alternate proposal for fracking permit comments

After hearing a request to make hydraulic fracturing permits subject to public hearings and comment, the state oil and gas regulatory oversight group Alaska Oil… Continue reading

Walker’s office tweaks hiring restriction policy

By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press JUNEAU — Gov. Bill Walker’s office has tweaked its policy on state agency hiring restrictions, shifting decision-making authority from Walker’s… Continue reading

  • Jan 26, 2017

Alaska Natives to protect land for California carbon program

By RACHEL D’ORO Associated Press ANCHORAGE — An undeveloped Alaska coal field, California’s offsets for carbon pollution and thousands of acres of forest are the… Continue reading

  • Jan 26, 2017

It’s happening: Tustumena 200 gets to 30th anniversary after 4 tries

The 30th anniversary of the Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race has been a long time coming — in fact it’s four years overdue. Where race… Continue reading

AOGCC to hold hearing on fracking notice proposal

Alaska’s oil and gas regulatory oversight body, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, is required to make public the locations, depth and operating data… Continue reading

Victim of Sunday night shooting identified

Alaska State Troopers have identified the victim of a shooting during a home invasion near Soldotna on Sunday night. Soldotna resident Daniel Arthur Galloway, 49,… Continue reading

A volunteer Alaska Moose Federation driver removes a dead moose from the Kenai Spur Highway on Dec. 13, 2013 in Kenai, Alaska. (Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion/File)

Moose-vehicle collisions on track with average for peninsula

One of the Kenai Peninsula’s most iconic animals for hunting and viewing is also the one of the most accident prone. About 250 moose are… Continue reading

A volunteer Alaska Moose Federation driver removes a dead moose from the Kenai Spur Highway on Dec. 13, 2013 in Kenai, Alaska. (Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion/File)
Debara and Frank Kassik inspect their new awards from the 2017 Great Alaska Beer and Barley Wine Festival alongside their award from the same festival last year Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017 at Kassik’s Brewery in North Kenai, Alaska. The couple won 1st place this year for their Buffalo Head Barley Wine, and 1st place in the winter seasonal category for their Barrel Aged Statny Statny. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)

Kassik’s takes top prizes at beer, barley wine fest

When Debara and Frank Kassik opened a brewery in North Kenai in 2006, they said some were not shy about sharing their doubts. Frank Kassik,… Continue reading

Debara and Frank Kassik inspect their new awards from the 2017 Great Alaska Beer and Barley Wine Festival alongside their award from the same festival last year Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017 at Kassik’s Brewery in North Kenai, Alaska. The couple won 1st place this year for their Buffalo Head Barley Wine, and 1st place in the winter seasonal category for their Barrel Aged Statny Statny. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)