News

Poet’s Corner: Choices

Choices By Bonnie Marie Playle, Soldotna I’ve been thinking of all the choices I make. When I’m impatient there are choices I take. To get… Continue reading

  • Feb 1, 2017
  • By Bonnie Marie Playle
FILE In this April 20, 2016 file photo, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Betsy DeVos bid to become education secretary could be in trouble. Two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, announced their opposition to DeVos in speeches on the Senate floor Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

DeVos nomination in trouble as 2 senators announce dissent

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s nomination of school choice advocate Betsy DeVos as education secretary appeared in jeopardy Wednesday with two Republican senators saying they will… Continue reading

  • Feb 1, 2017
  • By MARIA DANILOVA
FILE In this April 20, 2016 file photo, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Betsy DeVos bid to become education secretary could be in trouble. Two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, announced their opposition to DeVos in speeches on the Senate floor Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
A portable ultrasound machine shows an image of a patient’s heart function in an exam room at Family Medical Clinic on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. The clinic recently began a heart health program called Heartwise, which offers comprehensive screenings for conditions such as stroke, diabetes, varicose veins and other cardiac diseases. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

New program provides comprehensive heart screening

Unspoken, heart disease can be one of the greatest clocks set on someone’s life. For Sterling resident Vickie Walber, it felt like a matter of… Continue reading

A portable ultrasound machine shows an image of a patient’s heart function in an exam room at Family Medical Clinic on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. The clinic recently began a heart health program called Heartwise, which offers comprehensive screenings for conditions such as stroke, diabetes, varicose veins and other cardiac diseases. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Sentencing for Soldotna man’s sex abuse case postponed

The sentencing for a Soldotna man who pleaded to guilty to sexual abuse of a minor has been pushed back due to a discrepancy over… Continue reading

Man wounds self in accidental gun discharge

Update 4 p.m.: A man injured Wednesday afternoon when his gun accidentally discharged was in the process of trying to secure it, according to Soldotna… Continue reading

Soldotna library basement to get face lift

The Joyce K. Carver Memorial Library in Soldotna will soon have a remodeled basement to match the main floor. Members of the Soldotna City Council… Continue reading

Jeff Warton samples three flavors of bagel spread at the grand opening of the Kenai location of Everything Bagels on Tuesday, Jan. 31,2017 in Kenai, Alaska. The grand opening comes 13 days after the Kenai shop had its soft opening on Jan. 18, seven months after Everything Bagels opened its first location in Soldotna on July 15, 2016, and on the one-year anniversary of co-owners Matt and Pamela Parker (with Brooke and John Campbell) making their first batch of bagels in their home kitchen, Pamela Parker said. "We came from Florida, where all the New Yorkers go to retire, so there's tons of delicious bagels there," she said. "We wanted to bring that up here." (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Time to make the bagels

… Continue reading

Jeff Warton samples three flavors of bagel spread at the grand opening of the Kenai location of Everything Bagels on Tuesday, Jan. 31,2017 in Kenai, Alaska. The grand opening comes 13 days after the Kenai shop had its soft opening on Jan. 18, seven months after Everything Bagels opened its first location in Soldotna on July 15, 2016, and on the one-year anniversary of co-owners Matt and Pamela Parker (with Brooke and John Campbell) making their first batch of bagels in their home kitchen, Pamela Parker said. "We came from Florida, where all the New Yorkers go to retire, so there's tons of delicious bagels there," she said. "We wanted to bring that up here." (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
Judge Neil Gorsuch stands with his wife Louise as President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, to announce Gorsuch as his nominee for the Supreme Court.(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Trump taps conservative Judge Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch, a fast-rising conservative judge with a writer’s flair, to the Supreme Court Tuesday night, setting up a… Continue reading

  • Jan 31, 2017
  • By Mark Sherman
Judge Neil Gorsuch stands with his wife Louise as President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, to announce Gorsuch as his nominee for the Supreme Court.(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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)