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Kids learned the basics of visible and invisible light during a presentation from the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska on Monday, Jan. 16, 2017 at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska. There wasn’t much sunlight, but the kids attending the event heard about the electromagnetic spectrum and learned how to use a spectrometer to see the types of light in the world around them. Summer Lazenby, the director of educational operations at the Challenger Learning Center, brought filters and spectrometers for the kids to see firsthand how light moves and is split into its different components of color.

Photo: Let there be light

Kids learned the basics of visible and invisible light during a presentation from the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska on Monday, Jan. 16, 2017 at… Continue reading

Kids learned the basics of visible and invisible light during a presentation from the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska on Monday, Jan. 16, 2017 at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska. There wasn’t much sunlight, but the kids attending the event heard about the electromagnetic spectrum and learned how to use a spectrometer to see the types of light in the world around them. Summer Lazenby, the director of educational operations at the Challenger Learning Center, brought filters and spectrometers for the kids to see firsthand how light moves and is split into its different components of color.

Board of Education sees preliminary budget

With still unknown budget allocations from the state and borough for next year, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education is working on… Continue reading

Trees grow on the side of Mt. Marathon overlooking Resurrection Bay on Nov. 6, 2016 near Seward, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

New plants appear on peninsula as climate shifts

Are exotic plants still exotic when the climate around them changes so that they fit right in? That’s the question a local biologist posed to… Continue reading

Trees grow on the side of Mt. Marathon overlooking Resurrection Bay on Nov. 6, 2016 near Seward, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
In this July 20, 2016 photo, a dipnetter walks along the banks of the lower Kenai River downstream of the Warren Ames Bridge in Kenai, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

KRSMA board asks for sunset on dipnet bank closure proposal

The citizen advisory board for the Kenai River Special Management Area wants to see an end date set on the Alaska Department of Fish and… Continue reading

In this July 20, 2016 photo, a dipnetter walks along the banks of the lower Kenai River downstream of the Warren Ames Bridge in Kenai, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
A drift gillnet fishing vessel makes its way out of the mouth of the Kenai River in this July 2016 file photo near Kenai, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion0

Victorious Inlet drifters file to vacate salmon rule

A Cook Inlet salmon plan will take a lot more work from federal managers in the next few years. The United Cook Inlet Drift Association,… Continue reading

  • Jan 15, 2017
  • By DJ SUMMERS
A drift gillnet fishing vessel makes its way out of the mouth of the Kenai River in this July 2016 file photo near Kenai, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion0

Assembly resolution: Members only speak for themselves

A resolution planned for hearing at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly would clarify that each assembly member’s opinions about the assembly’s controversial invocation policy are… Continue reading

Juneau population drops to 2012 levels

If employment is the pulse of an economy, population is its blood pressure — a sign of its overall condition. Juneau’s blood pressure is dropping,… Continue reading

Peninsula schools take part in orchestra concert

Kenai Peninsula students will get a chance to play and sing along with the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra in a set of concerts this week. Through… Continue reading

Snow begins to fly in the mountains around Skilak Lake near the Skyline Trail on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Friday, Jan. 13, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. The Kenai Peninsula saw a warm day Friday, with temperatures up to 20 degrees on parts of the peninsula, but will plunge into a cold snap along with the rest of the state in the coming week. Sunday’s high is 13 degrees with a chance of snow, and by Wednesday, the high will be approximately 4 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. In the Interior, the National Weather Service predicts a high of minus 18 degrees for Fairbanks on Sunday. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Photo: Winter days

… Continue reading

Snow begins to fly in the mountains around Skilak Lake near the Skyline Trail on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Friday, Jan. 13, 2017 near Cooper Landing, Alaska. The Kenai Peninsula saw a warm day Friday, with temperatures up to 20 degrees on parts of the peninsula, but will plunge into a cold snap along with the rest of the state in the coming week. Sunday’s high is 13 degrees with a chance of snow, and by Wednesday, the high will be approximately 4 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. In the Interior, the National Weather Service predicts a high of minus 18 degrees for Fairbanks on Sunday. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Board of Game reauthorizes wolf control on lower peninsula

The Alaska Board of Game passed a proposal at its Bethel meeting reauthorizing a predator control area for wolves in part of a game management… Continue reading

Nikiski family has carbon monoxide scare, fire department installs alarms

As temperatures drop and the heaters kick on in homes across the Kenai Peninsula for longer periods of time, emergency responders warn that the risk… Continue reading

ConocoPhillips announces oil discovery

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — ConocoPhillips has announced an oil discovery where production could start as early as 2023. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the site… Continue reading

  • Jan 14, 2017

Soldotna man accused of distributing, possessing child porn

A Soldotna man is accused of possessing and distributing child pornography in connection with an investigation that began in Louisiana. Remy Spring, 27, was arrested… Continue reading

Shanon Davis (right), the executive director of the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council, speaks to the crowd at the Industry Outlook Forum on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center in Kenai, Alaska. The annual forum, hosted by the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District, features speakers from a variety of different industries to provide insight on the upcoming year in their businesses. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Tourism projected to grow 2% in 2017

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to show that total taxable sales for primarily tourism businesses in 2016 was $175 million, up 1.7 percent… Continue reading

Shanon Davis (right), the executive director of the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council, speaks to the crowd at the Industry Outlook Forum on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center in Kenai, Alaska. The annual forum, hosted by the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District, features speakers from a variety of different industries to provide insight on the upcoming year in their businesses. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
The Soldotna City Council voted during its Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 meeting at Soldotna City Hall, pictured here, to appropriate funding to demolish a building that was damaged by fire three years ago.

Soldotna approves demolition of house damaged by fire

The city of Soldotna is moving forward in the demolition of what council members and neighbors describe as a dangerous house after it was destroyed… Continue reading

The Soldotna City Council voted during its Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 meeting at Soldotna City Hall, pictured here, to appropriate funding to demolish a building that was damaged by fire three years ago.

Education, employment agencies see shrinking funds, usage

Some Kenai Peninsula training and education programs are threatened both by an increasing reluctance of individuals to invest in training and decreased demand for personnel… Continue reading

Photo: Cooking up creativity

Photo: Cooking up creativity

Shannon Sumner (left) stirs together a melting mix of butters and essential oils while talking to Katie Cronce at a do-it-yourself body butter-making class on… Continue reading

  • Jan 12, 2017
Photo: Cooking up creativity
Esteban Santiago is taken from the Broward County main jail as he is transported to the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. Santiago is accused of fatally shooting several people at a crowded Florida airport baggage claim and faces airport violence and firearms charges that could mean the death penalty if he's convicted. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Suspected airport gunman’s life unraveled over past year

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Esteban Santiago stood alone in the cold one day last month outside Mom & Pop’s liquor store in Anchorage. He was… Continue reading

  • Jan 12, 2017
  • By RACHEL D’ORO
Esteban Santiago is taken from the Broward County main jail as he is transported to the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. Santiago is accused of fatally shooting several people at a crowded Florida airport baggage claim and faces airport violence and firearms charges that could mean the death penalty if he's convicted. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Sober living home advances toward opening

One nail and screw at a time, a local nonprofit is inching its way toward opening a sober living home in Soldotna now that its… Continue reading

Members of Soldotna Y Towing Inc. prepare a vehicle to be taken away from the scene of a four-vehicle accident on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 on the David Douthit Veterans Memorial Bridge in Soldotna, Alaska. One person was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)

1 hurt in 4-vehicle crash

Update 7:30 p.m. The accident on the David Douthit Veterans Memorial Bridge in Soldotna on Wednesday involved four vehicles, according to Soldotna Police Chief Peter… Continue reading

Members of Soldotna Y Towing Inc. prepare a vehicle to be taken away from the scene of a four-vehicle accident on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 on the David Douthit Veterans Memorial Bridge in Soldotna, Alaska. One person was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. (Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion)