News

Board of Fish drafts support for habitat permitting reform

The Board of Fisheries is working toward a formal motion lending its support to a citizen-generated request for the Legislature to review the state’s fish… Continue reading

FILE - In this May 4, 2005 file photo, Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Fairbanks debates an amendment to a retirement bill on the floor of the House of Representatives at the Capitol Building in Juneau, Alaska. A man killed in a plane crash Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016, in Alaska's interior has been identified by his wife as former Republican state Rep. Mike Kelly, 74, of Fairbanks. Cherie Kelly told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that her husband's body will be flown to Anchorage. Clint Johnson, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board's Alaska division, says the private plane crashed 17 miles southeast of Fairbanks with just one person on board. (AP Photo/Seanna O'Sullivan, File)

Ex-state Rep. Mike Kelly dies in Alaska plane crash

FAIRBANKS (AP) — Former Republican state Rep. Mike Kelly of Fairbanks was killed Wednesday in a plane crash in Alaska’s interior, his wife has confirmed.Cherie… Continue reading

  • Dec 8, 2016
FILE - In this May 4, 2005 file photo, Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Fairbanks debates an amendment to a retirement bill on the floor of the House of Representatives at the Capitol Building in Juneau, Alaska. A man killed in a plane crash Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016, in Alaska's interior has been identified by his wife as former Republican state Rep. Mike Kelly, 74, of Fairbanks. Cherie Kelly told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that her husband's body will be flown to Anchorage. Clint Johnson, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board's Alaska division, says the private plane crashed 17 miles southeast of Fairbanks with just one person on board. (AP Photo/Seanna O'Sullivan, File)

Missing small Alaska plane rented by the pilot

ANCHORAGE — A small plane that’s missing in Alaska with four people on board was rented by a pilot described as a man who makes… Continue reading

  • Dec 8, 2016
  • By Rachel D'oro
Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Traffic backs up along the Sterling Highway following a two-vehicle collision Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016 near the intersection of the highway and Mackey Lake Road in Soldotna, Alaska. One person was killed in the crash and the other taken to Central Peninsula Hospital to be treated for injuries.

1 dead in two-vehicle collision

  Update 5:30 p.m.: The Soldotna Police Department has identified the two drivers involved in a two-vehicle collision Thursday in Soldotna, in which one of… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Traffic backs up along the Sterling Highway following a two-vehicle collision Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016 near the intersection of the highway and Mackey Lake Road in Soldotna, Alaska. One person was killed in the crash and the other taken to Central Peninsula Hospital to be treated for injuries.

Troopers involved in shooting in Nikiski

A branch of the Alaska State Troopers is investigating an officer-involved shooting that happened Wednesday afternoon in Nikiski Troopers at the Soldotna post got a… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Decorative animal-themed fabrics sealed with an adhesive cover the countertops at the new North Road Veterinary Wellness Clinic on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016 in Nikiski, Alaska. The clinic, run by homesteader Mary Huhndorf, is already open for basic veterinary needs, but will be a long-term work in progress, Huhndorf said.

Homeward bound: Local veterinarian opens clinic in Nikiski

Mary Huhndorf still lives in the cabin in Nikiski her parents homesteaded in. An animal lover from a young age, she also continues to find… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Decorative animal-themed fabrics sealed with an adhesive cover the countertops at the new North Road Veterinary Wellness Clinic on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016 in Nikiski, Alaska. The clinic, run by homesteader Mary Huhndorf, is already open for basic veterinary needs, but will be a long-term work in progress, Huhndorf said.

Assembly revives invocation policy

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly revived its controversial invocation policy during a reconsideration vote at its Tuesday meeting.The assembly passed an amendment at its Nov.… Continue reading

AST investigating trooper-involved shooting

Update 6:30 p.m. Alaska State Troopers say a man shot by troopers Wednesday afternoon was in the process of being arrested on a felony warrant.… Continue reading

Board of Fish denies most winter kings proposals

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to show that there is no annual limit requirement during the winter king salmon fishery in Lower Cook… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion James Harris, an English teacher at Soldotna High School, accepts his title as the 2017 Alaska Teacher of the Year during an assembly Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2016 at the school in Soldotna, Alaska.

Soldotna educator named Alaska’s Teacher of the Year

James Harris, an English teacher at Soldotna High School, is the state’s new Teacher of the Year. Harris was awarded the title by Alaska Department… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion James Harris, an English teacher at Soldotna High School, accepts his title as the 2017 Alaska Teacher of the Year during an assembly Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2016 at the school in Soldotna, Alaska.
Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion In this June 2016 photo, a guide rows clients on the Kasilof River near the confluence with Crooked Creek in Kasilof, Alaska.

Board of Fish approves guide regulations

The Board of Fisheries on Saturday reinstated the logbook and licensing program for sportfishing guides around the state. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion In this June 2016 photo, a guide rows clients on the Kasilof River near the confluence with Crooked Creek in Kasilof, Alaska.
In this June 6, 2013 photo provided by the USS Arizona Memorial Foundation, Lauren Bruner, one of five remaining survivors of the USS Arizona from the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor, is joined by Capt. Jeffry W. James, right, then the commander of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, and Daniel Martinez, chief historian for the National Park Service, as they look at the Arizona Memorial's Shrine Wall with names of every man aboard the ship when it was attacked. More than 2,300 servicemen died in the Japanese attack that plunged the United States into World War II. Nearly half of those killed were on the Arizona, most still entombed in the wreckage. (Mark Comon/USS Arizona Memorial Foundation via AP)

USS Arizona survivor heads to Pearl Harbor 75 years later

HONOLULU — Lauren Bruner was getting ready for church in 1941 on his battleship, the USS Arizona, when the alarm sounded.The Japanese attack on Pearl… Continue reading

  • Dec 6, 2016
  • By AUDREY McAVOY
In this June 6, 2013 photo provided by the USS Arizona Memorial Foundation, Lauren Bruner, one of five remaining survivors of the USS Arizona from the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor, is joined by Capt. Jeffry W. James, right, then the commander of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, and Daniel Martinez, chief historian for the National Park Service, as they look at the Arizona Memorial's Shrine Wall with names of every man aboard the ship when it was attacked. More than 2,300 servicemen died in the Japanese attack that plunged the United States into World War II. Nearly half of those killed were on the Arizona, most still entombed in the wreckage. (Mark Comon/USS Arizona Memorial Foundation via AP)

Alaska Air gets OK to buy Virgin America

WASHINGTON — Alaska Airlines has won government approval to buy rival Virgin America after agreeing to reduce its flight-selling partnership with American Airlines.Parent company Alaska… Continue reading

  • Dec 6, 2016
  • By DAVID KOENIG and ERIC TUCKER

Public weighs in on Kenai judge candidates

Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify that Brooke Browning Alowa was a magistrate judge in Kotzebue. There’s going to be a new… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Kaidence Shaeffer, one of the skaters who will perform in the annual "Christmas Lights and Holiday Nights" skating recital, runs through one of her routines at the Soldotna Public Library on Monday, Dec. 5, 2016 in Soldotna, Alaska. The recital, scheduled for Dec. 17 at 1:15 p.m. at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex, will feature a number of holiday ice skating performances, followed by a free public skate from 5-7 p.m. The organizers will also be accepting donations of holiday dinner items. The donations will go to families in need of a holiday dinner.

Photo: Christmas on ice

… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Kaidence Shaeffer, one of the skaters who will perform in the annual "Christmas Lights and Holiday Nights" skating recital, runs through one of her routines at the Soldotna Public Library on Monday, Dec. 5, 2016 in Soldotna, Alaska. The recital, scheduled for Dec. 17 at 1:15 p.m. at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex, will feature a number of holiday ice skating performances, followed by a free public skate from 5-7 p.m. The organizers will also be accepting donations of holiday dinner items. The donations will go to families in need of a holiday dinner.

Board of Fish extends Ninilchik king season

King salmon anglers on the Ninilchik River will get a little more time to target hatchery fish in the summer.The Ninilchik River, which flows across… Continue reading

Commercial cod fishermen get more space in Kachemak Bay

Commercial groundfish fishermen in Kachemak Bay will get more space to operate after the Board of Fisheries redefined the closed waters in the area.In Lower… Continue reading

Birdsall, watercolor painter of Alaska scenes, dies

FAIRBANKS (AP) — Byron Birdsall, a prolific painter who spent decades capturing Alaska scenes in watercolors, has died. He was 78.Birdsall died Sunday, his stepdaughter,… Continue reading

  • Dec 5, 2016

Fights over oil taxes and the fiscal cliff

The incoming Alaska Legislature is going to face the same daunting fiscal issues as its predecessor, but the Walker administration is hoping the impending session… Continue reading

  • Dec 5, 2016
  • By ELWOOD BREHMER

Investigator: Missing Palmer teen was beaten, shot to death

ANCHORAGE (AP) — A missing Palmer teenager was pistol-whipped by an acquaintance, driven to a remote location and shot to death, according to an Alaska… Continue reading

  • Dec 5, 2016