News

Caribou Hills opened to snow machining

Portions of the Caribou Hills have gotten enough snow to allow for a limited opening to snow machining. The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Friday… Continue reading

  • Jan 9, 2016
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Sitting on stage in an easy chair backed by decorative kayaks, outgoing director of the Kenai Watershed Forum Robert Ruffner plays himself in a skit satirically re-enacting his failed appointment to the state Board of Fisheries during an event held in his honor on Saturday, Jan. 9 at the Triumverate Theatre in Kenai.

Kenai Watershed Forum serves roast of Ruffner

Robert Ruffner finally reached a board of fish on Saturday. After being nominated to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Board of Fisheries in… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Sitting on stage in an easy chair backed by decorative kayaks, outgoing director of the Kenai Watershed Forum Robert Ruffner plays himself in a skit satirically re-enacting his failed appointment to the state Board of Fisheries during an event held in his honor on Saturday, Jan. 9 at the Triumverate Theatre in Kenai.
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Lucretia Carter taught second grade in Kenai and Soldotna for two decades and each year had her students design and give their signatures onto a medium that was later made into a commemorative plate, photographed above Friday, Jan. 8, 2016, at the Joyce K. Carver Memorial Library in Soldonta, Alaska. The entire collection is on display through the end of February.

Library display honors Soldotna teacher

A long-time Soldotna teacher, Lucretia Mae Carter, who passed away on May 20, 2015, is being honored with a display of her own doing at… Continue reading

  • Jan 10, 2016
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Lucretia Carter taught second grade in Kenai and Soldotna for two decades and each year had her students design and give their signatures onto a medium that was later made into a commemorative plate, photographed above Friday, Jan. 8, 2016, at the Joyce K. Carver Memorial Library in Soldonta, Alaska. The entire collection is on display through the end of February.
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Fred Sturman and his son Steve Sturman check a pile of dirt for worm cocoons, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015, at Circle M Worm Farm of Alaska in Nikiski, Alaska.

Rolling in the dirt

Father and son entrepreneurs Fred and Steve Sturman are getting dirty while hoping to clean up. Since last spring, the two have been transforming a… Continue reading

  • Jan 9, 2016
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Fred Sturman and his son Steve Sturman check a pile of dirt for worm cocoons, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015, at Circle M Worm Farm of Alaska in Nikiski, Alaska.

Lawmakers pre-file 31 bills

The Alaska Legislature’s preseason has begun with 24 House bills and seven Senate bills released in the first round of prefiled legislation. Prefiling is the… Continue reading

Cancer now No. 1 killer in 22 states, ahead of heart disease

NEW YORK — Cancer is becoming the No. 1 killer in more and more states as deaths from heart disease have declined, new health statistics… Continue reading

Credit downgrade timed on bond sales, continued oil decline

Credit downgrade timed on bond sales, continued oil decline

Standard & Poor’s Jan. 5 downgrade of Alaska’s credit ratings, which caught many state leaders by surprise, was triggered by upcoming bond sales, according to… Continue reading

  • Jan 9, 2016
  • By ELWOOD BREHMER Morris News Service - Alaska
Credit downgrade timed on bond sales, continued oil decline

Soldotna Planning and Zoning seeks to alter landscaping requirements

This story been updated to clarify that the Planning and Zoning Commission started looking at landscaping regulations in January 2015, deciding to amend city code… Continue reading

Alaska Supreme Court upholds local school contribution

JUNEAU — The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday upheld as constitutional a state requirement that local school districts help pay for education, reversing a lower… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Cristal Barton touches the shoulder of her horse Major on Thursday, Jan. 7 at the home of Barton's mother, Kim Garrettson, in Kenai. The Kenai City Council announced Thursday that Garrettson will be allowed to keep Major in Kenai in exception to city code, a permission previously denied by Kenai's Planning and Zoning Commission.

Emotional support horse permitted in Kenai

Kenai resident Kim Garrettson will be allowed to keep Major, a horse that serves as an emotional support animal for her autistic daughter, Cristal Barton,… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Cristal Barton touches the shoulder of her horse Major on Thursday, Jan. 7 at the home of Barton's mother, Kim Garrettson, in Kenai. The Kenai City Council announced Thursday that Garrettson will be allowed to keep Major in Kenai in exception to city code, a permission previously denied by Kenai's Planning and Zoning Commission.
Homer News counted 126 dead murrs washed up on the mud trail next to Homer's Spit on Dec. 31, 2015.

Huge seabird die off seen on Cook Inlet beaches

Anyone who has walked Homer’s beaches the past few weeks has seen a horrid event. Every few yards along the tidal wrack line, the white… Continue reading

Homer News counted 126 dead murrs washed up on the mud trail next to Homer's Spit on Dec. 31, 2015.

CPH plans transitional living facility

For many patients recovering from drug or alcohol addiction, staying clean can get harder after they leave the treatment facility. Many of those who graduate… Continue reading

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion In this Nov. 24, 2015 file photo a moose looks for a bite to eat in a lawn on Beaver Loop Road in Kenai, Alaska. Some hunters have raised concerns about moose populations numbers on the southern part of the Kenai Peninsula and questioning an annual hunt carried out by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Moose count raises concern about hunt

Editor's note: The article has been edited to correct an error with the moose survey numbers. It was originally stated that Fish & Game estimated… Continue reading

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion In this Nov. 24, 2015 file photo a moose looks for a bite to eat in a lawn on Beaver Loop Road in Kenai, Alaska. Some hunters have raised concerns about moose populations numbers on the southern part of the Kenai Peninsula and questioning an annual hunt carried out by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Walker puts a freeze on hiring, travel

Those cushy state jobs are going to be a little harder to come by after Gov. Bill Walker’s administration instituted a state hiring freeze and… Continue reading

  • Jan 6, 2016
  • By ELWOOD BREHMER
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Patrick White adjusts the LED lights over the four tomato plants he is growing in hopes of breaking the world record for biggest tomato grown indoors, Wendesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Soldotna, Alaska.

Going big: Soldotna gardener shoots for tomato record

The gardener who broke the record for largest tomato at the Alaska State Fair this summer is braving an attempt at producing another phenomenal fruit… Continue reading

  • Jan 6, 2016
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Patrick White adjusts the LED lights over the four tomato plants he is growing in hopes of breaking the world record for biggest tomato grown indoors, Wendesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Soldotna, Alaska.

Speaker Chenault involved in Nikiski wreck

Speaker of the House Mike Chenault was involved in a two-vehicle car accident in Nikiski Tuesday night. No one was injured in the crash that… Continue reading

  • Jan 6, 2016

Miller says he’s not seriously considering Senate run

JUNEAU — Joe Miller said he is not seriously considering an election challenge to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski this year, but he has not completely… Continue reading

  • Jan 6, 2016
  • By Becky Bohrer

Experts address housing challenges at daylong summit

ANCHORAGE — Experts from around Alaska were participating in a daylong summit Wednesday to address housing challenges in the vast state that’s facing a growing… Continue reading

  • Jan 6, 2016
  • By Rachel D'oro

Kenai wastewater plant may get an unlikely million

Despite the scanty state spending expected in 2016, this year’s state capital budget may provide funding for long-deferred upgrades to Kenai’s wastewater treatment plant. Built… Continue reading

Walker puts freeze on department hiring, travel

Those cushy state jobs are going to be a little harder to come by after Gov. Bill Walker’s administration instituted a state hiring freeze and… Continue reading

  • Jan 6, 2016
  • By By Elwood Brehmer