News

Kenai purchases land for South Beach access road

Editor's note: The house in an image that previously appeared with this story was mistakenly identified as the house Kenai acquired with its land purchase.… Continue reading

Independent U.S Senate Candidate Margaret Stock poses for a campaign portrait in February 2016.

U.S Senate candidate Margaret Stock running as independent

Independent U.S. Senate candidate Margaret Stock — one of 13 candidates challenging Lisa Murkowski in this year’s Senate race — spent last Sunday at her… Continue reading

Independent U.S Senate Candidate Margaret Stock poses for a campaign portrait in February 2016.
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Cathy Cline, a project technician with the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association, displays an otolith she extracted from a hatchery-raised chinook to children dissecting fish at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge's "Get Out and Get Dirty" daycamp on Thursday, July 28 at the Kenai National Wildlife headquarters in Soldotna. An otolith is a fish's earbone, which grows in layers of varying thickness dependent on the fish's water temperature. Hatcheries vary water temperature to produce an otolithic "signature" identifying the fish's origin. Cline, who describes herself as CIAA's "otolith reader" said she microscopically examines around 10,000 otoliths per year - sampled from fish delivered to processors - to learn about the fish's environment and the sucesses of various hatcheries.

Fish guts

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Cathy Cline, a project technician with the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association, displays an otolith she extracted from a hatchery-raised king salmon to… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Cathy Cline, a project technician with the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association, displays an otolith she extracted from a hatchery-raised chinook to children dissecting fish at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge's "Get Out and Get Dirty" daycamp on Thursday, July 28 at the Kenai National Wildlife headquarters in Soldotna. An otolith is a fish's earbone, which grows in layers of varying thickness dependent on the fish's water temperature. Hatcheries vary water temperature to produce an otolithic "signature" identifying the fish's origin. Cline, who describes herself as CIAA's "otolith reader" said she microscopically examines around 10,000 otoliths per year - sampled from fish delivered to processors - to learn about the fish's environment and the sucesses of various hatcheries.

Clinton takes Democratic nomination

PHILADELPHIA — Promising Americans a steady hand, Hillary Clinton cast herself Thursday night as a unifier for divided times, steeled for a volatile world by… Continue reading

  • Jul 28, 2016
  • By JULIE PACE and ROBERT FURLOW

Food Directory helps support local farms

Many local farmers report a lack of visibility. Word-of-mouth marketing was enough for Matt Applehanz, who co-owns M & M Produce with his wife Mary… Continue reading

  • Jul 28, 2016
  • By Kelly Sullivan

Senior exemption reducton goes to ballot

Kenai Peninsula voters will decide whether to continue the borough’s optional senior property tax exemption in this fall’s election.The proposal comes out of a comprehensive… Continue reading

Sales tax cap increase goes to ballot

Editor's note: This article has been updated to show that the borough's optional senior property tax exemption would be phased out under a proposed borough… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Dipnetters haul a salmon onto the north Kenai beach on Wednesday, July 27, 2016 in Kenai, Alaska. The popular Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery, which opened July 10, will close Sunday for the year. Thousands of Alaskans have come to the beaches and camped in tents, tarps and RVs to get their annual limit of sockeye salmon from the Kenai River.

Seeing reds

… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Dipnetters haul a salmon onto the north Kenai beach on Wednesday, July 27, 2016 in Kenai, Alaska. The popular Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery, which opened July 10, will close Sunday for the year. Thousands of Alaskans have come to the beaches and camped in tents, tarps and RVs to get their annual limit of sockeye salmon from the Kenai River.

Deadline comes for bill restricting sex education

A controversial bill passed by the Alaska Legislature will reach its day of decision today.House Bill 156, sponsored by Rep. Wes Keller, R-Wasilla and significantly… Continue reading

In this Tuesday, July 26, 2016 frame from video provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, crew from a sinking fishing boat, left, board life rafts off Alaska's Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea. When the Alaska Juris started taking on water Tuesday, crew members donned survival suits and got into rafts. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)

Problem in engine room led to flooding on boat

ANCHORAGE — A problem in the engine room led to flooding on board a fishing boat off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, forcing the crew to abandon… Continue reading

  • Jul 27, 2016
  • By Rachel D'oro
In this Tuesday, July 26, 2016 frame from video provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, crew from a sinking fishing boat, left, board life rafts off Alaska's Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea. When the Alaska Juris started taking on water Tuesday, crew members donned survival suits and got into rafts. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)

Marijuana Control Board chair gathers signatures for borough ban

The recently elected chairman of Marijuana Control Board, Peter Mlynarik, is a registered signature gatherer for a Kenai Peninsula Borough petition that would put a… Continue reading

  • Jul 27, 2016
  • By DJ SUMMERS
President Barack Obama and Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton wave to delegates after President Obama's speech during the third day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Obama boosts Clinton: Carry her like you carried me

PHILADELPHIA — His own legacy on the line, President Barack Obama implored Americans to elect Hillary Clinton to the White House, casting her as a… Continue reading

  • Jul 27, 2016
  • By JULIE PACE and CATHERINE LUCEY
President Barack Obama and Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton wave to delegates after President Obama's speech during the third day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Photo courtesy Rashah McChesney Anglers race up the river after trolling for king salmon on the Kenai River on Sunday, July 24, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska.

Fishing report: Kenai king fishing season approaches end

Anyone looking for a king salmon stamp in Soldotna after last weekend might be hard-pressed to find one.The three big-box stores in Soldotna — Fred… Continue reading

Photo courtesy Rashah McChesney Anglers race up the river after trolling for king salmon on the Kenai River on Sunday, July 24, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska.
Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Fish waste accumulates along the tide line at the Kenai River's north beach on Wednesday, July 27, 2016 in Kenai, Alaska. The City of Kenai rakes the waste out to ocean every night and local groups contribute to cleanup efforts, but the waste still builds up on the tideline when the water washes it back in.

Keeping an eye on fish waste

At any given point, there are several lines drawn across the Kenai beach — the drag poles of dipnets, footprints on their way to the… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Fish waste accumulates along the tide line at the Kenai River's north beach on Wednesday, July 27, 2016 in Kenai, Alaska. The City of Kenai rakes the waste out to ocean every night and local groups contribute to cleanup efforts, but the waste still builds up on the tideline when the water washes it back in.

HOPE intentional community moves forward

Hope Community Resources Inc.’s intentional neighborhood recently got a $200,000 Wightman Family Trust grant for site preparation. The money helps move the project one step… Continue reading

  • Jul 26, 2016
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Bill Parker talks to his wife, Shoney, in their bluff-side home Thursday, July 21, 2016 in Happy Valley, Alaska. After years of struggling to get services and medical care through the Department of Veterans Affairs, Parker said things are running more smoothly since he enrolled in the Veteran-Directed Home and Community Based Services Program, offered for the first time in Alaska through the Independent Living Center of the Kenai Peninsula.

No place like home: Program helps veterans with in-home assistance

For someone who loves to get out on the water and fish as much as Happy Valley resident Bill Parker, the inability to walk is… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Bill Parker talks to his wife, Shoney, in their bluff-side home Thursday, July 21, 2016 in Happy Valley, Alaska. After years of struggling to get services and medical care through the Department of Veterans Affairs, Parker said things are running more smoothly since he enrolled in the Veteran-Directed Home and Community Based Services Program, offered for the first time in Alaska through the Independent Living Center of the Kenai Peninsula.

Third boat in 2 weeks capsizes on river

Two boaters were rescued when their vessel overturned near the Kenai City Dock Tuesday afternoon.A boat took on water and capsized on the Kenai River… Continue reading

UFA asks for fishermen’s input on habitat

The biggest commercial fishing trade organization in the state is looking for a little more information about engagement and habitat from its members.The United Fishermen… Continue reading

State targets Palmer prison for November closing

ANCHORAGE — The state corrections department announced a plan Tuesday to close the Palmer Correctional Center and transfer nearly 500 prisoners and many of the… Continue reading

  • Jul 26, 2016
  • By Mark Thiessen
Former President Bill Clinton speaks during the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , Tuesday, July 26, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Clinton wins historic nomination, says glass ceiling cracked

PHILADELPHIA — Taking on the role of devoted political spouse, former President Bill Clinton declared his wife Hillary Clinton an impassioned “change-maker” as he served… Continue reading

  • Jul 26, 2016
  • By JULIE PACE and CATHERINE LUCEY
Former President Bill Clinton speaks during the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , Tuesday, July 26, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)