News

Alaska court strikes down parental notice for abortions

JUNEAU — The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday struck down a state law requiring parental notification of a minor seeking an abortion.The court found the… Continue reading

  • Jul 22, 2016
  • By Becky Bohrer

OMB director: State personnel reduced by 1,700 in last two years

State budget cuts are beginning to hit home, in terms of jobs and economic impact.Office of Management and Budget Director Pat Pitney said state employee… Continue reading

  • Jul 23, 2016
  • By Tim Bradner

Silver Alert activated for man in Kenai

Update 1 p.m.:The search is still on for an 81-year old man in the Kenai area after a Silver Alert was activated Saturday.Lt. Ben Langham… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Members of the Kenai Fire Department and Kenai Police Department tow two boats behind them - one that capsized and another that came to the rescue - while passengers work to bail out the capsized boat Friday, July 22, 2016 on the Kenai River in Kenai, Alaska. The three people in the capsized vessel were all saved from the water, and no one was harmed.

Boaters rescued near Kenai City Dock

Three people were rescued unhurt from the Kenai River after their boat took on water Friday. The Kenai Police Department, Kenai Fire Department and the… Continue reading

  • Jul 22, 2016
  • By Staff reports
Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Members of the Kenai Fire Department and Kenai Police Department tow two boats behind them - one that capsized and another that came to the rescue - while passengers work to bail out the capsized boat Friday, July 22, 2016 on the Kenai River in Kenai, Alaska. The three people in the capsized vessel were all saved from the water, and no one was harmed.

Two saved from commercial vessel fire

A commercial fishing vessel caught fire and burned down Thursday morning in the Cook Inlet. The U.S. Coast Guard got a report of the accident,… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Sockeye salmon fall onto the sorting belt at Pacific Star Seafoods on Wednesday, July 21, 2016 in Kenai, Alaska. Upper Cook Inlet commercial fishermen have brought in more than 1.6 million sockeye salmon this season as of July 19, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Upper Cook Inlet commercial fishermen near 2M salmon harvest

Salmon are rolling into Upper Cook Inlet’s commercial fishery. The drift fleet and setnetters in Cook Inlet have been out frequently in the past two… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Sockeye salmon fall onto the sorting belt at Pacific Star Seafoods on Wednesday, July 21, 2016 in Kenai, Alaska. Upper Cook Inlet commercial fishermen have brought in more than 1.6 million sockeye salmon this season as of July 19, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion A dipnetters hauls in a sockeye salmon he caught at the Kenai beach in Kenai, Alaska on Sunday, July 10, 2016. The popular Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery opened Sunday at 6 a.m. and will be open until July 31.

Dipnet extended to 24 hours

Dipnetters in the Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery will be able to fish around the clock starting Friday after 11 p.m. until July 31.The… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion A dipnetters hauls in a sockeye salmon he caught at the Kenai beach in Kenai, Alaska on Sunday, July 10, 2016. The popular Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery opened Sunday at 6 a.m. and will be open until July 31.
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion RAW Welding employee Laron Hagan burns the paint off a steel buoy while owner Donnelle Scott sketches a "Nightmare Before Christmas"-inspired landscape at the RAW Welding workshop on Monday, July 18 outside Soldotna. The company will be plasma-cutting images into the buoy on Thursday at the Artzy Junkin craft market in Soldotna.

RAW Welders cut metal artistically

Work is by definition practical, while art isn’t necessarily so. A local welding company has found a way to make the two coexist while embellishing… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion RAW Welding employee Laron Hagan burns the paint off a steel buoy while owner Donnelle Scott sketches a "Nightmare Before Christmas"-inspired landscape at the RAW Welding workshop on Monday, July 18 outside Soldotna. The company will be plasma-cutting images into the buoy on Thursday at the Artzy Junkin craft market in Soldotna.
Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Candidates for the U.S. Senate Edgar Blatchford (left), Bob Lochner (center) and Margaret Stock (right) speak to the joint Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce at a luncheon held Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at the Kenai Visitor's and Cultural Center in Kenai, Alaska.

Senate candidates visit Kenai

With the primary election less than a month away, three U.S. Senate candidates made their cases in Kenai Wednesday. There are currently 13 active or… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Candidates for the U.S. Senate Edgar Blatchford (left), Bob Lochner (center) and Margaret Stock (right) speak to the joint Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce at a luncheon held Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at the Kenai Visitor's and Cultural Center in Kenai, Alaska.
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Richard Repper disbuds plants Echo Lake Peonies, the operation he runs with wife Irene Repper on Tuesday, July 19, 2016 in Soldotna, Alaska.

Peony growers bogged down by early blooms

Across the Kenai Peninsula, peonies were out in full bloom —long before their planters expected them. With another sporadically freezing winter, followed by a warm… Continue reading

  • Jul 20, 2016
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Richard Repper disbuds plants Echo Lake Peonies, the operation he runs with wife Irene Repper on Tuesday, July 19, 2016 in Soldotna, Alaska.

Construction to close Soldotna intersection

Motorists who plan on driving near the Kobuk Street and West Redoubt Avenue intersection in Soldotna can expect detours by early next week.The intersection is… Continue reading

Court hears oral arguments on request to dismiss fishery commission suit

Commercial fisherman Robert Thorstenson, Jr. is precisely the right person to bring a lawsuit against the governor and the State of Alaska, according to his… Continue reading

  • Jul 20, 2016
  • By LISA PHU

Officials say wildfire likely human-caused

ANCHORAGE — A wildfire threatening homes on both sides of it just south of Alaska’s largest city was likely started by people, fire officials said… Continue reading

  • Jul 20, 2016
  • By Rachel D'oro
Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana waves as he takes the stage during the third day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Wednesday, July 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Another tumultuous night in Cleveland

CLEVELAND — Undercutting calls for Republican unity, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz stubbornly refused to endorse Donald Trump Wednesday night as he addressed the GOP convention,… Continue reading

  • Jul 20, 2016
  • By JULIE PACE and JILL COLVIN
Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana waves as he takes the stage during the third day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Wednesday, July 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Photo courtesy Andy Foor Andy Foor of Everett, Pennsylvania, helped pull a woman out of the Kenai River on Saturday, July 16, 2016 in Soldotna, Alaska. "I said a prayer and I just heard a voice that said, 'Throw your line out,'" Foor said.

Angler goes fishing, catches a human

With early morning settling in on the bright blue waters of the Kenai River, Andy Foor was prepared for a long morning of fishing when… Continue reading

Photo courtesy Andy Foor Andy Foor of Everett, Pennsylvania, helped pull a woman out of the Kenai River on Saturday, July 16, 2016 in Soldotna, Alaska. "I said a prayer and I just heard a voice that said, 'Throw your line out,'" Foor said.
Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Anglers cast along the banks of the Kenai River on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 in Soldotna, Alaska.

Fishing report: Fishing slows on the Kenai, holds on the Kasilof

Anglers may have to work a little harder this week on the Kenai River as the fishing has slowed down.The banks of the Kenai River… Continue reading

Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion Anglers cast along the banks of the Kenai River on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 in Soldotna, Alaska.

Alaska Veterans Administration takes medical appointing duty from contractor TriWest

Officials from the Alaska Veterans Administration (VA) said their agency is taking over services previously performed by contractor TriWest Healthcare Alliance. Local veterans who attended… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Two bystanders watch over a small boat at the Kenai City Dock that capsized Tuesday, July 19, 2016 in Kenai, Alaska. Its four occupants were rescued quickly by other boaters, and others towed the vessel to shore.

4 rescued after boat capsizes

Four people were brought safely to shore after their boat capsized Tuesday near the Kenai City Dock. The 18-foot low boat took on water after… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Two bystanders watch over a small boat at the Kenai City Dock that capsized Tuesday, July 19, 2016 in Kenai, Alaska. Its four occupants were rescued quickly by other boaters, and others towed the vessel to shore.
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion (Left) Nya Dukowitz, Candace Bowers and Rosemary Bird, music teacher at Kenai Middle School, prepare the two soon-to-be Kenai Central High School freshmen for the Let Freedom Sing Girlchoir National Convention on Tuesday, July 19, 2016 at Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church in Kenai, Alaska.

2 KCHS students to represent Alaska in national all-girls choir

Today is the last practice soon-to-be Kenai Central High School freshmen Candice Bowers and Nya Dukowitz have to perfect their pitch before heading to the… Continue reading

  • Jul 19, 2016
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion (Left) Nya Dukowitz, Candace Bowers and Rosemary Bird, music teacher at Kenai Middle School, prepare the two soon-to-be Kenai Central High School freshmen for the Let Freedom Sing Girlchoir National Convention on Tuesday, July 19, 2016 at Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church in Kenai, Alaska.
Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Reince Priebus, Chairman of the Republican National Committee talk while Alaska recounts their votes during the second day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Tuesday, July 19, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Trump triumphs as GOP nominee, completing stunning climb

CLEVELAND — Cementing an extraordinary political takeover, Republicans nominated Donald Trump Tuesday night as their presidential standard-bearer, hitching their hopes of keeping Democrat Hillary Clinton… Continue reading

  • Jul 19, 2016
  • By JULIE PACE
Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Reince Priebus, Chairman of the Republican National Committee talk while Alaska recounts their votes during the second day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Tuesday, July 19, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)