News

Soldotna seeks to further develop its airport

Nearly $270,000 in state, federal and city money will be used to further develop Soldotna’s airport master plan project. The Soldotna City Council on Wednesday… Continue reading

  • Jun 25, 2015
  • By Rashah McChesney
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion In this July 1, 2014 file photo four anglers and a dog spent a leisurely morning fishing during the opening day of king salmon fishing on the Kenai River near Poacher's Cove in Soldotna, Alaska. Alaska Department of Fish and Game managers have again restricted fishing on the late run of Kenai River king salmon in an effort to conserve the fish.

Kenai River to open for limited king salmon fishing

Anglers will soon be able to target Kenai River king salmon, but with restrictions.The Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Thursday released a batch… Continue reading

  • Jun 25, 2015
  • By Rashah McChesney
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion In this July 1, 2014 file photo four anglers and a dog spent a leisurely morning fishing during the opening day of king salmon fishing on the Kenai River near Poacher's Cove in Soldotna, Alaska. Alaska Department of Fish and Game managers have again restricted fishing on the late run of Kenai River king salmon in an effort to conserve the fish.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Alaska State Troopers, Central Emergency Services firefighters and paramedics and Soldotna police responded to a high speed chase that ended on Funny River Road early Wednesday June 25, 2015 in Soldotna, Alaska.

Search for Anchorage man brought to end by credit card fraud

After allegedly fleeing Alaska State Troopers and members of the Soldotna Police Department for several hours early Wednesday morning, an Anchorage man was finally caught… Continue reading

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Alaska State Troopers, Central Emergency Services firefighters and paramedics and Soldotna police responded to a high speed chase that ended on Funny River Road early Wednesday June 25, 2015 in Soldotna, Alaska.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion In this 2012 photo commercial drift fishermen in the Cook Inlet pick sockeye salmon off of the deck of their fishing vessel. Alaska Department of Fish and Game managers are noticing an early trend of smaller-than-average salmon during the 2015 fishing season.

Across state, early salmon catches underweight

“Big run, small fish,” is a Cordova fishermen’s rule of thumb that seems to be holding true for salmon in 2015, particularly in the areas… Continue reading

  • Jun 25, 2015
  • By DJ SUMMERS
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion In this 2012 photo commercial drift fishermen in the Cook Inlet pick sockeye salmon off of the deck of their fishing vessel. Alaska Department of Fish and Game managers are noticing an early trend of smaller-than-average salmon during the 2015 fishing season.

Kenai ballot initiatives propose changes to city council

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct the misreported date of Kenai's general election and an inaccurate description of the proposed changes to… Continue reading

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion A smoke column from a controlled burn looms over the Kenai River on Wednesday June 24, 2015 as firefighters work on a prescribed burn to keep the Card Street wildfire from burning out of control in the Skilak Loop Area near Sterling, Alaska.

Card Street command team initiates controlled burn

Conditions were met on Wednesday for fire crews to initiate a 2,000-acre controlled burn north of Skilak Lake, which is resulting in a large, visible… Continue reading

  • Jun 24, 2015
  • By MEGAN PACER and KELLY SULLIVAN
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion A smoke column from a controlled burn looms over the Kenai River on Wednesday June 24, 2015 as firefighters work on a prescribed burn to keep the Card Street wildfire from burning out of control in the Skilak Loop Area near Sterling, Alaska.

Seward man to be tried for sexual assault

A Seward man will be tried in Kenai for the sexual assault of his ex-girlfriend last June. Daniel VanNess, 35, was indicted by a grand… Continue reading

Earthquake felt on Kenai Peninsula

There have been no reports of damage near the epicenter of an Alaska earthquake that registered at 5.8 on the Richter scale, said Ian Dickson,… Continue reading

Nikiski plant goes offline, causes power outage

About 22,000 homes and businesses lost power on Wednesday after a Nikiski generation plant operated by Homer Electric Association went offline. The outage happened at… Continue reading

Progress continues in Cooper Landing

Progress continues in Cooper Landing

The condition of a firefighter injured during a bear encounter Monday has improved and he will be leaving an Anchorage hospital Thursday.Public Information Officer Jean… Continue reading

  • Jun 24, 2015
  • By MEGAN PACER and KELLY SULLIVAN
Progress continues in Cooper Landing

Wildfires blister Alaska with increased frequency, intensity

ANCHORAGE — Alaska residents endure the nation’s harshest winters for the reward of beautiful summer days with sunshine that lingers until midnight.But increasingly, large wildfires… Continue reading

  • Jun 24, 2015
  • By Dan Joling
Searchers are nestled between crevasses on the surface of Colony Glacier in Alaska on Wednesday, June 10, 2015. For the fourth consecutive summer, a team of military members and scientists are combing the surface of Colony Glacier looking for remains and personal effects that can be used to identify the 52 people who perished when a U.S. Air Force Douglas C-124 Globemaster II crashed into Mount Gannett, about 15 miles away, while flying in severe weather in 1952. (Bill Roth/Alaska Dispatch News via AP)

Searchers comb Alaska glacier for GIs killed in 1950s crash

COLONY GLACIER — Scientists and volunteers tethered in safety gear and ice cleats painstakingly scoured the frozen dirt and ice to see if a glacier… Continue reading

  • Jun 24, 2015
  • By Mark Thiessen
Searchers are nestled between crevasses on the surface of Colony Glacier in Alaska on Wednesday, June 10, 2015. For the fourth consecutive summer, a team of military members and scientists are combing the surface of Colony Glacier looking for remains and personal effects that can be used to identify the 52 people who perished when a U.S. Air Force Douglas C-124 Globemaster II crashed into Mount Gannett, about 15 miles away, while flying in severe weather in 1952. (Bill Roth/Alaska Dispatch News via AP)

Earthquake felt on Kenai Peninsula

Wednesday, 6 p.m.:   There have been no reports of damage near the epicenter of an Alaska earthquake that registered at 5.8 on the Richter… Continue reading

Cook Inlet oil companies heavy consumers of tax credit reimbursements

Editor's note: this story has been changed to correct the geographical base of the North Slope-based Caelus Energy, which has no assets in Cook Inlet,… Continue reading

[Photo] Getting to the point

… Continue reading

  • Jun 23, 2015
In this April 12, 2015 photo, a black bear sow carries food that she found while foraging through garbage cans with her four cubs in Government Hill near downtown Anchorage, Alaska. At the time the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said it planned to kill the bears, but Alaska Gov. Bill Walker asked if they could be spared, so they were fitted with tracking collars and relocated far from Anchorage. But officials said the black bears that tore up a campsite at Porcupine Campground on the Kenai Peninsula near hope, Alaska, Friday, June 12, 2015, were likely the same ones relocated from Anchorage. (Bill Roth/Alaska Dispatch News via AP)

State, federal officials euthanize relocated black bears

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Four of five black bears spared euthanasia after tearing up garbage in Anchorage have come to an unhappy end at their… Continue reading

  • Jun 23, 2015
In this April 12, 2015 photo, a black bear sow carries food that she found while foraging through garbage cans with her four cubs in Government Hill near downtown Anchorage, Alaska. At the time the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said it planned to kill the bears, but Alaska Gov. Bill Walker asked if they could be spared, so they were fitted with tracking collars and relocated far from Anchorage. But officials said the black bears that tore up a campsite at Porcupine Campground on the Kenai Peninsula near hope, Alaska, Friday, June 12, 2015, were likely the same ones relocated from Anchorage. (Bill Roth/Alaska Dispatch News via AP)

Jury still out in sexual assault case

The jury is still out in the case of a Palmer man accused of sexually assaulting one of his coworkers in Kenai.Rosendo Pallones, 40, has… Continue reading

An Alaska Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, drops approximately 700 gallons of water from a "Bambi Bucket" on to the Stetson Creek Fire near Cooper Landing, Alaska, June 17. Two AKARNG Black Hawk helicopters flew a total of 200 bucket missions, dumping more than 144,000 gallons of water on the 300-acre Stetson Creek Fire on the Kenai Peninsula. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Balinda O'Neal)

Weather aids Cooper Landing progress, firefighter injured by bear

Both fires in the Cooper Landing area are better contained than they were on Monday.A press release from the United States Department of Agriculture Forest… Continue reading

An Alaska Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, drops approximately 700 gallons of water from a "Bambi Bucket" on to the Stetson Creek Fire near Cooper Landing, Alaska, June 17. Two AKARNG Black Hawk helicopters flew a total of 200 bucket missions, dumping more than 144,000 gallons of water on the 300-acre Stetson Creek Fire on the Kenai Peninsula. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Balinda O'Neal)

Work continues on Card Street fire

Crews continued to work on getting water to the interior of the Card Street fire and establishing fire lines throughout Tuesday.Firefighters have been planning a… Continue reading

  • Jun 23, 2015
  • By MEGAN PACER and KELLY SULLIVAN

Export program makes the final cut

For growers in the Kenai Peninsula’s developing agriculture industries, exporting internationally is still an option. A Division of Agriculture inspector position that issues phytosanitary certifications,… Continue reading

  • Jun 23, 2015
  • By Kelly Sullivan