News

Kenai funds flowers, raises and fresh tech in new budget

Editor's note: this story has been changed to correct the year Kenai began planting the Field of Flowers. In a meeting that ended ten minutes… Continue reading

Kenai Performers seek land donation from Kenai

The non-profit Kenai Performers theater group has requested a donation of land from the city of Kenai for the construction of a theater to serve… Continue reading

Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Bill and Judy Oyler participate in the blessing given at the Kenaitze Indian Tribe's Tyotkas Elder Center groundbreaking Monday, June 8, 2015, in Kenai, Alaska. The new building will be 6,500 square feet, 1,500 square feet bigger than the old center. Before the Kenaitze Indian Tribe purchased the building more than ten years ago, it had been used as a general store, restaurant and pharmacy, said the tribe's Executive Director Jaylene Peterson-Nyren. The new center is within walking distance of the Dena'ina Wellness Center and is designed by Kahtnuht'ana Development Corp., a new corporation whose sole shareholder is the tribe, Peterson-Nyren said.

Breaking ground

… Continue reading

  • Jun 8, 2015
Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Bill and Judy Oyler participate in the blessing given at the Kenaitze Indian Tribe's Tyotkas Elder Center groundbreaking Monday, June 8, 2015, in Kenai, Alaska. The new building will be 6,500 square feet, 1,500 square feet bigger than the old center. Before the Kenaitze Indian Tribe purchased the building more than ten years ago, it had been used as a general store, restaurant and pharmacy, said the tribe's Executive Director Jaylene Peterson-Nyren. The new center is within walking distance of the Dena'ina Wellness Center and is designed by Kahtnuht'ana Development Corp., a new corporation whose sole shareholder is the tribe, Peterson-Nyren said.
Troopers seek man in Ninilchik robbery

Troopers seek man in Ninilchik robbery

Alaska State Troopers are seeking a Homer man in connection with a Thursday robbery and assault on a beach in Ninilchik. Clarence Hock, 23, and… Continue reading

  • Jun 8, 2015
  • By Rashah McChesney
Troopers seek man in Ninilchik robbery

Alaska isn’t only state with budget issues

ATLANTA — With budget deadlines looming for nearly all states, disagreements over closing deficits or expanding Medicaid are forcing several legislatures to extend their sessions.The… Continue reading

  • Jun 8, 2015
  • By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY
In this Sunday, June 7, 2015 photo, smoke rises from the Bogus Creek Fire, one of two fires burning in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Alaska. Fire managers said Monday that weekend rain helped tamp down the fires which, together, total about 63 square miles. (Matt Snyder/Alaska Division of Forestry via AP)

Fire crews battling 2 large tundra wildfires

ANCHORAGE — Following a winter marked by little snow and warmer temperatures, fire crews on Monday were tackling two large wildfires burning on mostly treeless… Continue reading

  • Jun 8, 2015
  • By Rachel D'oro
In this Sunday, June 7, 2015 photo, smoke rises from the Bogus Creek Fire, one of two fires burning in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Alaska. Fire managers said Monday that weekend rain helped tamp down the fires which, together, total about 63 square miles. (Matt Snyder/Alaska Division of Forestry via AP)

Halibut bycatch limit reduced by 25 percent in Bering Sea

JUNEAU (AP) — The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is asking pollock and cod trawlers in the Bering Sea to cut halibut bycatch by a… Continue reading

  • Jun 8, 2015

New look, original charm

Veronica’s Coffee House in Old Town Kenai will unveil a slightly new look to pair with its same endearing charm this Wednesday.Longtime musician at Veronica’s,… Continue reading

Business news

■ The Soldotna Chamber of Commerce meets today at noon at Froso’s Restaurant in Soldotna. A presentation from Sally Cassano, Board President of the Kenai… Continue reading

  • Jun 8, 2015
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Ron Lazenby and his caped grandson Koebryn Lazenby examine the memorial to wounded military veterans dedicated on Saturday by Soldotna's Chapter 830 of the Order of the Purple Heart in Soldotna Creek Park.

Purple Heart monument dedicated in Soldotna Creek Park

Editor's note: This article has been changed to correct the position of Military Order of the Purple Heart member Ron Siebels. A former State and… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Ron Lazenby and his caped grandson Koebryn Lazenby examine the memorial to wounded military veterans dedicated on Saturday by Soldotna's Chapter 830 of the Order of the Purple Heart in Soldotna Creek Park.

Alaska residents rank 3 state services as low priority

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — State services like the pioneers’ home, the aerospace corporation and the agriculture division are among Alaska’s least important, according to participants… Continue reading

  • Jun 7, 2015
The Rock ferris wheel allows riders to spin inside of their cage as the wheel turns during the Golden Wheel Amusements carnival in Kenai, Alaska.

Photos: The golden ticket

… Continue reading

  • Jun 8, 2015
The Rock ferris wheel allows riders to spin inside of their cage as the wheel turns during the Golden Wheel Amusements carnival in Kenai, Alaska.

State cuts reflected in school meals

The effects of state funding cuts will crop up in student meals across the Kenai Peninsula during the upcoming school year. The Alaska Division of… Continue reading

  • Jun 7, 2015
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Greg Landeis, owner of Black Spruce Studios, talks about a heart-shaped wooden frame that he is designing for a client's wedding on Saturday May 6, 2015 in Sterling, Alaska. Landeis carved the heart shape out of the wood and into smaller pieces that can be signed by wedding guests before being set back into the frame and affixed permanently into the piece.

Sterling carver finds his niche

Greg Landeis is a woodcarver working amidst contradictions. Despite a lifelong, unrelenting allergy to his medium, he has spent decades carving and producing from his… Continue reading

  • Jun 6, 2015
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Greg Landeis, owner of Black Spruce Studios, talks about a heart-shaped wooden frame that he is designing for a client's wedding on Saturday May 6, 2015 in Sterling, Alaska. Landeis carved the heart shape out of the wood and into smaller pieces that can be signed by wedding guests before being set back into the frame and affixed permanently into the piece.
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Volunteer Andy Wakeman (center) prepares to crimp an anchor cable binding a cluster of spruce debris to the bank of the Kenai River with assistance from intern Grant Humpreys (left) and coordinator Lisa Beranek of the Kenai Watershed Forum on Saturday on the shore of the Kenai River near the end of Funny River Road.

Volunteers rehabilitate the Kenai River

At 9 a.m on Saturday ­— a drizzly, overcast morning — Kenai Watershed Forum Stream Watch coordinator Lisa Beranek gathered 17 volunteers on a bank… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Volunteer Andy Wakeman (center) prepares to crimp an anchor cable binding a cluster of spruce debris to the bank of the Kenai River with assistance from intern Grant Humpreys (left) and coordinator Lisa Beranek of the Kenai Watershed Forum on Saturday on the shore of the Kenai River near the end of Funny River Road.

Murkowski: Arctic issues about more than Alaska

For Sen. Lisa Murkowski, there aren’t many topics hotter than the Arctic these days, especially as the U.S. steps into the chairmanship role of the… Continue reading

  • Jun 6, 2015
  • By CHARLES L. WESTMORELAND

Walker requests acceleration on AK LNG talks

Gov. Bill Walker said May 29 he’s about “half-way” through a 45-day review of the Alaska LNG Project partnership terms and said he’s pleased at… Continue reading

  • Jun 6, 2015
  • By Tim Bradner
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Happy and Jim Schneider are among the residents at Vintage Pointe Manor senior apartments who are facing a rate increase. In this Tuesday May 30, 2015 photo of the couple in their 826 square foot apartment - the two talked about potentially being priced out of their apartment and having to move elsewhere.

Rents rise at Vintage Pointe

When the residents of Kenai’s Vintage Pointe Manor senior housing pay their rents for the month of July, it will cost them up to $35… Continue reading

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Happy and Jim Schneider are among the residents at Vintage Pointe Manor senior apartments who are facing a rate increase. In this Tuesday May 30, 2015 photo of the couple in their 826 square foot apartment - the two talked about potentially being priced out of their apartment and having to move elsewhere.
Clarion file photo The Kenai Peninsula Borough is appropriating $3.2 million to equip an 88,000 square-foot specialty clinics expansion at Central Peninsula Hospital. Equipment that was originally denied to the hospital by the state's Department of Health and Social Services, but has since been approved, is included in that funding request.

Borough set appropriate $3.2 million to outfit CPH clinics, state reverses course on equipment denial

A specialty clinic space at Central Peninsula Hospital will soon be outfitted with more than $3.2 million in equipment, including some that the state previously… Continue reading

  • Jun 4, 2015
  • By Rashah McChesney
Clarion file photo The Kenai Peninsula Borough is appropriating $3.2 million to equip an 88,000 square-foot specialty clinics expansion at Central Peninsula Hospital. Equipment that was originally denied to the hospital by the state's Department of Health and Social Services, but has since been approved, is included in that funding request.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Dean Bartsch, of Nikiski, talks to a room full of people about a potential law enforcement area on Thursday June 4, 2015 at the Nikiski Community Center in Nikiski, Alaska.

Nikiski debates better police protection

It has been a decade since Nikiski voters rejected paying for a police service area. Now, after a rash of property thefts and what many… Continue reading

  • Jun 4, 2015
  • By Rashah McChesney
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Dean Bartsch, of Nikiski, talks to a room full of people about a potential law enforcement area on Thursday June 4, 2015 at the Nikiski Community Center in Nikiski, Alaska.