News

Nikiski Fire and the Alaska State Troopers responded to a motor vehicle collision at Mile 17 of the Kenai Spur Highway Friday morning. One of the drivers was evacuated in a LifeMed Alaska helicopter while the other was taken in a Nikiski Fire ambulance.

Kenai accident sends two to hospital

A black Dodge Dart driven by 24 year-old Cyle Dendy collided with a white Ford pickup driven by 38 year-old Aaron McGahan in the southbound… Continue reading

  • Oct 23, 2015
  • By Staff Report
Nikiski Fire and the Alaska State Troopers responded to a motor vehicle collision at Mile 17 of the Kenai Spur Highway Friday morning. One of the drivers was evacuated in a LifeMed Alaska helicopter while the other was taken in a Nikiski Fire ambulance.

Anchorage may impose $500 ticket for texting while driving

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Texting while driving in Anchorage may land drivers a $500 traffic ticket under a proposal that shifts the violation from criminal… Continue reading

  • Oct 24, 2015
Clarion file photo In this June 23, 2013 file photo the tide, wind and waves eat at the bottom of Kenai Bluff during high tide Sunday evening below Toyon Way in Kenai.

Kenai bluff erosion study cost almost doubles

The cost of an upcoming Army Corps of Engineers study necessary to proceed with Kenai’s bluff stabilization project has increased from a May 2015 estimate… Continue reading

Clarion file photo In this June 23, 2013 file photo the tide, wind and waves eat at the bottom of Kenai Bluff during high tide Sunday evening below Toyon Way in Kenai.
Members of the Alaska House majority speak to members of the media on the first day of the Legislature's third special session this year on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015, in Juneau, Alaska. The focus of the special session is on the proposed buy out of TransCanada Corp. from the gas project the state is pursuing. Pictured from the top are Reps. Mark Neuman, Mike Chenault and Steve Thompson. Neuman and Thompson are co-chairs of the House Finance Committee; Chenault is the House speaker. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Legislative session’s focus narrowed to TransCanada buyout

JUNEAU, Alaska — Gov. Bill Walker’s administration began making its case for why the state should buy out one of its partners in a proposed… Continue reading

  • Oct 24, 2015
  • By Becky Bohrer
Members of the Alaska House majority speak to members of the media on the first day of the Legislature's third special session this year on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015, in Juneau, Alaska. The focus of the special session is on the proposed buy out of TransCanada Corp. from the gas project the state is pursuing. Pictured from the top are Reps. Mark Neuman, Mike Chenault and Steve Thompson. Neuman and Thompson are co-chairs of the House Finance Committee; Chenault is the House speaker. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
This photo courtesy of Emmanuel Wattecamps-Etienne, shows him posing for a photo with his cat. Wattecamps-Etienne made a jump Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015, from his sailboat, La Chimere, a rescue boat after the sailboat lost its rudder and rigging in high seas and gale force winds about 400 miles south of Cold Bay, Alaska. He tucked his cat inside his coat before making the leap off the doomed sailboat. (Courtesy of Emmanuel Wattecamps-Etienne via AP)

French sailor had no fear in leaping to rescue boat

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The French sailor who made a daring jump from high up the rigging pole of his disabled ship to a rescue boat… Continue reading

  • Oct 24, 2015
  • By Mark Thiessen
This photo courtesy of Emmanuel Wattecamps-Etienne, shows him posing for a photo with his cat. Wattecamps-Etienne made a jump Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015, from his sailboat, La Chimere, a rescue boat after the sailboat lost its rudder and rigging in high seas and gale force winds about 400 miles south of Cold Bay, Alaska. He tucked his cat inside his coat before making the leap off the doomed sailboat. (Courtesy of Emmanuel Wattecamps-Etienne via AP)

Anchorage woman combats spice trend by offering pot instead

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Anchorage woman is looking for spice users and asking them to destroy their synthetic drug in exchange for marijuana.Health officials… Continue reading

  • Oct 24, 2015

Anchorage woman combats spice trend by offering pot instead

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Anchorage woman is looking for spice users and asking them to destroy their synthetic drug in exchange for marijuana. Health… Continue reading

  • Oct 24, 2015

The latest on the special session: Legislators want to analyze buyout risk, rewards

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The latest on the opening day of the Alaska Legislature’s special session (all times local): 1:05 p.m. Republican legislative leaders say… Continue reading

  • Oct 24, 2015

BLM OKs drilling permit in petroleum reserve

JUNEAU — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced Thursday that it had approved a drilling permit that would clear the way for the first… Continue reading

Big Oil given extra time to pledge gas

The state of Alaska is negotiating up to the last minute on proposals that would guarantee major oil producers’ participation in the state’s liquefied natural… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Instructor Raymond Hanson leads a group of about 15 people in swing and cha cha lessons during a class hosted through the Soldotna Community Schools Program on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015 at the Soldotna Prep School in Soldotna.

Photo: Dance the dance

Photo: Dance the dancePhoto by Megan Pacer/Peninsula ClarionInstructor Raymond Hanson leads a group of about 15 people in swing and cha cha lessons during a… Continue reading

  • Oct 22, 2015
Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Instructor Raymond Hanson leads a group of about 15 people in swing and cha cha lessons during a class hosted through the Soldotna Community Schools Program on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015 at the Soldotna Prep School in Soldotna.

DOT seeks comment on Highway Safety Project

The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities is seeking public comment before it moves forward with planned safety updates to a 21-mile stretch of… Continue reading

Photo courtesy Shannon Bird Shannon and her brother Les Rappe at her wedding ceremony.

More than a 5k Scholarship honors beloved brother and son, promotes community education

Shannon Bird’s brother Les Rappe died in a car accident in Nikiksi in 2008. His seatbelt wasn’t buckled, a detail Bird was unaware of until… Continue reading

  • Oct 22, 2015
  • By Kelly Sullivan
Photo courtesy Shannon Bird Shannon and her brother Les Rappe at her wedding ceremony.
(Clarion file photo)Members and staff of the Alaska Board of Fisheries meet in Soldotna Feb. 16, 1999. The 1999 meeting was the last time the full board met on the central Kenai Peninsula to address upper Cook Inlet fisheries.

Board of Fisheries debates Kenai meeting

Despite several hours of discussion, the Alaska’s Board of Fisheries members did not come to a decision whether to move its 2017 Upper Cook Inlet… Continue reading

(Clarion file photo)Members and staff of the Alaska Board of Fisheries meet in Soldotna Feb. 16, 1999. The 1999 meeting was the last time the full board met on the central Kenai Peninsula to address upper Cook Inlet fisheries.

Marine debris waiting on permit in Seattle

KODIAK, Alaska — Organizers of a cleanup along coastlines in Alaska and British Columbia are waiting for authorization to be able to sort through a… Continue reading

  • Oct 22, 2015
Jackson (front) and Tad Covault pose with the moose Jackson shot down in September north of the Yukon River.

K-Beach Elementary student takes monster moose

A towering bull moose stepped into the clearing in front of them. They had seen a number of smaller moose, some wolves, swans and cow… Continue reading

Jackson (front) and Tad Covault pose with the moose Jackson shot down in September north of the Yukon River.
In this July 7, 2013 file photo investigators look at the remains of a fixed-wing aircraft that was engulfed in flames at the Soldotna Airport in Soldotna, Alaska. No survivors were located. Ten people died in the the crash.

Cargo weight cited in 2013 Soldotna plane crash that killed 10

ANCHORAGE — The pilot of an air taxi that crashed in Soldotna in 2013, killing all 10 people on board, underestimated the weight of the… Continue reading

  • Oct 21, 2015
  • By Mark Thiessen
In this July 7, 2013 file photo investigators look at the remains of a fixed-wing aircraft that was engulfed in flames at the Soldotna Airport in Soldotna, Alaska. No survivors were located. Ten people died in the the crash.
Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Alaska Refuge Information Technician Program Coordinator Kevin Painter explains the goals behind the design of an exhibit in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center during a workshop for the program on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015 at the center in Soldotna, Alaska.

Refuge Information Techs bring workshop to Kenai Peninsula

When members of Alaska’s remote Native villages need to share their concerns about environmental conservation, they can turn a handful of Refuge Information Technicians tasked… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Alaska Refuge Information Technician Program Coordinator Kevin Painter explains the goals behind the design of an exhibit in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center during a workshop for the program on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015 at the center in Soldotna, Alaska.

Girdwood trooper post to remain open through June

The Girdwood post of the Alaska State Troopers, originally slated to be closed Jan. 1, will remain open at least through June 30, troopers say.… Continue reading

Low gas prices boost Alaska tourism

Winter, spring, summer and fall, lots of people are coming to Alaska.Visitor numbers were steady or increased nearly everywhere across the state during the latest… Continue reading

  • Oct 21, 2015
  • By ELWOOD BREHMER