News

Fish and Game lifts bait restriction for Kenai River kings

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has lifted the bait restriction in the Kenai River sport king salmon fishery.According to a press release from… Continue reading

  • Jul 24, 2015

Teen passenger dies in Cooper Landing highway crash

COOPER LANDING (AP) — A 15-year-old Eagle River girl died Thursday in a rollover crash in Cooper Landing.Alaska State Troopers say Megan Frenzel was a… Continue reading

  • Jul 24, 2015

An Outdoor View: On filling the freezer

Author’s note: This column first appeared in the Clarion on July 25, 2014. With sockeye salmon now plentiful hereabouts, it bears repeating. — LP  … Continue reading

Soldotna man, passenger not injured in plane crash

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating a plane crash after a Soldotna resident and his passenger hiked out from the… Continue reading

Soldotna enters contract with one mixed martial arts promoter

“6 or 5 Times Productions” has been chosen as the sole promoter for Mixed Martial Arts competitions to be held at the Soldotna Regional Sports… Continue reading

  • Jul 23, 2015
  • By Kelly Sullivan

Shell allowed limited offshore oil drilling

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Obama administration has given Royal Dutch Shell PLC approval to begin limited exploratory oil drilling off Alaska’s northwest coast. The two… Continue reading

  • Jul 23, 2015
  • By KEVIN FREKING and DAN JOLING

Scientists say people prefer fat

WASHINGTON — Move over sweet and salty: Researchers say we have a distinct and basic taste for fat, too.But it’s nowhere near as delicious as… Continue reading

  • Jul 23, 2015
  • By By SETH BORENSTEIN
Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Joshua Berson, 8, scrapes bark off his father's log in preparation for the Sawfest Chainsaw Carving Competition on Thursday evening at Stanley Chrysler in Soldotna, Alaska. Berson's father, Eric Berson of The Dreamer's Woods in Sterling, is one of several participant's in this year's Sawfest, which will last from Thursday through Sunday as part of the Progress Days festival.

PHOTO: Ready, set, scrape!

… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Joshua Berson, 8, scrapes bark off his father's log in preparation for the Sawfest Chainsaw Carving Competition on Thursday evening at Stanley Chrysler in Soldotna, Alaska. Berson's father, Eric Berson of The Dreamer's Woods in Sterling, is one of several participant's in this year's Sawfest, which will last from Thursday through Sunday as part of the Progress Days festival.

Fishing report: All eyes on the Kenai as sockeye numbers build, king fishing steady

Angling eyes are on the Kenai River this week as sockeye numbers are building and king salmon fishing remains steady. Alaska Department of Fish and… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Art Baker twitches his hook at the end of a drift by pulling out the line with his hand on the bank of the Kenai, behind the Kenai River Center in Soldotna, on Tuesday, July 21.

Sockeye fishing makes anglers twitchy

While dipnetters swarm the Kenai Peninsula’s beaches to wrestle fish out of the surf, anglers take to the riverbanks to practice a less athletic but… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Art Baker twitches his hook at the end of a drift by pulling out the line with his hand on the bank of the Kenai, behind the Kenai River Center in Soldotna, on Tuesday, July 21.
Courtesy photo/Alaska Department of Natural Resrouces This map from a naming application shows the location of an unnamed lake on the Kenai Peninsula, 31 miles northeast of Nikiski and less than 2 miles from the Cook Inlet. The proposed name is Regaey Lake.

Local landowners apply to name lake

A Kenai family looking to christen a previously unnamed lake near Moose Point has found the process does not come without difficulties. Kenai resident Joan… Continue reading

Courtesy photo/Alaska Department of Natural Resrouces This map from a naming application shows the location of an unnamed lake on the Kenai Peninsula, 31 miles northeast of Nikiski and less than 2 miles from the Cook Inlet. The proposed name is Regaey Lake.
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Sam Gotter (left) nets a sockeye pulled in by Pat Homer (right) on the Kenai River in Soldotna on Tuesday, July 21.

Photo: Nothing but net

… Continue reading

  • Jul 22, 2015
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Sam Gotter (left) nets a sockeye pulled in by Pat Homer (right) on the Kenai River in Soldotna on Tuesday, July 21.

Associations, school district still at impasse

Collective bargaining between the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District and the Kenai Peninsula Education and Kenai Peninsula Support associations remains at an impasse.The three entities… Continue reading

  • Jul 22, 2015
  • By Kelly Sullivan
This June 2015 photo provided by the University of Alaska Museum of the North, shows a close-up view of a neck vertebra from a elasmosaur fossil exposed in the cliff in the Talkeetna Mountains in Alaska. Researchers have confirmed the discovery of a marine reptile fossil in the Talkeetna Mountains, the University of Alaska Museum of the North announced Wednesday, July 22, 2015. (Patrick Druckenmiller/University of Alaska Museum via AP)

Collector finds marine reptile fossil in mountains of Alaska

ANCHORAGE — Researchers have confirmed the discovery of a marine reptile fossil in the Talkeetna Mountains, the University of Alaska Museum of the North announced… Continue reading

  • Jul 22, 2015
  • By Dan Joling
This June 2015 photo provided by the University of Alaska Museum of the North, shows a close-up view of a neck vertebra from a elasmosaur fossil exposed in the cliff in the Talkeetna Mountains in Alaska. Researchers have confirmed the discovery of a marine reptile fossil in the Talkeetna Mountains, the University of Alaska Museum of the North announced Wednesday, July 22, 2015. (Patrick Druckenmiller/University of Alaska Museum via AP)

Lawmakers discuss Gov. Bill Walker’s Medicaid expansion

JUNEAU — The chairman of the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee said Wednesday that he will take under advisement requests to hold a hearing on… Continue reading

  • Jul 22, 2015
  • By Becky Bohrer
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion John Collins (left) guts a pair of salmon while his step-grandson Blake Coulson (right) watches at Kenai's north beach on Sunday, July 19.

Sleeping by the fishes

Each year, thousands of eager Alaskans flood the north and south Kenai beaches for the personal-use dipnet season with the same goal in mind: catching… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion John Collins (left) guts a pair of salmon while his step-grandson Blake Coulson (right) watches at Kenai's north beach on Sunday, July 19.
Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Alaska Department of Revenue Commissioner Randall Hoffbeck addresses Kenai and Soldotna residents during a chamber luncheon focused on state sustainability on Tuesday afternoon at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center in Kenai, Alaska.

State looks for budget input

Alaska’s path to financial stability will be neither short nor easy, and local residents will have the chance to weigh in on the issue before… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion Alaska Department of Revenue Commissioner Randall Hoffbeck addresses Kenai and Soldotna residents during a chamber luncheon focused on state sustainability on Tuesday afternoon at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center in Kenai, Alaska.
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Roland Cherrier (center) speaks to newly-arrived guests John (left) and Julia (right) Baker of Warsaw, Indiana at RJC RV Park in Kenai on Friday, July 17.

All in the family: Young entrepreneur gets to work at Port of Kenai

Visitors leaving the Kenai city dock with a cooler of freshly-caught salmon may be met in the parking lot by 12 year-old entrepreneur Roland Joseph… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion Roland Cherrier (center) speaks to newly-arrived guests John (left) and Julia (right) Baker of Warsaw, Indiana at RJC RV Park in Kenai on Friday, July 17.

Cleveland Volcano erupts

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An explosion Tuesday morning rocked Alaska’s Cleveland Volcano but scientists have detected no ash cloud that could threaten jets crossing the Pacific… Continue reading

  • Jul 21, 2015
  • By Dan Joling

Consultant hired to help with Medicaid reforms

JUNEAU, Alaska — The state health department has hired a consultant to help recommend next steps as Gov. Bill Walker’s administration plans to implement Medicaid… Continue reading

  • Jul 21, 2015
  • By Becky Bohrer