Kenai Peninsula

Historic Elwell Lodge Guest Cabin is seen at its new spot near the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s Visitor Center. (USWS)

Around the peninsula

Local events and happenings coming soon.

 

Alaska Department of Natural Resources logo (graphic)

State seeks Kenai Peninsula citizen advisory board members

The Department of Natural Resources invites Alaskans to apply for seats in Seward, Kachemak Bay and Kenai.

 

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche speaks during a meeting of the Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough updates public noticing requirements

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly approved an ordinance last week effectively ending requirements to publish notices in a newspaper of general circulation.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche speaks during a meeting of the Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Sterling resident Jonny Reidy walks 11 miles from his dry cabin to his part-time job at Fred Meyer on Dec. 15, 2025. Reidy aims to walk 1,000 miles by midsummer, and he’s asking people to pledge donations to food banks for every mile he travels. Photo courtesy of Jonny Reidy

Sterling man is walking 1,000 miles for hunger awareness

Jonathan Reidy asks people to pledge donations to local food banks for every mile he walks.

Sterling resident Jonny Reidy walks 11 miles from his dry cabin to his part-time job at Fred Meyer on Dec. 15, 2025. Reidy aims to walk 1,000 miles by midsummer, and he’s asking people to pledge donations to food banks for every mile he travels. Photo courtesy of Jonny Reidy
A BUMPS bus waits for passengers in the Walmart parking lot in Kenai, Alaska, on Oct. 15, 2018. (File photo)
A BUMPS bus waits for passengers in the Walmart parking lot in Kenai, Alaska, on Oct. 15, 2018. (File photo)
Balloons fall on dozens of children armed with confetti poppers during the Ninth Annual Noon-Year’s Eve Party at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska, on New Year’s Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Out with the old, in with the new

The Peninsula Clarion looks back on 2025 in this “year in review.”

Balloons fall on dozens of children armed with confetti poppers during the Ninth Annual Noon-Year’s Eve Party at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska, on New Year’s Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The sign in front of the Homer Electric Association building in Kenai, Alaska as seen on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
The sign in front of the Homer Electric Association building in Kenai, Alaska as seen on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Low clouds hang over Cook Inlet north of Anchor Point on Oct. 23, 2025. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Inletkeeper condemns federal management of Cook Inlet oil lease sale

The agency alleges an environmental study by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management was conducted with a “serious” lack of transparency.

Low clouds hang over Cook Inlet north of Anchor Point on Oct. 23, 2025. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Anchorage-based singer and songwriter Keeley Boyle is pictured in Anchorage<ins>, Alaska,</ins> on Sept. 26, 2023. Boyle, who was raised on the Kenai Peninsula, will use a $10,000 grant she received from the Rasmuson Foundation to create an album of songs about her grandparents’ home in Nikiski. Photo courtesy of Jovell Rennie

Musician hailing from Kenai receives Rasmuson grant

Keeley Boyle will record an album of songs about her grandparents’ Nikiski home.

Anchorage-based singer and songwriter Keeley Boyle is pictured in Anchorage<ins>, Alaska,</ins> on Sept. 26, 2023. Boyle, who was raised on the Kenai Peninsula, will use a $10,000 grant she received from the Rasmuson Foundation to create an album of songs about her grandparents’ home in Nikiski. Photo courtesy of Jovell Rennie
The sign in front of the Homer Electric Association building in Kenai, Alaska as seen on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Homer Electric Association announces rate increase

The proposed increase, if approved by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, will go into effect Jan. 1.

The sign in front of the Homer Electric Association building in Kenai, Alaska as seen on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Kevin Ray Hunter is actively sought by Alaska State Troopers on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. Photo courtesy of Alaska State Troopers

Update: Troopers arrest Kenai man accused of sexual abuse of a minor

A judge issued an arrest warrant for Kevin Ray Hunter, who was indicted on Wednesday for allegedly abusing multiple juveniles.

Kevin Ray Hunter is actively sought by Alaska State Troopers on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. Photo courtesy of Alaska State Troopers
A map presented by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources during a virtual meeting on Dec. 11, 2025, shows the location of a potential Kenai Peninsula State Forest. The Division of Forestry and Fire Protection must gather community perspectives before creating a proposal, and so far they’ve received “mixed” input. Screenshot.

DNR receives “mixed” public input on proposed Kenai Peninsula State Forest

The potential proposal would expand the Tanana Valley State Forest by 600,000 acres.

A map presented by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources during a virtual meeting on Dec. 11, 2025, shows the location of a potential Kenai Peninsula State Forest. The Division of Forestry and Fire Protection must gather community perspectives before creating a proposal, and so far they’ve received “mixed” input. Screenshot.
A map depicts the Cook Inlet Area state waters closed to retention of big skates through Dec. 31, 2025. Photo courtesy of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Cook Inlet area closed to big skate bycatch retention

The closure is effective in Cook Inlet Area state waters through Dec. 31.

A map depicts the Cook Inlet Area state waters closed to retention of big skates through Dec. 31, 2025. Photo courtesy of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game
The U.S. Forest Service Porcupine Campground offers gorgeous views of the Kenai Mountains and Turnagain Arm, as seen here on July 20, 2020, near Hope, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
The U.S. Forest Service Porcupine Campground offers gorgeous views of the Kenai Mountains and Turnagain Arm, as seen here on July 20, 2020, near Hope, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
The Trump administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill” act requires the Bureau of Ocean Energy management to hold at least six offshore oil and gas lease sales in Alaska between 2026-2028 and 2030-2032. The first of these sales — known as “Big Beautiful Cook Inlet 1,” or BBC1— is scheduled for March 2026. Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
The Trump administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill” act requires the Bureau of Ocean Energy management to hold at least six offshore oil and gas lease sales in Alaska between 2026-2028 and 2030-2032. The first of these sales — known as “Big Beautiful Cook Inlet 1,” or BBC1— is scheduled for March 2026. Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Homer public health nurse Emily Sears demonstrates tools in her vehicle emergency supply kit during a presentation on winter storm preparedness at the Anchor Point Senior Center on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

Homer public health talks winter emergency preparedness

A representative from the Homer Public Health Center discussed emergency preparation during the winter with Anchor Point residents last Thursday.

Homer public health nurse Emily Sears demonstrates tools in her vehicle emergency supply kit during a presentation on winter storm preparedness at the Anchor Point Senior Center on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Conrad Heiderer. Photo courtesy Conrad Heiderer

Opinion: The Kenai Peninsula could become Alaska’s 1st ‘corridor of life’

The Kenai Peninsula holds a kind of clarity that is hard to find in most places. Between the waters of Cook Inlet, the salmon runs,… Continue reading

Conrad Heiderer. Photo courtesy Conrad Heiderer
Clarion Sports Editor Jeff Helminiak harvests a newsroom Christmas tree from the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge near Arc Lake outside of Soldotna, Alaska, on Dec. 3, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

State opens land for Christmas tree harvesting

Alaskan families will have the opportunity to harvest a live tree from unrestricted state lands for Christmas this year, the state Department of Natural Resources… Continue reading

Clarion Sports Editor Jeff Helminiak harvests a newsroom Christmas tree from the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge near Arc Lake outside of Soldotna, Alaska, on Dec. 3, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Courtesy Harvest
On the Kenai Peninsula, a dormant liquefied natural gas export plant could be repurposed to receive cargoes of imported LNG under a plan being studied by Harvest, an affiliate of oil and gas company Hilcorp. The fuel would be transferred from ships to the tanks on the left, still in liquid form, before being converted back into gas and sent into a pipeline.

Utilities say Alaska needs an LNG import terminal. Consumers could end up paying for two.

Planning for two separate projects is currently moving ahead.

Courtesy Harvest
On the Kenai Peninsula, a dormant liquefied natural gas export plant could be repurposed to receive cargoes of imported LNG under a plan being studied by Harvest, an affiliate of oil and gas company Hilcorp. The fuel would be transferred from ships to the tanks on the left, still in liquid form, before being converted back into gas and sent into a pipeline.