Kenai Peninsula Borough

A Mackey Lake voter fills out a special mayoral ballot at Soldotna Prep School on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A Mackey Lake voter fills out a special mayoral ballot at Soldotna Prep School on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
People vote in polling booths at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

3 cities oppose alignment of borough, state election days

The Soldotna City Council on Wednesday became the latest group to object to the proposed alignment

People vote in polling booths at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A tip jar collects money for Cooper Landing Emergency Services inside the Sunrise Cafe on Saturday, July 8, 2023, in Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough to probe eastern peninsula, rather than Cooper Landing, emergency service area

The service area would need to implement a mill rate between 3.7 and 3.95, according to estimates

A tip jar collects money for Cooper Landing Emergency Services inside the Sunrise Cafe on Saturday, July 8, 2023, in Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A firefighter from Cooper Landing Emergency Services refills a water tanker at the banks of the Kenai River in Cooper Landing, Alaska on Aug. 30, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Cooper Landing considers emergency service area for region

The community is currently served by Cooper Landing Emergency Services

A firefighter from Cooper Landing Emergency Services refills a water tanker at the banks of the Kenai River in Cooper Landing, Alaska on Aug. 30, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Discarded items await new homes at the “Sterling Mall,” located inside the Sterling Transfer Facility on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

‘Sterling Mall’ up and running

At the site, residents can drop off items for reuse that may otherwise end up in a borough landfill

Discarded items await new homes at the “Sterling Mall,” located inside the Sterling Transfer Facility on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
People vote in polling booths at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly bumps vote on resolution that would ask voters whether to align state, local election days

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday voted to postpone until August a vote on legislation that would ask peninsula voters whether to align local… Continue reading

People vote in polling booths at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
From left, Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly members Brent Johnson, Bill Elam, Tyson Cox and Brent Hibebrt participate in a meeting on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. All assembly members pictured voted in favor of a resolution that supporting the separation of transgender and cisgender girl student athetes. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly OKs resolution supporting separation of cisgender girls, other student athletes

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday voiced support for the separation of transgender and cisgender girls in high school sports. The body during its… Continue reading

From left, Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly members Brent Johnson, Bill Elam, Tyson Cox and Brent Hibebrt participate in a meeting on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. All assembly members pictured voted in favor of a resolution that supporting the separation of transgender and cisgender girl student athetes. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Building materials pile up at the site of the former ZipMart on Wednesday, June 14, 2023 in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly takes down ZipMart structure

The dilapidated ZipMart building in Sterling was demolished last week, capping monthslong efforts to mitigate a structure the Kenai Peninsula Borough called a public safety… Continue reading

Building materials pile up at the site of the former ZipMart on Wednesday, June 14, 2023 in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Voters line up to put their ballots in a ballot machine at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, Nov. 3 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Resolution would ask borough voters whether to align state and local election days

A resolution up for consideration by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday would put before peninsula voters the question of whether borough elections should… Continue reading

Voters line up to put their ballots in a ballot machine at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, Nov. 3 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A sign opposing the participation of trans girls in girls sports is propped against a fire hydrant outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building on Thursday, June 8, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. The Alaska Board of Education met in the building to discuss a resolution that would ban trans girls from girls high school sports. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly resolution would back proposed exclusion of trans girls from high school girls sports

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday will wade into the issue of transgender rights in Alaska when it considers whether to support banning trans… Continue reading

A sign opposing the participation of trans girls in girls sports is propped against a fire hydrant outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building on Thursday, June 8, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. The Alaska Board of Education met in the building to discuss a resolution that would ban trans girls from girls high school sports. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough Clerk Johni Blankenship oversees the testing of voting equipment ahead of the Oct. 5, 2021, municipal election on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough proposes changes to write-in candidate rules

The changes are being proposed in response to questions that came up after the most recent special mayoral election

Kenai Peninsula Borough Clerk Johni Blankenship oversees the testing of voting equipment ahead of the Oct. 5, 2021, municipal election on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A spruce tree seeps sap outside of the Kenai Post Office on Friday, July 2, 2021, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

New federal grant will fund borough beetle-kill mitigation

Assembly members on Tuesday voted to accept more than $70,000 for the effort

A spruce tree seeps sap outside of the Kenai Post Office on Friday, July 2, 2021, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The Devil’s Creek Trail in Chugach National Forest, seen June 15, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly backs expanded use of e-bikes in Chugach

The nonbinding resolution calls for class I and II electronic bicycles to be allowed on the forest’s nonmotorized trails, roads and other areas

The Devil’s Creek Trail in Chugach National Forest, seen June 15, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Building materials pile up at the site of the former ZipMart on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly OKs ZipMart demolition

The building, located on Swanson River Road, started to collapse earlier this year

Building materials pile up at the site of the former ZipMart on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The entrance to the Kenai Peninsula Borough building in Soldotna, Alaska, is seen on June 1, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)

Assembly strengthens borough protections against malfeasance

Legislation overhauls the sections of borough code that discuss employee protection, surety bonds, liability for conduct and indemnification

The entrance to the Kenai Peninsula Borough building in Soldotna, Alaska, is seen on June 1, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna Elementary School Principal Dr. Austin Stevenson points out corroded insulation outside of the school building on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska.

School district moves ahead with bond projects

$65.5 million in bonds will fund deferred maintenance projects at 10 KPBSD schools

Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna Elementary School Principal Dr. Austin Stevenson points out corroded insulation outside of the school building on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska.
Building materials pile up at the site of the former ZipMart on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough looks to demolish collapsed ZipMart building

It’s been more than 20 years since the Sterling business, a convenience store and gas station, was in operation

Building materials pile up at the site of the former ZipMart on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Finance Director Liz Hayes, left, testifies before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly during a budget work session on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly passes borough budget

The document fully funds borough schools and includes a decrease in property taxes

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Finance Director Liz Hayes, left, testifies before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly during a budget work session on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The George A. Navarre Kenai Peninsula Borough building. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)

Assembly shrinks borough planning commission

The planning commission is responsible for planning the “systemic development and betterment” of the borough

The George A. Navarre Kenai Peninsula Borough building. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)
Kristin Lambert testifies in support of funding for the Soldotna Senior Center during an assembly meeting on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

After leadership change, borough funds Soldotna senior center

The Soldotna City Council in May voted to defund the center for the upcoming fiscal year

Kristin Lambert testifies in support of funding for the Soldotna Senior Center during an assembly meeting on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)