Kenai

State of Alaska Department of Law logo. Photo courtesy of the State of Alaska Department of Law

Kenai man indicted for sexual abuse

Aaron “Scott” Merritt was indicted by a Kenai jury for sexual abuse crimes committed between 1998 and 2002.

State of Alaska Department of Law logo. Photo courtesy of the State of Alaska Department of Law
Bridget Grieme speaks during a forum with candidates for Kenai mayor and city council at the Kenai Community Library in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai elects new mayor

The Soldotna City Council holds the status quo, with both candidates unopposed.

Bridget Grieme speaks during a forum with candidates for Kenai mayor and city council at the Kenai Community Library in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Lily Craig, second from right and youth winner of the Ninth Annual Kenai Silver Salmon Derby, stands with officials from the City of Kenai, Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Marathon Petroleum as she’s awarded a novelty check for $1,000 at Kenai City Hall in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai silver salmon derby winners awarded

The winning anglers snagged the fish closest to the grand prize “magic weight” of 6.77 pounds.

Lily Craig, second from right and youth winner of the Ninth Annual Kenai Silver Salmon Derby, stands with officials from the City of Kenai, Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Marathon Petroleum as she’s awarded a novelty check for $1,000 at Kenai City Hall in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Christine Cunningham, left, and Mary Bondurant, right, both members of the Kenai Bronze Bear Sculpture Working Group, stand for a photo with Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel and a small model of the proposed sculpture during a luncheon hosted by the Kenai Chamber of Commerce in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai accepts grant funds for bronze bear installation

The sculpture of three bears, a mother and two cubs, is set to be installed at the airport.

Christine Cunningham, left, and Mary Bondurant, right, both members of the Kenai Bronze Bear Sculpture Working Group, stand for a photo with Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel and a small model of the proposed sculpture during a luncheon hosted by the Kenai Chamber of Commerce in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Gage Sturman and Ella Mallard rehearse “The Girl Next Door” at Triumvirate Theatre in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Looking back at growing up

Triumvirate Theatre stages Joe Rizzo’s “The Girl Next Door.”

Gage Sturman and Ella Mallard rehearse “The Girl Next Door” at Triumvirate Theatre in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A crowd moves along the sidewalk during the Third Annual Kenai Peninsula Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Lawton Drive in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Walking toward a world without Alzheimer’s

The Third Annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s hosted in Kenai

A crowd moves along the sidewalk during the Third Annual Kenai Peninsula Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Lawton Drive in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai Marching Band performs during the Second Annual Kenai Marching Showcase at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Marching Band preps for national contest during weekend showcase

The Kenai band will be traveling to Indianapolis in November to compete at the Bands of America Grand National Championships.

The Kenai Marching Band performs during the Second Annual Kenai Marching Showcase at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Construction crews are seen here working along the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai, Alaska on May 12, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion file)
Construction crews are seen working along the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai, Alaska on May 12, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

State awards contract for Kenai Spur Highway rehabilitation project

The project has been in development since 2013, and entered construction in 2018.

Construction crews are seen here working along the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai, Alaska on May 12, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion file)
Construction crews are seen working along the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai, Alaska on May 12, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Samantha Springer and Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel prepare to spin the wheels and determine the magic weight on the first day of the Ninth Annual Kenai Silver Salmon Derby at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Silver Salmon Derby underway

The derby strives to discourage selective fishing by using a “magic weight” determined by the results of a daily wheel spin.

Kenai Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Samantha Springer and Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel prepare to spin the wheels and determine the magic weight on the first day of the Ninth Annual Kenai Silver Salmon Derby at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Henry Knackstedt, Alex Douthit, Victoria Askin and Bridget Grieme participate in a forum with candidates for Kenai mayor and city council at the Kenai Community Library in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai mayoral, city council candidates talk city’s future at forum

The forum was the third in a series of forums leading up to the Oct. 7 municipal election.

Henry Knackstedt, Alex Douthit, Victoria Askin and Bridget Grieme participate in a forum with candidates for Kenai mayor and city council at the Kenai Community Library in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai City Hall is seen on a sunny Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai rezones 13 parcels that had multiple zone classifications

Irregularities on the city’s zoning map were created as parcels were merged or new zones were created.

Kenai City Hall is seen on a sunny Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai Municipal Airport is seen on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai sets stage for roughly $25M in airport maintenance next summer

The grant is for improvements to the airport runway, to runway lighting systems, and to the airport’s storm drains.

The Kenai Municipal Airport is seen on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai Municipal Airport is seen on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai to receive $1.6M federal grant for airport improvements

The city had previously appropriated around $519,000 for the project.

The Kenai Municipal Airport is seen on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A harbor seal is released into Cook Inlet by the Alaska SeaLife Center’s Wildlife Response Program at North Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

SeaLife Center releases 2 harbor seals at Kenai beach

The two seals were admitted into the center’s Wildlife Response Program in June.

A harbor seal is released into Cook Inlet by the Alaska SeaLife Center’s Wildlife Response Program at North Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Fourth grade students work on their new name tags on the first day of the 2025-2026 school year at Nikiski North Star Elementary School in Nikiski, Alaska, on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Giving students their ‘best year yet’

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s 42 schools welcome kids back into classrooms.

Fourth grade students work on their new name tags on the first day of the 2025-2026 school year at Nikiski North Star Elementary School in Nikiski, Alaska, on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai City Hall is seen on a sunny Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai to vote for mayor, city council candidates in upcoming election

There are no ballot propositions being considered in this year’s election.

Kenai City Hall is seen on a sunny Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai City Hall is seen on a sunny Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai to inventory roads, streetlights

The projects will identify the condition of the respective city infrastructure and identify possible “major deficiencies,” officials said.

Kenai City Hall is seen on a sunny Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Jakob Kooly, vice chair of the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s tribal council, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. secretary of health and human services, speak during a press conference at the Dena’ina Wellness Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Tribal health, nutrition discussed during U.S. Health Secretary Kennedy’s visit to Kenai

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. toured the Dena’ina Wellness Center on Thursday.

Jakob Kooly, vice chair of the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s tribal council, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. secretary of health and human services, speak during a press conference at the Dena’ina Wellness Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The badge for the Kenai Police Department

Kenai man arrested after allegedly stealing truck and camper

Police were called shortly after 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

The badge for the Kenai Police Department
Armor rock from Sand Point is offloaded from a barge in the Kenai River in Kenai, Alaska, part of ongoing construction efforts for the Kenai River Bluff Stabilization Project on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Work continues on Kenai Bluff stabilization project

The wall has already taken shape over a broad swath of the affected area.

Armor rock from Sand Point is offloaded from a barge in the Kenai River in Kenai, Alaska, part of ongoing construction efforts for the Kenai River Bluff Stabilization Project on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)