Kenai

Concerns arise over Kenai silver salmon derby

Not everyone’s totally on board with the idea of an open silver salmon derby on the Kenai River in the fall. The Kenai Chamber of… Continue reading

Kenai partners with Chamber of Commerce for fall silver derby

Kenai’s city government will have a say in how the town’s first silver salmon fishing derby — initiated by the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and… Continue reading

Carrie Gaethle and her children Ayla Gaethle (left) and Andrew Gaethle play in the surf on Kenai’s north beach on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 in Kenai. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Life’s a beach

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Carrie Gaethle and her children Ayla Gaethle (left) and Andrew Gaethle play in the surf on Kenai’s north beach on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 in Kenai. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
Charles Woodcock of Woodcock’s Hydroseeding sprays a mix of water, fertilizer, paper pulp, and wildflower seeds across the soon-to-be Kenai Field of Flowers on Monday, June 5. Since 2014, Kenai’s municipal government has been turning the vacant city-owned lot into a summer attraction by seeding it with 15 varieties of wildflower, which Kenai Parks and Recreation Director Bob Frates said include lupin, poppies, cosmos, columbine, cornflower, baby’s breath, flax, and forget-me-not. After a drizzling Monday morning, Woodcock started spraying the field at noon — the ground’s dampness, he said, makes it better for seeding. In past years, the flowers have usually started to sprout in mid-July. Frates said that hydroseeding the approximately 55,000 square feet of the field costs about $5,400.

Sow with the flow

Charles Woodcock of Woodcock’s Hydroseeding sprays a mix of water, fertilizer, paper pulp, and wildflower seeds across the soon-to-be Kenai Field of Flowers on Monday,… Continue reading

Charles Woodcock of Woodcock’s Hydroseeding sprays a mix of water, fertilizer, paper pulp, and wildflower seeds across the soon-to-be Kenai Field of Flowers on Monday, June 5. Since 2014, Kenai’s municipal government has been turning the vacant city-owned lot into a summer attraction by seeding it with 15 varieties of wildflower, which Kenai Parks and Recreation Director Bob Frates said include lupin, poppies, cosmos, columbine, cornflower, baby’s breath, flax, and forget-me-not. After a drizzling Monday morning, Woodcock started spraying the field at noon — the ground’s dampness, he said, makes it better for seeding. In past years, the flowers have usually started to sprout in mid-July. Frates said that hydroseeding the approximately 55,000 square feet of the field costs about $5,400.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Tom Wilkinson, director of nurses, talks about surgical recovery rooms while Jake Savely, surgical tech listens during a tour of the Surgery Center of Kenai, LLC., Tuesday July 22, 2014 in Kenai, Alaska.

Surgery Center of Kenai seeks transfer agreement with CPH

The Surgery Center of Kenai recently opened its doors to patients on Trading Bay Road in Kenai, but it is facing some restrictions on which… Continue reading

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Tom Wilkinson, director of nurses, talks about surgical recovery rooms while Jake Savely, surgical tech listens during a tour of the Surgery Center of Kenai, LLC., Tuesday July 22, 2014 in Kenai, Alaska.
American Legion members Ray Nickleson (left), Joe Coup, and Alvin Diaz leave the Kenai Cemetery after participating in a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 29, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Community remembers the fallen

Flags flew and poppies were laid across Kenai and Soldotna in remembrance of those who died in active military service on Memorial Day, observed Monday.… Continue reading

American Legion members Ray Nickleson (left), Joe Coup, and Alvin Diaz leave the Kenai Cemetery after participating in a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 29, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
Steve Flick, one of the property owners on Dow Island’s north bank, relaxes in Natalie and Chad Smyre’s cabin on the island Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. Flick, a professional construction contractor in Missouri, worked with the Smyres and two other property owners to install an extensive bank restoration project on the island to preempt the Kenai River’s erosion that has been washing away feet of their properties each year. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion) Steve Flick, one of the property owners on Dow Island’s north bank, relaxes in Natalie and Chad Smyre’s cabin on the island Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. Flick, a professional construction contractor in Missouri, worked with the Smyres and two other property owners to install an extensive bank restoration project on the island to preempt the Kenai River’s erosion that has been washing away feet of their properties each year. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Landowners band together to restore Dow Island bank

For the past several years, property owners on Dow Island have been watching their land disappear into the Kenai River multiple feet at a time.… Continue reading

Steve Flick, one of the property owners on Dow Island’s north bank, relaxes in Natalie and Chad Smyre’s cabin on the island Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. Flick, a professional construction contractor in Missouri, worked with the Smyres and two other property owners to install an extensive bank restoration project on the island to preempt the Kenai River’s erosion that has been washing away feet of their properties each year. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion) Steve Flick, one of the property owners on Dow Island’s north bank, relaxes in Natalie and Chad Smyre’s cabin on the island Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Funny River, Alaska. Flick, a professional construction contractor in Missouri, worked with the Smyres and two other property owners to install an extensive bank restoration project on the island to preempt the Kenai River’s erosion that has been washing away feet of their properties each year. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

PRL permitted for airstrip use, lodging, office space, restaurant

On Wednesday Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission members unanimously gave transportation and contracting company PRL Logistics six conditional permits to use a grass airstrip by… Continue reading

Kenai bluff erosion project inches forward

In the race between geology and bureaucracy that has constituted Kenai’s bluff erosion mitigation attempts, geology continues to win. The 18-year-old project to halt the… Continue reading

The tide and wind waves eat at the bottom of Kenai Bluff during high tide Sunday evening below Toyon Way in Kenai.

Kenai bluff erosion cost-share agreement in progress

A cost-share agreement between Kenai and the Army Corps of Engineers for a study relating to Kenai’s bluff erosion is close to realization. According to… Continue reading

The tide and wind waves eat at the bottom of Kenai Bluff during high tide Sunday evening below Toyon Way in Kenai.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion A row of propertys along Peninsula Avenue Thursday September 4, 2014 in Kenai, Alaska. The city recently bought properties near a crumbling bluff along the Kenai River where erosion mitiation efforts are set to begin.

Kenai acquires five parcels in Old Town

The City of Kenai has acquired five parcels of foreclosed properties on Peninsula Avenue with the intent of using the lots as a staging area… Continue reading

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion A row of propertys along Peninsula Avenue Thursday September 4, 2014 in Kenai, Alaska. The city recently bought properties near a crumbling bluff along the Kenai River where erosion mitiation efforts are set to begin.
Kenai makes small steps on bluff erosion project

Kenai makes small steps on bluff erosion project

Which moves faster: the geological process of bluff erosion, or the bureaucratic process of project funding? According to a 2007 Army Corps of Engineers report,… Continue reading

Kenai makes small steps on bluff erosion project

Army Corps of Engineers and Kenai agree to share cost of bluff erosion study

After two days of meetings in Kenai City Hall between Kenai administrators and regional and national officials from the Army Corps of Engineers, the two… Continue reading

Eroding at roughly 3 feet per year, the Kenai River bluffs encroach on an outbuilding of Paul Karaffa’s property on Friday, Feb. 10, 2017 in Old Town Kenai, Alaska. About half of Karaffa’s bluff-top land, on which he’s lived since 1944, has eroded away. The eroded portion is among 22 mostly underwater properties that the city of Kenai is seeking to buy to carry out a bluff-erosion prevention project, tentatively scheduled to start construction in 2019. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai seeks land for bluff erosion project

Kenai is seeking land while the Army Corps of Engineers has set a new timeline and reached a new preferred project design for bluff erosion… Continue reading

Eroding at roughly 3 feet per year, the Kenai River bluffs encroach on an outbuilding of Paul Karaffa’s property on Friday, Feb. 10, 2017 in Old Town Kenai, Alaska. About half of Karaffa’s bluff-top land, on which he’s lived since 1944, has eroded away. The eroded portion is among 22 mostly underwater properties that the city of Kenai is seeking to buy to carry out a bluff-erosion prevention project, tentatively scheduled to start construction in 2019. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Fund balance cap, health care fund, cemetery expansion in Kenai budget

New features in the $15 million budget proposal that Kenai City Council members will be debating and voting on in the near future include a… Continue reading

New ownership brings fresh approach to movies, bowling in Kenai

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct a reference to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Economic Development District's 2017 second-quarter consumer spending report.  … Continue reading

Kenai Bowling Alley not sold yet

Kenai Bowling Alley not sold yet

The sale of Kenai’s bowling alley to Anchorage-based real estate consultant Dean You, which the Kenai City Council approved Jan. 18, was not finished by… Continue reading

Kenai Bowling Alley not sold yet
Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion A broken pin sits on a workbench in the backroom of the Kenai bowling on Saturday, Nov. 14 in Kenai. The bowling alley is now owned by the city of Kenai, which will soon begin seeking management for it.

Kenai to search for new bowling alley management

Editor's note: This story has been changed to remove an inacurrate statement of Charlotte Yamada's cost estimate to renovate the Kenai bowling alley. The Kenai… Continue reading

Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion A broken pin sits on a workbench in the backroom of the Kenai bowling on Saturday, Nov. 14 in Kenai. The bowling alley is now owned by the city of Kenai, which will soon begin seeking management for it.

Kenai sells bowling alley

After 11 months of receiving offers and holding negotiations, the Kenai City Council has sold the former AlaskaLanes Bowling Alley, a closed business located on… Continue reading

Kenai bowling alley sold to Dean You

Bowling balls may soon be rumbling again down the lanes of Kenai’s bowling alley, bought this week by a group of business people that includes… Continue reading