News

Teacher of the year nominations close Feb. 1

Nominations for the BP Teachers of Excellence are drawing to a close at the end of January. The award recognizes teachers throughout Alaska for their… Continue reading

Drivers skid around one of the corners on the ice track atop a frozen lake at the Decanter Inn on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. Every Sunday in the winter, the Decanter Inn hosts Peninsula Ice Racing events for drivers to try their hand at the frozen track on the shallow lake at the bottom of the hill behind the inn. The racers can use studded tires on their front wheels only and equip the sides of their vehicles with bumpers as other vehicles are likely to slip and slide into them. Spinning out is common. A tow truck waits on the sidelines to retrieve drivers who get stuck on the berms alongside the track. Fans gathered Sunday despite the cold to cheer the racers on. The men race in the morning, followed by the women’s races in the afternoon. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Ready, set, skid

Exhaust plumes toward the sky and engines rev, clattering against the icebound trees and windblown snow around the frozen lake. Drivers in refitted older cars,… Continue reading

Drivers skid around one of the corners on the ice track atop a frozen lake at the Decanter Inn on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. Every Sunday in the winter, the Decanter Inn hosts Peninsula Ice Racing events for drivers to try their hand at the frozen track on the shallow lake at the bottom of the hill behind the inn. The racers can use studded tires on their front wheels only and equip the sides of their vehicles with bumpers as other vehicles are likely to slip and slide into them. Spinning out is common. A tow truck waits on the sidelines to retrieve drivers who get stuck on the berms alongside the track. Fans gathered Sunday despite the cold to cheer the racers on. The men race in the morning, followed by the women’s races in the afternoon. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Gary Fandrei, the executive director of Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association, stands for a portrait on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. After 27 years with the organization, Fandrei is preparing to retire. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

CIAA director looks back at career

Out in the Alaska wilds, it’s easy to miss the subtler goings on: a wolverine passing through the underbrush, the sound of a bear snuffling… Continue reading

Gary Fandrei, the executive director of Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association, stands for a portrait on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. After 27 years with the organization, Fandrei is preparing to retire. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
District students start ‘Singin’ in the Rain’

District students start ‘Singin’ in the Rain’

You know, someone once told Don Lockwood “If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all,” but it wasn’t true in 1952’s ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’… Continue reading

District students start ‘Singin’ in the Rain’

Alleged boat thief indicted

A man was indicted last week in the Kenai Superior Court for allegedly stealing an aluminum fishing boat from a Kenai residence in May 2017.… Continue reading

Marching for justice, again

Marching for justice, again

As hundreds of thousands of people in cities around the world rallied this weekend on the anniversary of the 2017 presidential inauguration, local residents turned… Continue reading

Marching for justice, again
Kenai council discusses dipnet vendors

Kenai council discusses dipnet vendors

As Kenai’s city government more actively attempts to make the summer dipnet fishery a boost to the local economy, beach vendors may be getting some… Continue reading

Kenai council discusses dipnet vendors
Alex Douthit, pictured in his office on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska, founded Kenai Peninsula Driving Instruction in November 2016 with his wife Sarah Douthit. It took them more than a year to obtain all the permits and approvals they needed to officially begin commercial driver’s license instruction, which they are now focusing on. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

After permitting struggle, couple opens CDL training program on peninsula

When Alex Douthit started the ball rolling for a commercial driving instruction school in Kenai, he had no idea what he was getting into. The… Continue reading

Alex Douthit, pictured in his office on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska, founded Kenai Peninsula Driving Instruction in November 2016 with his wife Sarah Douthit. It took them more than a year to obtain all the permits and approvals they needed to officially begin commercial driver’s license instruction, which they are now focusing on. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly approves ordinance allowing volunteers to serve on service area boards

Volunteers for two Kenai Peninsula service areas can also now serve on the service areas’ boards. The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly approved an ordinance allowing… Continue reading

Borough forms gravel pit working group

A group of local government officials, members of the public and gravel pit operators will start gathering to overhaul borough laws on material extraction sites.… Continue reading

Setnetters make their way back to the beach near a site on July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Bill would authorize east side setnet permit buyback

The Legislature is set to consider a buyback program for commercial fishing permits in Cook Inlet’s east side setnet fishery. The east side setnet fishery… Continue reading

Setnetters make their way back to the beach near a site on July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce and Chief of Staff John Quick speak to the attendees at Pierce’s swearing-in ceremony at the George A. Navarre Borough Administration Building on Monday, Nov. 6, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Mayor outlines budget strategy

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to clarify that the borough administration's plan to fix the boilers in the George A. Navarre Borough Administration… Continue reading

Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce and Chief of Staff John Quick speak to the attendees at Pierce’s swearing-in ceremony at the George A. Navarre Borough Administration Building on Monday, Nov. 6, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Hilcorp plans $285 million Alaska investment in 2018

Hilcorp is planning to spend about $285 million in Alaska during 2018, the oil and gas company’s Operations Manager Chad Helgeson told audiences at the… Continue reading

Mary Sattler Peltola, one of the Alaska Humanities Forum’s inaugural group of Alaska Salmon Fellows, speaks to the attendees at the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District’s Industry Outlook Forum on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Salmon Fellows program seeks to broaden fish conversations

The Alaska Humanities Forum is trying to cool some of the heated tension between salmon fishermen in the state. The nonprofit, which operates a number… Continue reading

Mary Sattler Peltola, one of the Alaska Humanities Forum’s inaugural group of Alaska Salmon Fellows, speaks to the attendees at the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District’s Industry Outlook Forum on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Brooke Addison Buzga stretches in the sun Friday, Jan. 5, 2018 at South Peninsula Hospital in Homer, Alaska. Born on Jan. 4 at 8:29 a.m., she was the first baby of the New Year in Homer. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)

First Homer baby of 2018 comes late for the New Year, early for her family

Brooke Addison Buzga has the distinction of being the first baby born in South Peninsula Hospital in the New Year. Born at 8:29 a.m. on… Continue reading

Brooke Addison Buzga stretches in the sun Friday, Jan. 5, 2018 at South Peninsula Hospital in Homer, Alaska. Born on Jan. 4 at 8:29 a.m., she was the first baby of the New Year in Homer. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
A timeline hanging on the wall explains the history of the “

Gathering brings #MeToo to Soldotna

On the far side of the room facing the audience stood an empty chair. The organizers of the event at the Soldotna Public Library on Tuesday,… Continue reading

A timeline hanging on the wall explains the history of the “

Grant allows district to reinstate petroleum career program

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District has received a $20,000 grant that will help in the school district’s goal to extend their broaden their approach… Continue reading

Mike Navarre, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, speaks about the need for a stable fiscal plan for the state to the attendees at the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District’s Industry Outlook Forum on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

In new state role, Navarre’s message about fiscal plan remains the same

The commissioner of Alaska’s Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development is making rounds of the state, advocating for a stable fiscal plan. Mike Navarre,… Continue reading

Mike Navarre, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, speaks about the need for a stable fiscal plan for the state to the attendees at the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District’s Industry Outlook Forum on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
This draft design shows just one of the many iterations that Soldotna could explore for the remodel of the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex. Nearly finalized designs were presented to the city council at their meeting on Wednesday night. (Photo courtesy of Tim Dillon)

Field house designs completed

A field house for the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex is one step, or kick, or throw, closer to becoming a reality. Burkhart Croft Architects of… Continue reading

This draft design shows just one of the many iterations that Soldotna could explore for the remodel of the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex. Nearly finalized designs were presented to the city council at their meeting on Wednesday night. (Photo courtesy of Tim Dillon)
In this December 2016 photo, cannabis plants grow in a standard cultivation space inside Croy’s Enterprises near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Local pot business expecting slight chill from federal change

The practicalities of running a state-legal business based on a nationally-illegal product have became more complicated in some respects but unchanged in others, after U.S.… Continue reading

In this December 2016 photo, cannabis plants grow in a standard cultivation space inside Croy’s Enterprises near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)