News

Soldotna City Council now accepting applications

Applications to serve on Soldotna City Council are being accepted until April 17. With the resignation of Keith Baxter in March, the city is looking… Continue reading

Kenai Council limits appeals of city decisions

At their Wednesday meeting the Kenai City Council voted to change the rules that had allowed any Kenai resident to challenge any decision by city… Continue reading

25 local vendors brought their best to the 2018 Taste of the Kenai.

Taste of the Kenai overflowing with flavor

More people had a chance to taste the Kenai than ever before at the 2018 Taste of the Kenai sponsored the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing… Continue reading

25 local vendors brought their best to the 2018 Taste of the Kenai.
This undated photo shows Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Manager Andy Loranger enjoying the Kenai Peninsula summer. Loranger was recently named 2018 national wildlife refuge manager of the year by the National Wildlife Refuge Association, a nonprofit supporting the federal wildlife refuge system. (Photo courtesy the National Wildlife Refuge Association)

Kenai refuge manager wins national recognition

The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s manager has been selected as the best refuge manager in the country for 2018. The National Wildlife Refuge Association named… Continue reading

This undated photo shows Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Manager Andy Loranger enjoying the Kenai Peninsula summer. Loranger was recently named 2018 national wildlife refuge manager of the year by the National Wildlife Refuge Association, a nonprofit supporting the federal wildlife refuge system. (Photo courtesy the National Wildlife Refuge Association)
Catching the stuffies at Three Friends Dog park.

Stuffy, furry, fluffy, pet hunt

Since the Three Friends Dog Park opened last summer it has been a tremendous success according to canines of the central Kenai Peninsula who have… Continue reading

Catching the stuffies at Three Friends Dog park.
Kindergarten teacher Daniel Bowen (at podium) speaks to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in favor of full funding for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District at the assembly’s meeting on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. About 40 people attended the meeting Tuesday, many wearing red, to show their support for public education funding. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly hears tax options, postpones sales tax decision

The Kenai Peninsula Borough has a lot of options to balance its budget and fund public schools, but not everyone is on the same page… Continue reading

Kindergarten teacher Daniel Bowen (at podium) speaks to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in favor of full funding for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District at the assembly’s meeting on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. About 40 people attended the meeting Tuesday, many wearing red, to show their support for public education funding. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly revisits hospital boundary move

The debate over who has to pay property taxes to which of the borough’s hospitals is getting into gear again. The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly… Continue reading

School board changes K-Selo school site selection

Spurred by a fear of landslides, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education has officially revised their site selection for a new school… Continue reading

After squall, fish board nominees sail through committee

After a rapid upheaval in the Board of Fisheries nomination process in March, Gov. Bill Walker’s two nominees sailed quietly through the Alaska Legislature’s committees… Continue reading

School board passes preliminary budget

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Superintendent Sean Dusek got the go-ahead from the school board to formally request maximum funding from the borough for fiscal… Continue reading

Road construction to tie up central peninsula this summer

The snow is melting, the aspens are budding and the construction contractors are gearing up to work on the Kenai Peninsula’s roads. This summer will… Continue reading

Hiker rescued from glacier

A young hiker was rescued on Easter Sunday after falling into a crevasse on Portage Glacier. The teenager was hiking with family when he fell… Continue reading

Two men accused of stealing trailer

Two men accused of stealing trailer

A man who recently pleaded guilty to attempted vehicle theft and another man accused of theft, burglary and trespassing in a separate case were indicted… Continue reading

Two men accused of stealing trailer
Scott Aleckson (left) clips wires to the ignition contacts of a model rocket while students at his model rocketry session observe in the parking lot of the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska on Saturday, May 31, 2018. Aleckson said he made and launched his first plastic, balsa wood, and cardboard rocket as a 4th grade student at Soldotna Elementary School. Since then he’s built a custom launch system, he said, “with recycled electronics and a lot of soldering time.” Aleckson taught Saturday’s rocketry class through the Soldotna Community Schools program, and said he’d like to continue spreading the hobby. “If I could get a model rocket club going, that’d be great,” he said. “Stuff like this is much more fun in a group.” (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

The right stuff

Soldotna Community Schools hosted a model rocketry class with instructor Scott Aleckson at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna on Saturday. Aleckson said he… Continue reading

Scott Aleckson (left) clips wires to the ignition contacts of a model rocket while students at his model rocketry session observe in the parking lot of the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska on Saturday, May 31, 2018. Aleckson said he made and launched his first plastic, balsa wood, and cardboard rocket as a 4th grade student at Soldotna Elementary School. Since then he’s built a custom launch system, he said, “with recycled electronics and a lot of soldering time.” Aleckson taught Saturday’s rocketry class through the Soldotna Community Schools program, and said he’d like to continue spreading the hobby. “If I could get a model rocket club going, that’d be great,” he said. “Stuff like this is much more fun in a group.” (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Man accused of attacking woman with wooden bat

A Soldotna man faces assault charges for two separate incidents of alleged domestic violence. On March 15, Mark A. Weinberger Jr., 32, reportedly attacked a… Continue reading

Soldotna man indicted for allegedly putting woman in chokehold

A Soldotna man was indicted last week for felony assault just weeks after pleading guilty in two separate domestic violence-related cases. Matthew F. Scarito, 36,… Continue reading

Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel (left) talks with Dr. Peter Hansen (right) a retirement party for Hansen hosted by Peninsula Community Health Services at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center on Thursday, March 29, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. Hansen arrived in Kenai in 1967 and has practiced family medicine since in private practice, with Central Peninsula Hospital and with Peninsula Community Health Services. He plans to retire but to stay in the community and work on a book about his experiences. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Longtime Kenai doctor plans to retire

Editor's note: This article has been updated to show that Central Peninsula Hospital opened in 1971. Though the main room at Kenai Visitors and Cultural… Continue reading

Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel (left) talks with Dr. Peter Hansen (right) a retirement party for Hansen hosted by Peninsula Community Health Services at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center on Thursday, March 29, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. Hansen arrived in Kenai in 1967 and has practiced family medicine since in private practice, with Central Peninsula Hospital and with Peninsula Community Health Services. He plans to retire but to stay in the community and work on a book about his experiences. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Ruffner files to run against Seaton for House seat

A Board of Fisheries member is planning to challenge Rep. Paul Seaton (R-Homer) for his seat in the Alaska Legislature. Robert Ruffner of Kasilof filed… Continue reading

Sales tax increase back on assembly agenda

The public will have a chance to weigh in Tuesday on a proposition to ask voters whether the Kenai Peninsula Borough should raise the sales… Continue reading

ABOVE: High school students from across the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District attended the Supreme Court Live event at Kenai Central High School on Thursday, which was the culmination of nearly a month of lessons about the case and court system. LEFT: Attorney Jon Choate, left, representing the Alaska Democratic Part discusses the ins and outs of the case after the oral arguments on Thursday as part of the Supreme Court Live event moderated by Marilyn May, right at Kenai Central High School. (Photos by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Alaska Supreme Court comes to Kenai

The Alaska Supreme Court has the final say in the case of Alaska Democratic Party versus the state of Alaska, but high school students from… Continue reading

ABOVE: High school students from across the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District attended the Supreme Court Live event at Kenai Central High School on Thursday, which was the culmination of nearly a month of lessons about the case and court system. LEFT: Attorney Jon Choate, left, representing the Alaska Democratic Part discusses the ins and outs of the case after the oral arguments on Thursday as part of the Supreme Court Live event moderated by Marilyn May, right at Kenai Central High School. (Photos by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)