News

Kenai city planner to return south

In summer 2014 Matt Kelley came from a county planner’s office in California to become Kenai’s city planner. In February he’ll be returning to county-level… Continue reading

In this July 24, 2016 file photo, a guide boat motors upstream on the Kenai River near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Rashah McChesney, file)

River users question turbidity finding on Kenai

Editor's note: This article has been edited to clarify that the turbidity exceedances for the Kenai River were not contiguous but rather were spread throughout… Continue reading

In this July 24, 2016 file photo, a guide boat motors upstream on the Kenai River near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Rashah McChesney, file)
This July 12, 2017 file photo shows the newly renovated basement of the Joyce K. Carver Memorial Library in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Library checks out 2017 trends

In 2017, about 110,000 visitors walked through the doors of the Joyce K. Carver Memorial Soldotna Public Library borrowing more than 125,000 books and furthering… Continue reading

This July 12, 2017 file photo shows the newly renovated basement of the Joyce K. Carver Memorial Library in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
In this Dec. 25, 2015 file photo, Central Emergency Services employees and volunteers and their families gather for a Christmas Day potluck at Station 1 in Soldotna, Alaska. The central station, which handles the majority of the calls for the fire and emergency service area, was originally built in 1957 and last renovated in 1981. The service area is now seeking state funding to reconstruct or relocate the station. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

CES, Anchor Point ask state for funds for new fire stations

The peninsula’s busiest emergency services department is looking to relocate its main fire station. Central Emergency Services serves the majority of the Kenai Peninsula’s population,… Continue reading

In this Dec. 25, 2015 file photo, Central Emergency Services employees and volunteers and their families gather for a Christmas Day potluck at Station 1 in Soldotna, Alaska. The central station, which handles the majority of the calls for the fire and emergency service area, was originally built in 1957 and last renovated in 1981. The service area is now seeking state funding to reconstruct or relocate the station. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Invocation lawsuit progresses toward oral argument

Invocation lawsuit progresses toward oral argument

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include the date of the oral argument at the Superior Court of Alaska in Anchorage. A year… Continue reading

Invocation lawsuit progresses toward oral argument

8.2 earthquake south of Kodiak shakes Kenai Peninsula

An 8.2 magnitude earthquake occurred about 175 miles miles southeast of the city of Kodiak at about 12:32 a.m Tuesday morning, the U.S Geological Service… Continue reading

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)