Kenai Fire Department firefighter Scott Summers leads a group of Kenai River Brown Bears hockey players who are blinded with blackout masks during a tour and training demonstration at the Kenai Emergency Operations Center on the Kenai Municipal Airport on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Kenai Fire Department firefighters walked the Brown Bears players through some of the training and tools firefighters use to give them an idea of what a career in fire response is like. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai River Brown Bears get a taste of firefighting

The Kenai River Brown Bears hockey players are used to wearing a lot of gear, but running through the training drills at the Kenai Fire… Continue reading

Kenai Fire Department firefighter Scott Summers leads a group of Kenai River Brown Bears hockey players who are blinded with blackout masks during a tour and training demonstration at the Kenai Emergency Operations Center on the Kenai Municipal Airport on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Kenai Fire Department firefighters walked the Brown Bears players through some of the training and tools firefighters use to give them an idea of what a career in fire response is like. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Crime Stoppers launch app, seek more community involvement

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to show that Peninsula Crime Stoppers is 35 years old. Though it has celebrated its 35th birthday, the… Continue reading

Owner Jeanie Carter of the Curiosity Shop poses among her merchandise on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Like many small business owners in Kenai and Soldotna, Carter said the Thanksgiving weekend drew a lot of customers to her store, which offers gifts with local history that aren’t available in larger chain stores. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Gift-seekers visit local businesses on Thanksgiving weekend

A very chilly Black Friday found crowds peering into handmade pottery mugs, flipping through racks of hand-sewn scarves and jackets and chatting with artists at… Continue reading

Owner Jeanie Carter of the Curiosity Shop poses among her merchandise on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. Like many small business owners in Kenai and Soldotna, Carter said the Thanksgiving weekend drew a lot of customers to her store, which offers gifts with local history that aren’t available in larger chain stores. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly approves sale of land in Seward floodplain

After a prolonged debate and opposition from the borough administration and the Planning Commission, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly approved the sale of a small… Continue reading

Mist rises over the broken ice on the bank of the Kenai River just downstream of the Warren Ames Bridge on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. The Kenai River downstream of the bridge was completely frozen Sunday morning. The weekend brought deep freezing temperatures to the central Kenai Peninsula, plunging to -4 degrees Fahrenheit Sunday morning with a high of 17 degrees during the day. The National Weather Service forecasts temperatures to increase tomorrow and continue in the upper 20s and low 30s through the week, with increased chances of snow through Thursday. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Icy sunrise

Mist rises over the broken ice on the bank of the Kenai River just downstream of the Warren Ames Bridge on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017… Continue reading

Mist rises over the broken ice on the bank of the Kenai River just downstream of the Warren Ames Bridge on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. The Kenai River downstream of the bridge was completely frozen Sunday morning. The weekend brought deep freezing temperatures to the central Kenai Peninsula, plunging to -4 degrees Fahrenheit Sunday morning with a high of 17 degrees during the day. The National Weather Service forecasts temperatures to increase tomorrow and continue in the upper 20s and low 30s through the week, with increased chances of snow through Thursday. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Report says 6 percent of patients account for $148M in ER spending

About 6,600 people in the state accounted for $148 million in hospital emergency department spending in 2016, or about 6 percent of total patients that… Continue reading

Local author shares empathy and family history

At Friday’s annual post-Thanksgiving gifts bazaar, Mary Haakenson Perry sat among the local merchants and craftspeople in Kenai’s Challenger Learning Center. Her table held copies… Continue reading

In this Nov. 13, 2017, photo, Cliff Cook stands next to his pick-up truck in downtown Eagle River, Alaska. Cook, who started the Eagle River Community Patrol in early November, 2017, said the patrol is needed due to a recent increase in crime in the area. (Matt Tunseth/Chugiak-Eagle River Star via AP)

Eagle River man starts community patrol

EAGLE RIVER — On his own time and his own dime, an Eagle River man has recently started driving around town as part of a… Continue reading

In this Nov. 13, 2017, photo, Cliff Cook stands next to his pick-up truck in downtown Eagle River, Alaska. Cook, who started the Eagle River Community Patrol in early November, 2017, said the patrol is needed due to a recent increase in crime in the area. (Matt Tunseth/Chugiak-Eagle River Star via AP)
Carly Reimer pins a bib on her son Gus Reimer, 4, for the 1-mile run at the Turkey Trot run held at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Runners work up an appetite at Turkey Trot fundraiser

One piece of pumpkin pie has about 350 calories in it. The runners at the revived Soldotna Turkey Trot race earned at least that on… Continue reading

Carly Reimer pins a bib on her son Gus Reimer, 4, for the 1-mile run at the Turkey Trot run held at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Crash in Turnagain Pass sends 1 to hospital

Accident in Turnagain Pass sends 4 to hospital

A car accident in Turnagain Pass on Wednesday sent four people to the hospital in Anchorage with serious injuries. Alaska State Troopers and first responders… Continue reading

Crash in Turnagain Pass sends 1 to hospital
In this November 2016 file photo, a peak in the Chugach Mountains looms above a spruce forest near Seward, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Public lands open for Christmas tree cutting

With Thanksgiving over and the floodgates officially open for Christmas décor, many people will be looking for that perfect spruce tree for their living rooms.… Continue reading

In this November 2016 file photo, a peak in the Chugach Mountains looms above a spruce forest near Seward, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
This March 29, 2017 photo shows Central Peninsula Hospital’s River Tower, which houses specialty medical services, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

CPH moves forward with expansion project

Central Peninsula Hospital is moving forward with the plans for an expansion of its obstetrics wing and the construction of a new catheterization lab. The… Continue reading

This March 29, 2017 photo shows Central Peninsula Hospital’s River Tower, which houses specialty medical services, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Volunteers pack up the Homer Senior Citizens Center’s new Subaru outback with meals to be delivered through its Meals on Wheels program Monday, Nov. 20, 2017 at the center in Homer, Alaska. The center got the vehicle through a grant specifically to help with meal deliveries. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)

Homer’s Meals on Wheels program gets new Subaru after winning grant

Those who are signed up to get daily deliveries from the Homer Senior Citizens Center’s Meals on Wheels program may start seeing their food brought… Continue reading

Volunteers pack up the Homer Senior Citizens Center’s new Subaru outback with meals to be delivered through its Meals on Wheels program Monday, Nov. 20, 2017 at the center in Homer, Alaska. The center got the vehicle through a grant specifically to help with meal deliveries. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)

Trees caused HEA outages in Sterling

Birch trees laden with snow and ice will — as poet Robert Frost memorialized in his piece “Birches” — often “bend to left and right/across… Continue reading

Bed tax decision delayed until March

The proposed bed tax before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly won’t go anywhere until at least March. The assembly approved an amendment at its Tuesday… Continue reading

Voznesenka man convicted in fed court of felon possessing firearms

A federal jury in Anchorage last Wednesday, Nov. 15, found guilty a Voznesenka man for being a felon in possession of firearms. Sentencing for Joseph… Continue reading

Gov. Walker reveals details of Chinese gas pipeline deal

Gov. Bill Walker on Tuesday released the details of a multibillion-dollar agreement signed between Alaska and China earlier this month and promised reporters at a… Continue reading

Checkmate: chess club meets at library

Checkmate: chess club meets at library

Checkmate John Straughn contemplates his opponent Ben Gozeski’s move during a chess match at the Kenai Community Library at chess night on Tuesday. Straughn plays… Continue reading

Checkmate: chess club meets at library
A pair of personal-use dipnet-caught sockeye chill out in a cooler on the Kenai Beach before being packed off for the day Tuesday, July 11, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Forecast predicts another below-average sockeye year

Next year’s sockeye salmon forecast for Upper Cook Inlet looks only slightly rosier than this year’s forecast. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game released… Continue reading

A pair of personal-use dipnet-caught sockeye chill out in a cooler on the Kenai Beach before being packed off for the day Tuesday, July 11, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Attendees at the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s drone technical conference check out drones on a side table at the Challenger Learning Center on Tuesday in Kenai (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Peninsula professionals talk drones

Kenai Peninsula professionals are starting to look at using unmanned aerial vehicles for industries ranging from real estate to ecosystem management. A crowd of about… Continue reading

Attendees at the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s drone technical conference check out drones on a side table at the Challenger Learning Center on Tuesday in Kenai (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)