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Kenai Peninsula Peace Crane Garden Trails Secretary Matthew Pyhala provides remarks at the grand opening and dedication of the trails on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

News

Community celebrates opening of peace crane garden trails

The Kenai Peninsula Peace Crane Garden Trails are located on Marydale Avenue near Soldotna High School

Fog rolls in on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022 at the Halibut Campground in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Sports

Out of the Office: Rain happens

As I write this Sept. 8, since July 1 Homer has had eight days of clear weather, 30…

Jaimie Musen and visitors on a Skyline Trail guided hike after a rainstorm. (Photo courtesy of USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Physical therapist, park ranger connects health benefits with outdoor recreation

After camping on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge for a weekend, you return to work Monday feeling mentally…

Nick Varney

Sports

Reeling ‘Em In: Thunder frightens humans and mutts, but the cohos still are bitin’

Time to take a look at the fishing report for Aug. 30

Denali today, whose height was first calculated by Bradford Washburn at 20,320 feet. (Photo by David Merz)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Bradford Washburn — an early explorer’s use of aerial photography over a century of exploration, science

Editor’s Note: This is the second part of a series the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is doing on…

Nick Varney

Sports

Reeling ‘Em In: Target silvers at first light — wait: What light?

Well now, August has just about jetted through its allotment of solar days and should be deeply embarrassed…

Kids playing soccer on a sunny summer day. (Photo by Charlie Menke/ Homer News)

Sports

Out of the Office: Coaching

Sport has been a well of vitality that has nourished me since I was a young child. Growing…

Nick Varney

Sports

Reeling ‘Em In: Nick offers tips on how to fillet a silver

Its always great to receive emails from our out-of-state visitors, especially when it’s their first trip to Homer…

Pilot and biologist Dom Watts collects bees at Twin Lakes as part of the refuge's pollinator survey. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: A summer on the refuge — Valuing a wildflower to the value of a system

I’ve never been one to be partial to favorites. But, on an overcast and rain bath morning in…

Nick Varney

Sports

Reeling ‘Em In: More tips from Nick on catching silvers

Now, here are a few more suggestions on how to pop those coho tumbling around the lagoon.

Bradley Walters leads the pack up Angle Hill on Wednesday, July 18, 2018, at the Salmon Run Series at Tsalteshi Trails. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Sports

Out of the office: Race thyself

During the pandemic, I questioned the value of regular community racing and the numbers show I wasn’t the…

Some great examples of genetic diversity with Kenai River king salmon populations. (Photo by Ken Gates)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Where have the big Kenai River kings gone?

Over the years, fishing for king salmon has provided many anglers with great memories and stories to tell…

Nick Varney

Sports

Reeling ‘Em In: Hints from Nick on catchin’ cohos

Silvers loathe direct sunlight and are spooked by shadows

Mt. Redoubt rises above Cook Inlet and the Anchor River drainage as fireweed is in bloom, as seen from Diamond Ridge Road on Friday, July 22, 2022, near Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Sports

Out of the Office: Take the long way around

“Slow Down. What’s the hurry?” reads an inscription on the Reuben Call bench at the end of the…

Take a number. The "patients" wait briefly in the trap box before being seen and released upstream to continue their migration. (Photo by Ryan Hagerty/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: Anatomy of a fish weir — Keeping a finger on the pulse of Alaska’s salmon runs

During a routine physical exam, your doctor checks your vitals: Weight, heart rate, blood pressure and so on.…

Nick Varney

Sports

Reeling ‘Em In: Fishing hole on the uprise

Mother Nature’s fiendish and sudden moves are vexing to the fishing enthusiast

(Photo provided)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: A guide to adventures that abound on Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Canoe System

Among the gems hidden within Alaska’s vast National Wildlife Refuge lands, there is an area that has drawn…

Walking near the mudflats in Hope, Alaska, on Saturday, June 4, 2022. (Courtesy Sabine Poux)

Sports

Out of the Office: I’ll always have Alaska

The first time I came to the Kenai Peninsula I was on a solo weekend vacation about a…

Nick Varney

Sports

Reeling ‘Em In: Reds kicking it up in Tutka Bay Lagoon; silvers sneaking in at The Hole.

Fish early for silvers

A cow moose and calf eating cattails on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on June 30, 2022. (Photo by Matt Bowser/USFWS)

Sports

Refuge Notebook: A cattail conundrum

I like cattails. They remind me of Florida, where largemouth bass and red-winged blackbirds lived around the patch…