News

Seward City Clerk Kris Peck, right, administers an oath of office to Seward City Council newcomer Casie Warner during a council meeting in Seward, Alaska, on Oct. 28, 2024. (Screenshot courtesy City of Seward)

Seward City Council swears in winners of October municipal election

They were sworn in two weeks after the council certified its election results

 

Duane Bannock speaks to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough’s tourism industry working group takes shape

The group will explore the effects of a potential bed tax

 

Assembly Member Peter Ribbens speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Ribbens, Cooper named new heads of borough assembly

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly reorganized during their Oct. 22 meeting

 

A special weather statement for the western Kenai Peninsula was issued Monday by the National Weather Service. The area will see strong gusty winds and rain late tonight and through Tuesday morning. A winter storm warning remains in effect from 3 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday for areas of the eastern peninsula. (Image via weather.gov)

Windy weather heads for western Kenai Peninsula

The western Kenai Peninsula will experience some windy and wet conditions Tuesday and Wednesday.

A special weather statement for the western Kenai Peninsula was issued Monday by the National Weather Service. The area will see strong gusty winds and rain late tonight and through Tuesday morning. A winter storm warning remains in effect from 3 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday for areas of the eastern peninsula. (Image via weather.gov)
Lisa Gabriel, left, watches as beach seine nets are pulled from the waters of Cook Inlet at a test site for the gear near Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Board of Fish to consider set beach seines for east side setnet fishery

Seines were tested on local beaches this summer in effort helmed by Lisa and Brian Gabriel

Lisa Gabriel, left, watches as beach seine nets are pulled from the waters of Cook Inlet at a test site for the gear near Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Sockeye salmon are gathered together at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Board of Fish to consider expansion of commercial dipnetting fishery

Discussion of expanded time, days and season of commercial dipnet fishery scheduled for March

Sockeye salmon are gathered together at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A sign welcomes visitors on July 7, 2021, in Seward, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Board of Fish sets 2026 Lower Cook Inlet meeting for Seward

The board last met in Seward in 2019

A sign welcomes visitors on July 7, 2021, in Seward, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
The Alaska Board of Fisheries hears public testimony at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Feb. 18, 1999. (M. Scott Moon/Peninsula Clarion file)

Board of Fisheries again declines to hold Upper Cook Inlet meeting on Kenai Peninsula

The State Board of Fisheries this week rejected calls from the Kenai Peninsula Borough and the cities of Kenai, Soldotna, Homer, Seward, Seldovia and Kachemak… Continue reading

The Alaska Board of Fisheries hears public testimony at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Feb. 18, 1999. (M. Scott Moon/Peninsula Clarion file)
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski takes a selfie with Rose Burke at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska, on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Burke won the 2024 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree essay contest and will travel to Washington, D.C., in December to light the tree. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Connections student to light U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree

Rose Burke, 9, won the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree essay contest and will travel to Washington D.C.

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski takes a selfie with Rose Burke at the Kenai Municipal Airport in Kenai, Alaska, on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Burke won the 2024 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree essay contest and will travel to Washington, D.C., in December to light the tree. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska State Troopers logo.

Soldotna man arrested for possession of child sex abuse material

He was taken to Wildwood Pretrial Facility

Alaska State Troopers logo.
A cruise ship is docked in Seward, Alaska on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Seward gets nearly $46 million for power upgrades at port

The funds are intended to transform Seward’s port into a “green port”

A cruise ship is docked in Seward, Alaska on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Troopers Joseph Miller Jr. and Jason Woodruff are seen in a screenshot from body camera footage taken in Kenai, Alaska, on May 24, 2024. (Photo provided by Alaska Department of Law)

Grand jury indicts 2 troopers on felony assault charge

The complaint cites both audio and body camera footage

Troopers Joseph Miller Jr. and Jason Woodruff are seen in a screenshot from body camera footage taken in Kenai, Alaska, on May 24, 2024. (Photo provided by Alaska Department of Law)
Foliage surrounds the Soldotna Police Department sign on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Escott named new chief of Soldotna Police

Stace Escott has been promoted to chief of the Soldotna Police Department, according to a Wednesday press release from the City of Soldotna. Escott has… Continue reading

Foliage surrounds the Soldotna Police Department sign on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Campaign signs fill a wall near Paradisos Restaurant in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Candidates spend big on radio advertising, print mailers in final weeks of campaign

Only a week before the general election on Nov. 5, candidates are pouring their earnings into a variety of advertising means in the final days… Continue reading

Campaign signs fill a wall near Paradisos Restaurant in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
An Alaska Division of Elections Official Election Pamphlet rests on a desk in the Peninsula Clarion newsroom on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

When, where to vote in the 2024 general election

Tuesday is Election Day! Voters in the Kenai Peninsula Borough will head to polls to cast their ballots in the races for U.S. president, for… Continue reading

An Alaska Division of Elections Official Election Pamphlet rests on a desk in the Peninsula Clarion newsroom on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Photo by Jonas Oyoumick/Peninsula Clarion Probation Parole Officer Jodi Stuart speaks at Ideal Option’s open house on Wednesday, Oct. 23.

Ideal Option holds open house at new location

Ideal Option hosted an open house at their new location on Wednesday, Oct. 23. The clinic, located at 416 Frontage Road in Kenai, is part… Continue reading

Photo by Jonas Oyoumick/Peninsula Clarion Probation Parole Officer Jodi Stuart speaks at Ideal Option’s open house on Wednesday, Oct. 23.
Aurora Borealis Charter School parents fill every seat and spill from the doorway during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Charter Oversight Committee in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

School board work sessions to tackle charters, 4-day week, cellphone policies

During work sessions Monday and Tuesday, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education will discuss several high-interest topics including a proposed four-day school… Continue reading

Aurora Borealis Charter School parents fill every seat and spill from the doorway during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Charter Oversight Committee in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A plow truck clears snow from the Sterling Highway near Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Season’s first winter storm closes central peninsula schools, drops over a dozen inches of snow

A winter storm dropped as much as 14 inches of snow in areas of the central Kenai Peninsula, closing schools and causing some small power… Continue reading

A plow truck clears snow from the Sterling Highway near Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
State House District 6 candidates Rep. Sarah Vance, Dawson Slaughter and Brent Johnson participate in a candidate forum hosted by the Peninsula Clarion and KBBI 890 AM at the Homer Public Library in Homer, Alaska, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

House District 6 candidates talk finance, schooling, fisheries

Candidates met Tuesday at the Homer Public Library for a candidate forum hosted by the Peninsula Clarion and KBBI 890 AM

State House District 6 candidates Rep. Sarah Vance, Dawson Slaughter and Brent Johnson participate in a candidate forum hosted by the Peninsula Clarion and KBBI 890 AM at the Homer Public Library in Homer, Alaska, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska House of Representatives District 8 candidates John Hillyer and Bill Elam shake answer questions during the Peninsula Clarion and KDLL 91.9 FM candidate forum at the Soldotna Public Library on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Hillyer, Elam debate issues in House District 8 forum

They met Monday at the Soldotna Public Library for a candidate forum hosted by the Peninsula Clarion and KDLL 91.9 FM.

Alaska House of Representatives District 8 candidates John Hillyer and Bill Elam shake answer questions during the Peninsula Clarion and KDLL 91.9 FM candidate forum at the Soldotna Public Library on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)