Photo provided by Sara Hondel
Sara Hondel stands with a leprechaun during Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Soldotna on Sunday. Green, leprechauns and Nugget the Moose poured down the streets for the 34th annual parade hosted by the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce. Under cloudy skies — but fortunately no precipitation — a procession of viridescent celebrants representing businesses and organizations brought festivities to an array of attendees lining Redoubt Avenue.

Go green or go home

Soldotna turns out for St. Patrick’s Day parade

 

The Sterling Highway crosses the Kenai River near the Russian River Campground on March 15, 2020, near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Russian River Campground closed for construction

The campground is expected to reopen on June 2

 

A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)

Fish and Game announces series of closures and restrictions for king salmon fisheries

Cook Inlet king salmon stocks are experiencing a prolonged period of poor productivity, the department said

 

Montessori materials sit on shelves in a classroom at Soldotna Montessori Charter School on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Education debate draws state attention to peninsula charter schools

Dunleavy would like to see a shift of authority over charter school approvals from local school districts to the state

Montessori materials sit on shelves in a classroom at Soldotna Montessori Charter School on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Flags flank the entrance to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Dunleavy vetoes bipartisan education bill

Senate Bill 140 passed the House by a vote of 38-2 and the Senate by a vote of 18-1 last month

Flags flank the entrance to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The Alaska State Capitol on Friday, March 1, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The Alaska State Capitol on Friday, March 1, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska State Troopers logo.

Nikiski resident arrested for allegedly stealing $5,000 in tools from construction site

Troopers were first contacted about a theft at the site in Nikiski on Feb. 4

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Ben Meyer and Brandon Drzazgowski present to the Soldotna and Kenai Chambers of Commerce at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Watershed Forum gives update on streambank restoration

The watershed forum and other organizations are working to repair habitat and mitigate erosion

Ben Meyer and Brandon Drzazgowski present to the Soldotna and Kenai Chambers of Commerce at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The entrance to the Kenai Police Department, as seen in Kenai, Alaska, on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai resident arrested on charges of arson

Kenai Police and Kenai Fire Department responded to a structure fire near Mountain View Elementary

The entrance to the Kenai Police Department, as seen in Kenai, Alaska, on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Board of Fisheries acts on proposals for central Kenai Peninsula fishing regulation

Various protections for king salmon and trout, increased opportunity for sockeye salmon fishing on the Russian River and moved regulatory markers were among changes

Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A child waves from the back of a truck as the 32nd annual Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade proceeds down Fireweed Street in Soldotna, Alaska on Friday, March 17, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

St. Patrick’s Day parade set for Sunday

The annual Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, hosted by the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce, kicks off at 2 p.m.

A child waves from the back of a truck as the 32nd annual Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade proceeds down Fireweed Street in Soldotna, Alaska on Friday, March 17, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski Middle/High School student Maggie Grenier testifies in favor of a base student allocation increase before the Alaska Senate Education Committee on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Screenshot)

Students report mixed responses from lawmakers in education discussions

Delegates from the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District lobbied the Alaska Legislature for more state funding and other education priorities

Nikiski Middle/High School student Maggie Grenier testifies in favor of a base student allocation increase before the Alaska Senate Education Committee on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Screenshot)
Engineer Lake Cabin can be seen in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Nov. 21, 2021. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Refuge campsite and cabin rental fees to increase this summer

Certain fees for campground sites and public use cabins in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge will increase this summer, the refuge announced Thursday. A news… Continue reading

Engineer Lake Cabin can be seen in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Nov. 21, 2021. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
A Bureau of Ocean Energy Management pamphlet rests on a desk in the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, March 11, 2024 in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

BOEM Alaska office probes renewables development in Cook Inlet

National Renewable Energy Lab estimates that there are 18 gigawatts of tidal power in Cook Inlet

A Bureau of Ocean Energy Management pamphlet rests on a desk in the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, March 11, 2024 in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Snow is piled along the Seward Highway near the Hope Highway cutoff in Alaska on Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Heavy snow, whiteout conditions forecast Tuesday for Turnagain Pass

“Several rounds” of heavy snowfall are expected, beginning as soon as Monday evening

Snow is piled along the Seward Highway near the Hope Highway cutoff in Alaska on Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
A sockeye salmon rests atop a cooler at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Board of fisheries OKs dipnets for Cook Inlet commercial fisheries

Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission also has to approve before dipnets are used

A sockeye salmon rests atop a cooler at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion
Bud Sexton, chief of staff for Alaska House Rep. Justin Ruffridge, and aide Sabina Braun, left, review amendment language in their office at the Alaska State Capitol building on Wednesday in Juneau.

In Juneau, making laws is a group effort

Ruffridge chief of staff says team shares commitment to hard work

Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion
Bud Sexton, chief of staff for Alaska House Rep. Justin Ruffridge, and aide Sabina Braun, left, review amendment language in their office at the Alaska State Capitol building on Wednesday in Juneau.
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Finance Director Liz Hayes, left, presents preliminary fiscal year 2025 budge information during a school board committee meeting on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School board bets on state funding increase, issues teacher contracts

Thursday’s meeting came two days after board members convened to plan out the district’s immediate financial future

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Finance Director Liz Hayes, left, presents preliminary fiscal year 2025 budge information during a school board committee meeting on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kachemak Selo Middle-High School building sits against a backdrop of the ridge separating the village from the Kenai Peninsula Borough road system Thursday, Aug. 30 in Kachemak-Selo. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)

Borough, state at odds over best path forward for Kachemak Selo school

Micciche said Wednesday that he and the Senate president are working together to determine a viable path forward

The Kachemak Selo Middle-High School building sits against a backdrop of the ridge separating the village from the Kenai Peninsula Borough road system Thursday, Aug. 30 in Kachemak-Selo. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche delivers a borough update during a joint luncheon of the Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Micciche lays out vision for borough’s future

In an update on Wednesday, the mayor described borough accomplishments, priorities and the need for “a disciplined focus on efficiency and cost control”

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche delivers a borough update during a joint luncheon of the Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)