Camille Botello

Dipnetters camp on North Kenai Beach on July 17, 2021, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Dipnetting season ‘generally productive’ for city

The total revenue for the season, which was open from July 10-31, was about $485,600.

Dipnetters camp on North Kenai Beach on July 17, 2021, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. (CDC)

Cases trending up as school year approaches

The state is also seeing a shift in the age range of people testing positive for COVID-19, according to state health officials.

This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. (CDC)
Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center 
A rescued sea otter is given treatment at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward last week.

SeaLife Center rescues abandoned otter pup from Seldovia

A family camping on a Seldovia beach found the otter stranded there.

Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center 
A rescued sea otter is given treatment at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward last week.
This Jan. 18, 2020, photo shows people preparing to get on a Ravn Connect airplane at the airport in Bethel, Alaska, for a flight to Toksook Bay. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

Ravn customers now able to use Alaska Airlines miles

Customers will have the option to choose Alaska Airlines as a loyalty program option when booking Ravn flights.

This Jan. 18, 2020, photo shows people preparing to get on a Ravn Connect airplane at the airport in Bethel, Alaska, for a flight to Toksook Bay. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
A registered nurse prepares a COVID-19 vaccine at the pop-up clinic on the Spit on May 27. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)

Zink: We’ve reached a really hard point in the pandemic

The virus has mutated into a more transmissible strain while health care capacity is dwindling and the public is exhausted with mitigation efforts.

A registered nurse prepares a COVID-19 vaccine at the pop-up clinic on the Spit on May 27. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)
(Clarion file photo)

Ending summer with a brew

The Soldotna Rotary Club’s beer fest returns

(Clarion file photo)
The front of the Kenai Police Department as seen on Dec. 10, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)

3 killed in car wreck last month identified

Two Kenai residents and one Florida visitor died in the wreck.

The front of the Kenai Police Department as seen on Dec. 10, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Participants in the Kenai River Junior Classic head down the Kenai River near Big Eddy Road in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Juniors get hooked fishing the Kenai

The annual event teaches kids about summer river recreation, fish habitat and water safety.

Participants in the Kenai River Junior Classic head down the Kenai River near Big Eddy Road in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
COVID-19 cases are showing up in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region. (Photo courtesy CDC)

Peninsula records 8% of state’s new cases

The Kenai Peninsula is second to last for vaccine rollout, only above the Matanuska-Susitna Borough’s 37.2% inoculation rate.

COVID-19 cases are showing up in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region. (Photo courtesy CDC)
Ruth Ost Towner’s felt expression art hangs on display at the Soldotna Visitor Center on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

The story of Alaska — told in felt

Visitor Center showcases fabric pieces by Alaska frontierswoman

Ruth Ost Towner’s felt expression art hangs on display at the Soldotna Visitor Center on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
COVID-19. (Image via CDC)

258 new COVID cases, 33 locally

22.5% of all hospitalizations in the Gulf Coast — which includes the Kenai Peninsula — were COVID-related as of Tuesday.

COVID-19. (Image via CDC)
A young volunteer chases three piglets named Mary Hamkins, Petunia and Sir Oinks-a-lot through the race Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds during the Kenai Peninsula Fair pig races on Friday, Aug. 16, 2019 in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)

Fair coming back to Ninilchik this weekend

This year the fair celebrates 70 years.

A young volunteer chases three piglets named Mary Hamkins, Petunia and Sir Oinks-a-lot through the race Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds during the Kenai Peninsula Fair pig races on Friday, Aug. 16, 2019 in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)
Anglers gather along the banks of the Kenai River near Sportsman’s Landing in Cooper Landing in September 2018. (Peninsula Clarion file)

Sockeye limits increased on Upper Kenai and Russian rivers

The new limits are six per day and 12 in possession.

Anglers gather along the banks of the Kenai River near Sportsman’s Landing in Cooper Landing in September 2018. (Peninsula Clarion file)
COVID-19. (Image via CDC)

Man in 30s latest COVID death, hospitalizations and cases up

Over the weekend the state reported another 826 resident and 37 nonresident COVID cases.

COVID-19. (Image via CDC)
Olympic gold medalist Lydia Jacoby waves to the crowd in Seward during her celebratory parade on Thursday, August 5, 2021. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Jacoby taking time for herself

After medaling in Tokyo, Olympic champion Lydia Jacoby is enjoying the last of summer before senior year.

Olympic gold medalist Lydia Jacoby waves to the crowd in Seward during her celebratory parade on Thursday, August 5, 2021. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
State data shows the current COVID-19 spike in the Kenai Peninsula Borough. (Image via the Department of Health and Social Services)

Peninsula sees steep rise in COVID cases

In mid-June, Kenai Peninsula COVID cases approached 0

State data shows the current COVID-19 spike in the Kenai Peninsula Borough. (Image via the Department of Health and Social Services)
File

Local World War II vet’s 100th birthday to be celebrated Saturday

Bill Fields, who lives in the Kenai area, is turning 100 over the weekend.

File
A sign instructs patients and visitors on the COVID-19 screening process in the River Tower of Central Peninsula Hospital in Soldotna, Alaska, on April 7, 2020. The hospital recently matched the number of hospitalizations reported during the peak of the pandemic in 2020 as a resurgence of COVID-19 is reported across the state. (Peninsula Clarion file)

‘We’ve been super, super busy’

Local hospitalizations reach levels not seen since pandemic’s peak last year

A sign instructs patients and visitors on the COVID-19 screening process in the River Tower of Central Peninsula Hospital in Soldotna, Alaska, on April 7, 2020. The hospital recently matched the number of hospitalizations reported during the peak of the pandemic in 2020 as a resurgence of COVID-19 is reported across the state. (Peninsula Clarion file)
COVID-19. (Image via CDC)

2 more COVID deaths as cases rise

As of Tuesday, every census region in the state was categorized as high alert status.

COVID-19. (Image via CDC)
A clinic at the intersection of the Kenai Spur and Sterling Highways in Soldotna is now offering COVID-19 vaccines with no appointment necessary. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Delta variant accounts for 90% of new COVID cases, state reports

Data suggests that on average, one person with the delta variant will infect between five and eight other people.

A clinic at the intersection of the Kenai Spur and Sterling Highways in Soldotna is now offering COVID-19 vaccines with no appointment necessary. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)