Jacob Dye

Central Emergency Services Fire Chief Roy Browning stands in the agency’s ambulance supply room on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Additional $5 million may be directed to construction of new CES fire station

Voters in the October 2022 election authorized the issuance of a $16.5 million bond for the replacement fire station

Central Emergency Services Fire Chief Roy Browning stands in the agency’s ambulance supply room on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A freshly stocked rainbow trout swims in Johnson Lake during Salmon Celebration on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at Johnson Lake in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A freshly stocked rainbow trout swims in Johnson Lake during Salmon Celebration on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at Johnson Lake in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A harbor seal pup rescued from near Kachemak Bay is treated by Wildlife Response Program staff at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska. (Photo provided by Alaska SeaLife Center)

SeaLife Center admits 2 more seal pups to wildlife response program

The newly rescued pups were found near Homer and Cordova

A harbor seal pup rescued from near Kachemak Bay is treated by Wildlife Response Program staff at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska. (Photo provided by Alaska SeaLife Center)
Clayton Holland, superintendent of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, speaks during a meeting of the Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, June 3, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Holland to remain KPBSD superintendent

Clayton Holland will remain the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s superintendent through June 2027 after the district’s Board of Education on Monday approved a new… Continue reading

Clayton Holland, superintendent of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, speaks during a meeting of the Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, June 3, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A guide from the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge leads visitors on a hike of Centennial Trail near Soldotna on Saturday, June 1, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Refuge readies for another season of Guided Discovery Hikes

Guided Discovery Hikes are scheduled for every Friday and Saturday from June 21 to Aug. 30

A guide from the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge leads visitors on a hike of Centennial Trail near Soldotna on Saturday, June 1, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Voters fill out their ballots at the Challenger Learning Center in Kenai, Alaska on Election Day, Nov. 8, 2022. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Races for State Legislature come into focus after filing deadline

Incumbents Sen. Jesse Bjorkman and Reps. Justin Ruffridge and Sarah Vance are all facing challengers,

Voters fill out their ballots at the Challenger Learning Center in Kenai, Alaska on Election Day, Nov. 8, 2022. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Zen Kelly, president of the board, speaks during a special meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s School Board in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, April 15, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

School board directs KPBSD to begin restoring cut positions

The board had previously advanced and approved a budget based on “the worst-case scenario” of no additional funding for the state

Zen Kelly, president of the board, speaks during a special meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s School Board in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, April 15, 2024. (Jake Dye/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)

Commercial drift fishing outlook published by Fish and Game ahead of opening

Around 5.7 million sockeye are expected to return to Upper Cook Inlet

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)
Participants are covered with colored powder during a color run held as part of during the Levitt AMP Soldotna Music Series on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor’s Center in Soldotna (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna Music Series debuts Wednesday with color run, Hope Social Club

This is the second year that the series’ opening has been heralded by runners covered in vibrant powder

Participants are covered with colored powder during a color run held as part of during the Levitt AMP Soldotna Music Series on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor’s Center in Soldotna (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A voting booth for the Kenai Peninsula Borough and City of Homer elections at Cowles Council Chambers on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022 in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Charlie Menke/ Homer News)

Soldotna holds art contest for new ‘I voted’ stickers

Artists across three categories can submit their artwork through an online portal accessible at soldotna.org

A voting booth for the Kenai Peninsula Borough and City of Homer elections at Cowles Council Chambers on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022 in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Charlie Menke/ Homer News)
Ken Coleman in 2019. (Photo provided by Gary Hollier)

‘You can’t be a fisherman if you’re not an optimist’

Ken Coleman, longtime advocate for the east side setnet fishery, dead at 72

Ken Coleman in 2019. (Photo provided by Gary Hollier)
Alaska State Troopers logo.

Fishing vessel capsizes near Ninilchik, all occupants rescued

There were four adults and two juveniles on the boat

Alaska State Troopers logo.
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)
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)
Emerson Kapp, second-place winner of the 2023 Caring for the Kenai competition, shows participants how to use her project, the Kenai Peninsula Maze Board, during the Kenai River Festival on Friday, June 9, 2023, at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai River Fair to offer education, fun for free on June 8

Kenai Watershed Forum’s annual summer event gets new name, renewed focus on education

Emerson Kapp, second-place winner of the 2023 Caring for the Kenai competition, shows participants how to use her project, the Kenai Peninsula Maze Board, during the Kenai River Festival on Friday, June 9, 2023, at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A sign marks the entrance of Centennial Park and Campground on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Tree planting event set for Centennial Park

Planting trees in the area is a crucial method for protecting and rehabilitating the streambank, organizers say

A sign marks the entrance of Centennial Park and Campground on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Poppies are affixed to wreaths during a Memorial Day ceremony at Leif Hanson Memorial Park in Kenai on Monday. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Remembering the sacrifices of the fallen

Speakers ask community to be inspired through sacrifice of service members

Poppies are affixed to wreaths during a Memorial Day ceremony at Leif Hanson Memorial Park in Kenai on Monday. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Erosion of the Kenai bluff near the Kenai Senior Center. (Photo by Aidan Curtin courtesy Scott Curtin)

Ribbon-cutting for bluff stabilization project set for June 10

The bluff has been eroding at a rate of around 3 feet per year

Erosion of the Kenai bluff near the Kenai Senior Center. (Photo by Aidan Curtin courtesy Scott Curtin)
A bag of freshly dug razor clams is held aloft at the Ninilchik Beach in Ninilchik, Alaska, on Saturday, July 1, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

No clamming in Ninilchik or Clam Gulch this year

Adult abundance “well below” fishery thresholds on both beaches

A bag of freshly dug razor clams is held aloft at the Ninilchik Beach in Ninilchik, Alaska, on Saturday, July 1, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai Central High School girls celebrate after a goal by Katie Johnson during the ASAA Soccer Division II State Championships at Veterans Memorial Field in Wasilla, Alaska, on Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Central girls, Soldotna boys claim DII soccer titles

Both programs rise to top for 1st time

The Kenai Central High School girls celebrate after a goal by Katie Johnson during the ASAA Soccer Division II State Championships at Veterans Memorial Field in Wasilla, Alaska, on Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A fallen tree reaches onto Kalifornsky Beach Road in Soldotna, Alaska, as cars drive by on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Grants, borough to support HEA effort to mitigate dangerous trees

HEA will have permission to enter borough land and the borough’s right of way

A fallen tree reaches onto Kalifornsky Beach Road in Soldotna, Alaska, as cars drive by on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)