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Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Assistant Superintendent Kari Dendurent (front left) and Superintendent Clayton Holland (back right) listen as Board of Education President Zen Kelly (back left) speaks at a board meeting on Monday in Soldotna. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Superintendent seeks board input on revisions to district’s COVID protocols

Multiple parents and board members voiced their concerns about the district’s close contact policy.

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Assistant Superintendent Kari Dendurent (front left) and Superintendent Clayton Holland (back right) listen as Board of Education President Zen Kelly (back left) speaks at a board meeting on Monday in Soldotna. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
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Anchorage FBI office launches hate crime reporting program

The program was launched across various digital, print and radio advertisements, as well as on public transportation in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau.

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Signs show support for Soldotna City Council candidates at the intersection of the Sterling Highway and the Kenai Spur Highway on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Tuesday’s the day to vote

What you need to know to cast a ballot

Signs show support for Soldotna City Council candidates at the intersection of the Sterling Highway and the Kenai Spur Highway on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire
Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, and House Minority Leader Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, step outside the House chambers on Monday to discuss a message from the Senate. Lawmakers entered their fourth special session Monday, with a resolution to hold committee meetings remotely.

4th special session gets off to a slow start

Lawmakers discuss making legislative work remote

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire
Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, and House Minority Leader Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, step outside the House chambers on Monday to discuss a message from the Senate. Lawmakers entered their fourth special session Monday, with a resolution to hold committee meetings remotely.
Michael Williams scans the shoreline for moose while traveling up the Yukon River on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, near Stevens Village, Alaska. For the first time in memory, both king and chum salmon have dwindled to almost nothing and the state has banned salmon fishing on the Yukon. The remote communities that dot the river and live off its bounty are desperate and doubling down on moose and caribou hunts in the waning days of fall. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

Dwindling salmon a crisis for Yukon River tribes

For the first time in memory, both king and chum salmon have dwindled to almost nothing.

  • Oct 4, 2021
  • By NATHAN HOWARD and GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press
  • State News
Michael Williams scans the shoreline for moose while traveling up the Yukon River on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, near Stevens Village, Alaska. For the first time in memory, both king and chum salmon have dwindled to almost nothing and the state has banned salmon fishing on the Yukon. The remote communities that dot the river and live off its bounty are desperate and doubling down on moose and caribou hunts in the waning days of fall. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
In this Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, supporters of then President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the the U.S. Capitol in Washington. A New York mother and son have been charged with theft in aiding the disappearance of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the Jan. 6 insurrection after the FBI initially raided a home 4,500 miles away in Alaska, looking for the computer. According to court documents, the FBI on Friday, Oct. 1 arrested Maryann Mooney-Rondon, and her son, Rafael Rondon, of Watertown, N.Y. Both also face other charges related to the riot at the Capitol. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

NY mother, son arrested in theft of Pelosi’s laptop

A tip to the FBI led them to the mother and son.

  • Oct 4, 2021
  • By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press
  • Local News
In this Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, supporters of then President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the the U.S. Capitol in Washington. A New York mother and son have been charged with theft in aiding the disappearance of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop during the Jan. 6 insurrection after the FBI initially raided a home 4,500 miles away in Alaska, looking for the computer. According to court documents, the FBI on Friday, Oct. 1 arrested Maryann Mooney-Rondon, and her son, Rafael Rondon, of Watertown, N.Y. Both also face other charges related to the riot at the Capitol. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Central Peninsula Hospital as seen March 26, 2020, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion file)

Nurses from Lower 48 arrive at Central Peninsula Hospital

Additional staff are aimed at alleviating strain from COVID-19 surge.

Central Peninsula Hospital as seen March 26, 2020, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion file)
Demonstrators march through Soldotna as part of the national Women’s March “Rally for Abortion Justice” on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

‘I cannot believe that this has been threatened’

Soldotna demonstrators join national Women’s March in support of abortion rights

Demonstrators march through Soldotna as part of the national Women’s March “Rally for Abortion Justice” on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Cindy Ecklund is running for the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly’s east peninsula seat. (courtesy photo)
Cindy Ecklund is running for the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly’s east peninsula seat. (courtesy photo)
Soldotna High School is photographed on Sept. 2, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

SoHi, Skyview go to universal indoor masking Monday

As of Friday, nine KPBSD schools — not including schools in “small communities” — were operating, or were going to start operating Monday, with universal indoor masking for staff and students

Soldotna High School is photographed on Sept. 2, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Angelique Ramirez, chief medical officer at Foundation Health Partners in Fairbanks, poses for a photograph in front of the emergency entrance at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021, in Fairbanks, Alaska. Fairbanks Memorial Hospital on Friday, Oct. 1, said it activated the Crisis Standards of Care policy because of a critical shortage of bed capacity, staffing and monoclonal antibody treatments, along with the inability to transfer patients to other facilities. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

3rd Alaska hospital invokes crisis care mode in COVID spike

Fairbanks Memorial Hospital said Friday it activated the Crisis Standards of Care policy

Angelique Ramirez, chief medical officer at Foundation Health Partners in Fairbanks, poses for a photograph in front of the emergency entrance at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021, in Fairbanks, Alaska. Fairbanks Memorial Hospital on Friday, Oct. 1, said it activated the Crisis Standards of Care policy because of a critical shortage of bed capacity, staffing and monoclonal antibody treatments, along with the inability to transfer patients to other facilities. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Kenn Carpenter is running for reelection to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly’s east peninsula seat. (Courtesy photo)
Kenn Carpenter is running for reelection to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly’s east peninsula seat. (Courtesy photo)
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski attends a joint Soldotna and Kenai Chamber of Commerce Luncheon on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Murkowski campaign updates paperwork to continue to allow fundraising

Murkowski has not yet stated whether or not she intends to run for reelection in 2022.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski attends a joint Soldotna and Kenai Chamber of Commerce Luncheon on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
State health officials urged pregnant people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an urgent health advisory. (File)

‘Urgent’ CDC advisory recommends pregnant people get vaccinated against COVID-19

In August, 22 pregnant individuals died of COVID in the United States, officials said.

State health officials urged pregnant people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an urgent health advisory. (File)
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly President Brent Hibbert is running unopposed for the Kalifornsky seat, which he has held since 2017. (Photo via Kenai Peninsula Borough)
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly President Brent Hibbert is running unopposed for the Kalifornsky seat, which he has held since 2017. (Photo via Kenai Peninsula Borough)
Courtesy photo/ Alaska Court System
Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court Daniel Winfree spoke with the Empire about Alaska’s court system and its judicial selection process. Winfree is the first Chief Justice to be born in Alaska, and spent 25 years in private practice before joining the court.
Courtesy photo/ Alaska Court System
Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court Daniel Winfree spoke with the Empire about Alaska’s court system and its judicial selection process. Winfree is the first Chief Justice to be born in Alaska, and spent 25 years in private practice before joining the court.
(Image courtesy CDC)

State COVID-19 cases continue surge

Alaska remains the state with the highest number of new cases per capita in the country.

(Image courtesy CDC)
Elia Samuelson, left, of Bethel is announced as the winner of a $49,000 scholarship for the third week of the “Give AK a Shot” COVID-19 vaccine incentive program. His mother Carol also won $10,000 cash. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Fairbanks man, Bethel teen win this week’s vaccine lottery

“Give AK a Shot” awards funds to one newly vaccinated adult resident and one newly vaccinated child resident.

Elia Samuelson, left, of Bethel is announced as the winner of a $49,000 scholarship for the third week of the “Give AK a Shot” COVID-19 vaccine incentive program. His mother Carol also won $10,000 cash. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
The very first FreeWire ultrafast Electric Vehicle charger in Alaska was installed at AJ's Steakhouse last week. The charging station is the first of nine EV charging stations that will connect Homer to Fairbanks. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)

Fast-charging station for electric vehicles installed at AJ’s OldTown Steakhouse

New charging station installed with grant support from Alaska Energy Authority.

The very first FreeWire ultrafast Electric Vehicle charger in Alaska was installed at AJ's Steakhouse last week. The charging station is the first of nine EV charging stations that will connect Homer to Fairbanks. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)
Version 3 of the Alaska Redistricting Board’s proposal for the Kenai Peninsula keeps intact most of District 31, now called District 6, but puts the Fritz Creek and Fox River areas into a new District 5 that includes the southern shore of Kachemak Bay and Kodiak Island. (Photo courtesy of Alaska Redistricting Board)

Board seeking input on maps redrawing state, peninsula legislative districts

The Alaska State Redistricting Board will collect public input on six maps.

Version 3 of the Alaska Redistricting Board’s proposal for the Kenai Peninsula keeps intact most of District 31, now called District 6, but puts the Fritz Creek and Fox River areas into a new District 5 that includes the southern shore of Kachemak Bay and Kodiak Island. (Photo courtesy of Alaska Redistricting Board)