Home

Few lower peninsula residents comment on hospital service area boundary move

Two proposals that would alter the boundaries of the South Kenai Peninsula Hospital Service Area are poised to make it onto the ballot this October.… Continue reading

Fish board denies emergency petition on hatchery permit

The Board of Fisheries declined to take up an emergency petition related to hatchery pink salmon production in Prince William Sound, though members agreed the… Continue reading

Clyde Didrickson and his wife, Charlotte, smile and hug each other in their new home Friday morning. The couple were able to get their new home through a Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority grant funding program aimed to help veterans. (Gregory Philson | Juneau Empire)

‘It is a blessing’: Grant offering housing for Alaska Native veterans

Program has helped 19 individuals or familes in the last year.

Clyde Didrickson and his wife, Charlotte, smile and hug each other in their new home Friday morning. The couple were able to get their new home through a Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority grant funding program aimed to help veterans. (Gregory Philson | Juneau Empire)
Sockeye salmon smolt being raised by Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association at the Trail Lakes Hatchery, ultimately destined for Shell Lake in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, swim in their tank on Friday, April 20, 2018, near Moose Pass. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Hatchery-marked salmon important for management, international relations

Editor’s note: This story is the second in a three-part series about the operations of Alaska’s salmon hatcheries and their impact on the North Pacific.… Continue reading

Sockeye salmon smolt being raised by Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association at the Trail Lakes Hatchery, ultimately destined for Shell Lake in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, swim in their tank on Friday, April 20, 2018, near Moose Pass. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Alaska Department of Labor to use $1.2 million grant for opioid response

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development plans to use $1.2 million from the federal government for its first programs specifically to help people… Continue reading

An Anchor River king salmon Saturday, May 19, 2018 in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

King fishing to open in lower peninsula streams with gear restrictions

The Ninilchik and Deep Creek will finally be open to king salmon fishing, but with limited gear and no bait.

An Anchor River king salmon Saturday, May 19, 2018 in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Making excuses

I think I’m going to lose my middle-of-the-pack status. The first mountain bike race of the Soldotna Cycle Series at Tsalteshi Trails was Thursday night,… Continue reading

A trainer runs her Bernese Mountain Dog in the Kenai Kennel Club’s annual dog show, obedience and agility trials on Saturday, July 14, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. Dog owners come from all over the state to take part in the events each year. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Dog show brings paws to Soldotna

The occasional bark split the air from the fields behind Skyview Middle School on Saturday, but for the most part, the crowds of dogs and… Continue reading

A trainer runs her Bernese Mountain Dog in the Kenai Kennel Club’s annual dog show, obedience and agility trials on Saturday, July 14, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. Dog owners come from all over the state to take part in the events each year. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Alyse Galvin, left, and Dimitri Shein, right, listen to a question from moderator Kelly Cooper at the start of the debate among the candidates for the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. Congress on Tuesday, July 10, 2018 at Kachemak Bay Campus in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Democratic candidates spar in Homer debate

Homer has seen numerous campaign debates for city and state office, but Tuesday marked one of the first times candidates for federal office took the floor.

Alyse Galvin, left, and Dimitri Shein, right, listen to a question from moderator Kelly Cooper at the start of the debate among the candidates for the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. Congress on Tuesday, July 10, 2018 at Kachemak Bay Campus in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

School board discusses support for sales tax increase, no formal backing

At their Monday meeting, school board members expressed support for an initiative to bring a sales tax increase to the borough, but no formal backing… Continue reading

Texas dentist arrested for allegedly shipping drugs to Kenai hotel

Postal inspectors flagged the package at the Anchorage airport as suspicious

In this July 2016 photo, a drift gillnet fishing vessel floats in Cook Inlet just off the coast of the Kenai Peninsula near Kenai, Alaska. A thin season for sockeye and kings has led to restrictions in all fisheries, though drifters are seeing more chum salmon than usual in Upper Cook Inlet. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Commercial fishing slow for sockeye, good for chum

Commercial fishermen around the Gulf of Alaska are seeing weaker sockeye salmon runs, but Cook Inlet salmon fishermen at least are seeing more chum salmon… Continue reading

In this July 2016 photo, a drift gillnet fishing vessel floats in Cook Inlet just off the coast of the Kenai Peninsula near Kenai, Alaska. A thin season for sockeye and kings has led to restrictions in all fisheries, though drifters are seeing more chum salmon than usual in Upper Cook Inlet. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

5th annual Swank Street Market celebrates boutique, antique and more in Soldotna this weekend

Swank Street Market will be hosting their fifth annual flea market today, Saturday and Sunday in Soldotna. The first market was in the summer of… Continue reading

This is an aerial view at the intersection of Front Street and Seward Street downtown. (Courtesy Photo | Josh McGraw)

Local artists showcase talent as part of downtown revitalization

Rico Worl, Christy Eriksen discuss medallions, Front and Seward streets intersection.

This is an aerial view at the intersection of Front Street and Seward Street downtown. (Courtesy Photo | Josh McGraw)

Rock’N the Ranch music festival is back for second year

This Friday and Saturday, the RustyRavin Plant Ranch, a commercial greenhouse near Kenai, will be hosting the Rock’N the Ranch music festival for the second… Continue reading

Customers use Muddy Mutts self-service operations to clean their dog. (Photo courtesy of Nick Sorrell)

Shop talk: Muddy Mutts

Nick Sorrell, the owner of Muddy Mutts Pet Wash and Grooming, said he and his partner wanted to bridge a gap in the peninsula pet… Continue reading

Customers use Muddy Mutts self-service operations to clean their dog. (Photo courtesy of Nick Sorrell)
Eric Forrer, left, and Joe Geldhof, right, have sued the state of Alaska in an attempt to stop a plan that calls for borrowing up to $1 billion from global bond markets to pay oil and gas tax credits owed by the state. They are pictured May 22, 2018 in an interview at the Juneau Empire. (James Brooks | Juneau Empire File)

Alaska pauses plan to borrow $1 billion for oil-company payouts

State officials confirmed Tuesday that a billion-dollar bond issue is on hold amid a pending lawsuit by two Juneau men.

Eric Forrer, left, and Joe Geldhof, right, have sued the state of Alaska in an attempt to stop a plan that calls for borrowing up to $1 billion from global bond markets to pay oil and gas tax credits owed by the state. They are pictured May 22, 2018 in an interview at the Juneau Empire. (James Brooks | Juneau Empire File)

School district waiting for details on extra state funding

The state has said it will send more money to the local schools this year, but the exact amount still isn’t clear. The Kenai Peninsula… Continue reading

In this Aug. 10, 2008 file photo, hikers watch a brown bear fish on the Russian River near the falls near Cooper Landing, Alaska. Human-bear interactions are a fact of life in Alaska. (Clarion file photo)

People and bears intersect on the Kenai—not always badly

People and bears share space in Alaska — it’s a fact of life. Sometimes, that includes driveways and front lawns. Visitors to Kenai Peninsula parks… Continue reading

In this Aug. 10, 2008 file photo, hikers watch a brown bear fish on the Russian River near the falls near Cooper Landing, Alaska. Human-bear interactions are a fact of life in Alaska. (Clarion file photo)
As part of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s July cultural heritage series, Sam Schimmel demonstrates how to cut ivory on Friday, July 6, at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center, near Soldotna, Alaska. Schimmel used the chunk of ivory to carve a small owl figurine. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai National Wildlife Refuge hosts cultural heritage workshops

Traditional beadwork, storytelling, fish processing and a tutorial on how to harvest local plants are just some of the cultural heritage workshops the Kenai National… Continue reading

As part of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s July cultural heritage series, Sam Schimmel demonstrates how to cut ivory on Friday, July 6, at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center, near Soldotna, Alaska. Schimmel used the chunk of ivory to carve a small owl figurine. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)