Employees use large knives to chop up bull kelp as it makes it was down the conveyor belt. (Clarise Larson // Juneau Empire)

Mariculture farming is on the rise

Kelp farming could help combat climate change

Employees use large knives to chop up bull kelp as it makes it was down the conveyor belt. (Clarise Larson // Juneau Empire)
Flowers bloom at Soldotna City Hall on Wednesday, June 24, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna moving forward with arts and culture plan

Arts and culture is a priority identified in Soldotna’s “Envision Soldotna 2030” plan

Flowers bloom at Soldotna City Hall on Wednesday, June 24, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Greg and Teresa Groeneweg pose with their dog Ace, who is wearing a life saver medal Greg received from the Anchorage Fire Department years ago. He said Ace deserves it now more than him, for fighting off a bear. (Courtesy Greg Groeneweg)

Dog rescues couple from charging brown bear

“He’s got the bear … and now he’s going to get killed.”

Greg and Teresa Groeneweg pose with their dog Ace, who is wearing a life saver medal Greg received from the Anchorage Fire Department years ago. He said Ace deserves it now more than him, for fighting off a bear. (Courtesy Greg Groeneweg)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy announces Friday, July 16, 2022, that 2022 most PFD payments will be distributed on Sept. 20. (Screenshot)

Dunleavy: PFD payments coming Sept. 20

The rollout date is about a month earlier than when payments are typically distributed

Gov. Mike Dunleavy announces Friday, July 16, 2022, that 2022 most PFD payments will be distributed on Sept. 20. (Screenshot)
Raymond Bradbury rinses his salmon in the mouth of the Kenai River while dipnetting on Saturday, July 10, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)
Raymond Bradbury rinses his salmon in the mouth of the Kenai River while dipnetting on Saturday, July 10, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)
The Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska, is seen in this undated photo. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Facing suit, lawmakers mull new social media policy

The draft included an ‘everything or nothing’ approach toward public comments

The Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska, is seen in this undated photo. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
(Black Press Media files)

3-digit crisis line to be available starting Saturday

Alaskans with 907 area codes can dial 988 and get connected with a trained crisis counselor through Careline Alaska

(Black Press Media files)
Isaac Kolesar testifies before the Soldotna City Council during a council meeting on Wednesday, July 12, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. Many attendees voiced their thoughts on a performance given by a drag queen in Soldotna Creek Park last month. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Community takes debate over drag performance to Soldotna council

Backlash has been building since late June over a video, about 10 seconds long, taken at the 2022 Soldotna Pride in the Park

Isaac Kolesar testifies before the Soldotna City Council during a council meeting on Wednesday, July 12, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. Many attendees voiced their thoughts on a performance given by a drag queen in Soldotna Creek Park last month. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The Disability Pride Month art show, as seen on Friday, July 1, 2022, at Grace Ridge Brewing in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
The Disability Pride Month art show, as seen on Friday, July 1, 2022, at Grace Ridge Brewing in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
The Alaska State Department of Natural Resources is rescinding the emergency burn suspension for these areas on Thursday, July 14, 2022, citing a decrease in fire danger from recent rain showers. (Image via DNR)

Burn closure to be lifted Thursday

The Alaska State Department of Natural Resources is rescinding the emergency burn closure for campfires on Thursday, citing a decrease in fire danger from recent… Continue reading

The Alaska State Department of Natural Resources is rescinding the emergency burn suspension for these areas on Thursday, July 14, 2022, citing a decrease in fire danger from recent rain showers. (Image via DNR)
A group of about 400 people march along Pioneer Avenue for the "Women's March: Bans Off Our Bodies" protest on Saturday, July 9, 2022, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

‘Bans off our bodies’: About 400 march to protect reproductive rights

In one of Homer’s largest protest marches, on Saturday about 400 people walked, held signs and chanted in protest of the U.S. Supreme Court decision,… Continue reading

A group of about 400 people march along Pioneer Avenue for the "Women's March: Bans Off Our Bodies" protest on Saturday, July 9, 2022, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

Officials still emphasize vaccines as COVID hospitalizations rise

Vaccines still provide the best protection against COVID, according to health officials

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
Central Peninsula Hospital is seen in Soldotna on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Hospital to expand surgery services

Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly members approved the hospital’s purchase of the Surgery Center of Kenai

Central Peninsula Hospital is seen in Soldotna on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Vicke Kukowski (left) and Kathy Romain (right) unveil a plaque dedicating the Kenai Senior Center’s greenhouse to Bill Osborn during a ceremony on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Senior Center dedicates greenhouse

Tucked snugly next to the Kenai Senior Center is a greenhouse brimming with lush cucumber plants and black gardening boxes. On Tuesday afternoon, pale gray… Continue reading

Vicke Kukowski (left) and Kathy Romain (right) unveil a plaque dedicating the Kenai Senior Center’s greenhouse to Bill Osborn during a ceremony on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Dipnetters fish at North Kenai Beach on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Dipnetters wade in

Kenai River personal use salmon fishery opened Sunday

Dipnetters fish at North Kenai Beach on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Nila Sanchez, left, and Alexa Menzel advertise their lemonade business along the Kenai Spur Highway during Lemonade Day in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 29, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Lemonade Day scheduled for this weekend

The goal is for the children to learn entrepreneurial basics

Nila Sanchez, left, and Alexa Menzel advertise their lemonade business along the Kenai Spur Highway during Lemonade Day in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 29, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Lisa Gabriel is honored for her 28 years of service to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District during a Board of Education meeting on Monday, July 11, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School district honors retiring secretary

Lisa Gabriel has worked for the school district for 28 years

Lisa Gabriel is honored for her 28 years of service to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District during a Board of Education meeting on Monday, July 11, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Earthquake Center reported a preliminary magnitude 4.7 earthquake at approximately 11:25 p.m. on Monday, July 22, 2022. (Screenshot)

4.7 magnitude earthquake strikes Cook Inlet

The quake hit approximately 23 miles northeast of Nikiski and 9 miles southeast of Tyonek

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Earthquake Center reported a preliminary magnitude 4.7 earthquake at approximately 11:25 p.m. on Monday, July 22, 2022. (Screenshot)
In this provided by NOAA Fisheries a North Pacific right whale swims in the Bering Sea west of Bristol Bay on Aug. 6, 2017. The U.S. government on Monday, July 11, 2022, agreed to a request from environmental groups to study increasing critical habitat designations in Alaska waters for North Pacific right whales, one of the rarest whale species in the world. (NOAA Fisheries via AP,File)

Agency studies rare whale habitat expansion request

There are about 30 of the whales left after centuries of hunting, ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements

  • Jul 11, 2022
  • By Mark Thiessen Associated Press
  • State News
In this provided by NOAA Fisheries a North Pacific right whale swims in the Bering Sea west of Bristol Bay on Aug. 6, 2017. The U.S. government on Monday, July 11, 2022, agreed to a request from environmental groups to study increasing critical habitat designations in Alaska waters for North Pacific right whales, one of the rarest whale species in the world. (NOAA Fisheries via AP,File)