News

Snow collects in a lot near the Aspen Hotel on Thursday, March 10, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. The area will be the site of a new parking lot planned by the City of Soldotna. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Parking lot would bring 70 spaces to downtown Soldotna

The Soldotna City Council greenlighted Wednesday the execution of a lease agreement between the city and the Aspen Hotel

Snow collects in a lot near the Aspen Hotel on Thursday, March 10, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. The area will be the site of a new parking lot planned by the City of Soldotna. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Linda Farnsworth Hutchings, left, and Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce participate in a mayoral candidate forum hosted by the Kenai Chamber of Commerce at the Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center on Sept. 9, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)

Farnsworth-Hutchings gets 4th nod for planning commission

The city’s seat has been the subject of a back-and-forth between Soldotna and the borough mayor

Linda Farnsworth Hutchings, left, and Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce participate in a mayoral candidate forum hosted by the Kenai Chamber of Commerce at the Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center on Sept. 9, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Soldotna City Manager Stephanie Queen listens to a presentation from Alaska Communications during a meeting of the Soldotna City Council on Wednesday, March 9, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

ACS looks to bring faster internet to the central peninsula

The company successfully piloted the mesh network technology in Anchorage in 2020

Soldotna City Manager Stephanie Queen listens to a presentation from Alaska Communications during a meeting of the Soldotna City Council on Wednesday, March 9, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna City Council member Dave Carey speaks during a meeting of the Soldotna City Council on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Carey drops out of HEA race

He was running against Daniel Furlong for District 2, which represents Soldotna, Sterling and Kasilof

Soldotna City Council member Dave Carey speaks during a meeting of the Soldotna City Council on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikolaevsk School teacher Billeen Carlson, center, shows her Alaska Society for Technology in Education Teacher of the Year award. (Photo provided)

Carlson wins ASTE Teacher of the Year

Nikolaevsk School teacher honored for her work in using technology in education

Nikolaevsk School teacher Billeen Carlson, center, shows her Alaska Society for Technology in Education Teacher of the Year award. (Photo provided)
EPA logo

Hilcorp fined for Clean Air Act violations on North Slope, near Kenai

The company paid a roughly $180,000 penalty for the violations

EPA logo
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file This file photo shows the mill facility at the Kensington Gold Mine on Oct. 14, 2019. A new study from the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage tries to imagine what the state’s mining industry could look like in 20 years.

Economists explore mining’s future in Alaska

Study envisions scenarios for mining in 20 years

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file This file photo shows the mill facility at the Kensington Gold Mine on Oct. 14, 2019. A new study from the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage tries to imagine what the state’s mining industry could look like in 20 years.
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

State reports backlogged COVID cases, 10 new deaths

There were a total of 69 COVID-related hospitalizations in Alaska as of Wednesday

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
A spruce tree seeps sap outside of the Kenai Post Office on Friday, July 2, 2021, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Russian River, Quartz Creek campgrounds closed for tree removal

The closure will allow trees infected with spruce bark beetles to be removed

A spruce tree seeps sap outside of the Kenai Post Office on Friday, July 2, 2021, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
This Feb. 9, 2016, file photo shows an ice-covered ConocoPhillips sign at a drilling site in Nuiqsut, Alaska. Authorities are investigating a natural gas leak detected last week at a ConocoPhillips Alaska oil drill site on Alaska’s North Slope, officials said. Grace Salazar, a special assistant with the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, said Wednesday, March 9, 2022, that the commission that oversees oil and gas drilling in the state is investigating the matter. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

North Slope natural gas leak is under investigation

The company described the gas leak as being below the surface of the ground and said the cause was under investigation.

This Feb. 9, 2016, file photo shows an ice-covered ConocoPhillips sign at a drilling site in Nuiqsut, Alaska. Authorities are investigating a natural gas leak detected last week at a ConocoPhillips Alaska oil drill site on Alaska’s North Slope, officials said. Grace Salazar, a special assistant with the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, said Wednesday, March 9, 2022, that the commission that oversees oil and gas drilling in the state is investigating the matter. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
Joel Caldwell, director of operations for Kenai Aviation, sits in the pilot’s seat of Kenai Aviation’s nine-seat Beechcrafter Super King Air B200 plane in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Airline preps to serve Kenai, region

Kenai Aviation seeks to add weekday commuter flights beginning in May

Joel Caldwell, director of operations for Kenai Aviation, sits in the pilot’s seat of Kenai Aviation’s nine-seat Beechcrafter Super King Air B200 plane in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
About 45 people participated in a demonstration on Thursday, March 3, 2022, at WKFL Park in Homer, Alaska, in support of Ukraine and against the Russian invasion. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Homer supports Ukraine

About 45 people demonstrated on March 3 in support of Ukraine and against the Russian invasion.

About 45 people participated in a demonstration on Thursday, March 3, 2022, at WKFL Park in Homer, Alaska, in support of Ukraine and against the Russian invasion. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
A map indicates the location of the 3.6-magnitude earthquake that struck the northern Kenai Peninsula on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. The earthquake was 28 miles deep and struck 29 miles northeast of Kenai, Alaska. (University of Alaska Fairbanks Earthquake Center/screenshot)

Peninsula feels jolt from 3.6 magnitude quake

The temblor struck at 12:28 p.m. 29 miles northeast of Kenai at a depth of 28 miles

A map indicates the location of the 3.6-magnitude earthquake that struck the northern Kenai Peninsula on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. The earthquake was 28 miles deep and struck 29 miles northeast of Kenai, Alaska. (University of Alaska Fairbanks Earthquake Center/screenshot)
Shannon Martin is the new executive director of the Kenai River Sportfishing Association. (Courtesy/KRSA)

New KRSA director emphasizes watershed health

Martin was KRSA’s office and events manager for three years until she took on the director role in February

Shannon Martin is the new executive director of the Kenai River Sportfishing Association. (Courtesy/KRSA)
Susie Smalley demonstrates during a vigil in support of Ukraine on Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Dunleavy directs state agencies, corporations to divest from Russia

The move is in response to the nation’s invasion of Ukraine

Susie Smalley demonstrates during a vigil in support of Ukraine on Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Larry Talley / Courtesy photo A dead whale previously seen and necropsied on a small island near Angoon was spotted afloat on March 3. The cuts visible come from the necropsy effort, said a NOAA official.

Whale’s body spotted near Tenakee Inlet in Southeast Alaska

The animal with a long history in the area has been necropsied.

Larry Talley / Courtesy photo A dead whale previously seen and necropsied on a small island near Angoon was spotted afloat on March 3. The cuts visible come from the necropsy effort, said a NOAA official.
Former Kenai Vice Mayor Bob Molloy proposes changes to the City of Kenai’s draft Land Management Plan during a city council work session on Monday, March 7, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai finalizing comprehensive inventory of city land

The final plan is subject to approval by the city council

Former Kenai Vice Mayor Bob Molloy proposes changes to the City of Kenai’s draft Land Management Plan during a city council work session on Monday, March 7, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska House Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, speaks at a town hall meeting in Nikiski, Alaska, on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Election changes dominate town hall

Carpenter addressed ranked choice, legislation aimed at voter fraud

Alaska House Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, speaks at a town hall meeting in Nikiski, Alaska, on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
In this aerial photo provided by Alaska State Troopers, an Alaska Air National Guard helicopter arrives at a frozen lake that was the scene of a small plane crash on Saturday, March 5, 2022, near Iliamna, Alaska. Authorities say the five people on board the plane were injured. (Trooper Travis Lons/Alaska State Troopers via AP)

Small plane crashes on frozen lake, injuring 5 people

The Cessna 206 single-engine propeller plane crashed on Lake Iliamna

In this aerial photo provided by Alaska State Troopers, an Alaska Air National Guard helicopter arrives at a frozen lake that was the scene of a small plane crash on Saturday, March 5, 2022, near Iliamna, Alaska. Authorities say the five people on board the plane were injured. (Trooper Travis Lons/Alaska State Troopers via AP)
Cyclers race at the Soldotna Cycle Series at Tsalteshi Trails just outside of Soldotna, Alaska, on July 18, 2019. The Kenai City Council last week approved funding for a local bike repair station at Kenai Community Library. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Bike repair station coming to Kenai library

The bike repair station is expected to be installed this summer

Cyclers race at the Soldotna Cycle Series at Tsalteshi Trails just outside of Soldotna, Alaska, on July 18, 2019. The Kenai City Council last week approved funding for a local bike repair station at Kenai Community Library. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)