Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Communications Director Pegge Erkeneff (left) and Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Superintendent Clayton Holland stand in Holland’s office in the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Friday, Aug. 13 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

No mask mandate, but rules abound

Quarantine, vaccination status and testing part of school district’s layered COVID mitigation plan.

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Communications Director Pegge Erkeneff (left) and Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Superintendent Clayton Holland stand in Holland’s office in the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Friday, Aug. 13 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Dipnetters camp on North Kenai Beach on July 17, 2021, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Dipnetting season ‘generally productive’ for city

The total revenue for the season, which was open from July 10-31, was about $485,600.

Dipnetters camp on North Kenai Beach on July 17, 2021, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Courthouse is photographed on February 26, 2019 in Kenai, Alaska. (Clarion file)
Kenai Courthouse is photographed on February 26, 2019 in Kenai, Alaska. (Clarion file)
The badge for the Kenai Police Department
The badge for the Kenai Police Department
This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. (CDC)

Cases trending up as school year approaches

The state is also seeing a shift in the age range of people testing positive for COVID-19, according to state health officials.

This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. (CDC)
The Alaska State Capitol is seen in this file photo. (Peter Segall/Juneau Empire file)

PFD payments sticking point for Alaska special session

The agenda for the special session starting Monday doesn’t include an appropriations bill for a dividend.

The Alaska State Capitol is seen in this file photo. (Peter Segall/Juneau Empire file)
Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire
Participants burn an example of a commercial garment that led to a now-settled intellectual property lawsuit in a ceremony commemorating the settlement with the fashion company on Friday.
Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire
Participants burn an example of a commercial garment that led to a now-settled intellectual property lawsuit in a ceremony commemorating the settlement with the fashion company on Friday.
Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center 
A rescued sea otter is given treatment at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward last week.

SeaLife Center rescues abandoned otter pup from Seldovia

A family camping on a Seldovia beach found the otter stranded there.

Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center 
A rescued sea otter is given treatment at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward last week.
A county map of the United States and Puerto Rico shows percentage change in population 2010 to 2020. (Associated Press)

Census figures show Mat-Su gains most new residents

The sprawling borough gained 18,086 residents between 2010 and 2020.

A county map of the United States and Puerto Rico shows percentage change in population 2010 to 2020. (Associated Press)
Council member Dave Carey attends a meeting of the Soldotna City Council on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna reinstates mask requirement in city buildings

The new policy, which was authorized by the Soldotna City Council during the council’s Wednesday night meeting, takes effect on Monday, Aug. 16 and applies to all city facilities.

Council member Dave Carey attends a meeting of the Soldotna City Council on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
This Jan. 18, 2020, photo shows people preparing to get on a Ravn Connect airplane at the airport in Bethel, Alaska, for a flight to Toksook Bay. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

Ravn customers now able to use Alaska Airlines miles

Customers will have the option to choose Alaska Airlines as a loyalty program option when booking Ravn flights.

This Jan. 18, 2020, photo shows people preparing to get on a Ravn Connect airplane at the airport in Bethel, Alaska, for a flight to Toksook Bay. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
Shari Conner, a coalition coordinator for Change 4 the Kenai, adjusts a box of Narcan kits on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021 at Freedom House in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

‘Save someone’s life’

Narcan kits assembled at workshop on preventing opioid overdoses.

Shari Conner, a coalition coordinator for Change 4 the Kenai, adjusts a box of Narcan kits on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021 at Freedom House in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A registered nurse prepares a COVID-19 vaccine at the pop-up clinic on the Spit on May 27. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)

Zink: We’ve reached a really hard point in the pandemic

The virus has mutated into a more transmissible strain while health care capacity is dwindling and the public is exhausted with mitigation efforts.

A registered nurse prepares a COVID-19 vaccine at the pop-up clinic on the Spit on May 27. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)
(Clarion file photo)

Ending summer with a brew

The Soldotna Rotary Club’s beer fest returns

(Clarion file photo)
Joaqlin Estus / Indian Country Today
Athabascan singer and storyteller George Holly performs at the unveiling of a place-name marker at Chanshtnu, or “grassy creek,” the Dena’ina Athabascan name for Westchester Lagoon, on Aug. 3 in Anchorage.

New place names highlight Alaska city’s Dena’ina roots

‘Anchorage as a community is only about 100 years old, but our history goes back well over 1,000 years’

Joaqlin Estus / Indian Country Today
Athabascan singer and storyteller George Holly performs at the unveiling of a place-name marker at Chanshtnu, or “grassy creek,” the Dena’ina Athabascan name for Westchester Lagoon, on Aug. 3 in Anchorage.
Homer City Council met in the City Hall Cowles Council Chambers on Monday to discuss numerous ordinances and resolutions. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)

Nippin’ it in the bud

Marijuana consumption ordinance fails at city council.

Homer City Council met in the City Hall Cowles Council Chambers on Monday to discuss numerous ordinances and resolutions. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)
The George A. Navarre Kenai Peninsula Borough building. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)

Borough sales tax revenue higher than anticipated

The borough said it planned conservatively in anticipation of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The George A. Navarre Kenai Peninsula Borough building. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)
The front of the Kenai Police Department as seen on Dec. 10, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)

3 killed in car wreck last month identified

Two Kenai residents and one Florida visitor died in the wreck.

The front of the Kenai Police Department as seen on Dec. 10, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Participants in the Kenai River Junior Classic head down the Kenai River near Big Eddy Road in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Juniors get hooked fishing the Kenai

The annual event teaches kids about summer river recreation, fish habitat and water safety.

Participants in the Kenai River Junior Classic head down the Kenai River near Big Eddy Road in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
COVID-19 cases are showing up in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region. (Photo courtesy CDC)

Peninsula records 8% of state’s new cases

The Kenai Peninsula is second to last for vaccine rollout, only above the Matanuska-Susitna Borough’s 37.2% inoculation rate.

COVID-19 cases are showing up in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region. (Photo courtesy CDC)