News

Alaska State Troopers logo.

Woman arrested after allegedly shooting neighbor’s house

The woman had been trying to break up a dog fight, troopers said

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion) Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Board of Fish makes changes to Lower Cook Inlet king salmon and rockfish regs

The State Board of Fisheries met in Homer last month

Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion) Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Department of Health logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Report: Adverse childhood experiences ‘common’ in Alaska

ACEs are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood

Department of Health logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Teresa Becher watches as beluga whales swim up the Kenai River on Saturday, April 24, 2021. She and her volunteer team monitor belugas in the Cook Inlet. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion file)

Ship noise may impact endangered Cook Inlet belugas, study finds

Cook Inlet sees traffic and noise from commercial shipping, the international airport, military operations and oil and gas exploration

Teresa Becher watches as beluga whales swim up the Kenai River on Saturday, April 24, 2021. She and her volunteer team monitor belugas in the Cook Inlet. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion file)
Western Emergency Services logo. Homer News file photo

1 dead, 1 hospitalized after small plane crash near Anchor Point

Dec. 8 crash incident is currently under investigation

Western Emergency Services logo. Homer News file photo
Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion Jenna Bedford, of Kenai Reindeer Farm, sits next to her reindeer with Juliana Bedford during the Fourth Annual Holiday Cheer Christmas Bazaar at the Old Carrs Mall in Kenai on Saturday.

Reindeer on the town

Antlered animals are making appearances at bazaars and holiday events

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion Jenna Bedford, of Kenai Reindeer Farm, sits next to her reindeer with Juliana Bedford during the Fourth Annual Holiday Cheer Christmas Bazaar at the Old Carrs Mall in Kenai on Saturday.
Callie Giordano’s first grade Mountain View Elementary School students practice literacy skills on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Alaska’s adjusted school spending trails national average, UAA researchers say

Funding for K-12 education is expected to be a top issue in the upcoming legislative session

Callie Giordano’s first grade Mountain View Elementary School students practice literacy skills on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A powerline covered in snow is seen along Murwood Avenue in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Windstorm causes 2 large power outages

The storm was the result of a strong low pressure system moving up from the North Pacific

A powerline covered in snow is seen along Murwood Avenue in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Michael Daniel. (Photo via Daniel for House)

Homer chamber board head enters race for state House

Michael Daniel, a Republican, is challenging Alaska House Rep. Sarah Vance.

Michael Daniel. (Photo via Daniel for House)
The sign in front of the Homer Electric Association building in Kenai, Alaska, as seen on April 1, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)

HEA rates to increase Jan. 1

The cooperative’s last rate increase took effect in April 2020

The sign in front of the Homer Electric Association building in Kenai, Alaska, as seen on April 1, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)
AP Photo/Erin Hooley An eight-week-old sea otter rescued from Seldovia, Alaska, peaks out of his enclosure at Shedd Aquarium Wednesday, Dec. 6 in Chicago. The otter was found alone and malnourished and was taken to the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward which contacted Shedd, and the Chicago aquarium was able to take the otter in. He will remain quarantined for a few months while he learns to groom and eat solid foods before being introduced to Shedd’s five other sea otters.

Seldovia sea otter pup has a new home at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium

The northern sea otter was found alone and malnourished and taken to the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward

AP Photo/Erin Hooley An eight-week-old sea otter rescued from Seldovia, Alaska, peaks out of his enclosure at Shedd Aquarium Wednesday, Dec. 6 in Chicago. The otter was found alone and malnourished and was taken to the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward which contacted Shedd, and the Chicago aquarium was able to take the otter in. He will remain quarantined for a few months while he learns to groom and eat solid foods before being introduced to Shedd’s five other sea otters.
Students from Nikiski Middle/High School and Kenai Middle School join Jesse Bjorkman, Ken Felchle and volunteers from the Kenai Peninsula Chapter of Safari Club International on an educational moose hunt in Nikiski, Alaska, on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. (Photo provided by Jesse Bjorkman)

Lessons in big game hunting

Students learn to ethically and responsibly harvest a moose and process its meat for food

Students from Nikiski Middle/High School and Kenai Middle School join Jesse Bjorkman, Ken Felchle and volunteers from the Kenai Peninsula Chapter of Safari Club International on an educational moose hunt in Nikiski, Alaska, on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. (Photo provided by Jesse Bjorkman)
Cook Inletkeeper Energy Policy Analyst Ben Boettger presents information about retrofitting homes to be more energy efficient at the Cook Inletkeeper Community Action Studio on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Inletkeeper turns focus to energy for next community climate solution

The meeting marked the official kickoff of Cook Inletkeeper’s fourth installment in its local solution series

Cook Inletkeeper Energy Policy Analyst Ben Boettger presents information about retrofitting homes to be more energy efficient at the Cook Inletkeeper Community Action Studio on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meet on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

New school board group will study 4-day school week

The group will meet regularly until next July, when committee members will present their findings to the full board

Members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meet on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, answers questions from constituents during a legislative update at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Ruffridge predicts school funding, energy security will be top issues in Juneau next session

Ruffridge has represented District 7, which includes Kenai and Soldotna, in the Alaska House of Representatives since January

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, answers questions from constituents during a legislative update at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A pie chart shows Kenai Peninsula Borough School District expenditures by object for the current fiscal year. (Chart via KPBSD)

Explanation of how KPBSD organizes funds caps ‘Budget 101’ series

Finance Director Elizabeth Hayes delivered the presentation to school board members during a Monday work session

A pie chart shows Kenai Peninsula Borough School District expenditures by object for the current fiscal year. (Chart via KPBSD)
Members of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee raise hands to vote in favor of a proposal during a meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Advisory committee supports protections for lake trout and king salmon

Advisory committee recommendations will be weighed by the State Board of Fisheries alongside public testimony as they deliberate on each proposal

Members of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee raise hands to vote in favor of a proposal during a meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai Peninsula College Main Entrance on Aug. 18, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Inside the Iditarod

Showcase to feature stories from champion, event photographer

The Kenai Peninsula College Main Entrance on Aug. 18, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Paul Gebhardt is photographed on March 24, 1996. (M. Scott Moon/Peninsula Clarion)

Kasilof musher dies at 67

Paul Gebhardt was a 21-time participant in the Iditarod

Paul Gebhardt is photographed on March 24, 1996. (M. Scott Moon/Peninsula Clarion)
Santa Claus hugs Paul Cook during Christmas in the Park festivities at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna brings holiday cheer

Christmas in the Park drew hundreds to meet Santa Claus, go on sleigh rides, sip hot cocoa and listen to music

Santa Claus hugs Paul Cook during Christmas in the Park festivities at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)