News

Raymond Bradbury preserves his salmon while dipnetting in the mouth of the Kenai River on Saturday, July 10, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)

Fish and Game projects ‘average’ sockeye run for 2023 season

Annual projection and review of last season published last week

Raymond Bradbury preserves his salmon while dipnetting in the mouth of the Kenai River on Saturday, July 10, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)
The Kasilof River is seen from the Kasilof River Recreation Area, July 30, 2019, in Kasilof, Alaska. A section of the Kasilof River estuary called “the Dinosaur Parcel,” sized at 309 acres, has been added to the Alaska State Parks system for conservation. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Kasilof River parcel added to Alaska State Parks

The Dinosaur Parcel, named for its unique shape, has long been prioritized for conservation

The Kasilof River is seen from the Kasilof River Recreation Area, July 30, 2019, in Kasilof, Alaska. A section of the Kasilof River estuary called “the Dinosaur Parcel,” sized at 309 acres, has been added to the Alaska State Parks system for conservation. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Mountain View Elementary School teacher Kristin Perkins demonstrates with students “phonemic awareness” with practices from Heggerty during a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

District to debut new English language curriculum this fall

The curriculum was selected to align with with state standards and the Alaska Reads Act

Mountain View Elementary School teacher Kristin Perkins demonstrates with students “phonemic awareness” with practices from Heggerty during a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Mandy Iworrigan via AP In this photo provided by Mandy Iworrigan is Nanuq, in the middle with Brooklyn Faith, after the 1-year-old Australian shepherd was returned to Gambell, on April 6.

Dog arrives home after sea-ice odyssey

About a month after Nanuq disappeared, people in Wales, 150 miles northeast of Savoonga on Alaska’s western coast, began posting pictures online of what they described as a lost dog

Mandy Iworrigan via AP In this photo provided by Mandy Iworrigan is Nanuq, in the middle with Brooklyn Faith, after the 1-year-old Australian shepherd was returned to Gambell, on April 6.
AP Photo / Becky Bohrer Mitchell Thomas Watley, right, listens to his attorney Nick Polasky before a scheduled court hearing on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. A preliminary hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday for Watley, a children’s book illustrator, was pushed to April 21. Watley has been accused of terroristic threatening after authorities said he posted in locations in Juneau transphobic notes that referenced shooting children.

Hearing pushed back for Alaska illustrator on threat charge

Mitchell Thomas Watley, 47, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday

  • Apr 11, 2023
  • By Becky Bohrer Associated Press
  • State News
AP Photo / Becky Bohrer Mitchell Thomas Watley, right, listens to his attorney Nick Polasky before a scheduled court hearing on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. A preliminary hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday for Watley, a children’s book illustrator, was pushed to April 21. Watley has been accused of terroristic threatening after authorities said he posted in locations in Juneau transphobic notes that referenced shooting children.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meets on Monday, April 10, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Connections looks to boost home-school enrollment

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche has pointed to state money that goes to non-KPBSD home-schooled students

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meets on Monday, April 10, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
From left: Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education member Penny Vadla; Assistant Superintendent Kari Dendurent; Board members Jason Tauriainen and Matt Morse; and student representative Ashley Dahlman participate in a board meeting on Monday, April 11, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School board sends KPBSD budget, with cuts, to borough assembly

Among the cuts put forth were the elimination of theater technicians and pool supervisors

From left: Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education member Penny Vadla; Assistant Superintendent Kari Dendurent; Board members Jason Tauriainen and Matt Morse; and student representative Ashley Dahlman participate in a board meeting on Monday, April 11, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

COVID-19: Local cases remain low

In the Kenai Peninsula Borough, 13 cases were reported this week

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
Donna Weeks volunteers at the Central Peninsula Hospital Gift Shop in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Hospital volunteer program struggles to bounce back

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the volunteer program at Central Peninsula Hospital boasted a team of around 250.

Donna Weeks volunteers at the Central Peninsula Hospital Gift Shop in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska State Troopers logo.

Soldotna man sentenced with 31 years for 2021 DUI manslaughter

The sentence was a result of a plea agreement

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Jake Dye / Peninsula Clarion Monica Flores and Caia Bock cut a ribbon from the front of new post office boxes at Shipping Zone in Kenai on Saturday.

Shipping Zone adds more P.O. boxes

The business held a ribbon-cutting Saturday for an expanded offering of post office boxes

Jake Dye / Peninsula Clarion Monica Flores and Caia Bock cut a ribbon from the front of new post office boxes at Shipping Zone in Kenai on Saturday.
Ashlyn O’Hara / Peninsula Clarion Soldotna High School Principal Sargeant Truesdell speaks during the school’s commencement ceremony on May 18, 2022, in Soldotna.

SoHi Principal named regional Principal of the Year

The award honors educational leaders who play a pivotal role in student success

Ashlyn O’Hara / Peninsula Clarion Soldotna High School Principal Sargeant Truesdell speaks during the school’s commencement ceremony on May 18, 2022, in Soldotna.
Peter Micciche (second from left) is sworn in as mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Micciche reflects on taking helm at ‘rudderless’ borough

Micciche cruised to victory in the Feb. 14 Kenai Peninsula Borough mayoral special election

Peter Micciche (second from left) is sworn in as mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Department of Fish and Game Northern Kenai Peninsula Area Manager Colton Lipka speaks to the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee during a meeting on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Fish and Game releases memo on Cook Inlet escapement goals

The information is intended to be used during a board work session next year

Department of Fish and Game Northern Kenai Peninsula Area Manager Colton Lipka speaks to the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee during a meeting on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Acting Kenai Peninsula Borough Clerk Michele Turner, left, accepts a ballot from Richard Derkevorkian during an assembly meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly considers resuming annual meetings in Homer, Seward

The assembly currently meets at the George A. Navarre Administration Building in Soldotna

Acting Kenai Peninsula Borough Clerk Michele Turner, left, accepts a ballot from Richard Derkevorkian during an assembly meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Suwannasa Piwon, right, stands at the counter and greets guests during a soft opening held Friday, April 7, 2023, at Siam Noodles and Food in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Authenticity a catalyst for growth at local Thai restaurant

Siam Noodles and Food opens in new location, credits community support and dedication to authentic Thai food

Suwannasa Piwon, right, stands at the counter and greets guests during a soft opening held Friday, April 7, 2023, at Siam Noodles and Food in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A tripod set by the Soldotna and Kenai Rotary Clubs stands over the ice of the Kenai River in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai River Ice Classic to move forward

The classic, inspired by the annual Nenana Ice Classic, would involve guessing when the ice would move on the Kenai River

A tripod set by the Soldotna and Kenai Rotary Clubs stands over the ice of the Kenai River in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
In this Thursday, April 6, 2023, image provided by Providence Alaska, a moose stands inside a Providence Alaska Health Park medical building in Anchorage, Alaska. The moose chomped on plants in the lobby until security was able to shoo it out, but not before people stopped by to take photos of the moose. (Providence Alaska via AP)

Moose feasts on lobby plants in Anchorage hospital building

A young moose trudging through the snow looking for a meal spotted green plants in the lobby of a medical building

  • Apr 7, 2023
  • By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press
  • State News
In this Thursday, April 6, 2023, image provided by Providence Alaska, a moose stands inside a Providence Alaska Health Park medical building in Anchorage, Alaska. The moose chomped on plants in the lobby until security was able to shoo it out, but not before people stopped by to take photos of the moose. (Providence Alaska via AP)
The plans for the Triumvirate Theater’s new building are seen in this mockup. (Courtesy of Joe Rizzo)

Assembly backs Triumvirate rebuild

Assembly backs Triumvirate rebuild

The plans for the Triumvirate Theater’s new building are seen in this mockup. (Courtesy of Joe Rizzo)
Snow is cleared from the road during the start of another major snowfall on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, outside of the Peninsula Clarion offices in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Several inches of snow forecast for this weekend

A “complex area of low pressure” will move into Southcentral Alaska this weekend

Snow is cleared from the road during the start of another major snowfall on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, outside of the Peninsula Clarion offices in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)