Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche (fifth from left) celebrates the receipt of extrication equipment alongside staff from Kenai Peninsula fire departments and the Girdwood Fire Department during a press event at the Girdwood Fire Department on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, in Girdwood, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor’s Office)

Fire departments celebrate arrival of new equipment

The extrication equipment was donated to fire stations in Girdwood, Bear Creek, Homer, Cooper Landing, Soldotna, Kenai, Seward, Hope, Fritz Creek and Ninilchik

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche (fifth from left) celebrates the receipt of extrication equipment alongside staff from Kenai Peninsula fire departments and the Girdwood Fire Department during a press event at the Girdwood Fire Department on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, in Girdwood, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor’s Office)
Alaska State Troopers logo.

Anchor Point collision kills 1, leaves 2 in hospital

The collision happened around Mile 160 of the Sterling Highway

Alaska State Troopers logo.
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

COVID-19: Cases continue to fall statewide

13 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Alaska

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
A sign welcomes employees and visitors at the Kenai Peninsula Borough administration building on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly to get first crack at proposed budget Tuesday

Lower property taxes and full funding for education are included in a draft version of the budget

A sign welcomes employees and visitors at the Kenai Peninsula Borough administration building on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna City Manager Stephanie Queen is recognized for her contributions to the city during a council meeting on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

‘A privilege to do this work’

Stephanie Queen closes out term as Soldotna city manager in emotional council meeting

Soldotna City Manager Stephanie Queen is recognized for her contributions to the city during a council meeting on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A moose walks into the lobby of the Kenai Cinemas in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. (Photo courtesy Kenai Cinemas)

Video of movie theater moose encounter goes viral

As of Tuesday evening, the video had amassed more than 2.3 million views on TikTok

A moose walks into the lobby of the Kenai Cinemas in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. (Photo courtesy Kenai Cinemas)
The Soldotna City Council convenes on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The Soldotna City Council convenes on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A sockeye salmon’s tail protrudes above the edge of a bin on a setnet site July 11, 2016, near Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)

Local fishers speak up for buyback bill

S.B. 82, sponsored by Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, would create the voluntary program

A sockeye salmon’s tail protrudes above the edge of a bin on a setnet site July 11, 2016, near Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)
Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection staff stand with Smokey Bear at the 43rd Annual Home Show hosted by the Kenai Peninsula Builders Association on Sunday, April 23, 2023, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

From fire safety to fencing, home show vendors show off their wares

The Kenai Peninsula Builders Association was held this weekend at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex

Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection staff stand with Smokey Bear at the 43rd Annual Home Show hosted by the Kenai Peninsula Builders Association on Sunday, April 23, 2023, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Rose Carney organizes supplies at the food pantry at Harvest Christian Fellowship Church in Eagle River, Alaska, on April 17, 2023. Carney and thousands of Alaskans who depend on government assistance have not received food stamps for months, exacerbating a hunger crisis. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Food stamp woes worsen hunger in Alaska

The backlog, which began last August, is especially concerning in a state where communities in far-flung areas

  • Apr 24, 2023
  • By Mark Thiessen and Becky Bohrer Associated Press
  • State News
Rose Carney organizes supplies at the food pantry at Harvest Christian Fellowship Church in Eagle River, Alaska, on April 17, 2023. Carney and thousands of Alaskans who depend on government assistance have not received food stamps for months, exacerbating a hunger crisis. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Kenai City Hall on Feb. 20, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai seeks to boost city workers

A work session is set to brainstorm ways to increase the number of people applying for vacant positions with the City of Kenai

Kenai City Hall on Feb. 20, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula reporter Ashlyn O’Hara, Sports Editor Jeff Helminiak and reporter Jake Dye pose with their 2022 Alaska Press Club awards, Monday, April 24, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Clarion writers win 8 Alaska Press Club awards

The Clarion swept the club’s best arts and culture criticism category

Kenai Peninsula reporter Ashlyn O’Hara, Sports Editor Jeff Helminiak and reporter Jake Dye pose with their 2022 Alaska Press Club awards, Monday, April 24, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai Peninsula Borough building in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)

Survey to measure quality of borough services

The seven-question survey asks residents to rate their overall experience with the borough

The Kenai Peninsula Borough building in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)
Soldotna High School student Emerson Kapp, second-place winner, is joined on stage by judge Bruce Jackman as she presents the Kenai Peninsula Maze Board during the 33rd Caring for the Kenai competition at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska on Thursday, April 20, 2023.

Caring for the Kenai winners named at annual environmental event

Ccontest challenges peninsula students to devise ways of improving the environment or preparing for a natural disaster

Soldotna High School student Emerson Kapp, second-place winner, is joined on stage by judge Bruce Jackman as she presents the Kenai Peninsula Maze Board during the 33rd Caring for the Kenai competition at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska on Thursday, April 20, 2023.
A sign offering tips on how to recreate safely around bears can be seen on Thursday, July 1, 2021, on Skilak Lake Road in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Workshops to focus on bear coexistence

Experts will discuss bear attractants, how bear-resistant electric fencing works, and how to get financial assistance

A sign offering tips on how to recreate safely around bears can be seen on Thursday, July 1, 2021, on Skilak Lake Road in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
The Alaska Department of Health And Social Services building is photographed in Juneau in 2021. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Health officials say Alaska falling behind on key cancer screenings

Screenings for breast and cervical cancer in Alaska have been on a downward trend for several years, Anne Remick, the program director for the Section… Continue reading

The Alaska Department of Health And Social Services building is photographed in Juneau in 2021. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna Public Works Director Kyle Kornelis speaks during a Soldotna City Council meeting in December 2022.

Soldotna to consider Kornelis as interim city manager

If appointed, Kornelis would officially serve from April 29 to May 14

Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna Public Works Director Kyle Kornelis speaks during a Soldotna City Council meeting in December 2022.
The Kenai Public Health Center is seen on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Alaska lags national average for childhood vaccinations

All vaccines administered in Alaska are reported to the Alaska Immunization Information System

The Kenai Public Health Center is seen on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Fire Chief Tony Prior presents updates on the city’s spruce bark beetle mitigation efforts to Kenai City Council members during a council meeting on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai to mitigate hazard trees through mid-May

The city last year adopted the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Kenai Fire Chief Tony Prior presents updates on the city’s spruce bark beetle mitigation efforts to Kenai City Council members during a council meeting on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A chart shows the number and type of Alaska residents receiving Medicaid coverage based on either 2022 Alaska Medicaid Claims data (yellow) or 2021 U.S. Census data (orange). More than 260,000 residents are currently enrolled, about 30,000 more than 2020, due to a federal provision that kept states from removing people during the COVID-19 pandemic. That provision ended April 1 and Alaska officials are scheduled review eligibility of all residents enrolled during the next 12 months. (Alaska Division of Public Assistance)

Department of Health to reevaluate every Medicaid beneficiary

The state has to begin redetermination for everyone receiving benefits by March 31

A chart shows the number and type of Alaska residents receiving Medicaid coverage based on either 2022 Alaska Medicaid Claims data (yellow) or 2021 U.S. Census data (orange). More than 260,000 residents are currently enrolled, about 30,000 more than 2020, due to a federal provision that kept states from removing people during the COVID-19 pandemic. That provision ended April 1 and Alaska officials are scheduled review eligibility of all residents enrolled during the next 12 months. (Alaska Division of Public Assistance)