Eric Thomason finishes first in the men's 20-kilometer fat bike at the 6th Annual Tour of Tsalteshi on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, at Tsalteshi Trails just outside of Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Skiers, fat bikers tour Tsalteshi

The 6th Annual Tour of Tsalteshi changed this year to cater more to every athlete. That didn’t mean the event at Tsalteshi Trails just outside… Continue reading

Eric Thomason finishes first in the men's 20-kilometer fat bike at the 6th Annual Tour of Tsalteshi on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, at Tsalteshi Trails just outside of Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
A brewer from Arkose Brewery fills a tasting cup during Frozen RiverFest on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023 at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Frozen RiverFest sees ‘perfect’ weather, strong turnout

Hundreds turned out at Soldotna Creek Park on Saturday for the 8th Annual Frozen RiverFest, put on by the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce. In lightly… Continue reading

A brewer from Arkose Brewery fills a tasting cup during Frozen RiverFest on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023 at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Flowers bloom at Soldotna City Hall on Wednesday, June 24, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna offers city manager gig to Seward’s Bower

The City of Soldotna is extending an offer of employment to Janette Bower to become the next city manager following a decision by city council… Continue reading

Flowers bloom at Soldotna City Hall on Wednesday, June 24, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School budget debate draws attention to home-school enrollment

As the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District works to fill a projected gap between revenues and expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year, fresh attention is… Continue reading

The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
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Central peninsula to celebrate Hockey Week

Hockey is being celebrated with a variety of games and events all this week run by the Kenai Peninsula Hockey Association, the Kenai River Brown… Continue reading

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Alaska Department of Fish and Game Northern Kenai Peninsula Area Manager Colton Lipka shares information with Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Council Chair Mike Crawford as the advisory council deliberates their position on a proposal to the Board of Fish during a meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture in Kenai, Alaska on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Advisory council wraps up Fish and Game recommendations

The Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Council met Thursday to discuss their position on the final set of proposals to the Board of Fish and… Continue reading

Alaska Department of Fish and Game Northern Kenai Peninsula Area Manager Colton Lipka shares information with Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Council Chair Mike Crawford as the advisory council deliberates their position on a proposal to the Board of Fish during a meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture in Kenai, Alaska on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Eli Castro, Blake Gillis and Kaizen Fuller either celebrate victory or cry out in defeat at the end of a practice match of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate played ahead of a scheduled game at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Esports back with new games, players

High school esports, in Alaska and locally in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, are growing. More games are being played and more students are… Continue reading

Eli Castro, Blake Gillis and Kaizen Fuller either celebrate victory or cry out in defeat at the end of a practice match of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate played ahead of a scheduled game at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Nurse Sherra Pritchard gives Madyson Knudsen a bandage at the Kenai Public Health Center after the ten-year-old received her first COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

COVID-19 stable in AK; flu and RSV in steep decline

Flu and respiratory syncytial virus have both seen a steep decline in Alaska, health officials said on a recent Public Health ECHO, held via Zoom… Continue reading

Nurse Sherra Pritchard gives Madyson Knudsen a bandage at the Kenai Public Health Center after the ten-year-old received her first COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Finance Director Liz Hayes presents information on the district’s fiscal year 2024 budget at Kenai Central High School on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

District: Lobby lawmakers for school funding

The district is looking at a $13.1 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Finance Director Liz Hayes presents information on the district’s fiscal year 2024 budget at Kenai Central High School on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Carol Beecher, the new director of the Alaska Division of Elections, speaks during a news conference on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. Beecher’s appointment as director was announced a day earlier by Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who participated in a Thursday news conference by phone. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

Dahlstrom defends pick for top Alaska elections role

Beecher most recently led the state’s child support division

Carol Beecher, the new director of the Alaska Division of Elections, speaks during a news conference on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. Beecher’s appointment as director was announced a day earlier by Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who participated in a Thursday news conference by phone. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
Anchorage School District superintendent Dr. Jharrett Bryantt speaks with a reporter in the library at Denali Montessori Elementary School on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. Alaska’s largest school district repeatedly and inappropriately secluded and restrained students with disabilities, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday following an investigation into alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Loren Holmes/Anchorage Daily News via AP)

DOJ faults Alaska district for use of seclusion, restraints

The Justice Department investigated alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Anchorage School District superintendent Dr. Jharrett Bryantt speaks with a reporter in the library at Denali Montessori Elementary School on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. Alaska’s largest school district repeatedly and inappropriately secluded and restrained students with disabilities, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday following an investigation into alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Loren Holmes/Anchorage Daily News via AP)
Sharon Isaak speaks during a celebration of Elizabeth Peratrovich Day at the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s Tyotkas Elder Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenaitze honors ‘forerunner for racial equality’

Kenaitze Elder Center celebrates Elizabeth Peratrovich Day with speeches, drumming

Sharon Isaak speaks during a celebration of Elizabeth Peratrovich Day at the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s Tyotkas Elder Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Central High School student Abby Castillo shadows Officer Megan Swangel at the Kenai Police Station in Kenai, Alaska, during Job Shadow Day on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (Cadance Bitterich/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai students ‘shadow’ professionals for annual career event

KCHS program connects high schoolers to community workplaces

Kenai Central High School student Abby Castillo shadows Officer Megan Swangel at the Kenai Police Station in Kenai, Alaska, during Job Shadow Day on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (Cadance Bitterich/Peninsula Clarion)
AP Photo/Becky Bohrer 
People rally in support of renewable energy policies, such as strengthening a renewable energy fund, across from the Alaska Capitol on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. Some environmentalists are skeptical of legislation proposed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy that aims to capitalize on carbon storage and carbon markets.

Alaska carbon plan: Boost state coffers without cutting oil

The newest idea would have the state capitalize on its oil and gas expertise to tap into a developing industry — carbon storage

AP Photo/Becky Bohrer 
People rally in support of renewable energy policies, such as strengthening a renewable energy fund, across from the Alaska Capitol on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. Some environmentalists are skeptical of legislation proposed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy that aims to capitalize on carbon storage and carbon markets.
Signs supporting Kenai Peninsula Borough mayoral candidates Peter Micciche and Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings are staked in the snow at the intersection of the Kenai Spur and Sterling highways on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Signs supporting Kenai Peninsula Borough mayoral candidates Peter Micciche and Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings are staked in the snow at the intersection of the Kenai Spur and Sterling highways on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Teresa Minnich, right, waits to help voters feed their ballot into a tabulation machine at Soldotna Prep School on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Micciche leads mayor’s race

Election workers reported sluggish voter turnout

Teresa Minnich, right, waits to help voters feed their ballot into a tabulation machine at Soldotna Prep School on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
The badge for the Kenai Police Department

Kenai man charged with murdering woman in hotel room

The man is charged with one count of murder in the first degree and two counts of murder in the second degree

The badge for the Kenai Police Department
Sara Mahood, dressed as the Wolf, skis at the 19th annual Ski For Women on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, at Tsalteshi Trails just outside of Soldotna, Alaska. Mahood was part of the winning costume of "Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf." Not pictured, Leslie Boyd was Little Red Riding Hood, Sue Seggerman was the Woodcutter and Gigi Banas was Grandma. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Ski For Women sees 74 finishers

With the Wolf on the prowl, 74 finishers — even Little Red Riding Hood — stayed on the path and finished the 19th Annual Ski… Continue reading

Sara Mahood, dressed as the Wolf, skis at the 19th annual Ski For Women on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, at Tsalteshi Trails just outside of Soldotna, Alaska. Mahood was part of the winning costume of "Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf." Not pictured, Leslie Boyd was Little Red Riding Hood, Sue Seggerman was the Woodcutter and Gigi Banas was Grandma. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Patrons listen to live music during Frozen RiverFest on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Frozen RiverFest to feature drinks, music and fireworks

The annual event is family friendly, despite centering on its offering of brews

Patrons listen to live music during Frozen RiverFest on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)