Kenai Peninsula

Sockeye salmon. (Photo via Alaska Department of Fish and Game)

Sockeye fishing opens Friday

The run might be a little slow the first week.

Sockeye salmon. (Photo via Alaska Department of Fish and Game)
Furie Operating Alaska’s Julius R Platform, installed in 2015 in Cook Inlet, is seen in this courtesy photo. (Furie Operating Alaska/courtesy)

State sells oil and gas leases covering 21,000 acres of Cook Inlet

Furie Operating Alaska, LLC, HEX, LLC and Strong Energy Resources, LLC were all identified as bidders.

Furie Operating Alaska’s Julius R Platform, installed in 2015 in Cook Inlet, is seen in this courtesy photo. (Furie Operating Alaska/courtesy)
People participate in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s BARK ranger program on June 5, 2021 for National Trails Day in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo provided by Michelle Ostrowski)

Refuge celebrates National Trails Day with visitor center reopening

The refuge’s visitor center has been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

People participate in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s BARK ranger program on June 5, 2021 for National Trails Day in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo provided by Michelle Ostrowski)
Homer Halibut Tournament logo

Homer Halibut Tournament scheduled Sept. 24-25

The Homer Chamber of Commerce is hosting the first annual Homer Halibut Tournament Sept. 24-25

Homer Halibut Tournament logo
This is an early promotional photo of Merrill Mael, an enthusiastic Anchorage radio personality with a Hollywood background. Mael was hired by the Central Kenai Peninsula Hospital Association as its hospital project manager in the fall of 1963. (Photo from www.theradiohistorian.org)

A hospital is born, slowly (Part 4)

Dr. Paul Isaak, Soldotna physician and a founder of the hospital project, believed that centrality of location was crucial.

This is an early promotional photo of Merrill Mael, an enthusiastic Anchorage radio personality with a Hollywood background. Mael was hired by the Central Kenai Peninsula Hospital Association as its hospital project manager in the fall of 1963. (Photo from www.theradiohistorian.org)
Shawn Dick of Talkneetna carries a fresh catch out of the water while dipnetting on the Kenai Beach on July 10, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Online reporting required for personal use fishing

Harvest and participation reporting must be done online by no later than Aug. 15, 2021.

Shawn Dick of Talkneetna carries a fresh catch out of the water while dipnetting on the Kenai Beach on July 10, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Mount Redoubt is seen from the Kenai Bluff on July 20, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (Clarion file)

Kenai tourism granted more than $400,000 for summer marketing campaign

The grant is designed to encourage Alaskan communities to promote COVID-safe travel in the state this summer.

Mount Redoubt is seen from the Kenai Bluff on July 20, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (Clarion file)
A fried egg, crushed seaweed paper, green onions and sesame seeds top this classic Korean kimchi dish. (Photo by Tress Dale/Peninsula Clarion)

On the strawberry patch: A meal to change your life

Kimchi fried rice a taste features the most iconic of Korean staples.

A fried egg, crushed seaweed paper, green onions and sesame seeds top this classic Korean kimchi dish. (Photo by Tress Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
The Swan Lake Fire can be seen from above on Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Alaska Wildland Fire Information)

Burn suspension lifted on Kenai Peninsula

Burn permits were suspended on May 24 because of weather conditions.

The Swan Lake Fire can be seen from above on Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Alaska Wildland Fire Information)
Kids take part in Boys & Girls Club summer activities in this undated photo. (Photo courtesy Boys & Girls Clubs of the Kenai Peninsula)

Grants issued for youth summer camps

Many summer camps on the central Kenai Peninsula were either scaled back or canceled altogether because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Kids take part in Boys & Girls Club summer activities in this undated photo. (Photo courtesy Boys & Girls Clubs of the Kenai Peninsula)
Photo courtesy of Gloria Wisecarver
Dr. Robert Struthers, Kenai’s third resident physician, and Kenai dentist Dr. Charles Bailie converse in Struthers’ office in Kenai in July 1966.

A hospital is born, slowly (Part 3)

All did not go as planned.

Photo courtesy of Gloria Wisecarver
Dr. Robert Struthers, Kenai’s third resident physician, and Kenai dentist Dr. Charles Bailie converse in Struthers’ office in Kenai in July 1966.
This photo taken Beryl Air pilot Stephanie Greer on Friday, May 21, over Grewingk Glacier and Glacier Spit shows the mesodinium rubrum bloom to the left as contrasted with the normal ocean water of Kachemak Bay near Homer. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Greer/Beryl Air)

Plankton bloom brings red hues to Kachemak Bay

Though plankton turned Kachemak Bay pale red, the bloom isn’t harmful, scientists say.

This photo taken Beryl Air pilot Stephanie Greer on Friday, May 21, over Grewingk Glacier and Glacier Spit shows the mesodinium rubrum bloom to the left as contrasted with the normal ocean water of Kachemak Bay near Homer. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Greer/Beryl Air)
The Soldotna Professional Pharmacy and Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management offered the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccines at the walk-in clinic at Soldotna Prep School on Friday, May 14, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)

Alaska COVID-19 cases reach lows not seen since last summer

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services announced 45 new cases on Thursday.

The Soldotna Professional Pharmacy and Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management offered the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccines at the walk-in clinic at Soldotna Prep School on Friday, May 14, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)
Tthe Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Soldotna, Alaska, is pictured on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Wildlife Refuge to open its doors for summer

The refuge has been closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic for over a year.

Tthe Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Soldotna, Alaska, is pictured on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
The Swan Lake Fire can be seen from above on Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Alaska Wildland Fire Information)

Burn permits suspended on peninsula

Current conditions in the Kenai Peninsula Borough increase the chances of surface fires.

The Swan Lake Fire can be seen from above on Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Alaska Wildland Fire Information)
Dr. Elmer Gaede, seen here leaning against the Soldotna medical clinic in the mid-1960s, joined the central peninsula medical establishment in July 1961. (Photo courtesy of the Gaede family)

Peninsula History: A hospital is born, slowly (Part 2)

Not far from upper Binkley Street in Soldotna in 1968 stood the unfinished shell of what central peninsula residents still hoped would one day become a hospital.

Dr. Elmer Gaede, seen here leaning against the Soldotna medical clinic in the mid-1960s, joined the central peninsula medical establishment in July 1961. (Photo courtesy of the Gaede family)
Kids enjoy homemade popsicles on May 16, 2021. (Photo courtesy Tressa Dale)

On the Strawberry Patch: Make memories of summer

Popsicles are easy as can be and can even be a great way to sneak in some nutrition if you’ve got picky eaters.

Kids enjoy homemade popsicles on May 16, 2021. (Photo courtesy Tressa Dale)
A ringed seal rescued from Dutch Harbor is held at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska, on May 12, 2021. (Photo courtesy Alaska SeaLife Center)

SeaLife Center admits ringed seal from Dutch Harbor

Dutch Harbor is outside of the normal range for ringed seals.

A ringed seal rescued from Dutch Harbor is held at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska, on May 12, 2021. (Photo courtesy Alaska SeaLife Center)
A DNR map of navigable and non-navigable waters are seen on the Kenai Peninsula. (Screenshot)

State unveils maps in effort to ‘unlock’ Alaska waters

The maps are part of an initiative to assert control of state lands.

A DNR map of navigable and non-navigable waters are seen on the Kenai Peninsula. (Screenshot)
This dog team, loaded with mail, was en route between Moose Pass and Kenai, circa 1920s. (Photo courtesy of Jim Taylor.)

You’ve got mail, Kenai … eventually

Receiving mail a century ago in roadless Kenai, Alaska, was no easy matter.

This dog team, loaded with mail, was en route between Moose Pass and Kenai, circa 1920s. (Photo courtesy of Jim Taylor.)