News

No signs of Palmer man who went missing near Hope

A Palmer man who disappeared near Hope was still missing Monday afternoon. Earl “Rocky” Ashworth III, 56, walked away from his campsite near Mile 56… Continue reading

Borough to test emergency alert system beginning Wednesday

The Kenai Peninsula Borough will be testing its new emergency alert system this week, the Office of Emergency Management said in a release Monday. KPB… Continue reading

Sculptor Nichole Hoop works on a carving during the Alaska Wild Salmon Day festivities in Soldotna Creek Park on Friday in Soldotna. The event, organized by the conservation nonprofit Cook Inletkeeper, featured salmon-themed art, servings of salmon chowder, readings by fisher-poets, and music by Tyson James and Motown Fever. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Photo: In praise of salmon

By Ben Boettger Peninsula Clarion… Continue reading

Sculptor Nichole Hoop works on a carving during the Alaska Wild Salmon Day festivities in Soldotna Creek Park on Friday in Soldotna. The event, organized by the conservation nonprofit Cook Inletkeeper, featured salmon-themed art, servings of salmon chowder, readings by fisher-poets, and music by Tyson James and Motown Fever. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
Cierra Brassfield, Edward Welch, Mika Brassfield, Shari Franke, Arlene Franke, Danny MacIntosh and Master Bud Draper pose with their medals and plaques after returning from the World Tang Soo Do Championships on Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018, near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Martial arts students return from world championships

Seven students of Soldotna Martial Arts have returned from the World Tang Soo Do championships. Two students, Mika Brassfield and Shari Franke, received medals for… Continue reading

Cierra Brassfield, Edward Welch, Mika Brassfield, Shari Franke, Arlene Franke, Danny MacIntosh and Master Bud Draper pose with their medals and plaques after returning from the World Tang Soo Do Championships on Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018, near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Three of this year’s five Republican gubernatorial candidates — Mead Treadwell (left), Michael Sheldon, and Mike Dunleavy — speak to members of the Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce on Wednesday at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna. In the primary election on August 21, voters will choose a candidate to run on the party ballot in the November 6 general election. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Republican gubernatorial candidates discuss issues at Soldotna forum

Three of this year’s five Republican gubernatorial candidates discussed their plans for state finance, capital spending, and the Alaska LNG project during a Wednesday forum… Continue reading

Three of this year’s five Republican gubernatorial candidates — Mead Treadwell (left), Michael Sheldon, and Mike Dunleavy — speak to members of the Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce on Wednesday at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna. In the primary election on August 21, voters will choose a candidate to run on the party ballot in the November 6 general election. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
Attendees enjoy a game of chess at the Alaska Chess fundraiser on July 29 at Fireweed Meadows Golf Course in Anchor Point. (Photo courtesy of Colleen Evanco)

Local nonprofit expanding chess program to central peninsula

A local nonprofit that’s teaching children to play chess is expanding its reach to the central peninsula. The nonprofit, Alaska Chess, began as a chess… Continue reading

Attendees enjoy a game of chess at the Alaska Chess fundraiser on July 29 at Fireweed Meadows Golf Course in Anchor Point. (Photo courtesy of Colleen Evanco)
Fishermen cast for silver salmon from a boardwalk near the Soldotna Visitors Center on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Coming up silver on the Kenai

The silver salmon tease the fishermen on the Kenai River. A few inches away from an angler’s bobber, a silver salmon’s dark back will flick… Continue reading

Fishermen cast for silver salmon from a boardwalk near the Soldotna Visitors Center on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Alaska opioid deaths increased by 77 percent in last decade, report says

The rate of Alaskans who died from opioid overdoses increased 77 percent over the last decade, with the highest overall rate of deaths reported in… Continue reading

This concept drawing shows the proposed new location for Central Emergency Services’ Station 1 on East Redoubt Road in Soldotna, Alaska. Central Emergency Services, the main emergency medical and fire service provider for the central Kenai Peninsula communities of Sterling, Kasilof, Kalifornsky, Soldotna and Funny River, is exploring options to move its central station from its current home on Binkley Street near the intersection with the Sterling Highway to provide more room and an updated facility. (Courtesy the Kenai Peninsula Borough)

Borough to consider land purchase for CES station

Central Emergency Services is moving forward with plans to purchase land for a new central fire station in Soldotna. The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly introduced… Continue reading

This concept drawing shows the proposed new location for Central Emergency Services’ Station 1 on East Redoubt Road in Soldotna, Alaska. Central Emergency Services, the main emergency medical and fire service provider for the central Kenai Peninsula communities of Sterling, Kasilof, Kalifornsky, Soldotna and Funny River, is exploring options to move its central station from its current home on Binkley Street near the intersection with the Sterling Highway to provide more room and an updated facility. (Courtesy the Kenai Peninsula Borough)
John Skidmore, the director of the Alaska Department of Law’s criminal division, addresses a crowd gathered for a town hall meeting on crime at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center on Monday, Aug. 6, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Despite reform bills, central peninsula residents still frustrated by crime

Though multiple bills have overhauled the criminal justice system in Alaska in the past few years, the tone of discussion on crime on the central… Continue reading

John Skidmore, the director of the Alaska Department of Law’s criminal division, addresses a crowd gathered for a town hall meeting on crime at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center on Monday, Aug. 6, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Retired Colonel Bob Doehl, Deputy Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs, speaks in front of the wounded veterans’ memorial in Soldotna Creek Park during a ceremony organized by the Order of the Purple Heart’s Chapter 830 on Tuesday, August 7, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. In 2010 the Alaska Legislature designated August 7 as Purple Heart Day in recognition of wounded military veterans. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Honoring the wounded

By BEN BOETTGER Peninsula Clarion… Continue reading

Retired Colonel Bob Doehl, Deputy Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs, speaks in front of the wounded veterans’ memorial in Soldotna Creek Park during a ceremony organized by the Order of the Purple Heart’s Chapter 830 on Tuesday, August 7, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. In 2010 the Alaska Legislature designated August 7 as Purple Heart Day in recognition of wounded military veterans. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
Man indicted for third time in 2014 Christmas Day car crash

Man indicted for third time in 2014 Christmas Day car crash

Kenai prosecutors are trying for a third time to convict a man involved in a 2014 Christmas Day car crash that caused a young girl… Continue reading

Man indicted for third time in 2014 Christmas Day car crash
Diane Hooper opened TipsyGypsy Coffee Shop earlier this summer to pursue her passion for food and people on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Phot by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Shop Talk: TipsyGypsy Coffe Shop

After selling Veronica’s Cafe about three years ago, Diane Hooper still found she had a passion for food and people, prompting her to open TipsyGypsy… Continue reading

Diane Hooper opened TipsyGypsy Coffee Shop earlier this summer to pursue her passion for food and people on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Phot by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

New restaurant to come to Kenai Airport

The new business Brothers’ Cafe is moving into the Kenai Municipal Airport terminal’s restaurant space. Jim Hamilton, who co-owns the new business with his brother,… Continue reading

This screenshot taken from Google Maps shows Koyuktolik Bay, known as Dog Fish Bay, south of Homer on the Kenai Peninsula. Four commercial fishermen from the Homer area are charged with illegally commercial fishing in Dog Fish Bay. (Courtesy Alphabet Inc)

4 charged in illegal commercial fishing near Homer

The state has filed charges against four commercial fishermen accused of illegal harvesting salmon in a bay south of Homer. Alaska Wildlife Troopers wrote in… Continue reading

This screenshot taken from Google Maps shows Koyuktolik Bay, known as Dog Fish Bay, south of Homer on the Kenai Peninsula. Four commercial fishermen from the Homer area are charged with illegally commercial fishing in Dog Fish Bay. (Courtesy Alphabet Inc)
Construction equipment sits among dirt piles outside the Trinity Christian Center on Monday, Aug. 6, 2018 near Soldotna. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Work in progress

A fresh coat of concrete and new classrooms are going up at the Trinity Christian Center on the hill outside Soldotna. The church, recognizable for… Continue reading

Construction equipment sits among dirt piles outside the Trinity Christian Center on Monday, Aug. 6, 2018 near Soldotna. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
In this May 13, 2017 photo, the snowy Chugach Mountains stand over Vagt Lake near Moose Pass, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Draft revision to Chugach Forest plan released

The U.S. Forest Service is moving into the next phase of rewriting its plan for the Chugach National Forest and is seeking public input. The… Continue reading

In this May 13, 2017 photo, the snowy Chugach Mountains stand over Vagt Lake near Moose Pass, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

People from across the Peninsula celebrated three days of fish, love and music over the weekend at the eighth-annual Salmonfest in Ninilchik. Hosted at the… Continue reading

The Kenai Airport Commission has proposed that this sign, designed by the Kenai Neon Sign Company, face the Kenai Spur Highway from the annual wildflower field that Kenai’s city government plants in the vacant municipal land between the Spur and Lawton Drive. The Kenai Airport Commission has been developing plans for the sign — which would occupy a city-owned property legally dedicated to support the Kenai Municipal Airport and long contested between residential neighbors and prospective developers — since October 2017. The Kenai City Council will vote on whether to erect it after it’s considered by the Kenai Beautification Committee, then again by the Airport Commission. (Courtesy of the City of Kenai)

Kenai debates adding sign to Lawton Acres’ Field of Flowers

The Kenai Airport Commission’s plans for a sign marking the the annual wildflower field the city plants in a vacant municipal lot on Lawton Drive… Continue reading

The Kenai Airport Commission has proposed that this sign, designed by the Kenai Neon Sign Company, face the Kenai Spur Highway from the annual wildflower field that Kenai’s city government plants in the vacant municipal land between the Spur and Lawton Drive. The Kenai Airport Commission has been developing plans for the sign — which would occupy a city-owned property legally dedicated to support the Kenai Municipal Airport and long contested between residential neighbors and prospective developers — since October 2017. The Kenai City Council will vote on whether to erect it after it’s considered by the Kenai Beautification Committee, then again by the Airport Commission. (Courtesy of the City of Kenai)
In this 2012 photo, Bob Condon of Soldotna examines the moose he shot in the Arctic. (Photo courtesy Bob Condon)

Across 20 years and the entire country, Alaska and Florida couples build friendship

Though he’s only here for about a month each summer, Paul Coleman knows many of the fishermen on the Kenai River bank in Soldotna. Through… Continue reading

In this 2012 photo, Bob Condon of Soldotna examines the moose he shot in the Arctic. (Photo courtesy Bob Condon)