Contestants race down the Kenai River during the 16th Annual Cooper Landing Drift Boat Regata near the Eagle Landing Resort in Cooper Landing, Alaska, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Officials: Wear life jackets, use caution when recreating on water

A group of seven people were rescued Saturday from Mile 80 of the Kenai River

Contestants race down the Kenai River during the 16th Annual Cooper Landing Drift Boat Regata near the Eagle Landing Resort in Cooper Landing, Alaska, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough Clerk Johni Blankenship oversees the testing of voting equipment ahead of the Oct. 5, 2021, municipal election on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough proposes changes to write-in candidate rules

The changes are being proposed in response to questions that came up after the most recent special mayoral election

Kenai Peninsula Borough Clerk Johni Blankenship oversees the testing of voting equipment ahead of the Oct. 5, 2021, municipal election on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meets on Monday, April 10, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School board starts conversation about 4-day school week

KPBSD Superintendent Clayton Holland made clear to board members that the purpose of the discussion was not to make any decisions

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meets on Monday, April 10, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A spruce tree seeps sap outside of the Kenai Post Office on Friday, July 2, 2021, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

New federal grant will fund borough beetle-kill mitigation

Assembly members on Tuesday voted to accept more than $70,000 for the effort

A spruce tree seeps sap outside of the Kenai Post Office on Friday, July 2, 2021, in Kenai, 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)

Amid misconduct allegations, new district policies promise diligence

KPBSD says it is confident the Title IX policies implemented will prevent harm against students by staff members

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)
The Devil’s Creek Trail in Chugach National Forest, seen June 15, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly backs expanded use of e-bikes in Chugach

The nonbinding resolution calls for class I and II electronic bicycles to be allowed on the forest’s nonmotorized trails, roads and other areas

The Devil’s Creek Trail in Chugach National Forest, seen June 15, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Building materials pile up at the site of the former ZipMart on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly OKs ZipMart demolition

The building, located on Swanson River Road, started to collapse earlier this year

Building materials pile up at the site of the former ZipMart on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The entrance to the Kenai Peninsula Borough building in Soldotna, Alaska, is seen on June 1, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)

Assembly strengthens borough protections against malfeasance

Legislation overhauls the sections of borough code that discuss employee protection, surety bonds, liability for conduct and indemnification

The entrance to the Kenai Peninsula Borough building in Soldotna, Alaska, is seen on June 1, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks at the Kenai Classic Roundtable at Kenai Peninsula College on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022 near Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Dunleavy budget vetoes include peninsula projects, bonus funding for schools

Funding for Kenai Peninsula projects and a slash to the extra money approved by state lawmakers for K-12 education are among the vetoes made by… Continue reading

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks at the Kenai Classic Roundtable at Kenai Peninsula College on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022 near Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna Elementary School Principal Dr. Austin Stevenson points out corroded insulation outside of the school building on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska.

School district moves ahead with bond projects

$65.5 million in bonds will fund deferred maintenance projects at 10 KPBSD schools

Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion
Soldotna Elementary School Principal Dr. Austin Stevenson points out corroded insulation outside of the school building on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska.
Alaska LNG Project Manager Brad Chastain presents information about the project during a luncheon at the Kenai Chamber Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Alaska LNG Project gets mixed response at Kenai meeting

The proposed 800-mile pipeline would move gas from the North Slope to Nikiski for shipment overseas

Alaska LNG Project Manager Brad Chastain presents information about the project during a luncheon at the Kenai Chamber Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
LaDawn Druce asks Sen. Jesse Bjorkman a question during a town hall event on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Druce returns as head of teachers union

The special election followed the firing of former president Nathan Erfurth, who was arrested in May on charges of sexual abuse of a minor

LaDawn Druce asks Sen. Jesse Bjorkman a question during a town hall event on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A mock up of the Soldotna Field House. (Photo via City of Soldotna)
A mock up of the Soldotna Field House. (Photo via City of Soldotna)
A pavillion under construction marks the entrance to the future Kenai Dog Park on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Work underway at Kenai dog park

The city has eyed July for a grand opening

A pavillion under construction marks the entrance to the future Kenai Dog Park on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Building materials pile up at the site of the former ZipMart on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough looks to demolish collapsed ZipMart building

It’s been more than 20 years since the Sterling business, a convenience store and gas station, was in operation

Building materials pile up at the site of the former ZipMart on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, in Sterling, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Mountain View Elementary School students use their hands to build works using methodology from the University of Florida Literacy Institute during a board of education meeting on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

New reading curriculum to cover Alaska history, culture instead of religion

The change comes after some teachers and community members questioned whether some of the proposed topics, specifically Judaism, Christianity and Islam, were age-appropriate

Mountain View Elementary School students use their hands to build works using methodology from the University of Florida Literacy Institute during a board of education meeting on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska State Troopers logo.

Troopers investigating Soldotna shooting death

An investigation into the incident by the Alaska Bureau of Investigation’s Soldotna Major Crimes Unit is active and ongoing

Alaska State Troopers logo.
A sign opposing the participation of trans girls in girls sports is propped against a fire hydrant outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building on Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. The Alaska Board of Education met in the building to discuss a resolution that would ban trans girls from girls high school sports. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Peninsula residents protest trans girls in sports at state school board meeting

The Alaska Board of Education last week met at the George A. Navarre Kenai Peninsula Borough Administration Building in Soldotna

A sign opposing the participation of trans girls in girls sports is propped against a fire hydrant outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building on Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. The Alaska Board of Education met in the building to discuss a resolution that would ban trans girls from girls high school sports. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Protest signs hang on the entryway wall at the Kenai Peninsula Education Association office on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Voting underway to determine next head of teachers union

The election follows the firing of former president Nathan Erfurth, who was arrested in May on charges of sexual abuse of a minor

Protest signs hang on the entryway wall at the Kenai Peninsula Education Association office on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai City Manager Terry Eubank (left) and Kenai Controller Lana Metcalf (right) present budget information during a city council work session on Saturday, April 29, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai adopts budget, staff recruitment strategies

The city expects there to be a general fund surplus of about $436,000 in fiscal year 2025

Kenai City Manager Terry Eubank (left) and Kenai Controller Lana Metcalf (right) present budget information during a city council work session on Saturday, April 29, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)