Soldotna

Ashlyn O’Hara / Peninsula Clarion
A construction crew works near the entrance of the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on June 14.

Soldotna council puts field house on city’s Oct. 4 ballot

Voters will decide whether or not the city should incur up to $15 million in debt for the project

Ashlyn O’Hara / Peninsula Clarion
A construction crew works near the entrance of the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on June 14.
Riders with Alaska C&C Horse Adventures participate in the 65th annual Soldotna Progress Days Parade on Saturday, July 23, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Progress on parade

Community turns out for annual Soldotna celebration

Riders with Alaska C&C Horse Adventures participate in the 65th annual Soldotna Progress Days Parade on Saturday, July 23, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Lilly Murray, left, and Stephen Lamm from the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank give a ceviche-making demonstration at Soldotna Creek Park on Thursday, July 21, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Food bank kicks off Progress Days

This year’s fundraiser aims to raise 2 tons of food and fuel for the facility

Lilly Murray, left, and Stephen Lamm from the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank give a ceviche-making demonstration at Soldotna Creek Park on Thursday, July 21, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
A construction crew works near the entrance of the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna council to consider field house bond

The development of an indoor recreational facility has been decades in the making

A construction crew works near the entrance of the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Flowers bloom at Soldotna City Hall on Wednesday, June 24, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna moving forward with arts and culture plan

Arts and culture is a priority identified in Soldotna’s “Envision Soldotna 2030” plan

Flowers bloom at Soldotna City Hall on Wednesday, June 24, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Isaac Kolesar testifies before the Soldotna City Council during a council meeting on Wednesday, July 12, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. Many attendees voiced their thoughts on a performance given by a drag queen in Soldotna Creek Park last month. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Community takes debate over drag performance to Soldotna council

Backlash has been building since late June over a video, about 10 seconds long, taken at the 2022 Soldotna Pride in the Park

Isaac Kolesar testifies before the Soldotna City Council during a council meeting on Wednesday, July 12, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. Many attendees voiced their thoughts on a performance given by a drag queen in Soldotna Creek Park last month. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Central Emergency Services staff wait to receive doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Central Emergency Services staff wait to receive doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
A podium marks the beginning of a StoryWalk at Soldotna Creek Park on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

StoryWalk is back after vandalism

The installation was discontinued last September after someone damaged the poles and podium plexiglass

A podium marks the beginning of a StoryWalk at Soldotna Creek Park on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Central Emergency Services staff wait to receive doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly mulls bond for new CES fire station

Replacement of the current station is estimated to cost $16.5 million

Central Emergency Services staff wait to receive doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai River runs alongside a strip of land near the Sterling Highway on May 17, 2020, in Soldotna, Alaska. The City of Soldotna was awarded $360,000 from a federal grant program offered through the U.S. Economic Development Agency to start planning what’s been called a “main street” adjacent to the Kenai River. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna gets federal funds to plan revamped riverfront

The project, if completed, would address about 85 acres of land running along the Kenai River

The Kenai River runs alongside a strip of land near the Sterling Highway on May 17, 2020, in Soldotna, Alaska. The City of Soldotna was awarded $360,000 from a federal grant program offered through the U.S. Economic Development Agency to start planning what’s been called a “main street” adjacent to the Kenai River. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
A construction crew works near the entrance of the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna revisits field house project

City council members and administrators convened last week to talk about the project

A construction crew works near the entrance of the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Wood is piled near the entrance to Centennial Park on Thursday, May 26, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. The campground was closed for most of May while the city worked with contractors to remove trees infested with spruce bark beetles from the property. Southcentral Alaska’s current spruce beetle outbreak has already affected 1.6 million acres of land, including 21,000 acres managed by the Kenai Peninsula Borough. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna beetle-kill efforts boosted by $150K grant

The city has focused recent mitigation efforts on city campgrounds

Wood is piled near the entrance to Centennial Park on Thursday, May 26, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. The campground was closed for most of May while the city worked with contractors to remove trees infested with spruce bark beetles from the property. Southcentral Alaska’s current spruce beetle outbreak has already affected 1.6 million acres of land, including 21,000 acres managed by the Kenai Peninsula Borough. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Anastasia Scollon (left) and Willow King (right) stand in The Goods + Sustainable Grocery and Where it’s At mindful food and drink on Monday, May 16, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Sustainable shopping finds new home in Soldotna

The Collective used to operate out of Cook Inletkeeper’s Community Action Studio

Anastasia Scollon (left) and Willow King (right) stand in The Goods + Sustainable Grocery and Where it’s At mindful food and drink on Monday, May 16, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Graduates throw their caps into the air at the end of Soldotna High School’s commencement ceremony on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

‘We never fell down’

Soldotna High School honors more than 100 graduates

Graduates throw their caps into the air at the end of Soldotna High School’s commencement ceremony on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Informatin about Cook Inletkeeper is displayed next to artwork for sale as part of the "ART Sale 258" at the Cook Inletkeeper Community Action Studio on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Biden admin cancels Cook Inlet lease sale

The lease sale would have opened more than 1 million acres of Cook Inlet to oil and gas development

Informatin about Cook Inletkeeper is displayed next to artwork for sale as part of the "ART Sale 258" at the Cook Inletkeeper Community Action Studio on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Teslas charge at Alaska’s first Tesla Supercharger station on Saturday, April 30, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Tesla Supercharger brings high-speed EV charging to Soldotna

Teslas from around the state charged at the Soldotna station on Saturday

Teslas charge at Alaska’s first Tesla Supercharger station on Saturday, April 30, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna City Council members convene for a work session to discuss how the city should use federal COVID-19 recovery funds on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna council brainstorms use of federal relief funds

Re-treeing and a boost for local arts programs were among the ideas floated Wednesday

Soldotna City Council members convene for a work session to discuss how the city should use federal COVID-19 recovery funds on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Spruce trees infested with beetles can be seen on July 2, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Beetle kill work to shut down Soldotna campgrounds beginning Sunday

Centennial and Swiftwater campgrounds will be closed to the public while hazard trees are removed

Spruce trees infested with beetles can be seen on July 2, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna City Council member Justin Ruffridge attends a city council meeting on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna voices support for Triumvirate fundraising efforts

The move comes weeks after a veto of financial backing from the city for the show

Soldotna City Council member Justin Ruffridge attends a city council meeting on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Shanon Davis and Monique Burgin of the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce hand out candy during the Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Parade in Soldotna on March 17, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna chamber gears up for bustling summer season

Executive Director Shanon Davis provided a quarterly update Wednesday

Shanon Davis and Monique Burgin of the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce hand out candy during the Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Parade in Soldotna on March 17, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)