Soldotna

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)
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)
Barbecue brings Soldotna to its roots

Barbecue brings Soldotna to its roots

People from every generation of Soldotna’s brief history may have been among the large crowd that gathered Friday at the Soldotna Homestead Museum for a… Continue reading

Barbecue brings Soldotna to its roots
Volunteers for gubernatorial candidate Mike Dunleavy’s float in the Progress Days parade make their way down Marydale Avenue on Saturday, July 28, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. The parade kicks off the weekend-long event celebrating Soldotna’s history, with a market on Saturday and Sunday in Soldotna Creek Park and a concert Saturday night followed by a free community barbecue Sunday. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Marking progress with familiar festivities

Although the Progress Days parade was peppered with political campaign floats as it wound its way through Soldotna, most of the focus was on fun… Continue reading

Volunteers for gubernatorial candidate Mike Dunleavy’s float in the Progress Days parade make their way down Marydale Avenue on Saturday, July 28, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. The parade kicks off the weekend-long event celebrating Soldotna’s history, with a market on Saturday and Sunday in Soldotna Creek Park and a concert Saturday night followed by a free community barbecue Sunday. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna mayor breaks tie, fails measure to give mayor a vote

The Soldotna City Council voted down a proposed ballot measure Wednesday that would include the mayor as part of the council, allowing him a vote,… Continue reading

Docent Carroll Knutson describes Alaska’s 1964 earthquake to visitors of the Soldotna Historical Society Museum on Tuesday, July 17, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. The Historical Society will be kicking off this year’s Soldotna Progress Days celebration on July 27 with a free community barbecue featuring several of Soldotna’s early settlers and their descendants. Knutson, whose family began homesteading about eight miles south of Soldotna in 1958, will be among those telling stories and leading tours through the museum’s collection of homesteader cabins and exhibits of artifacts. The event, from 4 p.m to 7 p.m, will also include music from Hobo Jim, a dutch oven demonstration, and children’s scavenger hunts. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Past and present: Homesteaders offer perspective on Progress Days

As Soldotna celebrates its progress from a collection of homesteads on the edge of the Kenai National Moose Range to the business and tourism hub… Continue reading

Docent Carroll Knutson describes Alaska’s 1964 earthquake to visitors of the Soldotna Historical Society Museum on Tuesday, July 17, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. The Historical Society will be kicking off this year’s Soldotna Progress Days celebration on July 27 with a free community barbecue featuring several of Soldotna’s early settlers and their descendants. Knutson, whose family began homesteading about eight miles south of Soldotna in 1958, will be among those telling stories and leading tours through the museum’s collection of homesteader cabins and exhibits of artifacts. The event, from 4 p.m to 7 p.m, will also include music from Hobo Jim, a dutch oven demonstration, and children’s scavenger hunts. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
Docent Carroll Knutson describes Alaska’s 1964 earthquake to visitors of the Soldotna Historical Society Museum on Tuesday, July 17, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. The Historical Society will be kicking off next weekend’s Soldotna Progress Days celebration on July 27 with a free community barbecue featuring several of Soldotna’s early settlers and their descendents. Knutson, whose family began homesteading about eight miles south of Soldotna in 1958, will be among those telling stories and leading tours thorugh the museum’s collection of homesteader cabins and exhibits of artifiacts. The event, from 4 p.m to 7 p.m, will also include music from Hobo Jim, a dutch oven demonstration, and children’s scavenger hunts. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Docent Carroll Knutson describes Alaska’s 1964 earthquake to visitors of the Soldotna Historical Society Museum on Tuesday in Soldotna. The Historical Society will be kicking… Continue reading

Docent Carroll Knutson describes Alaska’s 1964 earthquake to visitors of the Soldotna Historical Society Museum on Tuesday, July 17, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. The Historical Society will be kicking off next weekend’s Soldotna Progress Days celebration on July 27 with a free community barbecue featuring several of Soldotna’s early settlers and their descendents. Knutson, whose family began homesteading about eight miles south of Soldotna in 1958, will be among those telling stories and leading tours thorugh the museum’s collection of homesteader cabins and exhibits of artifiacts. The event, from 4 p.m to 7 p.m, will also include music from Hobo Jim, a dutch oven demonstration, and children’s scavenger hunts. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

5th annual Swank Street Market celebrates boutique, antique and more in Soldotna this weekend

Swank Street Market will be hosting their fifth annual flea market today, Saturday and Sunday in Soldotna. The first market was in the summer of… Continue reading

Out of class, but not off duty: Local teachers come together to make music

Out of class, but not off duty: Local teachers come together to make music

For the members of the band Recess Duty, teaching music all day just wasn’t enough. “We decided we should do something for ourselves,” Kent Peterson,… Continue reading

Out of class, but not off duty: Local teachers come together to make music
An American Legion color guard marches in the Fourth of July parade on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion) An American Legion color guard marches in the Fourth of July parade on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Looking for something to do on the Fourth of July? Here are some of the local celebrations

The United States celebrates its 242nd birthday on Wednesday. There are plenty of ways to celebrate it on the central Kenai Peninsula, from parades to… Continue reading

An American Legion color guard marches in the Fourth of July parade on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion) An American Legion color guard marches in the Fourth of July parade on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Shanon Davis, executive director of the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce, unveils a new sign indicating the future site of the proposed Soldotna visitor and community center, Wednesday, June 27 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna Chamber eyes bed tax, donations to support new visitor center

The Soldotna Chamber of Commerce is still working on plans for its new visitor center and pitching a bed tax in Soldotna to help support… Continue reading

Shanon Davis, executive director of the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce, unveils a new sign indicating the future site of the proposed Soldotna visitor and community center, Wednesday, June 27 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Shanon Davis, executive director of the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce, unveils a new sign indicating the future site of the proposed Soldotna visitor and community center, Wednesday, June 27 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna Chamber eyes bed tax, donations to support new visitor center

The Soldotna Chamber of Commerce is still working on plans for its new visitor center and pitching a bed tax in Soldotna to help support… Continue reading

Shanon Davis, executive director of the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce, unveils a new sign indicating the future site of the proposed Soldotna visitor and community center, Wednesday, June 27 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
A spruce tree showing damage from spruce bark beetles stands on Saturday, April 28, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. Soldotna’s Parks and Recreation Department felled nearly 100 beetle-damaged trees earlier this month. That’s more than the city expects to sell as firewood in its campgrounds, so volunteers from Soldotna Bible Chapel took the remainder to distribute to needy families this winter — after curing the logs to kill beetles that may still be inside the bark. (Ben Boetttger/Peninsula Clarion) A spruce tree showing damage from spruce bark beetles stands on Saturday, April 28, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. Soldotna’s Parks and Recreation Department felled nearly 100 beetle-damaged trees earlier this month. That’s more than the city expects to sell as firewood in its campgrounds, so volunteers from Soldotna Bible Chapel took the remainder to distribute to needy families this winter — after curing the logs to kill beetles that may still be inside the bark. (Ben Boetttger/Peninsula Clarion)

Church group clears beetle-killed trees, gives back to those in need

Community members are finding a charitable way to take care of the Peninsula’s ever-increasing spruce bark beetle problem. The Soldotna Parks and Recreation Department felled… Continue reading

A spruce tree showing damage from spruce bark beetles stands on Saturday, April 28, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. Soldotna’s Parks and Recreation Department felled nearly 100 beetle-damaged trees earlier this month. That’s more than the city expects to sell as firewood in its campgrounds, so volunteers from Soldotna Bible Chapel took the remainder to distribute to needy families this winter — after curing the logs to kill beetles that may still be inside the bark. (Ben Boetttger/Peninsula Clarion) A spruce tree showing damage from spruce bark beetles stands on Saturday, April 28, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. Soldotna’s Parks and Recreation Department felled nearly 100 beetle-damaged trees earlier this month. That’s more than the city expects to sell as firewood in its campgrounds, so volunteers from Soldotna Bible Chapel took the remainder to distribute to needy families this winter — after curing the logs to kill beetles that may still be inside the bark. (Ben Boetttger/Peninsula Clarion)
A spruce tree showing damage from spruce bark beetles stands on Saturday, April 28, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. Soldotna’s Parks and Recreation Department felled nearly 100 beetle-damaged trees earlier this month. That’s more than the city expects to sell as firewood in its campgrounds, so volunteers from Soldotna Bible Chapel took the remainder to distribute to needy families this winter — after curing the logs to kill beetles that may still be inside the bark. (Ben Boetttger/Peninsula Clarion) A spruce tree showing damage from spruce bark beetles stands on Saturday, April 28, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. Soldotna’s Parks and Recreation Department felled nearly 100 beetle-damaged trees earlier this month. That’s more than the city expects to sell as firewood in its campgrounds, so volunteers from Soldotna Bible Chapel took the remainder to distribute to needy families this winter — after curing the logs to kill beetles that may still be inside the bark. (Ben Boetttger/Peninsula Clarion)

Church group clears beetle-killed trees, gives back to those in need

Community members are finding a charitable way to take care of the Peninsula’s ever-increasing spruce bark beetle problem. The Soldotna Parks and Recreation Department felled… Continue reading

A spruce tree showing damage from spruce bark beetles stands on Saturday, April 28, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. Soldotna’s Parks and Recreation Department felled nearly 100 beetle-damaged trees earlier this month. That’s more than the city expects to sell as firewood in its campgrounds, so volunteers from Soldotna Bible Chapel took the remainder to distribute to needy families this winter — after curing the logs to kill beetles that may still be inside the bark. (Ben Boetttger/Peninsula Clarion) A spruce tree showing damage from spruce bark beetles stands on Saturday, April 28, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. Soldotna’s Parks and Recreation Department felled nearly 100 beetle-damaged trees earlier this month. That’s more than the city expects to sell as firewood in its campgrounds, so volunteers from Soldotna Bible Chapel took the remainder to distribute to needy families this winter — after curing the logs to kill beetles that may still be inside the bark. (Ben Boetttger/Peninsula Clarion)

Triumvirate Theatre hosts 20th annual summer camp

For 20 years, the Triumvirate Theatre has spent part of its summer educating kids about the stage. This week, the Kenai-area drama organization is teaching… Continue reading

City of Soldotna adds a new position, creates first social media policy

This spring, the city of Soldotna created a new special project and communications coordinator position. Jhasmine Lamb, who has filled the position, is working with… Continue reading

Nadia the German shepherd retrieves a tennis ball from Arc Lake on Wednesday, June 14, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. Wednesday brought sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s across the central Kenai Peninsula, drawing people out to the parks and lakes to enjoy the weather. Vendors and food trucks were setting up shop in Soldotna Creek Park during the day as well for Soldotna’s weekly Wednesday Market and Music in the Park event, which takes place each week in the summer months. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Dog days of summer

Nadia the German shepherd retrieves a tennis ball from Arc Lake on Wednesday, June 14, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. Wednesday brought sunny skies and temperatures… Continue reading

Nadia the German shepherd retrieves a tennis ball from Arc Lake on Wednesday, June 14, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. Wednesday brought sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s across the central Kenai Peninsula, drawing people out to the parks and lakes to enjoy the weather. Vendors and food trucks were setting up shop in Soldotna Creek Park during the day as well for Soldotna’s weekly Wednesday Market and Music in the Park event, which takes place each week in the summer months. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Chef Maya Wilson inside the Addie Camp train car on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. The 1913 train car is being refurbished as an intimate dining room for Soldotna’ newest restaurant Addie Camp Dining Car eatery and wine bar, which has plans to open this October. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Upcoming Soldotna restaurant chooses ‘Alaska from Scratch’ author as new chef

For Maya Wilson, anything worth doing has been terrifying at first. Her newest endeavor on Whistle Hill is no exception. Wilson, who launched her first… Continue reading

Chef Maya Wilson inside the Addie Camp train car on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. The 1913 train car is being refurbished as an intimate dining room for Soldotna’ newest restaurant Addie Camp Dining Car eatery and wine bar, which has plans to open this October. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna City Council meeting to discuss annexation

A resolution regarding potential city annexation will be presented at tomorrow’s Soldotna City Council meeting. Residents will be voting whether or not they want the… Continue reading

Customers pick out plants during the Central Peninsula Garden Club’s annual plant sale at Peninsula Grace Brethren Church on Kalifornsky Beach Road on Saturday, June 9, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. The annual plant sale is always popular — this year, volunteers said that there was a massive crowd gathered even before the sale opened at 10 a.m., nearly clearing out the tables in less than two hours. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Summer sun, fun arrive on the Kenai

Between the yard sales, lemonade stands, festivals, fairs and markets on Saturday, it was hard not to find something to do. Residents of the central… Continue reading

Customers pick out plants during the Central Peninsula Garden Club’s annual plant sale at Peninsula Grace Brethren Church on Kalifornsky Beach Road on Saturday, June 9, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. The annual plant sale is always popular — this year, volunteers said that there was a massive crowd gathered even before the sale opened at 10 a.m., nearly clearing out the tables in less than two hours. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)