The Department of Natural Resources is recruiting Alaskans to apply for positions on three citizen advisory boards on the Kenai Peninsula. DNR’s Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation is inviting folks to apply for seats in Seward, Kachemak Bay and the Kenai River Special Management Area. According to DNR’s website, advisory board members assist park […]
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Following the first round of prefiled legislation on Jan. 9, members of the Alaska State Legislature have prefiled an additional 15 bills in a second release published Monday. Of those, two were filed by Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, and one by Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer. Bjorkman also prefiled two bills in the first round dealing […]
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Citing shifting trends in where people seek out and obtain information, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly approved an ordinance last week amending borough code to update public noticing requirements. Sponsored by borough Mayor Peter Micciche, Ordinance 2025-27 seeks to “ensure that public funds are being used in a manner which maximizes public notice and awareness” […]
Read MoreA 4% rate increase announced by the Homer Electric Association last month has been approved by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska. According to a Dec. 30 press release, the increase — which was ratified by HEA’s board of directors in November and approved by the RCA on Dec. 24 — applies to customers’ base rates […]
Read MoreBUMPS, the community bus service provided by the Ninilchik Traditional Council, will now be travelling their usual Homer-Kenai route five days a week. Since its inception, BUMPS has operated three days a week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Now, thanks to an increase in grant funding from the Federal Transit Administration, NTC Tribal Management Assistant […]
Read More2025 has certainly been a year. Many would say that the past twelve months were hallmarked by division, upheaval and widespread change, and not for the better. Prices are still through the roof, there have been a record number of communities negatively and drastically impacted by climate change-caused natural disasters, and the American public watched […]
Read MoreHomer Electric Association announced Friday, Dec. 19, that members should expect a 4% increase to their base rates, effective Jan. 1. HEA previously enacted a 3% base rate increase effective April 1, citing inflation, supply chain challenges, investments in system upgrades and increased outage response due to spruce bark beetle infestations as driving factors. The […]
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Alaska State Troopers are actively seeking Kevin Hunter, 31, according to a bulletin posted at 10:23 a.m. Friday morning, Dec. 19. Hunter is wanted on an active arrest warrant, which was issued by a judge following his indictment by a Kenai grand jury on Wednesday, Dec. 17, for allegedly sexually abusing multiple juveniles. Hunter was […]
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Over a dozen people attended a virtual meeting the Alaska Department of Natural Resources hosted last Thursday evening, Dec. 11. DNR is asking for the community’s input on the potential establishment of a Kenai Peninsula State Forest, and Thursday’s meeting was the last of four held throughout the Kenai Peninsula. Area forester Diane Campbell began […]
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The Alaska Department of Fish and Game recently announced the retention of big skates as bycatch in directed groundfish and Pacific halibut fisheries in Cook Inlet Area state waters is prohibited through Dec. 31. The prohibition went into effect Nov. 26. The National Marine Fisheries Service made prohibited the retention of big skates in the […]
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The Department of Natural Resources is gathering community perspectives on the potential establishment of a Kenai Peninsula State Forest during several meetings this week. Meetings are scheduled for 2-3 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 8, at the Ninilchik Community Center; Tuesday, Dec. 9, from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Soldotna Public Library; Wednesday, Dec. 10, […]
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The Homer-based nonprofit organization Cook Inletkeeper has launched a petition calling for transparency in response to the Department of the Interior’s draft proposal for multiple offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Cook Inlet. The 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program’s five year plan proposes five new oil and gas […]
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The Kenai Peninsula holds a kind of clarity that is hard to find in most places. Between the waters of Cook Inlet, the salmon runs, the energy fields, the Indigenous presence, the small towns and the community-centered way of living, the peninsula feels less like a collection of towns and more like a natural corridor […]
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Community members were invited to a discussion on winter storm preparedness at the Anchor Point Senior Center last Thursday, Nov. 20. Homer public health nurse Emily Sears covered a number of related topics, including why winter storms are considered dangerous; differences between various types of winter storms, winter weather terms and winter hazards; how to […]
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As urban Alaska’s electric utilities look to import natural gas to fill a looming supply gap, residents and businesses face a future surge in electricity and heating prices. Some of the price increase is unavoidable: Importing gas will require expensive infrastructure, and those construction costs will be paid by consumers. But observers of the state’s […]
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The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is allowing personal use firewood collection by permit as of Wednesday, Nov. 19. Permits allow collection of up to five cords — which the park service defines as four feet high by four feet wide, and eight feet long — of firewood for personal use per household. Cutting is limited […]
Read MoreHarvest Midstream, a privately-held midstream service provider based in Houston, Texas, announced in a press release Tuesday, Nov. 11, their acquisition of the Kenai LNG facility in Nikiski. The terminal previously operated as an export facility, primarily shipping liquefied natural gas to Japan, until its closure in 2017. Harvest now intends to redevelop the site […]
Read MoreThe Trump administration on Monday outlined its plans to auction 1 million acres of federal offshore territory in what it has called the “Big Beautiful Cook Inlet Oil and Gas Lease Sale.” The lease sale, to be held early next year under terms detailed in a notice published Monday in the Federal Register, is to […]
Read MoreThe federal government issued an emergency order on Friday, Nov. 7 requiring Grant Aviation to cut 10% of its flights between Kenai and Anchorage by Nov. 14. The order doesn’t impact any other routes at this time, but it comes only days after Kenai Aviation owner Joel Caldwell announced the company is ceasing operations due […]
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Kenai Peninsula College will establish a student support services program for first-generation college students following the receipt of a $1.4 million federal grant. KPC announced in an Oct. 30 press release that they were recently awarded a competitive five-year federal TRIO grant to fund comprehensive services “designed to enhance academic success, retention and graduation rates” […]
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Photojournalist Chloe Anderson recently joined Peninsula Clarion staff as a reporter, covering central Kenai Peninsula news and events. Currently based in Juneau, Anderson has previously written and done photography for the Juneau Empire, Colorado Sun, Boulder Weekly, Kansas Reflector, Climbing magazine, Associated Press, and more. In 2023 she was awarded second place for Best Online […]
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The Homer City Council passed a resolution on Aug. 11 adopting the Homer goals of the Kenai Peninsula Walkability Action Plan, which was approved by a federal agency in July. According to a July 31 memorandum from Community Development Director Julie Engebretsen, the Walkability Action Plan was created as part of a program, “Active People, […]
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This year’s Kenai Peninsula Fair was “one of the best well-attended” fairs in recent years, according to organizers on Monday. Held last weekend, Aug. 8-10, at the Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds in Ninilchik, the fair featured returning favorite events like the car show and rodeo and new activities including interactive dinosaur rides on “Frozen Fossils” animatronics […]
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KBBI AM 890 and KDLL 91.9 FM join public radio stations nationwide who are impacted by Congress’s rescission of $1.1 billion in federal funding that was previously approved for the next two fiscal years for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. For the two peninsula stations, the rescission means the loss of 40% of each of […]
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The 2025 Ninilchik Rodeo kicked off last weekend with a beach race and the crowning of this year’s rodeo queens. The fifth annual horse race on the beach, which organizers noted as the only one of its kind in the state, was held at Ninilchik Beach, with 2025 Rodeo Queen Candace Campbell placing first on […]
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The burn permit suspension implemented June 21 was lifted for the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak Island as of 9 a.m. Monday, the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection announced June 29. Recent precipitation around “much of the area” has moderated fire danger, the division said, though the public also asked to “keep in mind” […]
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Burn permits are suspended in the Kenai-Kodiak Fire Prevention Area as of Saturday, June 21, due to relocation of fire resources from across the state in response to increased wildfire activity in Interior Alaska. The suspension also applies to the Mat-Su and Copper River fire prevention areas. Fire resources stationed in these three response areas […]
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The Alaska Department of Fish and Game issued a notice Wednesday, June 18, that the Ninilchik River will be closed to sport fishing for all species from June 23 through July 15 in an effort to achieve the king salmon escapement goal for the area. The Ninilchik River king salmon sustainable escapement goal is between […]
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The state of Alaska is developing plans to transplant Sitka black-tailed deer to the southern Kenai Peninsula, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced in a June 3 press release. Currently, the southern peninsula does not hold a population of black-tailed deer; ADF&G has been developing a strategy to capture and translocate the animals […]
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On recess from regular congressional session for Memorial Day, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, took a weeklong whirlwind tour of his representative state. On a Friday, May 30, visit to Homer, he met with City of Homer leadership on the Homer Harbor Expansion project, sat down for an interview with Homer News, visited the Homer […]
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