Kenai Peninsula

Soldotna council takes up $961,000 grant to plan K-Beach Road signal and crossing

Soldotna council holds a Nov. 12 hearing on a $961,000 federal grant to plan a signal and crosswalk at Arena Ave and K-Beach Road.

by Walter AlaskaNews6h ago2 min read

Three apply for the Homer City Council seat Shelly Erickson left to become mayor

Shelly Erickson's move to mayor leaves a Homer council seat open. Three applicants interview Monday, and the council could fill it that night.

by Walter AlaskaNews11h ago2 min read

Seward's Mount Marathon hydro plant is making power again after a rehab

Seward's little hydro plant at the foot of the Mount Marathon trail is making power again after a rehab. The city's throwing it a grand opening Wednesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews13h ago2 min read

Kenai kings fell short again as a local panel starts reviewing plan changes

Kenai kings hit their recovery goal in 2025, then missed it again this year. A Soldotna panel starts reviewing fish board proposals, 30-plus on that plan.

by Maggie AlaskaNews14h ago3 min read

Kenai Airport Commission recommends council adopt updated plan for 376 city parcels

Kenai Airport Commission backed the city's updated 2026 Land Management Plan covering 376 city parcels, many tied to the airport fund. City Council has final say.

by Walter AlaskaNews15h ago2 min read

Kenai planners to weigh dropping park status from a lot that never became a park

Kenai's Ahlstrom Park has been a park on paper for over 20 years without ever becoming one. Planners vote Tuesday on whether to recommend dropping it.

by Walter AlaskaNews15h ago2 min read

Follows: Kenai parks commission to weigh dropping park status from Ahlstrom Park lot

Kenai planners weigh gravel pit dug below the water table off Beaver Loop Road

A gravel company wants to dig a pit off Kenai's Beaver Loop Road that could one day become a lake with room for houses. The commission takes it up Tuesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews15h ago2 min read

Freezing rain advisory expands to Lower Matanuska and Southern Susitna valleys

Freezing rain advisory now covers Lower Mat-Su and Southern Susitna valleys until 5am Thursday, hitting the morning commute. • Anchorage, Eagle River and western Kenai advisories warn of possible power outages too. • Comes days after Tuesday icing caused 22 Anchorage crashes and a jackknifed semi on the Glenn Highway.

by Walter AlaskaNews17h ago2 min read

Seward fish and chips restaurant seeks the city's first seasonal tourism liquor license

A Seward fish and chips spot wants a tourism license to pour beer and wine. Cruise traffic dropped 36%, but the math still rounds up to one license.

by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago2 min read

Homer finds five missed ballots between dividers, and one is still unaccounted for

Homer found five ballot envelopes between sorting dividers and added eight ballots to its count. One is still unaccounted for. No result changed.

by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago2 min read

Follows: Homer canvass board takes up 1,000-plus ballots with a council race 75 votes apart

Forest Service wants a small business to rebuild Robinette Road near Hope by next fall

The Forest Service wants a small business to rebuild Robinette Road, a 1.5-mile road into the forest near Hope, with fresh gravel as an add-on, by next fall.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2d ago1 min read

Seward homeowners who live in town would get two property tax breaks under final budget

Seward's final budget would cut property taxes and add a break for people's own homes, backed by a 6% summer sales tax. Nothing assured for renters.

by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago3 min readFrom Nov 6

Follows: Seward plan for no city sales tax in winter, 6% in summer gets its first public hearing

Seward plan for no city sales tax in winter, 6% in summer gets its first public hearing

Seward's proposed budget would let summer carry winter: no city sales tax October through March, 6% April through September. First hearing was Monday.

by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago3 min read

Follows: Seward council members question proposed property tax cut, float exemptions instead

Winter storm watch warns of possible 70 mph gusts in Turnagain Arm and Whittier

A wet, windy storm is moving into Southcentral Alaska, with snow turning to freezing rain and rain. Turnagain Pass could see up to 10 inches.

by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read

Kenai Peninsula voters back school board term limits that won't bite until 2032

Kenai Peninsula voters backed school board term limits with about 89% of the vote. The Assembly certifies Tuesday, and the limit won't bite until 2032.

by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago1 min readFrom Nov 3

Homer councilmember wants to put the city's health insurance broker back on a flat fee

Homer's health insurance broker earns more when the city's premiums go up. A councilmember wants to go back to the flat fee the city paid until 2021.

by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago3 min read

Outgoing Homer mayor proposes a new rule for how much money the city keeps in reserve

Homer's outgoing mayor wants the city to save three months of spending, not four months of revenue. She's bringing it the night her successor is sworn in.

by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago2 min read

Follows: Homer mayor proposes changing the rules for how the city writes its budget

Homer canvass board takes up 1,000-plus ballots with a council race 75 votes apart

Homer's canvass board took up more than 1,000 absentee and other ballots Friday, nearly matching Election Day turnout. One council race is just 75 votes apart.

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago2 min read

Homer staff asks what matters most as float project estimate tops $22 million

Replacing Homer Harbor's 1964 floats is now estimated at over $22M, up from $17M. Staff wants the port commission to say what matters most if it's trimmed.

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago3 min read

Soldotna's reserve fell $900,000 as mayoral leader seeks to undo sales tax

Soldotna's discretionary reserve dropped about $900,000 last year, just as the man leading the mayor's race says he wants to undo the new sales tax.

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago3 min read

Follows: Challenger leads Soldotna mayor as Kenai Peninsula election counts continue

NOAA removes remaining funds from two Juneau contracts as they near closeout

NOAA is wrapping up a Juneau air charter contract that flew people and supplies to its research station in one of North America's rainiest places.

by Melinda Communities.News6d ago2 min read

Kenai airport is one of the first two in the US with a working digital control tower

Kenai's airport now has one of the country's first two digital control towers, with cameras giving controllers a 360-degree view. The other one is in Florida.

by Alaska News1w ago2 min read

Kenai parks commission backs dropping park status from Ahlstrom Park lot

Kenai's parks commission voted 5-0 to recommend dropping park status from a 2.32-acre lot that never became a park. Planners eyed a more central spot.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: Kenai parks commission to weigh dropping park status from Ahlstrom Park lot

Kenai land plan would auction part of the sports complex parcel for housing

Kenai's parks commission backed a plan to auction a corner of the sports complex parcel for housing. The memo doesn't say if it overlaps protected acres.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Judge rules Indiana prison rules don't follow an inmate to Alaska

An Indiana prisoner held in Seward sued to get Indiana prison rules, like tablet email. A federal judge said those rules don't follow him to Alaska.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Comment closes on giving the energy authority state land at Bradley Lake at no cost

The state proposes giving land around Bradley Lake hydro to the Alaska Energy Authority at no cost. Comment closed Tuesday. It's tied to expansion financing.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Challenger leads Soldotna mayor as Kenai Peninsula election counts continue

Soldotna's mayor trails a challenger who wants to undo its sales tax increase by 36 votes, with absentees still out. School board term limits are cruising.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago4 min read

Early results show Alaskans voting not to retain two Kenai judges

A state panel flagged one Kenai judge over how she treated staff and another over slow rulings. Voters were rejecting both, which Alaska rarely does.

by Alaska News1w ago3 min read

Kenai renews employee health coverage at 29% higher premium, holds workers' share at 13%

Kenai's employee health premiums are going up about 29%. The council is dipping into reserves so workers' share stays at 13% instead of rising to 15%.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readFrom Oct 21

Fish board to weigh resident-first kings, Homer Spit nets and helicopter anglers

Alaska Board of Fisheries meets Dec. 1-4 in Seward on 50 Lower Cook Inlet proposals: resident king salmon priority, Homer Spit closures, helicopter limits and hatchery plans.

by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Kenai school district drops suit against fired teacher, says he wasn't dishonest

The Kenai school district dropped its decade-long fight with a teacher it fired over health plan money and now says he wasn't dishonest. He got $367,677.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago4 min read

Sterling woman charged with murder involving drugs in April Soldotna death

Soldotna police arrested a Sterling woman on a second-degree murder charge tied to an April death. The court filing lists it as a murder charge involving drugs.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Seward planners approve Swan Nest Inn expansion to 12-room hotel

Seward's Swan Nest Inn can grow from five rooms to 12 and become a hotel. Planners also moved the Jesse Lee orphanage cemetery a step toward the tribe.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Troopers say Sterling woman, 60, fired handgun toward homes during disturbance

Troopers arrested a 60-year-old Sterling woman they say threatened someone at a neighboring home with a handgun and fired it, once toward several residences.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Kenai Peninsula landfill shredder would cost $500,000 more than the Assembly budgeted

Kenai Peninsula Borough wants $500,000 more for a landfill shredder not yet bought. The director behind it voted for the original budget as an Assembly member.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Homer advisory committee to weigh proposals pushing commercial fishing back from the Spit

Homer's fish and game committee meets Tuesday on proposals to push commercial nets back from the Spit over boater safety. The Board of Fisheries decides in Seward Dec. 1-4.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Follows: Board of Fisheries to weigh pushing commercial nets back from the Homer Spit

Kenai Peninsula school board rejects Soldotna Elementary charter, citing no building

The Kenai Peninsula school board turned down Soldotna Elementary's charter bid 8-0, citing the building and the budget. An appeal is still possible.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Follows: Kenai Peninsula district leaders urge school board to reject Soldotna Elementary charter

Homer draft would limit short-term rentals in 4 zones to operators' homes

Homer's draft rule would let short-term rentals in four residential zones run only where the operator lives. Planning commissioners weigh in Wednesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Borough presentation says Soldotna Elementary rebuild stays within voter-approved bond

Borough officials are set to tell the Kenai school board Nov. 2 that the Soldotna Elementary rebuild stays within its voter-approved bond.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Kenai Peninsula schools run 258 students short in the count used for state funding

Kenai Peninsula schools were running 258 students under projections late in the state count used for funding, in a district already projecting a shortfall.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read