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Week of Jul 13
Homer reverses Copper River Seafoods building plan, keeps December deadline
Homer City Council voted to scrap redesigned plans for a Copper River Seafoods facility and revert to the original 2019 building design, keeping the December construction deadline in place.

Five commercial fishers cited in single-day Bristol Bay closed-water sweep
Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited five commercial fishers on July 15 for fishing in closed Bristol Bay waters during the sockeye run, with all five scheduled for arraignment Aug. 5.

PWS sockeye season ends with low returns as fleet pivots to coho
Prince William Sound sockeye season ended with historically low returns, forcing commercial fishers to chase coho in August to recover lost income.

Flood Watch issued for Seward as atmospheric river targets Kenai Peninsula through Tuesday
National Weather Service issued a Flood Watch for Seward from early Sunday through Tuesday morning as an atmospheric river brings 3 to 5 inches of rain to the Kenai Peninsula.

Strong sockeye at China Poot, but clammers now need a permit before heading out
Alright! So China poot this weekend, who's in??!

Kodiak rockfish rules now cap single-species harvest, push anglers to deeper water
Kodiak sport anglers now face species-specific rockfish caps through year-end, limiting black rockfish to two per day, pushing them to fish deeper water as stocks decline from charter pressure.

A tip about a truck running over seagulls ended in a DUI arrest at Kasilof
A tip about a truck running over seagulls at Kasilof Beach led troopers to a Fairbanks man now facing DUI, weapons, and a federal migratory-bird charge.

Kenai has 120 seniors waiting for housing that doesn't exist yet
120 people are waitlisted for senior housing in Kenai that hasn't been built — and the city's plan doesn't even study the problem until around 2030.

More from Kenai Peninsula
Week of Jul 6
Kenai council grants Tidewater LLC 10-year first right of refusal on Denina Point Estate
Kenai City Council unanimously gave developer Tidewater LLC a 10-year first right to buy the city-owned Dena'ina Point Estates parcel and committed $54,219 toward subdivision costs.

A snagged salmon is a released salmon: a Kasilof reminder
On the Kasilof, a salmon hooked anywhere but the mouth has to go back — no matter how it got there. A visiting teen found out the hard way this week.

Alaska home and health care providers accused of Medicaid fraud
Alaska's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit charged 15 defendants in five cases across Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula, alleging about 1.83 million dollars in fraudulent home and health care billing.

One town, six citations: Homer stands out in Bristol Bay
Six people from Homer turned up in a single batch of Bristol Bay fishing citations — more than any other town. Whether that's coincidence or something more isn't yet clear.

Soldotna man arrested after alleged robbery, assault at smoke shop
A Soldotna man was arrested after shoving a clerk at a smoke shop on Kalifornsky Beach Road and threatening to steal cigarettes Saturday afternoon.

A slowdown on the Seward Highway this week
A 45 mph limit is on between mileposts 14 and 16 on the Seward Highway for roadside cleanup through July 15 — a stretch that's part of the road's crash-prone Safety Corridor.

A capsize, a night on the bank, and a morning-after airlift
Two boaters capsized on the remote, glacier-fed Killey River and spent the night on the bank — warm, fed, and in cell contact — before troopers flew them out the next day.

A man is charged with sexually abusing a minor near Soldotna in 2019
A man who once lived near Soldotna is charged with a 2019 sexual abuse of a minor, in a case troopers opened in 2025 after a report of past abuse.
Coming up
Kenai Peninsula Borough Plat Committee
Betty J. Glick Assembly Chambers, 144 N. Binkley St., Soldotna, AK 99669, and Zoom (Meeting ID 907 714 2200, toll free 888-788-0099 or 877-853-5247)
Meeting
Kenai Peninsula Borough Public Hearing on Ordinance 2026-37
Hearing
Grateful Extracts Marijuana Control Board Hearing
Hearing
Public Comment Deadline: State Underground Storage Rights Claim
Public notice
Lynx Trapping Season Opens (GMU 7 & 15)
Public notice
About Kenai Peninsula
The Kenai Peninsula, governed as the Kenai Peninsula Borough, is a region of Southcentral Alaska bordered by Cook Inlet. Its communities include Kenai, Soldotna, Homer, Seward, Nikiski and Anchor Point, and Kenai Fjords National Park lies within it.
Salmon fishing on the Kenai River and in Cook Inlet shapes the economy, along with oil and gas development and natural gas storage. The borough assembly and the councils and planning commissions of Kenai, Homer and Seward decide questions of land use, taxes, short-term rentals, housing and utility rates.
The Sterling and Seward highways carry traffic through the peninsula, and Kachemak Bay State Park and Kenai Fjords National Park lie along its shores. Schools across the peninsula answer to a single borough school board.
More from Kenai Peninsula
The sockeye are running strong on the Kenai, and the state just doubled your limit
Good news for Kenai anglers and dipnetters: strong sockeye runs just pushed the daily limit to six fish on the Kenai, Russian, and Kasilof — with more dipnet room on the Kasilof, too.

A Kenai woman is mauled by a bear on her own front deck
A Kenai woman was seriously hurt when a brown bear sow attacked her on her front deck — drawn in, troopers say, by bird feeders in the yard, on a peninsula that's a bear-attack hot spot.

Homer man charged after woman reports repeated strangulation
A Homer man faces 15 charges after a woman reported he strangled her three times in one morning, a pattern that anti-violence workers say is among the deadliest forms of domestic abuse.

A busy week on the Kenai brings a run of fishing citations
Four anglers were cited in one morning on the Kenai — three out-of-staters keeping snagged sockeye, and an Anchorage woman dipnetting two days before the season opened.

Kenai council funds $110K roof shortfall, sets Oct. 31 deadline for Senior Center and shelter work
Kenai City Council approved $110,000 Tuesday to fix roofs at the senior center and animal shelter by Oct. 31 after a bid came in higher than expected.

So few kings are left in the Situk that the state closed their last pool
The Situk's kings have nearly vanished — 100 counted at midseason — so the state closed a popular fishing hole to shield the few survivors from accidental hooking.

Free Fairbanks streambank workshop opens July 15 for landowners and anglers
Fairbanks landowners and anglers can register free for a two-day streambank restoration workshop July 15 and 16 that teaches erosion control and fish habitat work.

Kenai Peninsula planners to weigh road and bridge over salmon creek in Anchor Point
Kenai Peninsula Borough planners will decide July 20 whether to allow a road and bridge over an anadromous creek in Anchor Point, a project that requires a conditional use permit under borough code.

Homer sets policy framework for future water and sewer rate changes
Homer City Council adopted a policy framework Tuesday that will guide future water and sewer rate increases, though no specific rate changes take effect yet.

Homer man, 85, summonsed for 2025 Anchor Point hit-and-run after trooper spots vehicle nine months later
An 85-year-old Homer man was summonsed for a hit-and-run in Anchor Point nine months after the crash, when a trooper recognized his vehicle on a Homer street.

Soldotna man faces federal charges for alleged CSAM purchases via PayPal
A Soldotna man faces federal charges for allegedly purchasing child sexual abuse material through PayPal over two years, with investigators tracing roughly 27 transactions to his account.

Teen airlifted after horse kick on Johnson Pass Trail
A teenage girl was airlifted to Anchorage after a horse kicked her two miles up Johnson Pass Trail near Moose Pass on July 3.

Fritz Creek man charged again with DUI after meth-impaired rollover while on release conditions
A Fritz Creek man was charged with DUI after rolling his vehicle on East End Road on May 16 while impaired by methamphetamine, violating court-ordered release conditions from a prior DUI-drug case.

Speeding stop on Sterling Highway surfaces Soldotna man wanted on 7 Arizona felonies
Alaska State Troopers arrested a Soldotna man Sunday after a speeding stop on Sterling Highway revealed an active Arizona warrant for seven felonies including robbery and burglary.

Prius driver airlifted after T-bone crash at Moose Pass highway junction
A Prius driver ran a stop sign at Moose Pass and was hit by a semi-truck Sunday, requiring helicopter evacuation and closing both highways.

Wasilla man on parole clocked at 84 mph on Seward Highway, forces trooper to swerve
A Wasilla man on parole drove 84 mph into oncoming traffic on the Seward Highway on July 4, forcing a state trooper to swerve to avoid a head-on collision.

Week of Jun 29
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly to revisit Nikolaevsk school transfer Tuesday
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will reconsider Tuesday its approval of transferring the $8 million Nikolaevsk School to a Russian Old Believer nonprofit.

Bystanders protect two toddlers on Kasilof Beach while father lay unconscious in tent
Bystanders on Kasilof Beach called troopers after finding two toddlers unattended while their father lay unconscious in a tent on July 4, testing at more than three times the legal driving limit.

HB 381 exempts Alaska LNG project property from municipal taxes, replaces with volumetric splits
HB 381 replaces municipal property taxes on the Alaska LNG project with a new volumetric tax. • Phase 1 revenue splits favor pipeline communities while Phase 2 directs 48 percent to the Kenai Peninsula Borough. • The state expects the project to generate 26 billion dollars over 30 years. • Tax changes expire if construction misses a December 31 2034 deadline.

Alaska gas pipeline tax bill sets $40M milestone test for boroughs, schools, and rural heating fund
Alaska's gas pipeline tax bill unlocks billions for boroughs and schools only if the developer pays $40 million and meets construction deadlines through 2037.

Kenai guide faces mandatory court date after client keeps 2 extra sockeye on Kasilof
A Kenai fishing guide faces mandatory court after a client kept 8 sockeye salmon instead of the legal limit of 6 on the Kasilof River on July 4.

Alaska LNG tax bill advances as working draft, disputes unresolved
Alaska lawmakers advanced a working draft of HB 381, the tax framework for Alaska LNG, but disputes over the alternative volumetric tax remain unresolved.

Kenai weighs spending city money to develop a city-owned parcel
Kenai votes Wednesday on spending $54,219 to subdivide city land and partner with a developer — though the agenda doesn't say how many lots or what would go there.

Kenai moves to clear six pieces of public land for sale
Kenai's council votes Wednesday to strip "public purpose" status from six city parcels, the step before selling them — on a consent agenda, with no public hearing.
