Kenai Peninsula

Kenai parks director hopes to bring mural costs and artist options in January

Kenai wants murals on its blank walls. Step one: get the artist to call back. The parks director hopes to have costs and options by January.

by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read

Kenai accepts $3.1 million FAA grant for new airport perimeter and security fence

Kenai City Council accepted a roughly $3.1 million FAA grant for a new perimeter and security fence at the airport. The city covers about $154,000, with QAP as contractor.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Oct 8

State approves Seward timber sale with a logging road along a recreation trail

The state will sell 55 acres of Seward spruce, hauled out on a road along a year-round trail the Forest Service says wasn't built for log trucks.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Kenai Peninsula mayor proposes raising volunteer firefighter and EMS tax break to $50,000

A Kenai Peninsula volunteer firefighter's tax break could get five times bigger. In areawide borough tax alone, that's $192.50 a year, up from $38.50.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Oct 8

Premera would save Homer money over Moda next year but raise employees' copays

Homer can pay Moda about $197,000 more in 2027 or switch to cheaper Premera plans with higher copays. Its broker says Premera may be "buying the business."

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Seward requires wider paved streets and bans cul-de-sacs in new subdivisions

New Seward subdivisions need wider paved streets, a place to walk and buried power lines, but no cul-de-sacs. Developers pay; one critic says buyers will too.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

State plans to sell Homer contractor 5,000 cubic yards from Ohlson Mountain site

The state intends to sell a Homer contractor 5,000 cubic yards of material from atop Ohlson Mountain. That's roughly 400 to 500 dump-truck loads.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Oct 7

Kenai commission weighs ending newspaper publication of land notices

Kenai's Planning and Zoning Commission meets Wednesday to weigh recommending an end to newspaper publication of zoning and land notices, shifting them to a city webpage instead.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Kenai will seek up to $250,000 in federal money to replace Old Town Park's playground

Kenai wants up to $250,000 in federal money for a new Old Town Park playground. The catch: grant-funded park land has to stay a park, more or less forever.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Kenai library rules move out of city code Friday and into staff-approved policy

Kenai's library rules leave city code Friday, and the sleeping ban goes with them: seated "quiet rest" will be fine, but lying down still won't.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Homer council to hear ordinance letting residents live-trap feral rabbits

Homer may finally let residents trap the feral rabbits damaging their homes. The catch: the shelter mostly can't take them, and you can't let them go.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Homer commission backs limiting residential short-term rentals to operators' homes

A Homer commission wants short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods limited to the operator's own home. It finalizes that advice Tuesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska House members ask FCC to preserve E-Rate school internet discounts

Twenty-one Alaska House members asked the FCC to preserve E-Rate, which discounts school internet. Alaska's own school broadband grant depends on it.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Oct 7

Follows: The FCC review that could end E-Rate is filed under children and screens

Corps seeks state water quality OK for $402 million Homer harbor to end five-deep rafting

Homer's boats tie up as many as five deep. The Corps wants a $402 million fix, Homer would owe about $170 million, and the math says 77 cents back per dollar.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom Sep 24

Board of Fisheries to weigh closing Homer Spit waters to commercial fishing

Two Board of Fisheries proposals would push commercial fishing back from the Homer Spit, by half a mile or a full mile. The board decides in Seward in December.

by Alaska News1mo ago1 min read

Soldotna man arrested on DUI and assault charges after rear-end crash, troopers say

Alaska State Troopers arrested a 35-year-old Soldotna man Friday night on assault, DUI, and three other charges after he rear-ended a stopped car near Ciechanski and tried to leave the scene.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Kenai commission weighs letting a gravel operation dig into required setbacks

Kenai will decide Wednesday whether a gravel pit can dig closer to its neighbors than city rules allow. An earlier, similar variance drew an appeal.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

State proposes giving 5,805 acres to energy authority for Bradley Lake hydro expansion

DNR's 5,805 acres for the Alaska Energy Authority near Homer are for Bradley Lake hydro, where AEA says a glacier diversion could boost power 40%.

by Alaska News1mo ago1 min readFrom Oct 2

East side Cook Inlet setnetters must prove recent fishing to stay in the fishery

East side Cook Inlet setnetters get their own permit area Jan. 1. Want in? Prove you fished there between 2020 and 2024 and apply by Dec. 31.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Seward canvass board counts 64 ballots in city council race

Seward's canvass board counted 64 ballots Friday from the Oct. 6 municipal election, with Robert Barnwell leading the five-candidate city council race at 33 votes.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

FAA proposes redrawing Anchorage basin airspace and flight paths for JBER's extended runway

The FAA wants to redraw the airspace over the Anchorage basin so JBER can use an instrument landing system on its longer runway. Comments are due Nov. 9.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Southcentral weekend brings ski swap, winter prep and fall festivals

Southcentral Alaska hosts a ski swap, winter prep fair, half marathon, pumpkin festival and Indigenous Peoples Day celebration Saturday through Monday as cool, wet weather moves in.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

FAA keeps plowing roads to Alaska navigation beacons as it retires others

The FAA pays local crews to plow roads to Alaska's radio navigation beacons each winter, even as it retires more than a dozen others in favor of GPS.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Kenai awards $98,000 contract to move shallow water line on eroding bluff

Kenai awarded Peninsula Construction $98,000 to move a water line on the bluff before it freezes and ruptures this winter.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Kenai's council will award a bluff erosion contract the day after bids close

Kenai council waives road requirement quoted at $63,000

Kenai City Council waived a $63,000 road-building requirement for a property owner whose project started before the city's new road standard took effect.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Hilcorp seeks to fill Beluga wetlands for gas storage pad under emergency review

Hilcorp seeks emergency permit to fill 2.35 acres of Beluga wetlands for a natural gas storage pad, with public comment open through early November.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Soldotna commissioner asks about council rezoning vote that city records don't show

A Soldotna planning commissioner asked about a council rezoning vote he'd heard about. There wasn't one, but there is a staff plan to rezone Robin Place.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Legislative committee has no oil and gas consultants under contract, chair says

Alaska lawmakers have no oil and gas consultants under contract, with a gas pipeline project and a new administration coming. Senators want that fixed.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Council advisers debate studying more charter leasing of commercial halibut quota

Charter operators want room to lease more commercial halibut quota. Commercial fishermen say deal first with the boom in bareboat rentals.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Invasive pike may use Cook Inlet to reach new watersheds, ADF&G biologist says

Pike were thought to avoid salt water, but some appear to have crossed Cook Inlet. A state biologist explains how in Fish and Game's October podcast.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Soldotna man, 33, dies after being found unresponsive in Sterling garage

A Soldotna man, 33, died and a second adult was hospitalized after both were found unresponsive in a Sterling-area garage Saturday. Foul play isn't suspected.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska rent growth slows overall, but Mat-Su and Kenai post record jumps

Rents in surveyed Alaska areas rose 2.6%, the smallest increase in five years. But Mat-Su and the Kenai Peninsula saw record jumps of 12.8% and 11%.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska's 2026 fishing derby winners, from Valdez to Wrangell and Juneau

Chase Edstrom of North Pole won Valdez's Silver Salmon Derby with an 18.80-pound coho worth $10,000, the largest catch since 2010.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Prince William Sound parallel cod season closes to pot gear at noon Wednesday

Alaska closes pot fishing for Pacific cod in Prince William Sound at noon Wednesday, Oct. 7, following a federal season closure, while longline and jig seasons stay open.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Sterling Highway to close overnight Wednesday between mileposts 45 and 47

Sterling Highway closes overnight Wednesday to Thursday between mileposts 45 and 47 for Cooper Landing bypass construction, the only road connecting western Kenai Peninsula communities to Alaska.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Health care workers tell Alaska high school students many jobs don't need a four-year degree

Some health care jobs take 6 to 12 weeks of training, and Alaska teens can get a pharmacy tech license at 16, students heard at a state career session.

by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Two drivers hospitalized after four-vehicle crash at Seward Highway mile 74

Two drivers were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after a four-vehicle crash at Seward Highway mile 74 on Thursday when rain and snow caused a Prius to lose control.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Oct 1

Kenai silver salmon derby canceled over unclear coho run data

Kenai Chamber canceled the 2026 Silver Salmon Derby over unclear coho run data, and Fish and Game cut the daily coho limit to two fish through November.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Aug 31

Regulators cut Hilcorp's Kenai gas storage rates up to 31% while they investigate

Regulators cut Hilcorp's Kenai gas storage fees up to 31% after its own study showed it was overcollecting. Whether your utility bill notices is another matter.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Kenai City Council to vote on intervening in federal review of Cook Inlet undersea data center

Kenai's council votes Wednesday on intervening in the federal review of a plan for 66 undersea data pods and 350 tidal turbines off the East Foreland.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read