Local organizations and topics
Numbers are stories in the last 30 days.
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Week of Aug 24
Nikiski inventor patents heated tailgate to keep drill slurry from freezing
A Nikiski oilfield-services president earned a patent for a heated tank door that keeps drilling waste from freezing before crews can dump it.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read
The lone applicant for a Kenai Peninsula Assembly seat could be seated Sept. 1
Nathan Berga is the only applicant for Kenai Peninsula Borough's vacant District 7 seat and could be appointed Tuesday, Sept. 1, restoring the assembly to nine members.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kenai could put school board term limits to voters under a new state law
Kenai Peninsula Borough voters will decide on school board term limits at a Sept. 1 public hearing, after state law changed to allow municipalities to propose them.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Texas firm wins $48,950 contract to patch pavement at Kenai refuge
The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is patching pavement and sealing cracks this fall under a $48,950 contract, running from mid-August through mid-October.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A Kenai hunter education class opens for sign-ups this fall
Alaska Fish and Game is offering a hunter education class in Kenai this fall through its women-focused "Becoming an Outdoors-Woman" program, open to men too.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Week of Aug 17
Alaska managers open some salmon fisheries and close others as runs diverge
Alaska fishery managers opened some salmon fisheries and closed others the same week, each call turning on how the fish are running in that particular place.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A Kenai man is sentenced to 60 years for sexually assaulting a child in his home
A Kenai man, Darold Greg Love, 67, was sentenced to 60 years in prison for sexually assaulting a child living in his home, with no eligibility for parole.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Three Cook Inlet gas storage plans pending for winter demand
Cook Inlet's gas problem isn't only supply, it's winter. Alaska is weighing three plans to bank gas underground and draw it down in the cold months.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
More from Kenai
Week of Aug 10
Wasilla man fined $320 for false residency claim on a fishing and hunting license
A Wasilla man paid $320 for fudging where he lives on a fishing license. The residency rule he ran afoul of just survived a veto fight in Juneau.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Judicial council urges no vote on two Kenai judges in November
Alaska Judicial Council recommends voters reject two Kenai judges on November ballot. • Judge Kelly Lawson failed temperament and integrity standards; lacked patience with court staff. • Judge Martin Fallon failed integrity and diligence standards; signed false affidavits about late decisions.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Three anglers cited for over-limit sockeye on the Middle Kenai River
Three anglers were cited Aug. 1 on the Middle Kenai River for keeping more sockeye salmon than the limit allowed; the excess fish were seized and donated.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
Kenai council takes up $75,000 home tax exemption for November ballot
Kenai City Council votes Wednesday on sending a $75,000 home tax exemption to voters in November, following resident concerns about rising property taxes.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Trail runner injured by brown bear near Anchorage's Prospect Heights trailhead
A woman running alone on Wolverine Bowl trail near Anchorage was injured by a brown bear Thursday, deployed bear spray, and walked out; she was hospitalized and the bear was not located.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
The Kenai Assembly will fill the vacant Kalifornsky seat Tuesday
The Kenai Assembly will appoint someone to the vacant Kalifornsky seat Tuesday from three applicants — voters decide who finishes the term in November.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Troopers cite 19 anglers for fishing violations on Kenai, Kasilof
Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited 19 anglers on the Kenai and Kasilof rivers in late July and early August for fishing violations, mostly for failing to release snagged fish.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
A pilot survives an upside-down plane crash in the Kenai refuge
A pilot survived a crash that flipped his plane upside down in the trees of the Kenai refuge Sunday, then texted 911 himself to say he wasn't seriously hurt.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Coming up
Kenai Planning & Zoning Commission Special Meeting
Kenai City Council Chambers, 210 Fidalgo Avenue, Kenai, AK, and Zoom (registration required)
Meeting
Kenai City Council Enactment Vote on Carl F. Ahlstrom Park Public Purpose Designation
Meeting
Kenai City Council Regular Meeting
Meeting
Power Plant Comedy: Claude Stuart
Performance
2026 Bristol Bay Next Gen Kenai - Youth & Young Adult Event
Community event
About Kenai
Kenai, also called Shk'ituk't, is a city on the Kenai Peninsula where the Kenai River meets Cook Inlet. Its economy draws on commercial and sport salmon fishing and on the oil and gas industry, including natural gas storage beneath the city.
The city council and the planning and zoning commission decide land use, including permits for day cares, gravel pits and other businesses, and the parks and recreation commission shapes projects such as playgrounds and courts. The city also operates Kenai Municipal Airport.
Kenai sits within the Kenai Peninsula Borough, whose assembly makes decisions for residents across the peninsula. Nearby communities include Nikiski, Soldotna, Sterling and Kasilof, and hunting, fishing and road safety are shared concerns across the area.
More from Kenai
Senate majority to regulators: reconsider the rejected gas storage project, and make BlueCrest produce
Senate majority members want a rejected gas storage project revisited and an idle Cook Inlet lease produced — amid a fight over who fixes the gas crunch.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min read
Week of Aug 3
Upper Cook Inlet reopens to a one-king limit after a spring closure
Upper Cook Inlet anglers north of Bluff Point can keep one king salmon from Aug. 16 through Sept. 15, after a closure meant to protect declining king stocks.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Troopers cite three anglers for keeping snagged sockeye on the Kenai
Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited three anglers on the Kenai River in late July for keeping snagged sockeye salmon, seizing four fish total that went to charity.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
When a custody case is filed in both tribal and state court, whoever filed first wins, Alaska Supreme Court rules
Filed in both tribal and state court, a custody case goes to whoever filed first, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled — here decided by an eleven-day gap.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A fuel break cleared years ago helped keep the Grandview Fire out of Sterling
A fuel break cleared in 2019-20 helped keep the Grandview Fire out of Sterling — a case of wildfire prep paying off, with no injuries and no homes lost.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Kenai council approves $775,000 for Sixth Street water, sewer, road work
Kenai City Council approved 775000 dollars for Sixth Street infrastructure. The project will serve new senior housing but stop short of future development sites.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kenai mayor moves to shield home value from city property tax
Kenai's mayor directed the city manager to draft a residential property tax exemption after residents said assessments are climbing faster than relief.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kenai school board weighs AI classroom rules ahead of the school year
Kenai's school board is trying to write AI classroom rules firm enough to matter but loose enough to last, the same bind every district is in. They want them set by fall.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Week of Jul 27
Kenai weighs federal housing funds for Sixth Street water and sewer work
Kenai weighs using federal housing grant money to help fund water, sewer and street work on Sixth Street, with a public hearing and vote Wednesday.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kenai dipnet season closes after another strong sockeye run
The Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery closed for 2026 after a late-run sockeye return near 3 million, again clearing Fish and Game's escapement goals. Kasilof stays open through Aug. 7.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Six Kasilof dipnetters cited this month, all for failing to record catch
Six people got cited on Kasilof dipnet fisheries this month, none for taking too many fish, all for forgetting to write down what they caught. Bail runs $120.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
The state is opening Kenai lynx season — and already predicting it'll close next year
Alaska is opening Kenai lynx season Dec. 15–Feb. 28 while already predicting it'll close next year — the cats are heading toward the bottom of their boom-bust cycle.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
State cost-share helps Kenai and Mat-Su fix eroding riverbanks
Kenai and Mat-Su landowners can get the state to cover up to half or two-thirds of eroding-bank repairs — if they use salmon-friendly fixes, not rock armor.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kenai assembly weighs putting school board term limits to voters
Kenai's assembly weighs term limits for school board members — but can't impose them alone, so a yes vote just puts the question to borough voters. Hearing Sept. 1.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Ballot Measure 3 turns on a single word
Ballot Measure 3 would add "only" to Alaska's voter law. Sponsors call it a gap worth closing before a court does it for them; opponents call it a doubt nobody needed.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Kenai dipnetting goes 24 hours as sockeye run hits 3 million
Daaaaang! Kenai sockeye are running hot — 3 million projected — so dipnetting goes 24 hours a day through Friday's season close. Residents only, and kings go back.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Week of Jul 20
High water has Southcentral anglers waiting it out
Flooding has Southcentral anglers mostly sidelined — weirs underwater, creeks blown out, and 12-foot waves hitting the Kenai dipnet beaches.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Wind advisory: 50 mph gusts and 12-foot Cook Inlet waves threaten Kenai dipnetters Thursday
Yeah, maybe think about your choices before you just haphazardly go out - I don't know. I guess that's on you. Best of luck.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
He listed two Alaska move-in dates. Then he quit the race.
A Kenai-area candidate filed two different Alaska move-in dates on two candidacy forms. Asked to prove one, he withdrew the next morning.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Five dipnetters cited at Kenai personal use fishery for recordkeeping violation
Five people were cited July 18 at the Kenai dipnet fishery for failing to record salmon catches in ink before hiding or moving the fish, a violation that can cost future fishing privileges.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Week of Jul 13
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.
by Alaska News4mo ago1 min read
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.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
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.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
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.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read