Josh Krohn

On Wednesday April 9, the Pratt Museum administrative staff received an email notification that the Institute of Museum and Library Services was immediately terminating the remainder of a grant that was awarded in 2022. The Kenai Peninsula’s largest energy cooperative wants to try and save a Nikiski solar farm that stalled earlier this year.

Southcentral and Kodiak Island residents are preparing for a likely eruption of Mount Spurr, a volcano about 80 miles west of Anchorage. But the potential impacts of that will pale in comparison to the largest volcanic eruption in the twentieth century, the 1912 Novarupta-Katmai eruption. As part of its monthly artist series, the Kenai Chamber of Commerce recently hung a collection of Alaska themed acrylic paintings.

Two Alaska State Troopers facing assault charges over alleged conduct during their arrest of the wrong man in Kenai last year won’t go to trial until next February. “Katmai: The Bears of Brooks River” is a two-player card game where the state’s most famous bears compete for dominance.

More than 300 demonstrators, and a few counter protesters, lined the sidewalks of Soldotna Saturday as part of a nationwide day of protest. The first of three new Coast Guard fast response cutters to be homeported in Kodiak is officially ready for duty.

As Kenai Peninsula school board members grapple with a $17 million funding shortfall, the district has considered shuttering up to nine schools to save money. As an eruption of Mount Spurr remains likely, veterinarians recommend protecting your pets from ashfall.

Seldovia middle school students attended a statewide science competition at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and received one gold medal at the event last week. Juniors at Soldotna High School had the opportunity to learn the basics of career choices last week during what the organizer says was the school’s first-ever job shadow day.

The pilot recently rescued off of a small plane in an icy, Kenai Peninsula lake may face disciplinary consequences, and be responsible for cleaning up the wreck. Mariners around Kodiak and across coastal Alaska rely on weather data coming from marine buoys to stay safe out on the water. The annual Oil Spill Response training for fishing vessels starts on April 1st through the 4th in Kodiak, April 7th through the 10th in Homer, and April 13 and 14 in Seward, with additional training later in the month in Cordova, Valdez, and Whittier. Just hours remain today for Alaskans to apply for a 2025 Permanent Fund Dividend check.

The Kenai Peninsula’s only online farmer’s market is no longer in service. The Alaska Food Hub program connected consumers with farmers, and distributed locally-grown produce to communities across the peninsula. Former Homer resident, Hannah Harrison, raised in the Cook Inlet commercial salmon industry and now living in Canada recently released a documentary focused on the Great Lakes commercial fisheries.

The Homer City Council approved resolutions last night recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness Month, supporting federal library funding, advancing a harbor infrastructure project and more. Three people were rescued Monday morning after their small plane went through the ice near the east side of Tustumena Lake, about 40 miles southeast of Soldotna. A 16-year-old snowmachiner from Soldotna died over the weekend after he was caught in an avalanche in Turnagain Pass.

Business leaders and community members packed a room last Wednesday to hear takeaways about the looming natural gas shortfall in Cook Inlet from the chair of the Southcentral Mayors’ Energy Coalition. As state lawmakers meet in Juneau this legislative session, the underlying factor driving movement on nearly every topic is money.