KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Alaska transportation officials say they are closing a water drainage site on the Seward Highway that's become a popular water collection spout for motorists.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The fate of a bond issue for a field house in Soldotna remains unsettled, with votes still to be counted following a recent election.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Early-run king salmon in the Kenai River can be caught but not kept this summer.

The Anchorage Daily News reports the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is anticipating low returns and on Thursday announced restrictions for both the Kenai and Kasilof (kah-SEE-lawf) rivers.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Soldotna's public works director says a design is "95 percent complete" on a proposed field house.

Kyle Kornelis says planners will await taking additional steps until they see the outcome of a special election March 5.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — A new publisher is leading both the Homer News and the Peninsula Clarion in Kenai.

Sound Publishing Inc., which owns both newspapers, appointed Jeff Hayden as publisher. He started his post Monday.

Terry Ward, regional publisher and Sound Publishing vice president, says he's pleased to put the newspapers in Hayden's capable hands. He says Hayden "has a deep-rooted desire to help local businesses with their marketing and a passion for community journalism."

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Near Anchorage's Ship Creek, a new bronze statue of an elder named Olga, a Dena'ina matriarch from the village of Eklutna, stands and overlooks land that was once a prosperous Native fish camp.

Soldotna artist Joel Isaak, who is Dena'ina himself, worked on the statue for two and a half years. He said he doesn't take the opportunity to represent his culture through art lightly.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Police say an Alaska woman was injured after a handgun was accidentally fired inside a coffee shop on the Kenai Peninsula.

Soldotna Police Lt. Duane Kant tells the Anchorage Daily News that a group of friends was meeting at the Soldotna shop Sunday and was passing around a pistol that a 76-year-old Kenai man had recently purchased.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Construction crews working on a remodel of the Kenai Municipal Airport have discovered a mural created by students more than four decades ago.

The mural was designed and painted in the spring of 1977 by Kenai Central High School students from an advanced art class, the Peninsula Clarion reported . The class was taught by the late teacher, Renae Larson.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — City officials in a Kenai Peninsula community are deciding whether to ban the use of cellphones and other hand-held devices for people driving in school zones.

The Alaska Legislature last year gave cities the ability to regulate the use of cellphones for motorists in active school zones and on school property, the Peninsula Clarion reported .

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A Kenai man who threatened to kill a state judge's family has been convicted in federal court of mailing a threatening communication.

Steven Bachmeier faces up to five years in prison. He will be sentenced April 2.

U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder in announcement of the case did not name the state Superior Court judge.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The list of people signed up to deliver invocations to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly includes Christian pastors, atheists and a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — In a story Dec. 28 about a home explosion near Anchor Point, Alaska, The Associated Press erroneously cited the name of the Kenai radio station. The station is KSRM, not KRSM.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Home explodes near Anchor Point, closes Sterling Highway

An explosion on the southern Kenai Peninsula destroyed a home and sent debris onto the Sterling Highway

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says it will again ban the catching of razor clams on the Cook Inlet side of Kenai Peninsula.

The Peninsula Clarion reports sport and personal clamming will be banned in 2019.

The department is closing the east side of the inlet to encourage recovery of the clams.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Officials on the Kenai Peninsula are examining what effects port cities might see from a federal court decision on the use of cruise ship passenger fees.

U.S. District Court Judge H. Russel Holland ruled earlier this month that Juneau can keep collecting the fees, but their use must benefit the cruise ships, the Peninsula Clarion reported this week.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard is leading cleanup efforts after a fishing vessel sank in a harbor in southern Alaska, releasing an unknown amount of marine diesel and other petroleum products.

The 71-foot (22-meter) Nordic Viking boat sank for unknown reasons last week in Seward Harbor, the Peninsula Clarion reported Sunday.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District performed admirably after southcentral Alaska's magnitude 7.0 earthquake on Nov. 30, according to the borough mayor.

Charlie Pierce, however, said there was room for improvement by the borough administration, the Peninsula Clarion reported .

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The city of Soldotna is planning a special election March 9 to seek voter backing for construction of a field house.

The Peninsula Clarion reports voters will be asked if the city should issue $10 million bond in bonds and increase sales tax by a half percent.

The cost of a field house is estimated at $11.8 million.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — State Rep. Gary Knopp will not be part of any majority party in the Alaska House's upcoming session.

KINY radio reports the Kenai Republican announced Saturday that he is parting with the GOP caucus in hopes of forcing a consensus among lawmakers.

Knopp's decision leaves the Republicans and Democrats in the House in a 20-20 split.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Soldotna residents have had a month to adjust to a new ban on single-use plastic bags.

The Peninsula Clarion reports that stores can sell paper bags or offer them for free to customers under the local ordinance that prohibits some bags.

Retailers and consumers in Soldotna are adjusting to a new ban on single-use plastic bags, with a run on renewable plastic bags.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — An employee of a Hilcorp Alaska drilling contractor has died at Milne Point on the North Slope.

Hilcorp Alaska spokeswoman Lori Nelson says an employee of Kuukpik Corp. was fatally injured at Milne Point early Friday. She said by email that the cause of the incident wasn't immediately known.

She says safety is a top priority and the company, Kuukpik Corp. and regulatory agencies would conduct an investigation.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — A former Kenai Peninsula hockey coach has been sentenced to 62 years in prison for sexually abusing children and possessing child pornography.

Kenai radio station KSRM reports 57-year-old Bradley Elliott worked as a junior varsity hockey coach at Kenai Central High School for the 2005-06 school year.

He assisted with the hockey program at Soldotna High for three seasons from 2007 to 2010.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Seward is planning to heat four city buildings using seawater pumped from Resurrection Bay.

The City Council approved a resolution this week to accept a $725,000 grant from the Alaska Energy Authority to design and build a ground source heat pump, the Peninsula Clarion reported .

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The Kenai Peninsula Borough's policy on prayers at Assembly meetings will be broadened in response to a court ruling that it violated the Alaska Constitution.

The borough Assembly voted 7-2 Tuesday to amend the policy to allow a greater range of eligible individuals who can give invocations and reflect the diversity of beliefs in the borough, Kenai radio station KSRM reported .

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Workers have begun the remodel of the 52-year-old terminal at the Kenai Municipal Airport.

Construction to modernize the terminal began in mid-October, the Peninsula Clarion reported .

"There's only going to be a small amount of work done before winter comes," said city manager Paul Ostrander. The bulk of the work will start in April or May, he said.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Alaska inmates have spruced up an historic Seward cemetery for nearly 20 years and are now trying their hand at making headstones.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — A 34-year-old Kenai man has been charged with first- and second-degree murder in the death of his infant daughter.

Kenai radio station KSRM reports Franklin Schrader is also charged with felony assault.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Marathon Petroleum Corp. says it has finished acquiring all outstanding shares of Andeavor, the company formerly known as Tesoro.

Kenai radio station KSRM reports Marathon and Andeavor in April entered into a $23.3 billion merger agreement.

Andeavor operates refineries in California, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Alaska.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The Kenaitze Indian Tribe Henu' Community Wellness Court has celebrated the program's first graduates.

The Henu' Community Wellness Court is a joint-jurisdiction therapeutic court, operated by the Kenaitze Indian Tribe and the State of Alaska Court System. The court serves offenders who face legal trouble stemming from substance use.

Kenaitze Tribal Court Chief Judge Susan Wells says the program is about transforming lives.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Kenai Peninsula Borough crews have started repairing roads near Seward that flooded after two storm systems drenched the peninsula over the last week.

Work began Tuesday on borough-maintained roads outside of Seward following an assessment of flood damage Monday, the Peninsula Clarion reported .

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — A century-old Russian Orthodox chapel in Kenai will undergo renovations next year after receiving nearly $28,000 in grant funding.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Referrals have increased for an Alaska school district program that provides services to homeless students in the Kenai Peninsula Borough.

The district has referred 98 children to the Students in Transition program since last week, up from 69 students identified at the same time last year, the Peninsula Clarion reported .

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The Kenai Soil and Water Conservation District is expanding a program that rents out agricultural equipment to small-scale farmers and other community members at affordable rates.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — A bent, broken old cabin with a long history is getting new life after decades of decay.

A pair of workers have been carefully taking apart and numbering the logs of an old cabin in Old Town Kenai, right across the street from the landmark Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church. Situated between the bluff above the north Kenai beach and the popular Veronica's Cafe, many visitors know it as the sunken cabin with a "No Trespassing" sign adjacent to the road.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The Kenai Peninsula Borough is urging the city of Soldotna to seek voter approval in its efforts to annex surrounding areas.

The borough assembly voted Tuesday to oppose Soldotna's plans, sending a resolution to encourage city officials to allow residents who live in the proposed annexation areas to vote on the issue, the Peninsula Clarion reported .

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The Kenai Peninsula Borough is urging the city of Soldotna to seek voter approval in its efforts to annex surrounding areas.

The Peninsula Clarion reports the borough assembly voted Tuesday to oppose Soldotna's plans, sending a resolution to encourage city officials to allow residents who live in the proposed annexation areas to vote on the issue.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — A Wisconsin man is missing after a boat overturned on an Alaska river.

Sixty-eight-year-old Daniel Hass was one of three men from Algoma on board a boat that flipped Monday on the Kenai (KEE-neye) River, a popular sport-fishing venue south of Anchorage.

Alaska State Troopers say the boat apparently drifted sideways down the river, struck a rock and overturned.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — A 33-year-old Alaska man in state custody on a felony assault charge has died.

The Department of Corrections says Kendall Barrett died two weeks ago of injuries suffered in a suicide attempt at Wildwood Pretrial Facility in Kenai.

Barrett was booked Aug. 11. Two days later, a corrections officer found him unresponsive in his cell.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Alaska State Troopers are rebranding their department in an attempt to draw in more prospective troopers.

The agency is cranking up its recruiting efforts after a study showed that it is facing a decline in trooper numbers, the Peninsula Clarion reported .

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska seafood organization is encouraging industry members to comment on the proposed U.S. tariffs on products imported from China that could negatively affect the state's seafood industry.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The Kenai Peninsula Borough wants to boost its role in a project to build a massive pipeline to carry natural gas from Alaska's North Slope to a liquefaction plant and export terminal planned for Nikiski.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service is seeking feedback from the public on a draft revision to a management plan for a national forest in Alaska.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — A car struck and killed a pedestrian on the Kenai Peninsula.

Kenai radio station KSRM reports 36-year-old Monte Necessary of Kenai died Tuesday night when he was struck by a westbound sedan on the Kenai Spur Highway.

Sergeant Jay Sjogren of the Kenai Police Department says the accident occurred shortly before 6:15 p.m.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Alaska is asking hunters to bring the heads of certain animals killed this season to state wildlife officials so the animals can be screened for respiratory pathogens.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — A company working on road reconstruction on an Alaska highway south of Anchorage has said its gravel trucks were not responsible for the rock that hit a car and killed an 8-year-old boy inside.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — An initiative seeking to raise the sales tax in the Kenai Peninsula Borough by 0.5 percent will not make it on the October ballot but might make it onto the ballot next year.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The driver of a pickup that collided with a motorcycle in Sterling, fatally injuring a man, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence.

Alaska State Troopers identified the pickup driver as 53-year-old Aprile Cresap. She remained jailed Tuesday in Kenai.

Cresap is represented by the Alaska Public Defender's Office, which did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — They may be in prison, but some of Wildwood Correctional Complex inmates aren't exactly doing hard time. For the approximately 85 dogs that have been taken in through the facility's dog rehabilitation program, prison means a warm place to sleep, lots of treats and a really big yard.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Lynx trapping will not open up on the Kenai Peninsula this year as populations of the wildcat and its prey move through a low cycle.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced last week that the trapping season will stay closed for the peninsula and the region east of the Turnagain and Knik arms, the Peninsula Clarion reported .

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska resident has created a smartphone app designed to connect anglers and guides with each other and to a hub of local fishing information.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The state has reduced the fines for an oil and gas company that failed to plug two Cook Inlet wells before the end of its leases.