The Alaska pollock A season opened mid-January but the Kodiak fleet has been standing down to avoid bycatch, or the incidental harvest of non-targeted species. After years without functional restrooms, the Homer City Council approved the purchase of mobile restrooms for Karen Hornaday and Jack Gist parks. More than 30 service providers lined the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex conference room Tuesday to deliver products and services to those experiencing homelessness.

A group of scientists from the University of Washington conducted a string of experiments in Homer this winter to better understand how fiber optic cables could be used to detect seismic activity in Cook Inlet, and last Friday, the West Homer Elementary School gym was filled with the excited buzz of more than 80 students preparing for a day filled with chess.

Last Friday, the West Homer Elementary School gym was filled with the excited buzz of more than 80 students preparing for a day filled with chess. A group of scientists from the University of Washington conducted a string of experiments in Homer this winter to better understand how fiber optic cables could be used to detect seismic activity in Cook Inlet.

The Connie Boochever Fellowship awards $3,000 to emerging artists across Alaska. For the first time in the fellowship’s history, two artists from Homer received the award in one year, and a dozen brave souls weathered single-digit temperatures Thursday for the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s first full moon guided snowshoe walk of the season.

The Connie Boochever Fellowship awards $3,000 to emerging artists across Alaska. For the first time in the fellowship’s history, two artists from Homer received the award in one year. The topic of education funding has dominated the second session of the 33rd Alaska Legislature so far.

An Anaktuvuk Pass woman’s new book “Eagle Drums” has gotten a nod from the American Library Association’s prestigious Newbery Award, and the Kachemak Nordic Ski Club hosted races for the Besh Cup earlier this month at the Ohlson Mountain trail system in Homer.

The Kenai Peninsula Borough has reclassified its 1,000-acre Cooper Landing property known as Unit 395 for resource management and recreation; and a new study from the Alaska Environment Research and Policy Center finds that microplastics, or fragments of plastic less than 5 millimeters in length, were found in 100% of water bodies tested throughout Southcentral Alaska.

The food Alaskans eat often travels thousands of miles by barge or truck. But an after-school program in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough aims to give students the skills to fish for their own meals- even in the middle of winter, and the Kenai Peninsula Borough has reclassified its 1,000-acre Cooper Landing property known as Unit 395 for resource management and recreation.

Police arrested a 29-year-old Soldotna woman after they say she burglarized a local business that she worked at on multiple occasions; and the Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak in collaboration with the Alutiiq Museum have released a textbook to help revitalize an endangered Alaska Native language.

Families braved the cold weather and icy trails last Saturday for the Ice Lantern Walk at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, and Chris Koch was born without arms or legs, but that doesn’t stop him from living life to the fullest. He’s a farmer, world traveler and motivational speaker, currently making his rounds on the Kenai Peninsula.