For the first time, kindergarten and first-grade students in Anchor Point are learning how to play the violin at school, thanks to the nonprofit Homer OPUS.

Voters in the Kenai Peninsula Borough will choose a new borough mayor in a special election this Valentine's Day; Gov. Mike Dunleavy has requested federal disaster declarations for two Alaska crab fisheries after their populations crashed; and voting for this year’s statewide elections started Monday at city halls, community centers, churches and election offices all over Alaska.

In Alaska, it’s illegal to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but one woman whose husband is incarcerated in Kenai says long sentences like his can act as virtual life sentences, when the chances of exiting the system are so slim, and she’s pushing legislation to give juvenile offenders an earlier chance at freedom.

The running mate of Republican candidate and former Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce has dropped out of the race for Alaska Governor; another death in the Alaska Department of Corrections marks a likely 20-year high for deaths in a calendar year; absentee-in-person voting has begun.

A Homer local has been named Historian of the Year by the Alaska Historical Society. Tom Kizzia is a journalist and author who came to the Kenai Peninsula nearly five decades ago.

A Homer local has been named Historian of the Year by the Alaska Historical Society. Tom Kizzia is a journalist and author who came to the Kenai Peninsula nearly five decades ago; the Rotary Health Fair is returning to Homer for its 39th year next month after a two-year hiatus; and a winter weather advisory is in effect until 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Early voting began today for this year's midterm elections; and the first winter weather advisory of the year was issued for the Western Kenai Peninsula this morning.For updated winter road advisories call 511 or go to 511.alaska.gov

The U.S. Forest Service just announced its 2022 recipients of the Wood Innovations Grant — which provides money to communities for projects that use wood for heating or building. One of the six Alaska recipients is the Village of Ionia, on the Kenai Peninsula.

Changes to city zoning codes are on the agenda for Monday’s Homer City Council meeting; and a former Kenai Peninsula Borough worker is accused of photographing women and girls without their consent at schools and his home in Soldotna, the charges were filed in Kenai Superior Court last week and detail a lengthy investigation that was put on hold when the lead investigator himself was arrested on child sexual abuse charges.

An EPA-funded program on the Kenai peninsula that turns recycled plastics to lumber; changes to city zoning codes and non-motorized transportation are on Monday's City Council meeting.