When Homer-based artist Abigail Kokai was unable to visit friends and family, she decided to create her own. The idea led to a sprawling universe involving larger-than-life inflatable and plush characters in colorful muppet-form.

The vessel that will eventually replace the aging state ferry Tustemena is likely to be a battery-powered diesel-electric hybrid; and when Homer-based artist Abigail Kokai was unable to visit friends and family, she decided to create her own. The idea led to a sprawling universe involving larger-than-life inflatable and plush characters in colorful muppet-form.

A pair of peaks in Chugach State Park are getting a name change, following a two-year push from a Palmer resident and with help from a Dena’ina elder; and Alaska State Troopers are searching for a man charged with shooting at and setting fire to a Funny River home in a dispute its occupants say might’ve started over firewood.

A pair of peaks in Chugach State Park are getting a name change, following a two-year push from a Palmer resident and with help from a Dena’ina elder; and the annual Elders and Youth Conference was back in person Monday, after two virtual years because of the pandemic.

Hundreds of elementary students from across the Kenai Peninsula gathered at Bear Creek and the Anchor River last week to learn about salmon and do an egg take; and waterfront development in Kenai may transform the city over the next five to ten years.

Hundreds of elementary students from across the Kenai Peninsula gathered at Bear Creek and the Anchor River last week to learn about salmon and do an egg take; and waterfront development in Kenai may transform the city over the next five to ten years.

Ben Stevens, a former State Senate president and son of long-time Alaska senator Ted Stevens, died Thursday at the age of 63; and former Labor Commissioner Heidi Drygas was in Sitka for the Alaska Travel Industry Association conference last week, Drygas is running on a ticket with former Governor Bill Walker, and if elected would serve as Lieutenant Governor.

A local sustainability group says the Kenai Peninsula Borough could play a role in avoiding a future energy crisis; a workshop in Juneau will help LGBT+ people learn an intentional approach to getting support.

Sue McClure is set to be sworn in as mayor of Seward later this month, after serving with the city for the past 15 years; and Bering Sea snow crab will close for the first time in the fishery’s history.

Sue McClure is set to be sworn in as mayor of Seward later this month, after serving with the city for the past 15 years; homes on the central and southern Kenai Peninsula are largely kept warm with natural gas in the winter; and Bering Sea snow crab will close for the first time in the fishery’s history.