Some dogs in southcentral Alaska are part of a program that takes them from some of the area’s most isolated communities and brings them to the central Kenai Peninsula to be fixed or adopted; and the City of Soldotna is updating a series of trails downtown to make them ADA-compliant.

Global markets unsettled by the war in Ukraine have bumped up gas prices and disrupted energy supply chains in the U.S. and abroad; the Alaska National Guard rescued two passengers from a Super Cub plane that crashed near Tustumena Lake on July 27; and the majority of Alaska is on high alert based on community COVID levels.

The majority of Alaska is on high alert based on community COVID levels and a struggling healthcare system, according to local health officials; and Seldovia’s pavilion was overflowing earlier this month, as locals, and state and federal dignitaries gathered to celebrate the community’s 60th anniversary as a first-class city.

Last week, the White House announced U.S. gas prices had been on the decline for over a month, marking some of the fastest price declines in a decade. But while gas prices across the nation have been steadily decreasing since they peaked in mid-June, Alaska drivers haven’t been so lucky; and sailings on the M/V Tustumena have been canceled until Saturday, July 30 due to a critical crew shortage.

Last week, the White House announced U.S. gas prices had been on the decline for over a month, marking some of the fastest price declines in a decade. But while gas prices across the nation have been steadily decreasing since they peaked mid-June, Alaska drivers haven’t been so lucky; members of the public have until Friday to submit input about the future of Gulf of Alaska climate change research to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and two Alaska Native girls who died more than 100 years ago at a boarding school in Pennsylvania – including one from Kodiak Island – have returned home.

One woman with Soldotna roots is gearing up for an all-women’s off-roading rally this fall; and Alaska State Troopers say they’ve charged a Kenai man for illegally placing a camera in the bathroom of a Soldotna gym.

Alaska State Troopers say they’ve charged a Kenai man for illegally placing a camera in the bathroom of a Soldotna gym; one woman with Soldotna roots is gearing up for an all-women’s offroading rally this fall; the Alaska Beacon reports that Gov. Mike Dunleavy will sign a bill giving state recognition to Alaska’s 229 federally recognized Native tribes this week; and families enrolled in state-funded homeschool programs in Alaska can use their student funding allotments to pay for some private school classes.

A number of establishments on the Kenai Peninsula have stock shortages due to supply chain challenges; and a public art piece at Bishops Beach is the subject of a fundraising effort by the Bunnell Street Arts Center.

The Bunnell Street Arts Center is raising money for a public art installation at Bishop’s Beach park that will spotlight the long legacy of Indigenous stewardship of local lands on the southern Kenai Peninsula; and sockeye counts hit highs on the Kasilof and Kenai Rivers last week, and over the weekend, those numbers drew crowds of anglers down to the Kenai Peninsula to try their rods and dip nets at the local sport and personal-use fisheries.

Three days after they were ordered to take their nets out of the water, Cook Inlet set-netters are suing the state over the fishery’s closure; and there are many ways to learn about the history and culture of Homer, especially in the summer. One way is the Homer Harbor tour which has been going on since the mid-1990s.