The school board budget closes four schools and cuts millions of dollars in programs and employees. But board members said they’d reverse certain cuts if the assembly funded the school district at the same level as last year.

Department data show that, of the 20,981 fish caught through experimental beach seines in 2024, 98% were sockeye. All 16 king salmon caught were released into Cook Inlet.

City council members killed a proposed cap on the number of guests in a unit and passed a separate resolution removing the $50 fee for the permit Soldotna requires short-term rental operators to obtain.

Voters approved moving the city’s election day to November, like the Kenai Peninsula Borough and the City of Soldotna have done. The change aligns local elections with state and federal elections.

The school district wants an inflationary bump to what it got from the borough last year. That still comes with millions in cuts to programs and staff. That’s why others are asking the borough for the maximum funding allowable under state law, also called the ‘cap.’

The proposal comes about two weeks after city officials told council members about a need for more city revenue to pay for projects.

A school funding proposal from the Kenai Peninsula Borough could enable local school board members to reverse millions of dollars worth of budget cuts. The Alaska Senate approves a bill restoring defined benefits for public workers. Plus, Alaska awaits new weather cameras funded by Congress last year.

The Alaska Board of Fisheries is considering a major change to the type of gear Cook Inlet’s east-side setnet fishermen can use when king salmon runs are poor. Human remains found in Anchorage are identified as missing Shaktoolik teen Kelly Hunt. Plus, scientists get to the bottom of a mysterious golden orb found in the Gulf of Alaska.

On today’s episode of the Kenai Conversation, we’re joined by Tess Caswell and her dad, Steve Caswell. Tess is a Soldotna-grown capsule communicator with NASA, currently part of the team supporting the agency’s 10-day Artemis II lunar mission.

Voting for the Homer Electric Association Board of Directors is open April 3 through May 7