Middle and high school coaches and directors would also be required to complete mandatory reporting training, although those adults would not become mandatory reporters. All school district volunteers are already required to pass a background check.

Those in favor said the bump is a necessary investment given financial trends, while those opposed said it would financially burden shoppers already feeling the strain of inflation.

The department says it already has good data from prior experimental beach seines, and that issuing new permits won’t fill remaining data gaps, like how many king salmon die after being released back into Cook Inlet.

The Kenai City Council last week agreed to spend $97,641.61 on the initiative, which includes decontaminating the city fire trucks.

The Fox Air lease is contingent on additional research on the company by the city, which received a letter raising concerns about Fox Air’s service.

On the central Kenai Peninsula, incumbents triumphed after almost 4,000 ballots were counted at the cooperative’s annual membership meeting Thursday.

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District considers updates to its school activity handbook. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski votes with Democrats to advance a resolution to remove U.S. forces from Iran. Plus, state lawmakers reject Gov. Mike Dunleavy's pick for attorney general.

Soldotna's sales tax will increase by half a percent starting next year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration opts not to list Gulf of Alaska king salmon under the federal Endangered Species Act. Plus, state lawmakers mull making the giant green cabbage Alaska's official state vegetable.

KDLL's staff talk about journalism, the station's outlook and the 2026 Spring Membership Drive

Clark Fair gives a presentation on Kenai's Agricultural Experiment Station at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center on April 16.