Stream Watch was started in the mid-1990s by a group of fishermen intent on protecting the Kenai Peninsula’s salmon habitats. The program is jointly run by the Kenai Watershed Forum and the U.S. Forest Service and has an overarching goal of promoting watershed stewardship.

More than 100 attendees gathered on May 31 to celebrate the life of Kenai Peninsula College’s longest serving director, Gary Turner, who died in April. Speakers celebrated Turner as a champion for the college and its students and staff.

Council members added roughly a quarter of a million dollars in one-time spending during their Wednesday meeting.

The borough budget designates money for local schools, road work, borough landfills, service areas and government operations, among other things.

Council member Jordan Chilson says the changes were inspired by a conversation about how Soldotna should accommodate remote participation in city meetings.

State lawmakers put $144 million in bonus funding for K-12 schools in the state operating budget, of which Kenai Peninsula schools would get around $9.5 million. The additional funding is subject to approval by Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is looking into the death of man reported missing from Soldotna last month. The Blood Bank of Alaska reports its worst blood shortage in at least 15 years. A gubernatorial candidate proposes ending the Permanent Fund dividend program in favor of a one-time $10,000 payout per Alaskan. Plus, a cruise line partners with a whale advocacy group while sailing in Alaska this summer.

A seasonal mountaineering ranger dies after falling into a crevasse in Denali National Park and Preserve. Alaska's State Board of Education approves a Master's in teaching program for Indigenous languages. Plus, new and existing volunteers with the Kenai Watershed Forum's Stream Watch program attend an orientation in Cooper Landing.

On this week's episode of the Kenai Conversation, we're joined by Sara Hondel, the new executive director of the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce.

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