A Soldotna swimmer brought home a silver medal after landing a 35-second finish in the 50-yard freestyle at the Special Olympics USA Games last month in Minnesota.

The Seward Highway was closed for about 8 hours and reopened Saturday morning.

A semitruck carrying fuel and fish overturns near Seward. A Soldotna swimmer takes home silver at the Special Olympics USA Games. Plus, a State House Committee finds a Homer lawmaker likely violated the law when she used state letterhead to criticize a local newspaper.

The Alaska Division of Forestry says the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, but has ruled out lightning, suggesting the blaze was human-caused.

State foresters say quick work by firefighters has stymied a wildfire near Soldotna. State lawmakers delay action on a compromise tax break bill for the Alaska LNG Project. Plus, a new study finds puffin populations are declining in the Kodiak Archipelago.

In a letter, Griebel says he is resigning from the assembly to take a job with the borough.

In February, 36-year-old Kirby Calderwood pleaded guilty to murdering Anesha “Duffy” Murnane. He accepted a plea deal through which state prosecutors dropped eight other charges in the case.

Scott Griebel resigns from the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly. A Homer man who pleaded guilty to murdering a Homer woman who went missing in 2019 is sentenced to 87 years in prison. Plus, the Sitka Sound Science Center finds a message in a bottle.

Soldotna’s next mini grant application cycle opens July 15. The council has approved $4,000 for grants this year.

Kenai City Council members last week signed off on roughly $2,000.