Michael Armstrong

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Homer woman charged in murder of Soldotna man

The victim, Keith Huss, 57, was found in Turnagain Pass

 

A Homer Volunteer Fire Department emergency medical technician, left, assists a person who was involved in a boat capsizing, center, as they walk up the load-launch ramp on Wednesday, July 8, 2020, at the Homer Harbor in Homer, Alaska. The crew of the F/V Captain Cook helped rescue the person. The crew of the F/V Casino rescued the other two people who were aboard the 14-foot skiff when it capsized near the entrance of China Poot Bay. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

1 dead, 2 rescued after boat capsizes near Homer

HOMER — One person is dead and another two were rescued Wednesday from the waters of Kachemak Bay by commercial fishermen and a surfer when… Continue reading

 

A bald eagle sits on top of a tsunami warning tower on the Homer Spit near Mariner Park on Tuesday morning, Sept. 2, 2014, after an error in the alert system caused a false tsunami warning. Towers like this situated in coastal Alaska towns are designed primarily to warn of tsunamis, but also can warn of other events, including possible nuclear missile attacks. (Homer News file photo by Michael Armstrong)

Could false nuke alert happen on the Kenai Peninsula?

HOMER — In September 2014, the National Weather System sent out a false tsunami alarm, triggering tsunami warning sirens in Homer. As happened last Saturday… Continue reading

 

The Roof of the Arctic group pose for a photo next to whale jaws. From left to right are Bj&

Couple completes first fat bike journey from Point Hope to Utqiagvik

HOMER — In the past 10 years since fat bikes have become popular for riding on beaches and snow in Alaska, people have regularly ridden… Continue reading

The Roof of the Arctic group pose for a photo next to whale jaws. From left to right are Bj&
The F/V Glacier works its way around ice clogging the east end of the Homer Harbor on Tuesday afternoon. (Michael A. Armstrong | Homer News)

Ice postpones winter king tournament

HOMER — Continued cold weather with excessive ice in the Homer Harbor has caused the Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center to postpone for… Continue reading

The F/V Glacier works its way around ice clogging the east end of the Homer Harbor on Tuesday afternoon. (Michael A. Armstrong | Homer News)

Inclusivity measure in Homer faces backlash

A group of 10 Homer citizens on Monday filed an application for a recall petition against Homer City Council members Donna Aderhold, David Lewis and… Continue reading

In this May 23, 2015 photo, the welcome sign is displayed on the outskirts of Homer. (Mark Thiessen | The Associated Press file)

Homer rejects inclusivity measure

HOMER — The Club Bar incident. Removing the Veterans Memorial from WKFL Park. Nuclear Free Homer. Annexation. Banning commercial cannabis. In the 53-year history of the… Continue reading

In this May 23, 2015 photo, the welcome sign is displayed on the outskirts of Homer. (Mark Thiessen | The Associated Press file)
Jim Rearden in 1955 with a Dall sheep he hunted in the Brooks Range. (Courtesy photo)

Legendary Homer writer, scientist Rearden dies

HOMER — Writer, photographer, editor, professor, biologist, outdoorsman, scholar, veteran, Alaskan and family man: In the history of Alaska’s post-World War II generation that came… Continue reading

Jim Rearden in 1955 with a Dall sheep he hunted in the Brooks Range. (Courtesy photo)
Sherry Bess is retiring after 22 years as Homer's animal control officer.

After 27 years of caring for Homer’s strays, Bess is taking some time off

HOMER - From a building smaller than a lot of Homer dry cabins to a modern, heated animal shelter, Animal Control Officer Sherry Bess has… Continue reading

Sherry Bess is retiring after 22 years as Homer's animal control officer.
Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion A woman shows off a ring made out of crochet yarn by one of her fellow inmates during a session of the Wildwood Correctional Complex's crochet program Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016 in the center's pretrial facility in Kenai, Alaska.

Crocheting together for help, hope at Kenai prison

HOMER — In the fiber art of crocheting, yarn gets connected together by making loops with a hook — “crochet” means “small hook” in French.… Continue reading

Photo by Megan Pacer/Peninsula Clarion A woman shows off a ring made out of crochet yarn by one of her fellow inmates during a session of the Wildwood Correctional Complex's crochet program Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016 in the center's pretrial facility in Kenai, Alaska.
Lee John Henry attends his arraignment on first-degree murder in the Homer Courtroom on Monday. Homer Police on Sunday arrested Henry in the death of Mark Matthews, then 61, killed off the Poopdeck Trail on July 28, 2013.

Homer police charge man, 55, in 3-year-old murder case

HOMER — Homer police on Sunday arrested a Homer man in a three-year-old murder case.Lee John Henry, 55, was arraigned in Homer court Monday for… Continue reading

Lee John Henry attends his arraignment on first-degree murder in the Homer Courtroom on Monday. Homer Police on Sunday arrested Henry in the death of Mark Matthews, then 61, killed off the Poopdeck Trail on July 28, 2013.

Appeals court reverses Homer pot conviction

HOMER — The Court of Appeals has reversed a conviction for marijuana possession against a homeless Homer man.In a decision released Sept. 14, the court… Continue reading

The front entrance and parking lot to the Homer Police Station on Heath Street downhill from Homer High School.

Homer votes on new police station

HOMER — In considering Homer Proposition 1, a proposal to borrow up to $12 million to build a new Homer Police Station, the controversy isn’t… Continue reading

The front entrance and parking lot to the Homer Police Station on Heath Street downhill from Homer High School.
Mavis Muller, left, directs a crew of volunteer artists Monday at construction of this year's Burning Basket, Expand, at Mariner Park.

Homer’s Burning Basket vandalized

HOMER — For the second year in a row, a vandal or vandals snuck in at dark and tried to burn the Burning Basket at… Continue reading

Mavis Muller, left, directs a crew of volunteer artists Monday at construction of this year's Burning Basket, Expand, at Mariner Park.
Jennifer Wambach holds a Steller's jay that was shot with a blowgun dart. Veterinarians Dr. Ralph Broshes and Dr. Dorothy Sherwood removed the dart from the jay, as well as another jay shot with a dart. Both jays were released back into the wild.

Retired Homer vet rescues darted Steller’s jays

HOMER — Two Steller’s jays trying to fatten up for the winter almost met an early end last week. Someone in downtown Homer shot the… Continue reading

Jennifer Wambach holds a Steller's jay that was shot with a blowgun dart. Veterinarians Dr. Ralph Broshes and Dr. Dorothy Sherwood removed the dart from the jay, as well as another jay shot with a dart. Both jays were released back into the wild.

Homer bans pets in back of pickups

HOMER — Homer has made amendments to the city’s animal control laws that ban a practice some might think of as Alaskan as log cabins… Continue reading

Gov. Bill Walker, left, listens to Homer Mayor Beth Wythe, right, after speaking to the Homer City Council on Tuesday. Homer Advisory Planning Commissioner Roberta Highland, center, looks on.

Walker: ‘I’m the only guy with a bucket’

HOMER — In a talk before the Homer City Council on Tuesday, Gov. Bill Walker mentioned a historic photo of Metlakatla villagers Lt. Gov. Byron… Continue reading

Gov. Bill Walker, left, listens to Homer Mayor Beth Wythe, right, after speaking to the Homer City Council on Tuesday. Homer Advisory Planning Commissioner Roberta Highland, center, looks on.
Mark Matthews was found dead three years ago on a popular Homer trail. The identity of the person who murdered him remains a mystery.

Homer’s only unsolved murder case still in limbo

HOMER — After years of investigation, Homer’s only unsolved murder now awaits a decision by the Kenai District Attorney on whether charges can be filed.… Continue reading

Mark Matthews was found dead three years ago on a popular Homer trail. The identity of the person who murdered him remains a mystery.
A Cessna 206 floatplane owned and piloted by Alaska Dispatch News owner Alice Rogoff sits on the beach off Ismailof Island in Halibut Cove on Sunday night.

Alaska newspaper publisher survives floatplane crash

Alaska Dispatch News owner Alice Rogoff survived a floatplane crash Sunday in Halibut Cove on the Kenai Peninsula. Rogoff, who was piloting the plane when… Continue reading

A Cessna 206 floatplane owned and piloted by Alaska Dispatch News owner Alice Rogoff sits on the beach off Ismailof Island in Halibut Cove on Sunday night.
Seagulls feed on fish scraps on June 3 at the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon cleaning tables on the Homer Spit. A $60,000 grant from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game will pay for a bird-proof shelter to go over the tables.

Homer’s Fishing Hole will get shelter from gulls

HOMER — On a good day when fishermen pull sea-bright king salmon out of the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon faster than the tide runs, the… Continue reading

Seagulls feed on fish scraps on June 3 at the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon cleaning tables on the Homer Spit. A $60,000 grant from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game will pay for a bird-proof shelter to go over the tables.