Kenai’s city council approved an ordinance Wednesday night that changes the recruitment and appointment process for Planning and Zoning commissioners.

Now, when the mayor is ready to nominate someone to fill a vacancy on that commission, the applications of all who are interested will be placed in the council’s meeting packet, so council members and the public can see who is interested in the position, and vet the chosen nominee. The council then has the responsibility of voting to confirm or veto the mayor’s appointment at its next meeting.

A robin sits recently in a tree in front of the Kenai Senior Center. Other robins headed south long ago, but this one apparently decided to stick it out here.

Increasing inmate population at a local correctional facility is creating numerous logistical and financial challenges for state Department of Corrections officials.

Wildwood Correctional Center in Kenai housed an average of 400 inmates in 2010, up from an average of 370 three years earlier, forcing officials to find more space to house pretrial and convicted inmates.

DOC first recognized the problem at Wildwood -- a former military base in Kenai -- six years ago and looked at an unused building on the institution's property.

The Sterling Highway was closed briefly Saturday evening due to weather-related incidents.

A series of incidents, all attributed to icy road conditions, caused traffic to slow and stop near Kasilof.

A trooper was assisting a disabled motorist near Mile 104 of the Sterling Highway at about 5:20 p.m. when his patrol vehicle was struck by an approaching mini-van driven by Mary Berger, 60, of Ninilchik. The icy road conditions were considered a factor in the crash, said Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Beth Ipsen.