Homer Farmers Market annual meeting a great success!

The Homer Farmers Market Board of Directors would like to thank the vendors, staff and community members that made our Annual Meeting on Saturday, Jan. 24 such a success. We gratefully had 65 people in attendance. Our big news that was highlighted is we have started a multi-year capital campaign with the ultimate motivation of buying our own land. We treasure our current location and we are in a multi-year lease so are not moving yet! However, we are proactively pursuing land ownership so we can secure our forever home. The vision for HFM’s future is a centrally located parcel that is safe and accessible (ADA, bikers, walkers, etc.) that feels very welcoming and supports community resilience for generations to come.

During the meeting we celebrated 2025 successes, including 532 kids participating at the kid’s tent, which was staffed by the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies and supported by the Homer Foundation. With the support of Alaska Farmers Market Association and private donors, we had a record-breaking year in both of our food equity programs. First, we matched an incredible $8,517 in SNAP this year! Including QUEST sales and match, $17,270 of QUEST was spent at HFM in 2025 on healthy, locally grown and produced food. Included in this figure, and thanks to Chugachmiut Health Services, we also provided locally grown food and SNAP matching at both Nanwalek and Port Graham community health fairs. We’re very proud of the second food equity program we administer. For that one, we purchase food at market price and distribute it to our pantries. In 2025, we sent $24,453 worth of food for the Anchor Point and Homer Food Pantries!

We would like to recognize the following people/businesses for their door prize donations at the meeting: Adventure Harvest, Wilson’s Proper Edge, Twitter Creek Gardens, Hiding Birch Farm, Red Bird Kitchen, Simply Fresh Salsa, MJ Earthworks Ceramics, The Bagel Shop, Shaman’s Cave, Synergy Gardens, Callista Dreaming, Wooden Diamonds, Sweet Berries, Luba’s Garden, Will Grow Farm, Bridge Creek Birch Syrup, Mavis Mueller Art, Udder Delights Alaska, It’s Us Candles, Luxurious Lathers, Alaska Made Makeup, Alaska Beauty Peony Cooperative, and Snowshoe Hollow Farm. Additionally, thank you to our enthusiastic and versatile MC Kyle Schneider, Zen Den Cafe for generously acting as our drop-off point for door prize donations, and to Porcupine Theater for their venue and support on the day of the meeting.

As the HFM starts this land-pursuing process, we are actively seeking community members’ input. There will be multiple ways for community members to get involved throughout this campaign. If you are interested in learning more about current opportunities to get involved, please take a minute to let us know what you’d like to learn more about! (Note: this is not a commitment, just an interest survey.)

Margarida Kondak

HFM Board Member

Help Homer celebrate America’s 250th birthday

Saturday, July 4 will be a celebration unlike any other. Not only is it Independence Day, it marks the 250th birthday of the United States — a milestone that comes around only once every generation. With the holiday falling on a Saturday, Homer has a unique opportunity to host a community-wide celebration worthy of the occasion.

Events will begin with the Homer Chamber of Commerce’s 4th of July Parade at 3 p.m., followed by a community picnic at the HERC property at the corner of Sterling Highway and Pioneer Avenue. From roughly 4-8 p.m., the area will be filled with food, music, games and family-friendly activities as we honor 250 years of American history together.

This celebration is an opportunity for both Southern Kenai Peninsula residents and visitors to come together in unity and community pride. But to make it truly unforgettable, we need local support.

The Homer America 250 Planning Committee is seeking volunteers, partner organizations and donors to help bring this event to life. There are many ways to get involved, including grilling free hot dogs and hamburgers, running children’s game booths, performing on the entertainment stage, joining the decorating crew or painting faces for kids.

A community celebration of this scale only succeeds when the community participates. If you’d like to help shape Homer’s America 250 celebration, please contact the Homer Chamber of Commerce at 907-235-7740.

Let’s come together to make July 4, 2026 a historic day for Homer — and a memory we’ll all be proud of.

Brad Anderson, Executive Director

Homer Chamber Of Commerce & Visitors Center

A weekend on the ice

This year’s tournament featured 10 teams, 140 players, and 20 competitive games, but what made it especially remarkable was the incredible range of athletes who took part. Players spanned 50 years in age, skating side by side and representing multiple generations of women’s hockey. From newer players to seasoned veterans, the jamboree showcased the strength, longevity, and growing legacy of women in the sport — a powerful reminder that hockey truly is for everyone.

We were proud to welcome players from communities across Alaska, as well as a couple who traveled from the Lower 48. Throughout the weekend, the rink was filled with spirited competition, laughter and connection, as teammates, opponents, friends and families came together to celebrate the game.

The tournament directors would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Kevin Bell Arena and its dedicated staff for hosting another outstanding tournament weekend. From the ice maintenance to the behind-the-scenes coordination, their efforts set the tone for a smooth, welcoming and truly enjoyable event for everyone involved.

We are equally grateful to the Homer Hockey Association for its continued leadership and support of hockey in our community. We recognize and celebrate their commitment to growing the women’s hockey program in Homer. A special thank-you goes to the Diva Hockey team, whose members once again stepped up in a big way — volunteering time and their positive energy to help make the 2026 Jamboree possible.

This event would not be possible without the generosity of our sponsors and supporters. We extend our sincere thanks to Homers Jeans, Alice’s Champagne Palace, Salmon Sisters and many others who contributed to the success of the jamboree. We are also deeply appreciative of those who donated items to our silent auction — your generosity directly supports women’s and youth hockey programs in our community.

To our volunteers, families, fans and everyone who lent a hand or cheered from the stands: thank you. Your support helped make this year’s jamboree not only a success, but a meaningful celebration of teamwork, community and the enduring spirit of women’s hockey in Homer.

Homer Jamboree Hockey Tournament Directors

Reign of terror

The Department of Homeland Security performs a vital public safety function when they remove violent felons off of our streets, but that’s not what’s going on here.

According to DHS, there are 2 million undocumented immigrants in Texas and 1.6 million in Florida. Although there are only 90,000 in Minnesota and 5,000 in Maine, ICE has focusedthis new Trumpian Reign of Terror on these two states. This is clearly political revenge in an attempt to force us to submit to his racial prejudices and incite a reason to invoke the Insurrection Act. Even off duty police officers have been racially profiled and detained.

Today, ICE and Border Patrol agents routinely conduct operations while masked to conceal their identities. This mirrors the Klu Klux Klan practices to intimidate and facilitate mob violence without risk of personal consequences. We’re told that we have nothing to fear. But when armed officers of the government hide their identities, they’re telling us exactly what to fear.

Just like police batons, fire hoses and German shepherd violence failed in the 1960s , the vicious, blatant executions in Minneapolis must galvanize this nation back to sanity.

Let’s be grateful to the people who are bearing witness and filming while protesting. We can join them by flooding messages to Senators Murkowski and Sullivan to end this nightmare. We can also contribute to organizations like ACLU.org and the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota at www.ILCM.org.

Michael A LeMay, Veterans For Peace

Homer

Dear Editor,

Abiding by city ordinances is cumbersome and inefficient, especially for local governmental officials who wish to spend taxpayer dollars on feathering their own nests and furthering the business interests of their closest constituents. This is why it is so important to stifle the disclosure of public records which, all too often, reveal governmental malfeasance. This, in turn, causes taxpayers to lose faith in their government and could disenfranchise them to the point that they cease paying the taxes that are so vital to maintaining the steady flow of money to governmental officials and their cronies.

Frank Griswold