Key Peninsula News

George Orwell: ‘Facing Unpleasant Facts’

One of the better memories I have from my 1970s high school years are the hours I stole for myself by ditching an English class I despised. I hid out in the stacks of the library, sneaking along the … more

Ted Olinger, KP News | 6/1/22

Spring into Summer

It may be a while before your tomato plants flower and set fruit to grow and ripen for harvest. Until then, satisfy your craving for food that tastes clean, fresh and bright with this Greek-inspired … more

Lisa Bryan, KP News | 6/1/22

Coach Beth Porter, left, runs with fourth-graders Evey Lee and Eliza Rasmussen.

Evergreen Elementary Girls on the Run

The nationwide program Girls on the Run returned this spring to Evergreen Elementary School for a 12-week season. Eighteen girls from third through fifth grade met after school twice a week for … more

Krisa Bruemmer, KP News | 6/1/22

New Longbranch Pumpout Station Delayed Indefinitely

Plans to build a pumpout station at the Longbranch Marina, designed to give boaters a way to empty their sewage tanks, was halted by an unexpected permitting roadblock because of a shared well that … more

Chris Rurik, KP News | 6/1/22

Tiedeman Road Name Corrected

If you live on or drive by Tiedman Road, you may have noticed that the spelling on the road signs was recently changed to Tiedeman. Pierce County updated the signs the week of April 18 to reflect the … more

Joseph Pentheroudakis, KP News | 6/1/22

Evergreen Elementary’s Bette McCord Retires

Bette (“Betty”) McCord has been one of the first faces students, parents, community providers, volunteers and visitors have seen when they enter Evergreen Elementary School for over three … more

Krisa Bruemmer, KP News | 6/1/22

Dr. Roes Celebrated and Honored in Bronze

Community leaders, colleagues, former staff, friends and family gathered at the Key Peninsula Civic Center April 23 in gratitude for the humble, kind-hearted country doctor who practiced medicine as … more

Lisa Bryan, KP News | 6/1/22

Simple Spring Party Food

The past two years of Covid isolation have left many of us out of practice when it comes to socializing and hosting guests. Like our weather at times, dark clouds, rain, sun breaks, maybe a rainbow, … more

Ann-Marie Ugles | 4/27/22

Erden Eruç hoists the Philippine pennant on arrival, delivered by the local kayak club

KP Man Completes First Solo Row from U.S. to Asia

Solo circumnavigator Erden Eruç of Wauna, 60, made landfall at Legazpi City in the Philippines March 24, becoming the first person to row from North America to Asia after launching from … more

Ted Olinger, KP News | 4/26/22

The Adventurer’s North Star

Nancy Board is an extraordinarily self-reliant woman focused on wellbeing. She loves her life and the man she shares it with in Wauna, and maintains an abiding faith that somehow, someway, everything … more

Lisa Bryan, KP News | 4/26/22

“We don’t call them hogs; we call them big pigs.”

Local Farm Animal Rescue Organization Saves Lives

Since its inception in 2017, Heartwood Haven, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and registered charity on the Key Peninsula, has rescued more than 1,400 farm animals suffering from cruelty and neglect, including … more

Krisa Bruemmer, KP News | 4/26/22

Portraits for Ukraine

Chris Bronstad is painting for Ukraine. The retired Key Peninsula Middle School teacher and local artist, who lives in Vaughn, spent the last few years concentrating on his award-winning artwork. … more

Ted Olinger, KP News | 4/26/22

Watch for Yellowlegs, Honeysuckle and More

Listen for the loud “klee-klee-klee” call of greater yellowlegs in estuaries and flooded fields. This shorebird passes through the Key Peninsula during spring and fall migrations. Watch … more

Chris Rurik, KP News | 4/26/22

Flower Stand Woes and Rewards

Most people who drive the section of Key Peninsula Highway between Home and Whiteman Road get a lift from seeing the white picket fence, the blossom-filled yard and the little flower stand on the … more

Carolyn Wiley, KP News | 4/26/22

To Mulch or Not to Mulch

I was out working in the garden the other day (what else is new?), crawling under some rhododendrons, thankful it’s not yet spider web season, and gently scraping my hand rake along the top … more

Kamryn Minch | 4/26/22

Russia Goes Medieval

Since time immemorial, writers in Russia have had the most forceful, penetrating and far-reaching responses to what was happening in their country — for those willing to listen, … more

José Alaniz | 4/26/22

Ukrainian Comfort Food

Art is an extraordinary bridge capable of transcending cultural divides. Not everyone is a poet, a sculptor, a dancer or musician. Cooking, however, is a performance art practiced daily around the … more

Lisa Bryan, KP News | 3/31/22

Deep in the Tree Frog's Chorus

At last, I find a frog. It is spread-eagled in the shallow water like a lost toy. Its throat floats before it as round and sheer as a soap bubble, pushing its head up. It looks almost pathetic as it … more

Chris Rurik, KP News | 3/31/22

The Second Mountain by David Brooks

Many times over the last 18-plus years I have wondered why I feel so much at home and so contented on the Key Peninsula. Certainly, there are many similarities to Scotland but that really … more

Maureen Riley | 3/31/22

Fishing Under the Bridge

While drivers rattle the Purdy bridge in cars and trucks, fly fishers often stand thigh deep in saltwater below at the mouth of the Burley Lagoon, their attention fixed on a far different … more

Chris Rurik, KP News | 3/31/22