I awoke in one of the top-floor rooms of the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on April 3, 2005, turned on the news and saw that Pope John Paul II had died the day before. Opening the drapes and squinting into the searing desert-bright light of a Nevada spring morning, I saw the flags of Vegas flying at half-mast. Funny, I thought: Even “Sin City” would mourn his passing. I am not a Christian and that faith has never had a claim on me, considering I’m unbaptized and have only ever been in a Christian church, cathedral or any other such house of worship of any denomination out of historical interest, cultural custom or curiosity (morbid or otherwise). Nor am I a person of any other spiritual orientation, though I’ve attended services from synagogue to Buddhist temple. I have a tidy shelf in my home library that begins with The Bhagavad Gita and ends with Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents. Between those titles are analyses of Norse runes, Greek and Roman religious texts, books on the superstitions of early America and even the doggerel of Madam Blavatsky and her sinister “Theosophy” ruminations, including two volumes of Isis Unveiled. I also have tomes by famous atheists like Christopher Hitchens and Bertrand Russell — the former I enjoy like WWE and the latter like PBS. I also have works by complicated theists like Thomas Aquinas and Desiderius Erasmus (the former like salted oatmeal, the latter like salted oatmeal with garlic and mushrooms, both of which I enjoy). All this is to say that the mysteries of the universe are too ineffable for me to carve out some tiny corner of truth and till it for my own petty, sectarian comfort. That way lies bigotry; and, in my mind, that is among the greatest of sins. Because of my lack of religion, religion is important to me. That is why I mourned the passing of John Paul II on April 3, 2005 and Pope Francis on April 21, 2025. I like to think that my meanderings among the writings and doings of people of faith have given me a sense for who is a good person, which is really what religion is all about in the end. Both John Paul II and Francis recognized, in their ways, the past and current outrages and perfidiousness of their church and its adherents, and did what they could to ameliorate them. They failed frequently, as we all do; but, they tried, and spoke loudly and clearly about how we might be a better human civilization on many occasions — frequently to the chagrin of their own flock. That is sorely lacking in our current religio-political climate, where nationalism, racism and general bigotry are raving from the pulpit, the ballot box and 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., where even the occasion of Easter becomes a platform to spew denunciation and vitriol more artless and irreligious than this avowed heathen — lapsed from at least 300 years of German-Protestant forebears — would dare to express.
quotable
“Cruel men believe in a cruel God and use their belief to excuse their cruelty. Only kindly men believe in a kindly God, and they would be kindly in any case.”
— Bertrand Russell, God and Religion
DEAR READERS,
This week’s cover photo was sent to me by a Sandpointian named Chris Munro, who snapped it during a recent trip to Oregon.
“This tired and ragged flag stuck out as a fitting symbol of the state of our country right now,” Chris wrote.
Yeah, I feel that. A lot of us are feeling as battered as that flag, especially over the past few hectic months. Hang in there and focus on embracing who and what brings joy to your life. Stand up to those who attempt to take it away and never let yourself succumb to apathy.
In other news, Congressman Russ Fulcher stopped by the Reader offices right before deadline and we had a long discussion about issues you, our dear readers, have expressed concerns about. We didn’t have enough space to fit the long interview in this week’s paper, so be sure to pick up the May 1 edition for the full interview with Fulcher. Until then.
–Ben Olson, publisher
READER
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About the Cover:
This week’s cover photo was taken by Chris Munro while driving home to Idaho from eastern Oregon. Thanks for the photo, Chris.
‘Farmin Flats’ development — now doubled in size — will have to undergo name change
Historic local family objects to use of surname on apartment project, controversial for lack of parking
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
The proposed Farmin Flats multi-family apartment project on Church Street will have to change its name, after members of the Farmin family — which is among the most important founding families of Sandpoint — objected to the use of their surname on the development.
From town plats to buildings and even street names, the Farmin family looms large in local history. L.D. and Ella Farmin established a homestead of 160 acres that occupies much of what we now know as downtown Sandpoint in the 1890s, and went on to occupy various local leadership positions in the following decades — from politics and industry, to education and social uplift.
OZ Sandpoint QOZB, LLC., based in Lindon, Utah, is seeking to build a 47-foot-tall, four-floor, 48unit apartment building with ground-floor commercial space at 413 Church St. — as well as a second phase made public April 22 next door at 417 Church St., which would include another four-story, 45-foot-tall building with about 2,000 square feet of commercial on the ground floor and 41 apartments on the remaining stories.
The mix of one-bedroom and studio apartments in Phase 1 have been welcomed by some as much-needed downtown housing, though almost all of the more than 50 comments to City Hall have centered on frustration over the development’s exemption from providing parking. However, according to the Phase 2 project narrative, three parking spaces will be established behind the building on the alley. No documents have yet been made available on the
city’s “Current Projects” page detailing the size of the apartments in Phase 2, but the total number of units will be similar in both structures, amounting to 89 in total. According to the developer’s vehicle trip generation letter for Phase 1, the estimated number of morning peak hour trips will be 20, and 19 for peak hour trips in the evening. The letter anticipates 15% of total trips will use on-street parking, with 45% parking in the Idaho Transportation Department lot west of the project on Fifth Avenue, 25% parking in the other ITD lot to the north on Fifth Avenue, and 15% in the city parking lot between Oak and Church streets.
The Phase 2 site plan review checklist indicates that the trip generation letter for that portion of the project will “match close to Phase 1,” essentially doubling the parking and traffic estimates for the overall development.
The furor surrounding the parking element of the proposal is what brought the project’s use of Tammy Farmin’s last name to her attention.
“I caught wind of it through a friend that sent me a text. She was upset they didn’t have parking for this large unit,” she told the Reader in an interview. “She couldn’t understand why our family would support something like that.
“I said, ‘Wow, I had no idea.’ I called my cousin, Cindy, and asked if she knew anything about this. We connected, and she said, ‘You know, I do know about it,’ and had been talking to her daughters. We agreed we’re not comfortable with it.”
OZ Sandpoint representative Scott Harwood told the Reader in an April 21 email, “We are working on changing the proposed name this week. This was nothing more than a
placeholder and an attempt to put a name to the project that had some historical significance. We understand the request and will work to have it changed.”
“Who thinks that they can just use somebody’s name, to put on the side of a building and not even reach out, to my knowledge, and ask?” Farmin said, adding that despite the developers’ knowledge of local history, “so what? That doesn’t give you the right to use the name — especially on something that’s so heated.”
As previously reported by the Reader, because of a 2009 code change eliminating minimum parking requirements for downtown development, the soon-to-be-renamed Farmin Flats does not have to provide spaces for its residential and commercial users.
That has raised concerns among surrounding property owners and residents in general, but the parking regulations are in flux, as the Sandpoint Planning and Zoning Commission recently heard a presentation on the draft Downtown Parking Management Plan that might include offsite parking requirements within the current exempt zone, or payment of an in-lieu fee by developers.
The final plan is expected to go before the City Council before mid-summer.
Meanwhile, the kerfuffle over Farmin Flats feeds into a wider debate about parking in town, as the city works to rebalance stall usage through a mix of incentives: lifting time limits on three- and four-hour spaces; and disincentives: steering toward paid parking at a number of city-owned facilities and contemplating reintroducing parking meters in the downtown core.
As for the so-called Farmin Flats development, Farmin said, “The whole community is pretty upset about it,
and rightly so,” later adding, “[W]e don’t want our name attached to that.”
“They’re taking advantage of zoning that was put into place 10 years ago when the city was trying to encourage development. They just took advantage of it, that’s a lot of units to not have any parking,” she said. “Our family is attached to a lot of good things in Sandpoint. This — I don’t feel this is a good thing.”
Find the full application file and public comments on Farmin Flats at sandpointidaho.gov under “Current Projects” on the Planning and Community Development page.
Additional reporting by Ben Olson.
Top: A rendering of phase 1 of the proposed development on Church Street. Above: A schematic showing Phases 1 and 2 of the proposed development. Images courtesy of RAD Architectural Design.
BOCC cures Open Meeting Law violation, strikes then reinstitutes moratorium on MLDs
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
Nearly a month after the Bonner County board of commissioners approved an 182-day moratorium on all minor land divisions and family exemptions, the board held a special meeting April 21 to discuss whether its actions violated Idaho Open Meeting Law and, if so, what that would mean for the temporary moratorium.
Over the course of the three-and-a-half-hour meeting, the board voted to admit to and cure the inadvertent violation, then reinstate a modified version of the original moratorium. The revised version will go into effect Monday, May 19 and remain active until Wednesday, Oct. 1 and will not include family exemptions.
Planning Director Jake Gabell and Deputy Prosecutor Bill Wilson proposed the temporary moratorium on March 25 to give the Planning Department time to fix loopholes in County Code governing MLDs, which have allowed developers to create de facto subdivisions without the infrastructure to support them. Gabell identified issues such as the lack of fire mitigation and stormwater management requirements, and “no guarantee” of regulations on road width, surfacing and accessibility measures for first responders, among others.
Though the current MLD language has been in place for four years, Gabell and Wilson argued that it presented a great enough risk to “public health, safety and welfare” to constitute an emergency and could, therefore, be added to the agenda the day of the meeting without going through the usual noticing process. That move was meant to allow the BOCC to pass the moratorium before
developers could flood the department with applications under the current law, Wilson said at the time.
Commissioner Ron Korn — who was the dissenting vote on the original moratorium — placed the subject of the Open Meeting Law violation on the April 21 agenda, arguing that the decision was a “gross misconduct of government.” He and other critics, such as Bonner County Republican Central Committee Chair Scott Herndon, argued that the BOCC did not have the authority to withhold an agenda item until the day of the meeting or to amend agendas during the course of a regular meeting.
In his counter-argument, Wilson cited Idaho Code 676523, which gives the board power to institute emergency moratoriums if it “finds that an imminent peril to the public health, safety or welfare” requires it. He also justified the last-minute amendment using I.C. 74-204, which gives the board authority to amend an agenda “after the start of a meeting upon a motion that states the reason for the amendment and states the good faith reason the agenda item was not included in the original agenda posting.”
Herndon also cited I.C. 74-204 in his arguments, which he broadcast in a mass email and Facebook message that urged members of the public to attend the April 21 meeting “to stand up for transparent government and your property rights.”
He maintained that because Commissioner Brian Domke did not state the reason for the emergency declaration in the language of his March 25 motion, he had not met the requirements to amend the agenda under I.C. 74-204.
Wilson said this critique “hits closer to the mark” than the others.
“We ended up having probably a 15- or 20-minute debate on the merits of amending the agenda, and the basis for the emergency was explained and debated,” said Wilson, “but when the motion was made, it did not specifically identify an emergency or state the basis for that, so the question then is: ‘Does that constitute an open meeting violation?’ And my answer is, ‘I’m not sure.’”
Both Wilson and Domke agreed that the March 25 meeting followed the spirit but not the letter of the law, and recommended the board cure the violation to prevent any potential legal issues. Though everyone involved — except Korn — maintained that the apparent violation was an honest mistake, angry residents still flooded the public meeting due to Herndon’s published comments.
“Two bureaucrats in Bonner County recently led Bonner County commissioners into violations of Idaho’s Open Meeting laws,” wrote Herndon, referring to Wilson and Gabell.
Herndon’s message alleged that Gabell had purposefully violated the law and kept the moratorium a secret to keep citizens from “exercis[ing] their lawful property rights.”
Many present at the April 21 meeting leveled disparaging or critical remarks at Domke, BOCC Chair Asia Williams, Gabell and Wilson, echoing comments made online and outside the meeting, which Williams described as an “outpour of hatred.” Others accused Herndon of “trying to work the public into a frenzy.”
“Some allegations have assigned the motive as the board’s desire to act as rulers who treat the public as peasants,” said Domke, reading from a prepared statement. “Such assertions are both inaccurate and inappropriate. ...
“Spreading slander throughout the community instead of directly addressing the person — or in this case, the board — with whom you have a grievance is not the appropriate method for addressing concerns and disagreements,” he later added. “Such actions do not align with general moral principles or Christian values. I mention the Christian values because many of the people spreading such slander openly state they’re prescribed to such Christian values.”
Korn did not comment on the hostility in the room but stated repeatedly that the board “did violate the open meeting laws” and advised that they cure the violation to prevent “further litigation and/or fines.”
When asked what “litigation” the moratorium had already incurred, Williams and Domke said that the only “threat” the BOCC had received was from Herndon. Herndon’s email campaign called on the board to “correct their course before incoming litigation later this week from Bonner County residents that were adversely impacted by the illegal moratorium.”
Williams agreed to recognize the error but maintained that the board’s actions were sanctioned and informed by legal counsel and were intended to protect public health and safety.
“I don’t think that you did something wrong,” said Williams, addressing Domke.
“I don’t think I did something wrong. I don’t think that’s what took place. ... [A]s with every motion made, we can make a better motion every single time.”
In reference to Herndon’s allegations, Williams said that “the central committee isn’t the attorney for the board.”
Domke made a motion to cure the violation, which passed unanimously and voided the original moratorium. While Korn opposed reinstating the moratorium, Williams and Domke believed that it was still necessary to protect public health.
“The outcome of this cure, I believe, exacerbates the potential risk, and I, for one, am not willing to just sit idly by and wait for a catastrophe to occur before somebody acknowledges the fact that real risk has been created,” said Domke.
“That said, I think the right process at this time would be to quickly begin to go through a workshop process to gain input, to work with the Planning Department, to work with the Planning Commission and amongst the board in the right process to reach decisions regarding how best to amend the current county code,” he continued.
Domke admitted he wasn’t yet ready to reinstate the moratorium, but Williams argued that a new, revised version could address the public’s concerns while still protecting the county.
< see BOCC, Page 7 >
Bonner County Commissioners Asia Williams, left; Brian Domke, center; and Ron Korn, right. Photo by Soncirey Mitchell
NEWS Public recycling bins set to debut
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
Sandpoint City Councilor
Pam Duquette is preparing to roll out a pilot project providing a dozen recycling bins to locations ranging from City Beach to the downtown core, Farmin Park and the James E. Russell Sports Center — as well as other city-owned properties where people frequent.
The new recycling program is being personally led by Duquette, who secured the $10,000 in funding from the city to fabricate the bins, which are blue-painted metal, hold a 30-gallon container, and bear signage directing users what they can and can’t dispose of.
The Kalispel Tribe built the bins, which are owned by the city, but Duquette and a group of other volunteers will check and empty the receptacles, sort their contents, and ensure they make it into the recycling stream.
Duquette told the Reader that she hopes to have the bins in place sometime in the week of Monday, April 28, and had the idea for the project based on her time spent working as a teacher in Ketchum, where there are public recycling bins throughout the city.
“It’s always something that’s been a thorn in my side — c’mon, it’s not that hard,” she said.
As it is, the only opportunities for disposing of recyclables are in private settings — “We pick up a beer can downtown, we’d have to walk home and put it in the recycle bin,” Duquette said.
She hopes that the new bins will help meet that missing link in the city’s waste collection system, and serve as an opportunity to educate the public on recycling in general.
Duquette said she met with downtown businesses to ask whether they recycled, to which most told her they don’t bother because all that material will end up in a landfill anyway.
“That’s not true,” she said, adding that she followed the recycling process to Waste Management’s facility in Airway Heights, Wash., where Sandpoint’s cast-off material is indeed
Bits ’n’ Pieces
From east, west and beyond
The Dow Jones Industrial Average “is headed for its worst April performance since 1932,” when the country was suffering from the Great Depression. According to Horizon Investments, “it’s impossible to commit capital” to an unstable economy with an “unknowable policy structure,” which The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Trump administration has defied numerous court orders, including those regarding the deportation of migrants. Legal analyst Joyce Vance stated, “The Trump administration wants a confrontation with the courts. Trump wants to try to break them. That’s an essential path forward for a dictator.”
The administration holds deportees in different states, requiring different judges to rule. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, they’ve tried to move detainees to where judges haven’t ruled, so they can be moved beyond U.S. borders.
recycled — but not all of it.
“They can recycle only cardboard, paper, aluminum and tin, and plastic — but only plastic that holds liquid, like if it has a screw-top,” Duquette said. “No plastic cups, no glass bottles right now. The problem being, they have no market. Until the landfill in Airway Heights can find a market for those things, they can’t recycle them.”
Sandpoint’s new public recycling bins will be marked with stickers limiting them to aluminum cans and plastic bottles — not coffee cups or household waste, such as empty soap bottles — and will have small circular openings in the hope of keeping users from discarding materials that have been contaminated by food.
“That’s what ruins it for everybody,” she said. “Waste Management takes it in the truck, and then they dump it in their clean area and find all this stuff and they have to scrap the whole thing.”
Duquette said Panhandle Special Needs, Inc. will take the aluminum collected from the bins and bring it to Pacific Steel and Recycling for profit. Plastic bottles will be dropped off at a prearranged location and delivered to Colburn Transfer Station for recycling.
“I just think it’s a win-win if people put the right things in there,” Duquette said.
A unanimous Supreme Court decision affirmed district court orders to bring Abrego Garcia back from a prison in El Salvador. The White House admitted Garcia was mistakenly deported, but claimed it could not arrange his return. Garcia was sent to the El Salvadorean prison — known as CECOT — along with 250 others deported without due process. CECOT is a crowded prison described by The Week as having no windows and no outdoor time. El Salvador’s president has bragged that no one gets out of CECOT and inmates are used for slave labor. A Bloomberg report found 90% of those sent to CECOT had no U.S. criminal record. The administration relied on the rarely used Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to justify the deportations, claiming the U.S. is at war with Venezuelan gangs.
According to the Associated Press, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 to order the Trump administration not to remove Venezuelans held in the U.S. “until further order of this court.”
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson said of a Trump administration request to block a lower court’s order to return Garcia to the U.S., “The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without ... due process that is foundational of our constitutional order ... it claims in essence that because it has rid itself of custody that there is nothing that can be done. This should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from
By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Contributor
courthouses still hold dear.”
Wilkinson added, “If today the Executive claims the right to deport without due process and in disregard of court orders, what assurance will there be tomorrow that it will not deport American citizens and then disclaim responsibility to bring them home? And what assurance shall there be that the Executive will not train its broad discretionary powers upon its political enemies?”
Washington, D.C. Chief Judge James Boasberg, who has ruled on one of the deportation cases, issued the opinion that “probable cause exists to find the Government in criminal contempt” due to its “willful disregard” of a court order to halt deportations via the Alien Enemies Act.
The White House has posted on social media that Garcia is “NOT coming back.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told attendees of a conference in Anchorage that the political climate in Trump’s D.C. has everyone “afraid.”
“[W]e are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been before,” she said. “I’ll tell you, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right.”
On Easter Sunday, April 20, Pope Francis condemned violent conflict, called for a ceasefire in Gaza and decried stirring up contempt for “the vulnerable, the marginalized and migrants.” Pope Francis passed the next day at age 88, just hours after a brief meeting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance. Shortly after Trump took office, the pope said in an open letter to American bishops that the initiation of a program of mass deportations” using a policy built on force “begins badly and will end badly.”
“No Kings” was the theme for recent protests against the Trump agenda of undermining democratic ideals. It dovetailed with the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the Revolutionary War effort to disengage from being ruled by English King George III. Protest signs included: “It’s our turn to fight tyranny” and “Make America Smart Again,” a reminder to regain knowledge of rule of law and how democracy works.
Blast from the past: “Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” — Edmund Burke, British statesman, author and orator (1729-1797), who urged the British government to reconcile with the North American colonies.
Councilor Pam Duquette hopes to have new city recycling cans placed sometime in the week of April 28. Courtesy photo
Gov. Brad Little calls for increased federal forests management to reduce wildfire risk
Management could include timber harvests, prescribed burns and mechanical thinning on public lands
By Clark Corbin Idaho Capital Sun
Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued an executive order April 22 directing the Idaho Department of Lands to increase forest management activities on federal national forests in Idaho and reduce the risk of wildfire.
“[IDL] will work with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) wherever possible to utilize all federal and state authorities to expedite active forest management and mitigate the risk of catastrophic wildfires,” Little wrote in Executive Order 2005-04, which he called the Make Forests Healthy Again Act.
In a press release announcing the executive order, Little said his action complements the March 1 Freeing our Forests Act signed by President Donald Trump, and a memo issued this month by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins that aims to minimize wildfire risk and increase management of federal forests.
Little calls for timber harvests, prescribed burns, thinning to reduce wildfire risk Forest management activities under the order included timber harvests, prescribed burns, mechanical thinning
“For people that are looking at the growth of Bonner County, how we grow matters. If we grow without addressing the concerns, we are then grandfathering in the problem,” said Williams.
Acknowledging that most complaints about the moratorium came from people looking to apply for a family split for their children or grandchildren, Williams suggested that they not include family exemptions in the new moratorium.
Both methods of land
and an aggressive initial attack during the peak of wildfire season, Little said.
In the April 22 press release, Little said that under the administration of President Joe Biden, the Idaho Department of Lands was limited to two small areas where it could help the federal government with expanded forest management activities.
Little said that has changed and expanded under the current Trump administration.
“For too long, millions of acres of national forests in Idaho have remained totally untouched, creating a tinderbox of fuel that threatens communities, air quality and the environment,” Little wrote. “The state of Idaho has led the country in standing up programs to help our federal partners increase the pace and scale of active management on federal ground. The work we’ve done is making a difference.”
In conjunction with Little’s press release, Idaho Farm Bureau CEO Zak Miller issued a statement praising Little’s and Trump’s actions.
“Farm Bureau strongly supports President Trump’s and Gov. Little’s emphasis on returning active management to federal lands in Idaho,” Miller wrote. “Our members
division have the same issue, but family exemptions only give landowners the right to sell or gift a portion of unplatted land to close relatives or spouses, making it more difficult for commercial developers to take advantage.
The vote to adopt a new moratorium passed with Korn dissenting. The revised moratorium will give the Planning Department time to close the larger loophole while still allowing families to break up their land in the meantime.
have been personally devastated by the negative effects of reduced federal management over the years. We fully support Gov. Little’s executive order and look forward to cooperatively increasing the level of management of federal lands in Idaho so they will be as productive and healthy as our state lands.”
Rollins also issued a statement released by Little’s office April 22, saying the move will strengthen the timber industry.
“I commend Gov. Little for acting quickly to fix our national forest emergency,”
the U.S. agriculture secretary wrote. “Americans rely on Idaho’s productive and abundant forests, and this executive order will go a long way towards strengthening the timber industry in the state and minimizing harmful pests, disease and risk of fire.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox issued a similar executive order on April 21 to encourage wildfire preparedness across the Beehive State, according to the Utah News Dispatch [Editor’s note: Like the Idaho Capital Sun, the Utah News Dispatch is part of the nation-
wide nonprofit States Newsroom reporting project].
The order, according to Cox’s office, is meant to “improve coordination among state, local and federal partners ahead of the 2025 fire season,” the news organization reported.
This story was produced by Boise-based nonprofit news outlet the Idaho Capital Sun, which is part of the States Newsroom nationwide reporting project. For more information, visit idahocapitalsun.com.
Priest River Watershed Group prepares for dry year, hosts steering committee meeting
By Reader Staff
The Priest River Watershed Group will host a steering committee meeting Thursday, May 1, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Priest River branch of the West Bonner County Library District (118 Main St., Priest River). A panel of experts will discuss the current snowpack, river and tributary temperature monitoring and Priest Lake Outlet Dam operations, among other topics.
Warm spring temperatures have melted Priest Lake Basin’s low-elevation snow, raising the lake levels, and all floodgates are currently open and passing maximum flow.
Members of the Idaho De-
partment of Water Resources continue to monitor SNOWTEL (snowpack telemetry) sites at Bunchgrass Meadow, Wash., and Hidden Lakes, Idaho, to determine when peak flow into Priest Lake will occur. Both SNOWTEL sites are above 5,000 feet in elevation and have yet to experience a melt.
As of April 22, Priest Lake’s water level was 1.89 feet, according to a reading taken by the U.S. Geological Survey at Outlet NR in Coolin, Idaho. The IDWR anticipates the lake level will rise to more than three feet by Memorial Day weekend, May 24-25, and will peak above 3.5 feet later in the year.
According to a recent news release, IDWR hydrologists predict a dry year, though that could change depending on precipitation.
“If this is a dry year, the department will ‘catch’ the lake level as it falls and aim to hold the lake level between three and 3.5 feet once the lake level is stabilized,” the news release stated.
Holding Priest Lake at or above three feet allows for recreation in “extreme temperatures,” while maintaining aquatic habitat during late summer in Priest River.
The IDWR estimates it will announce this year’s summer lake level on or around Wednesday, May 7.
Army Corps to hold public meetings to update residents on spillway gate repair
By Reader Staff
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will host two public meetings — one in Ponderay, the other in Cusick, Wash. — to inform residents about current restricted operations at Albeni Falls Dam, as well
as provide status updates on the spillway gate repair and replacement projects.
Corps officials will meet Thursday, May 1 from 6-8 p.m. at the Ponderay Events Center (401 Bonner Mall Way, in Ponderay), and on Friday, May 2 from 9-11
a.m. at the Camas Center for Community Wellness (1821 N.LeClerc Road No. 5, in Cusick, Wash.).
For those unable to attend in person, visit nws.usace. army.mil for information about how to obtain a link to attend remotely.
< BOCC, con’t from Page 5 >
Bouquets:
• I’ve been enjoying the music at Idaho Pour Authority lately. They’ve been attracting a wide variety of genres and it’s been great. Last week alone we listened to a local rock/ jazz/folk trio, a metal duo and a psych-rock four-piece. It’s easy to offer the same spice every week in a small town, so I always appreciate something from off the beaten track.
Barbs:
• Having graduated from Sandpoint High School, I have always appreciated the SHS Grad Night Committee raising funds to throw a party for graduating seniors to stay safe after graduation. However, I was a bit taken aback when reading — on the same day as yet another school shooting — that SHS Grad Night was enthusiastically auctioning off a Gensis Arms Gen-12 Suppressed Breacher Model 12-guage combat shotgun, which was touted as one of the weapons used in the John Wick film series. The optics of auctioning off a weapon like this to support Grad Night are just atrocious. And to head off all the usual cultish and threatening emails from gun nuts: I am not against the Second Amendment, I own several firearms myself and no, I wasn’t born in California. I don’t care what anyone says, auctioning off a combat shotgun for a school fundraiser is just messed up.
• Here’s a quote from President Donald Trump that should alarm us all, but hardly anyone cares: “We cannot give everyone a trial, because to do so would take, without exaggeration, 200 years.”
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution might object to that statement.
What is the purpose of having constitutional amendments if the very person we put in charge of running our country doesn’t even know or follow them?
‘Handmaids’…
Dear editor,
Hey all you handmaid costume-wearers: I see you out there, protesting for abortion, but I don’t see you protesting CPS [Child Protective Services]. That show is slightly pro-abortion, but even more it protests the taking of children from their natural parents.
When I see women dress up and only advocate for the one, it reeks of not being pro-choice, but anti-kid.
Yours in Christ,
Jenn McKnight Sandpoint
‘An
absence of empathy’…
Dear editor, In 1945, after World War II was over, many of the German Nazis responsible for the mass murder of millions of people were put on trial in Nuremberg, Germany. Some of the Nazis were interviewed by a psychiatrist named Gustave Gilbert. Dr Gilbert shared the world’s horror at how a “civilized society”could systematically murder millions of men, women and children.
After hundreds of hours of interviewing and reflecting, Dr. Gilbert stated the following: “... I was searching for the nature of evil. I think I’ve come close to defining it: a lack of empathy. It’s the one characteristic that connects all the defendants. A genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow man. Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy.”
Steve Johnson Sagle
‘History’...
Dear editor,
The moron-in-chief, along with his cronies of fellow morons, must not have studied history when they went to school. The Great Depression ended in the U.S. in 1941, and it wasn’t because tariffs had made America great again, it was because we went to war — it was called WWII. It would appear that Trump is steering us in that direction, only this time we won’t have any allies. With Canada above the U.S. and Mexico below the U.S., it must be Custer’s last stand, because we will be surrounded by those countries Trump has alienated — along with Europe, China and perhaps Russia. This country will never be the same if this is allowed to happen. Members of the United States Congress, get your heads out of the sand and stop this madness before it’s too late. Oh yeah, let’s
not forget that by Trump’s taking away veteran benefits and care, who will fight in defense of the U.S.? How about an SEC investigation for insider trading by Trump, his family and associates.
Michael Harmelin, veteran Sandpoint
‘Relentless
hypocrisy’...
Dear editor, Does the president believe that there were good people involved in the college campus demonstrations last year denouncing the war in Gaza (that he has labeled “antisemitic”), or does that just apply to the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va.?
Liam FitzGerald Sagle
‘Operation
Clean Sweep’...
Dear editor,
Uh, I must be missing something (no cracks). Yesterday, April 23, and today the 24th, the ITD is encouraging all us taxpayers to turn out to go clean up the sides of U.S. 95 from Granite Hill to I-90 for what they call Operation Clean Sweep. Now maybe I’m mistaken, but haven’t we already been “clean swept” as in the state taking our tax money? And now they want us to donate our time to cleaning up 25 miles of highway shoulder? They must have more pressing needs for the tax money they collect for annual car license renewals, driver licenses, gas taxes, sales tax, income taxes… You know, like nice salaries and benefit packages for state officials exhausted, the poor dears, after telling us taxpayers how to conduct our medical needs, what to read and giving our general tax money to private religious schools. I really feel for them...
Lawrence Fury Sandpoint
Opposition messages on WBCSD levy are ‘simply not the truth’…
Dear editor,
I hope that by levy time in May, people have done their homework and checked facts from good reputable sources rather than taking the word from persons that seem intent on spreading false rumors.
One gentleman asked if our administrators drive staff cars. Not in our district. He also asked if levy money will go to administrators and their assistants. Not in our district.
We are operating on a bare bones budget that will only get
worse if we can’t get a levy to help with the shortfall. By now, you’ve probably seen some of the negative sign boards around that point out why some patrons are against the levy. I’ve stopped to read them, so as not to misinterpret their point. None of the reasons are valid. All of their points listed are simply not the truth. Again, check their points with sources that are truthful. Go to board meetings and listen. Go to the district office and sit down with staff or the superintendent. Ask them the same questions. Find out the truth and then make an informed choice. You’ll feel much better for it.
Ernie and Helen Schoeffel Priest River
‘Boomers are going to have to step it up once again’…
Dear editor, I agree with Jeanelle Shields’ excellent letter last week [“‘Peaceful angry people’...,” April 17, 2025]. Boomers are going to have to step it up once again, as they did back in the ’70s, when they got rid of Nixon and put an end to the Vietnam War.
P.S., I’m reading a new book, The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity. You might want to get a copy before it sells out. Basic law No. 1: “Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.”
Bill Stuble Cora, Wyo. (and sometimes Dover)
Plastic recycling isn’t what it’s cracked up to be…
Dear editor,
In your March 27 issue, you published a great article on trash [“Mad About Science”], followed with some recycling information in your “Random Corner” section.
Where statistics were given for glass and paper recycling, plastic recycling information was limited to whether or not it was acceptable to leave caps on your containers — listing drinks, shampoo, laundry and peanut butter containers as examples.
My concern is it could mislead consumers to believe that these items actually get recycled. Getting accurate data on plastic recycling is challenging because the plastics industry has intentionally misled us — commonly referred to as “greenwashing.” Mass producers rely on cheap, virgin plastic for cost, ease and the business-first environment where they have no responsibility
for the afterlife of these containers. They’ve known since the ’70s that recycling plastic isn’t a viable economic solution, and most of those efforts were created for P.R.
The latest data indicates the U.S. plastic recycling rate is 5%-6%. (among the lowest in the world, despite our 263% increase in plastic use since 1980). This means that only a small fraction of the 40 million tons of plastic waste generated annually in the U.S. is actually recycled. In 2021, only about 2 million tons of plastic waste was recycled.
We were instructed for decades to wash out plastics with acceptable numbers and led to believe they will be recycled in our mixed recycling programs. In truth, at best, only about 10% of plastic is ever recycled. Current Sandpoint guidelines are more appropriate, saying “recycle by shape not by number,” listing jars, bottles and jugs as appropriate shapes. But again, only 5% of these actually get recycled and typically only once before becoming landfill materials.
NPR did a good piece on this in 2024: bit.ly/4jl3RV1.
Please buy and consume responsibly, Thanks!
Lonna Bernard Hope
by any other name...
Dear editor, The Trump/Musk economic program is not new, though it does have a different name. MAGA was previously known as feudalism, lords and serfs.
Ted Wert Sagle
MAGA
Idaho judge orders AG Labrador to be deposed in whistleblower lawsuit
Judge rejected attempt by Idaho Attorney General’s Office that sought to shield Labrador from answering questions by former employee’s lawyers
By Kyle Pfannenstiel Idaho Capital Sun
A judge has ordered Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador be deposed in a whistleblower lawsuit brought by a former AG office attorney.
Idaho 4th District Judge Jonathan Medema on April 17 partially rejected the Office of the Attorney General’s motion for a protective order that would’ve prevented Labrador from answering questions by former Deputy Attorney General Daphne Huang’s attorneys in her lawsuit.
In September 2023, Huang, who previously represented the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, sued Labrador’s office after she was fired, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. She alleged the Idaho attorney general’s office retaliated against her after she raised ethical concerns related to her clients’ legal representation.
The judge limited Labrador’s in-person deposition to last up to two hours.
“I have evidence in the deposition testimony ... that Attorney General Labrador was the person in the office who made the decision to terminate Ms. Huang’s employment. What he knew and why he chose to make that [decision] ... is important information for the plaintiff’s claims,” Medema said in an April 14 court hearing.
The judge, in a separate ruling, also sanctioned the Idaho Attorney General’s Office for Labrador’s failure to appear for his previously scheduled deposition. Hours after the deposition was set to occur, the Attorney General’s Office filed a motion for a protective order that sought to stop Labrador from being deposed.
The judge required the office to pay expenses, includ-
ing attorney fees, related to Labrador’s deposition. He also required the Attorney General’s Office to pay plaintiff’s expenses, including attorney fees, associated with their motion for sanctions.
“If Defendant wanted to file a motion seeking a protective order, it was incumbent upon Defendant to at least file that motion before February 14, at 9 a.m.,” when Labrador’s deposition was originally scheduled, Medema wrote in his decision released April 17.
The Idaho Office of the Attorney General could not be immediately reached for comment.
In a statement, Guy Hallam, an attorney for Huang, said “No one is above the law, including the Idaho Attorney General.”
“Ms. Huang applauds the Court’s decision to allow Mr. Labrador’s deposition to move forward and appreciates the Court’s grant of sanctions against the Office of Attorney General after Mr. Labrador
failed to show up for his previously scheduled deposition,” Hallam wrote.
Lawsuit ties back to Labrador’s child care grants investigation into Department of Health and Welfare
Huang’s lawsuit ties back to an investigation the Idaho Attorney General’s Office launched in early 2023 into how $72 million in child care grants were distributed by the Department of Health and Welfare.
In August 2023, a state audit found issues in the grant distribution and spending, despite two legal memos Huang wrote to Health and Welfare that found the agency’s administration of the grant funds was legally sound. Labrador’s office had withdrawn the legal advice.
Months later, the critical state audit spurred reform efforts in Health and Welfare, despite former agency leadership’s initial response to refute all of the audit’s findings.
Since March 2024, when two lawsuits by organizations that received the funds concluded, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office has not issued public updates about its investigation. Lawsuits surrounding the investigation were the main avenue for updates.
In December 2023, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office’s special prosecutor in the investigation, Christopher Boyd, claimed in a legal filing that he found probable cause that the agency’s then-grant manager had committed a crime.
The prosecutor did not cite evidence for the claim, or cite a specific crime. More than a year later, no criminal charges have been filed against the former agency employee, Idaho court records show.
In August 2023, Labrador appointed Boyd, who is now Canyon County’s prosecuting attorney, as a special prosecutor in the investigation.
His appointment followed a separate Idaho judge’s ruling that barred Labrador from pursuing what are essentially subpoenas in civil court in the case. The court order found a conflict of interest since the Attorney General’s Office previously provided legal advice on the grants to Health and Welfare.
But the ruling still allowed Labrador to oversee the grants investigation. Boyd later said he’d withdraw the civil investigative demands to conserve resources, saying a state audit answered questions that the demands sought to answer.
Huang filed a complaint against Labrador with the Idaho State Bar. The former Health and Welfare director did, too
In August 2024, former Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen disclosed to the Ida-
ho Capital Sun he had filed an ethics complaint against Labrador with the Idaho State Bar in June 2023.
Court records in Huang’s lawsuit show Labrador was subject to another complaint — by Huang — with Idaho’s attorney licensing association.
Hallam, an attorney for Huang, confirmed to the Sun that Huang had filed a bar complaint against Labrador, but did not share the complaint itself.
In a February ruling, Judge Medema wrote that Yvonne Dunbar, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office fair hearings division chief and state general counsel, “was asked if the Office of the Attorney General was made aware that Ms. Huang had filed a bar complaint against Mr. Labrador.”
The judge overruled Dunbar’s objection to that question, which was on the grounds of attorney-client privilege. He granted a motion to compel on the question, asked by Huang’s attorneys in deposition.
“She was not asked how the office came to learn that information, if it did,” Medema wrote in his ruling. “She was not even asked how she knows the answer. She was simply asked if the Office was aware of its filing.”
In that ruling, the judge rejected a host of other objections in Dunbar’s deposition attempted by the Idaho Office of the Attorney General.
Huang’s lawsuit is scheduled to go to a jury trial in October.
This story was produced by Boise-based nonprofit news outlet the Idaho Capital Sun, which is part of the States Newsroom nationwide reporting project. For more information, visit idahocapitalsun.com.
Idaho AG Raúl Labrador. File photo
Science: Mad about
Hidden engineering: nuclear reactors
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist
There’s a lot of work that goes into designing and building a nuclear power plant. It’s a relatively clean source of energy, when compared to oil or coal, but it also carries the potential risks of huge disaster if improperly designed, poorly staffed or badly built. Nuclear reactor disasters are a fairly rare occurrence — especially when comparing them to incidents like oil spills, which can occur thousands of times every year throughout the U.S. alone.
A tremendous amount of forethought and safety precautions go into the design of a nuclear reactor for exactly this reason. Huge events like the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 or the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in 2011 make global headlines and stick with us as long-term reminders for the potential dangers of nuclear energy.
Oil can do serious damage to the environment when accidents happen, but it’s generally much easier to clean up than a radioactive disaster like Chernobyl, the surroundings which will take thousands of years to be potentially safe for humans to inhabit.
Designing these facilities is a thoughtful process that follows the mantra: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Nuclear fission is a complicated science. People spend a lot of time and money to learn how to work with nuclear technology safely. Explaining fission thoroughly here would take a very long time, so you’ll have to forgive me for taking some shortcuts in explaining how it works.
In a nuclear reactor, we use unstable particles — that is, atoms that are “heavy,” or have more neutrons than protons in their nucleus. These atoms will spontaneously shed part of its mass and become a new element while releasing a lot of energy at the same time. This release of energy and ejected particles can react with other nearby atoms and strip it of electrons.
This is essentially how we deal with cancer using radiation therapy, by using a targeted release of radioactive energy to kill cancer cells — these cells will die more quickly than our healthy cells in this manner, but prolonged exposure to radioactivity can break down our DNA and cause cancerous mutations in otherwise healthy cells.
This is also useful when you’re trying to heat up other matter. In the case of a nuclear reactor, you’re using these reactions in a very controlled environment to heat water into steam, which then pushes a turbine; but steam is a destructive force, and we need to be able to control it and collect it without causing an immense pressure buildup that would damage our turbines or worse yet: our reactor.
The process to control water and steam utilizes the water cycle, and it’s why nuclear reactors are often built near large bodies of water. Steam generated by the release of heat from the reactor travels through a turbine, turning it to generate electricity.
The steam travels into a condenser, which is an enclosure that has cool water from a nearby source pumped through pipes to lower the temperature and causes the steam to condense back into
a liquid form to be reused and cycled back through the system to become steam and turn the turbine.
The most important thing to note here is that the water used in the turbine and the water used to cool the steam are separate to avoid radioactive contamination.
This process is scaled up with the design of cooling towers. Cooling towers are those large, somewhat cylindrically shaped towers that are an iconic staple of most nuclear reactors. They have an unusual shape for such a large object, but it’s very intentionally designed this way.
The bottom of the cooling tower is open so that outside air is able to flow in and up the tower. This is the first step of cooling. The next is to maximize the amount of surface area the cooling water contacts to cool down — this is done by adding “fill” to an area near the bottom of the tower. This is a plastic mesh that adds a lot of surface area for the water, similar to the radiator at the front of your car for airflow.
Here is where things get a little squirrely. The hot water transfers its heat to the air flowing in through the intakes, which makes the hot air buoyant and causes it to rise. Some of the water also evaporates during this process and rises with the hot air escaping the tower. This creates a draft which then draws in more cool air through the intakes along the bottom of the tower and essentially allows the structure to self-regulate.
The “smoke” you see emerging from the top of the tower is water vapor that was caught in the stream of warm air meeting the cool air at the top of the stack and condens-
ing into water vapor — essentially, the tower is creating clouds. Since this water was separated from the water that interacts with the radioactive material within the reactor, it is completely safe and no different from water vapor you’d find anywhere else, including the sky.
You might be wondering: Why bother doing all of this at all and why not just vent the excess water into the atmosphere to let nature do
its thing?
That would be an extremely wasteful process, and in building cooling towers such as this, engineers are able to recoup much of the water used during the entire process. It’s a large initial investment that reduces the amount of maintenance done on pumps and piping later on in the reactor’s life. If it’s more efficient, why not do it this way?
Stay curious, 7B.
Random Corner
•Acne, also called pimples or zits, is an annoying fact of life for about 85% of people. More than 40% of teenagers will have some type of acne or acne scarring by their mid-teens.
•Pimples develop when sebaceous glands, or oil glands, become clogged and infected. This leads to swollen, red lesions that fill with pus. This can be due to hormonal changes and bacterial infection.
•The reason acne mostly affects the face, back, chest and shoulders is because there are so many sebaceous glands in these areas of the skin.
•Pimples range in severity. Blackheads are a type of comedone. Comedones occur when the pores in the skin become plugged with dead skin cells and an oily, protective substance (sebum). Blackheads get their dark color due to oxidized melanin, the dark pigment made by cells in the skin. Cystic acne — or nodulocystic acne — is the most severe type of acne, in which the
skin’s pores become blocked, leading to infection and inflammation.
•While acne is associated with adolescents, it has no age restriction. Adults can develop acne into their 50s, though it’s less common than in teenagers.
•Dermatologists encourage people never to pop, squeeze or pick at acne, which promotes scarring.
•The most effective prevention for acne is washing your face twice a day. Any more than that may irritate the skin more. The same is true for acne products — using too many products might have the opposite effect and increase breakouts.
•Mythbusting time: Acne isn’t caused by dirt or poor hygiene. There is also no proven connection between eating chocolate, pizza, chips, fries, burgers, etc. and acne outbreaks. Acne isn’t caused by stress (though it can make it worse). Finally, getting a tan doesn’t help clear up acne.
The Springfield Nuclear Power Plant from The Simpsons. Courtesy illustration
By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist
There are some things we can’t truly comprehend, and others we perhaps shouldn’t — at least not too often.
Like people who visit sensory deprivation chambers and suddenly hear the sound of blood rushing through their veins — confronted with the unsettling truth that the only thing separating their insides from the world is a layer of soft, penetrable skin. Or like me, soaring through the sky at 500 miles per hour, 40,000 feet above the ocean in a 400ton hunk of metal — realizing I have absolutely no idea how planes actually work.
Looking down at the patchwork of buildings, streets, trains, cars and people in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, I’m forced to admit that 37 million people in one city is something my brain may never fully grasp.
I live in a small town so I can see and feel my impact, so I can recognize myself in my surroundings. But I travel to be reminded of my smallness — to feel, in some visceral way, the vastness of other lives just as meaningful as mine.
If we understood the full weight of these truths all the time, we’d be paralyzed. But if we never considered them, we might forget what miracles we are — and how, despite all our self-importance, we and our seemingly massive problems are often so very small.
My partner and I chose
Emily Articulated
Greetings from Tokyo
Japan to experience something completely different from our day-to-day lives. As an architect, he was excited to see some of the world’s most iconic buildings — both modern and traditional. As someone with a near-insatiable curiosity, I was thrilled to explore all the small, strange details that differentiate a place on the opposite side of the planet. (Also, I was dying to see capybaras in real life.)
We arrived in Tokyo in the afternoon, but after a 12-hour flight and a 16hour time change, the only thing left to cling to was the question: What is time? We hopped on the Sky Rail and sped past rice paddies and tightly clustered farming communities until the city began to emerge. Eventually, amid a sea of concrete, glass and flashing lights, we were deposited in the Ikebukuro neighborhood — swept into the flow of moving bodies like fish rejoining their school.
My first “aha!” was that, despite all that should be overwhelming about the experience of being in their
one-of-many equivalents to our Times Square, it was missing the one ingredient that completes a sensory-overload: excessive noise. In a city that relies almost entirely on public transit — without honking car horns and screeching brakes and road-enraged shouts — the experience became a magic trick; a sleight of hand. See the crowds, hear the quiet hum of voices and shoes on pavement.
The next “aha!” was just how much joyful absurdity you can get away with when your consumer base is 37 million people. In direct contrast with the smalltown convenience stores needing to be an all-in-one experience (gas stations, grocery stores, movie rentals, and home and garden centers), there were whole buildings dedicated to the most unique things. Like the pocket-size animal rescue, with only the smallest cats and dogs on display to prospective adopters. A miniature chihuahua wrestled a toy poodle puppy, and two kittens the size of my palm yawned sleepily from their plush beds. There was a line out the door to see them.
Or, most gloriously absurd, a glowing five-story building called Me Tokyo, devoted entirely to claw machines. The first floor was packed with kids and teens expertly guiding joysticks in pursuit of plush characters. The upper floors? Adults — mostly older women and men — working the claws in what could only be described as gamified Costco: bulk-
sized grocery items at bargain prices, if you’re blessed with good depth perception and a steady hand. I nearly fainted from the frivolity.
On day three of 12, there is so much yet to be revealed, and so many “aha!s” left to experience. We’ll leave the big city for smaller cities, the mountains and everything in between, and I’m excited for all the many ways we’ll be transformed in
the process.
Until then, I hope you find ways to confront the incomprehensible, and jaa mata (“see you soon”)!
Emily Erickson is a writer and business owner with an affinity for black coffee and playing in the mountains. Connect with her online at www.bigbluehat. studio.
Retroactive
By BO
Emily Erickson.
Sandpoint Rec. Division moving to Russell Sports Center, with some programs canceled
By Reader Staff
The city of Sandpoint announced April 23 that the Recreation Division offices will relocate from City Hall to the James E. Russell Sports Center at 2016 Pine St., effective Monday, April 28.
“From that date forward, all business related to the use of city-owned recreation facilities — including sports fields at Travers and Memorial parks, picnic shelters, moorage at City Beach and Windbag Marina, the Community Hall, the RV Park, the Community Garden, and the community room and indoor courts at JER — will be managed out of that location,” city officials stated in a news release.
While operations at city recreational facilities will remain unaffected by the move, City Hall noted that “some restructuring within the division” would result in the cancellation of several city-run recreation programs scheduled for the spring and summer.
“The city will continue to support community-run programs that take place at city-owned facilities, such as the Sandpoint Sailing Association’s youth sailing classes based out of Windbag Marina and the Sandpoint Tennis Association’s doubles leagues at JER, among others,” officials stated.
Meanwhile, the city will begin recruiting for a full-time recreation facilities supervisor, who will oversee the usage, scheduling, promotion and upkeep of all city-owned recreation sites. The position will be based at JER and
supported by additional Recreation Division staff.
Interested candidates can learn more about the position at governmentjobs.com/careers/sandpoint.
Community organizations, sports teams, nonprofits and individuals interested in using city recreation facilities for leagues, tournaments, classes or special events are asked to contact the city’s Recreation Division at 208263-3613 or visit sandpointidaho.gov/ parks-and-recreation.
Innovia announces $30K in grants
By Reader Staff
Innovia Foundation’s Leadership Council for Bonner and Boundary counties announced grant awards totaling $30,000 at the community celebration of the Live Give 7B campaign on April 18. The grants will benefit three nonprofits serving the two counties.
Live Give 7B, a Bonner County fundraising effort sponsored by Innovia Foundation, ran April 14-18. The campaign aimed to strengthen community bonds in Bonner County and encourage residents to support the causes they care about most.
The culminating celebration event served as an opportunity for Innovia’s Leadership Council to recognize the positive impact nonprofits are making in both Bonner and Boundary counties, and the generosity of donors who have supported the Bonner Boundary Forever Fund.
“The Bonner and Boundary Leadership Council is honored to uplift organizations working towards a stronger future for North Idaho,” stated Dig Chrismer, Rural Engagement manager of the North Region at Innovia Foundation. “By participating in campaigns like Live Give 7B, we are able to come together to create a lasting impact in our region.”
Grants were awarded from the Bonner and Boundary Forever Fund at Innovia, which supports nonprofit organizations and charitable causes throughout both counties in North Idaho. The three grant recipients include Panhandle Special Needs, awarded $20,000; Hope House, awarded $5,000; and Seniors Hospitality Center in Bonners Ferry, awarded $5,000.
Grants will be used for general operating support within each organization.
To learn more about the mission and vision driving the Bonner and Boundary Forever Fund, or to contribute, visit goinnovia.org/BonnerBoundaryForever.
Disappearances, due process and democracy
By Lauren Necochea Reader Contributor
Liberty and justice are under attack as the Trump regime’s assault on due process and unlawful deportations escalates. It’s happening in plain sight, with little to no resistance from the Republican-controlled Congress.
Turkish student Rümeysa Öztürk, a Fulbright scholar studying child development at Tufts University, was walking down the street when six men in plain clothes and face masks handcuffed her, put her in an unmarked van, and transported her across three states before locking her up in Louisiana. No charges. No explanation. Their excuse? She signed a student newspaper letter sympathetic to the Palestinian people.
It sounds criminal because it is. Yet your tax dollars funded it as part of the Trump regime’s cruel, lawless agenda. They could have informed her that her visa had been terminated and allowed her to leave the country. Instead, they chose to terrorize her.
They did the same to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father of three. He was ripped from his family and sent to a mega-prison in El Salvador known for human rights abuses like torture, even though a court order barred the government from removing him. When caught, Trump’s enforcers shrugged and said, “It’s up to El Salvador now.”
Trump still defies a unanimous 9-0
order from the conservative U.S. Supreme Court demanding that Abrego Garcia be returned. Why? Because showing he can ignore even the highest court is part of the authoritarian power grab.
Abrego Garcia is just one of hundreds. One was targeted for a tattoo showing autism awareness. Others were food delivery drivers, students or makeup artists. None of them had trials or the opportunity to consult lawyers. All disappeared into a legal black hole, ripped from their families by a regime hellbent on breaking the law.
And it’s happening right here in Idaho. Two international students lost their visas, likely for participating in a peaceful campus protest.
“Due process” isn’t just a fancy term in our Constitution. It’s a fundamental promise that nobody can be imprisoned without reason, trial or defense.
Even if you don’t look like, think like or worship like the people targeted today, you should still be alarmed. When this regime rips away someone
else’s rights, it erodes the ground beneath us all. Tomorrow, it could be speaking out against Trump’s tariffs or Medicaid cuts that make you a target. And his allies now talk openly about revoking the citizenship of those they consider “disloyal.”
Terrorizing people is the point. And tyranny thrives when we stay quiet. Our representatives swore an oath to the Constitution, not to Trump. They must act now. If this regime keeps defying court orders unchecked, they will break more laws until the Constitution becomes meaningless.
Our American freedoms are slipping away. We must fight to get them back.
Lauren Necochea is chair of the Idaho Democratic Party and a former District 19 legislator. Necochea spent a decade leading nonprofit programs dedicated to research and advocacy in tax policy, health care and children’s issues.
Lauren Necochea. File photo
FEATURE
The growing hunger
Federal DOGE funding cuts are coming home to roost in North Idaho
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
“For now I ask no more than the justice of eating.”
— Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet and Nobel Prize winner
There is, perhaps, no worse feeling than going hungry. That’s what gives Bonner Community Food Bank Executive Director Debbie Love purpose in life: putting food on Bonner County residents’ tables when they need it.
But with the federal Department of Government Efficiency headed by Elon Musk continuing to gut funding for organizations like the Food Bank nationwide, the local nonprofit is experiencing drastic cuts to programs aimed at providing low-income and elderly residents with enough to eat.
Love fears these cuts are coming at a time when food insecurity in North Idaho is reaching alarming levels.
“Clearly life isn’t fair for many in our county and it is not fair that so many need the services of the Food Bank,” Love told the Reader. “When we are signing up 25 to 35 new households every month, that is a lot of people in our community that are finding themselves in a changing situation, needing assistance, and they all have unique stories.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Love said the Food Bank served about 1,200 families a month.
“In 2020, we had an influx of people coming to the Food Bank,” she said. “Resources were slim and hard to get at that point. We had to move from getting food locally to getting it from the national level, and they would bring it in through pallets.”
The Food Bank began buying locally again in 2021, when the pandemic began to lessen its impact on daily
life, but they still relied on receiving palletized food on a national level to keep up with the growing hunger in the community.
Love hoped the number of those relying on the Food Bank would decrease with time, but the opposite has been the case. This year, she saw an increase of 53%, meaning more than 3,000 families rely on the Food Bank for sustenance every month.
“Every day there’s a new family that signs up,” she said. “Sometimes multiple families on the same day. ... We’re always stocking up and preparing for the worst.”
Traditionally, the Food Bank receives food commodities through the U.S. Department of Agriculture — one of the many federal departments affected by DOGE cuts. These commodities help fund their “Box Program,” which is geared toward providing food for low-income and senior residents who need it.
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program provides low-income seniors with extra food each month, while The Emergency Food Assistance Program’s name is self-explanatory: supplementing the diets of people with low income by providing them with emergency food supplies at no cost.
Love told the Reader that DOGE cuts are affecting both programs. Currently, thanks to funding freezes, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program is not accepting new signups.
“At this point, we have access to a two-month supply of this program,” Love said.
Currently, about 130 people rely on the CSFP program in Bonner County.
Furthermore, Love has noticed sharp cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program, affecting the amount of food received.
“We noticed this month that
our quantities went from eight items to four items,” she said. “That program there is about 25% of the food we issue.”
Love shared a communication she received from the Community Action Partnership, which the Food Bank partners with for TEFAP, confirming that a much lesser amount of food has arrived.
“Between [April] and May, we were scheduled to receive seven trucks carrying a variety of commodities, which we hoped would help maintain a decent menu of items to offer,” according to what a CAP spokesperson told Love in an email. “However, due to the current climate, four of those trucks have been canceled.”
Canceled food items include cheese, pork chops, chicken legs and canned chicken. CAP was notified later that the dried cranberries they usually receive in June will no longer be coming.
“That leaves us with pasta boxes, cherry apple juice and applesauce as our primary items for the next couple of months,” the spokesperson wrote. “I truly apologize and wish there was more I could do. ... What’s not coming is huge. All the proteins and dairy and nearly 100% of our clients qualify for these extra commodities ”
Love said her staff hears daily anecdotes from members
of the community who rely on the Food Bank — stories that range from new moms who are the sole providers of their households coming in to sign up for assistance with tears in their eyes after having lost their job, or others who share their thanks for not having to eat oatmeal for protein after having it daily for more than a month.
“We just had a family come in where they lost their jobs, they were laid off, and they said they were grateful we
were here to help them with their food, because groceries are expensive right now,” Love said. “Their budget isn’t stretching as far and they’ve had to make hard choices ... between paying rent and medical bills.”
< see FOOD BANK, Page 15 >
Food insecurity in Bonner County, by the numbers
53%
The increase in families signing up for Food Bank services since the same time last year.
1 in 5
The number of elementary school students currently receiving weekend food bags from Food For Our Children — a 15% increase from average.
3,000+
The number of Bonner County families that rely
on the Food Bank for food every month.
25 to 35
The average number of new households that sign up for Food Bank services every month.
17.8%
The percentage of Bonner County children currently living at or below the poverty line in Bonner County in 2023, according to the U.S. Census.
A Bonner County resident fills a cart at the Food Bank. Photo by Ben Olson
“Is it a happy thing that people need the Food Bank?” asked Food Bank case manager Susan Ferguson. “It is not a happy thing, but it is a good thing we are here.”
As federal cuts continue to hinder the Food Bank’s ability to provide services, the community organization has had to depend on more private donations and local grants to keep food on the table.
“Relying on donations alone is fragile and uncertain for sure, especially during economic instability like we’re seeing,” Love said. “We saw that in 2020 and donations picked up in 2021, but as the economy fluctuates, people tend to give less.”
For now, Love is strengthening partnerships with local grocery stores and looking at ways the Food Bank can continue to provide shelf-stable food to replace those programs eliminated or reduced by DOGE.
In the meantime, she encourages donations from those who are able to give, and she’s always happy to have volunteers help pack and distribute food so the Food Bank continues to serve those who need it.
“We are always saying everyone
needs help from time to time,” Love said. “That’s what we are here for and we will weather the storm together as a community. The Food Bank is more important now than ever, to help families get through these hard times; and, when there is job loss or health crises for people, we’re here. We’ll always be here. We’ll make things happen no matter what.”
To volunteer or send donations to the Food Bank, visit bonnerfoodbank.org.
COMMUNITY
Ribbon cutting celebrating Wine4U’s new location
By Reader Staff
The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce joined Wine4U owner Beth Giacomo in celebrating a ribbon cutting at her new wine shop and tasting room, located at 1309 Ponderosa Dr., Ste. 116.
Giacomo launched Wine4U as an online seller of wine during the COVID-19 pandemic. She then added a subscription-based monthly wine club and concierge services to help customers stock their wine racks and cellars, purchase hand-curated gift baskets, access private group wine tastings and participate in monthly public wine tastings the third Monday every month at Baxter’s on Cedar.
Following that, Wine4U opened a physical location to allow customers to check out the wines and wine accesso-
ries she has to offer. Now, Giacomo is celebrating a new location across the parking lot from her first retail store.
The new space will allow Wine4U to host pop-up tasting events, wine club pickup dates, walk-ins for tastings and a range of other happenings. With a larger location, the shop will also feature a wide variety of wine and food-related gifts and gadgets, as well as outdoor seating. For more info, email info@wine4uonline.com.
(Left to right) Chamber Ambassador Samantha Kelley, Molly and Mike Stanley, Wine4U owner Beth Giacomo, Lyle Hemingway, Chamber Ambassador Alisha Kowalski and Dennis Luce. Courtesy photo
KNPS features Phil Hough as guest speaker
By Reader Staff
The Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society will feature Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness Executive Director Phil Hough as the guest speaker at its monthly meeting held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 26 at the Sandpoint Community Hall (204 S. First Ave.).
Hough will speak on the topic, “Twenty Years of Working for Wilderness,” highlighting the start of FSPW in 2005 and the work the organization has undertaken in the two decades since.
“After two decades of outreach, education, stewardship and advocacy, our programs have grown and evolved,” Hough said. “Our trail projects keep trails open. Our trail ambassadors keep hikers safe and mountain
goats wild. Our Winter Tracks youth education teaches hundreds of school kids about the natural world around them. Our hikes get people of all ages out into wild inspiring places.
“Collectively our programs impact thousands of people’s lives,” he added. “They are supported by thousands of volunteer hours every year. Twenty years may seem like a long time. Designating wilderness takes a long time; being good stewards of wild places never ends.”
Hough will begin his presentation at 10 a.m., and coffee, tea and treats will be available at 9:30 a.m. The program is free and open to the public, co-sponsored by Sandpoint Parks and Recreation with the support of the East Bonner County Library District.
Visit nativeplantsociety.org for information about how to attend via Zoom.
Barrel 33 to host fundraiser for Community Cancer Services
By Reader Staff
Barrel 33 will host a fundraiser Friday, April 25 benefiting the Community Cancer Services Foundation.
During the event, which is scheduled for 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Barrel 33 (100 N. First Ave.), 10% of proceeds will be donated to Community Cancer Services — a local organization dedicated to easing the burden of those affected by cancer in the Sandpoint area.
Guests are invited to take part in
an evening of food and entertainment, including a raffle, games, live music and more.
“Supporting Community Cancer Services aligns with our commitment to helping and being a part of this wonderful community,” stated Barrel
33 General Manager Nicola Manning.
“We’re excited to host this event and contribute to such a meaningful cause.”
For more info, visit barrel33sandpoint.com and communitycancerservices.com.
Started in Sandpoint, Confident Futures school readiness program relaunches nationally
By Reader Staff
A once-local college and career readiness program that gained momentum in Idaho schools has officially relaunched as the nationwide online resource Confident Futures.
Piloted as RampUp! For College, the program was implemented successfully in Bonner County schools and supported through the state’s Go On initiative. Now renamed and digitized, Confident Futures offers self-paced, standards-aligned content that supports both students and school systems.
“I created Confident Futures after helping my own kids through the overwhelming maze of college searching, admissions, recruiting and financial decisions,” stated program founder Kari Saccomanno. “We were juggling info from all directions and still felt unsure. This program simplifies the process, empowers students, supports families and complements the work counselors already do.”
The program is designed to empower teens to explore who they are and what they want next — whether that’s college, a trade, military service or entering the workforce. For student-athletes, Branding Your Game offers the full suite of Confident Futures’ offerings, with future planning; guidance on athletic scholarships; NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA options; and how to build a strong personal brand.
“Rather than pushing one path, Confident Futures intends to help students discover their strengths, clarify their goals, and make informed decisions,” according to a news release.
“Along the way, they’ll get step-bystep guidance on admissions, scholarships, and financial planning, plus practical tips to succeed in school and life beyond graduation.”
“Confident Futures puts everything students need in one place — without replacing the vital role counselors play. It simply makes their work go further,” Saccomanno stated.
Phil Hough. Courtesy photo
Send event listings to calendar@sandpointreader.com
THURSDAY, April 24
Paint & Sip
5:30-8pm @ Barrel 33
Learn to paint a masterpiece for $45
Cribbage (double elimination tourney $5)
6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Hannah Meehan
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Live Music w/ Tucker James
5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Live looping multi-instrumentalist
Live Music w/ The Hot Cheetos
5pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Ken Mayginnes
6-9pm @ 1908 Saloon
Live Music w/ Mike Wagoner,
Sadie Sicilia and Jaco
5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Classic rock, pop and deep cuts
Live Music w/ The Hot Cheetos
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Live Music w/ Mason Van Stone
9pm-midnight @ 219 Lounge
Loops and favorites from across genres
Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs
6-8pm @ Baxter’s on Cedar
Live Music w/ Ali Thomas
6-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
Live Music w/ Monarch Mountain Band
5:30-8:30pm @ Barrel 33
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe play 1pm @ Panida Theater
EDM Night with DJ Coral
8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub (upstairs) Psychedelic, electronic dance musician DJ Coral and secret opener
Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee
Live Music w/ Liam McCoy 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Accompanied by Pound Shop Nights. Food and drink specials
FriDAY, April 25
The Dead & Down in concert with Babes in Canyon 8pm @ The Hive Roots/rock 5-piece from Montana and synth-folk/moody pop duo from Seattle
Live Music w/ Kevin Dorin
6-8pm @ Baxter’s on Cedar
April 24 - May 1, 2025
Glass Gardens: Build your own terrarium
5:30-7pm @ Verdant Plant Shop
All the supplies and instruction to create an ecosystem in a jar
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe play 7pm @ Panida Theater
C.S. Lewis’ classic work dramatized on stage by Honey Pearl Productions. $25
Live Music w/ Ian Newbill
6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Country and classic rock
SHS Grad Night Red, White and Bulldog Dinner and Auction
5:30pm @ The Heartwood Center
A fundraiser for SHS Grad-Night with dinner, live/silent auctions and a raffle
SATURDAY, April 26
Funky Junk Antique and Craft Festival
10am-4pm @ Bonner County Fairgrounds
Idaho’s largest and longest-running antique and craft show (see Page 20)
Community in Bloom fundraiser/dinner 5-9pm @ The Heartwood Center Dinner by Beet & Baseil, live auction and fundraiser for Selkirk School.
Dress in your blooming best mountain dressy clothes. 615 Oak St.
KNPS program: Twenty Years of Working for Wilderness
10am @ Sandpoint Community Hall
By speaker Phil Hough with Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness
Celebration of Trees
12-3pm @ Sandpoint Library
Free, fun activities to celebrate trees
SunDAY, April 27
Funky Junk Antique and Craft Festival
10am-4pm @ Bonner County Fairgrounds
Idaho’s largest and longest-running antique and craft show (see Page 20)
Magic with Star Alexander 5-8pm @ Jalapeño’s
Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi
7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
Pool tournament ($10 entry)
6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
tuesDAY, April 29
Live acoustic guitar w/ John Firshi
5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Family Hour at Matchwood
5-7pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co.
Live music w/ John Firshi and more
Jim Messina live in concert
7pm @ Panida Theater
Back in Sandpoint by popular demand! Don’t miss it this time. $42-$55
monDAY, April 28
Outdoor Experience group run 6pm @ Outdoor Experience 3-5 miles, all levels welcome
Wildfire mitigation class 9am-2pm @ Church of Latter-Day Saints
7B Cares and Bonner Co. Emergency Mgmt. will host this class to cover steps to minimize risk and reduce damages to your property from wildfire
14th annual celebration for Wild Idaho Rising Tide (WIRT)
7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub (upstairs room)
Live music, pizza and no-host snacks/ drinks. Campaign updates from WIRT. wildidahorisingtide.org for more info
Spring Fling: Shop, Hop and Win 1-6pm @ Downtown Sandpoint shops Hosted by Downtown Shopping District, stamp your passport at participating downtown businesses to win prizes
Live Music w/ Mason Van Stone 6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Kerry Leigh 3-5pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe play 3pm @ Panida Theater
Trivia Monday 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
wednesDAY, April 30
Collision of Rhythm show • 7pm @ Panida Theater
A duo with a tap-dancing virtuoso and beatboxing juggler who fill a stage as only a 12-person ensemble would. Highly entertaining. $25/$10. (See Page 19)
‘Gardening As We Age’ class • 3-5pm @ Sandpoint Senior Center
A home horticulture class offered by the Bonner Co. Gardeners Assoc. $10
Live trivia ($5/person) 7pm @ Connie’s Lounge
ThursDAY, may 1
Lei making workshop 6-8pm @ Sunshine on Cedar Contact Sunshine on Cedar to make your reservation!
Live piano w/ Athena Crossingham 5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
POAC bringing nationally known duo Collision of Rhythm to the Panida
By Reader Staff
The Pend Oreille Arts Council is bringing Collision of Rhythm to the Panida Theater for a Wednesday, April 30 performance that will introduce local audiences to the nationally known tap-dancing virtuoso Aaron Williams and beatboxing, juggling keynote speaker Bronkar Lee.
Doors at 300 N. First Ave., in downtown Sandpoint, open at 6 p.m. with the two-hour show starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for students, available at the door or artinsandpoint.org/cor.
The partnership between Williams and Lee began at a TEDx event, which led to viral videos, working with major brands like GoPro and Coca-Cola, as well as appearances on The Tonight Show and America’s Got Talent.
Though a duo, Williams and Lee “command the stage like a dozen performers, seamlessly transitioning from drumming to tap dancing to juggling various instruments,” promoters stated, adding that their work has been described as a medley of Stomp,
the Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil.
For more info, visit collisionofrhythm.com, artinsandpoint.org/cor or panida.org.
Wild Idaho Rising Tide will celebrate its March 31 anniversary and 14th year as a regional climate activists collective with a celebration Saturday, April 26 at 7 p.m. in the upstairs room at Eichardt’s Pub (212 Cedar St., in Sandpoint).
“DanO” Osborne will provide the keyboard stylings of popular melodies from the 1960s, ’70s and beyond, with listeners often singing along to these memorable tunes.
The event is free and WIRT invites all ages to join in for live music, complimentary pizza or no-host snacks, and beverages, as well as campaign updates and a background slideshow of
WIRT and allied activism.
WIRT encourages poets, writers, musicians and grassroots environmental partners to participate in an open community mic providing “creative input and discussions about ongoing resistance to threats to healthy air, water, land and life.”
Organizers will offer updates on six WIRT campaigns against fossil fuels and its infrastructure throughout the Northwest, including tar sands megaloads; oil and gas development; highway, railroad and methane gas pipeline expansions; and lakeside deforestation.
According to organizers, “Contributions to these yearly festivities raise awareness and attract involvement in the climate justice movement and sup-
Build your own terrarium at Verdant Plants
By Reader Staff
Verdant Plants will host a buildyour-own terrarium workshop Thursday, April 24 from 5:30-7 p.m. at their new location at 219 Church St., in Sandpoint.
Terraria are enclosed and semi-enclosed ecosystems with soil and plants living in a controlled environment.
The class costs $35 and includes all supplies and instruction, as well as snacks and drinks.
Verdant Plants owner Erin Johnson said she’ll instruct participants on making a terrarium in a quart Mason
jar with a cork stopper on top, which allows the transference of some air. Each participant can then take their terrarium home, and they’ll also receive 15% off anything else they’d like to purchase at the shop (excluding consignment items).
Visit verdantplants.com for more information.
port the work and outreach of WIRT and frontline volunteer groups opposing the fossil fuel causes and perpetrators of global climate chaos.”
For more info, visit wildidahorisingtide.org.
Keeping the story going
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
When choosing a theme for the annual Funky Junk Antique and Craft Festival, founder and organizer Jennifer Wood often lands on a topic that celebrates the history and culture of this region that she has loved all her life.
This year, however, inspiration struck from an unexpected place: Her husband, Nathan, was captured by the history and storytelling in a book he picked up from 1901.
“I love that he got to be this book’s next story,” Wood told the Reader. “I said, ‘That’s a perfect theme.’”
Wood chose to theme this year’s festival, “Keep the Story Going, Be Something’s Next Chapter,” both to give a nod to her love of books and institutions like the library, which help promote reading, but also to emphasize the upcycling quality of her show, which returns to Sandpoint for the 18th year on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., both days at the Bonner County Fairgrounds.
The show, which has become Idaho’s largest and longest-running antique and craft festival, draws more than 100 vendors, selling everything from antiques to gardening decor, crafts, vintage clothing, books and anything in between.
“Ever since we moved the show to spring, everybody is looking for stuff for their garden,” Wood said. “Bonner County Gardeners Association will have plants there, we’ll have booths full of perennials and decor. This year we’re two weeks before Mother’s Day for people looking for gifts for mom.”
Along with the variety of Funky Junk items, Wood said a great addition has been vintage clothing booths.
“That’s becoming more of a hit with the younger crowd and teenagers,” she said.
Along with the vendors,
there will be live music by Dirk Swartz both days, starting at 10 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday.
Wood said part of the glory of putting on Funky Junk every year is embracing the self-sustainable lifestyle that always remains popular, but especially in times of economic insecurity.
“People want to be self-sustainable,” she said. “The more we can do that, the more we can keep money in our pockets. We like to support places that need the extra funding, like small businesses, local thrift stores, local antique shops. ... Being part of that sustainability, I think, is a strength.”
Wood’s favorite part of Funky Junk is watching all the different people interact with one another.
The Funky Junk Antique and Craft Festival returns for its 19th year
Funky Junk Antique and Craft Festival
their flannel shirts and hats sitting and listening to music next to a group of people who look like they just came back from a girlfriends’ weekend at their lake house.”
Friday, April 26; Saturday, April 27; 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; $10, kids 12 and under FREE, Bonner County Fairgrounds, 4203 N. Boyer Ave. funkyjunkantiqueshow.com.
“I love seeing old men in
Coming into her 19th year hosting Funky Junk, Wood said she is honored to put on an annual event
that draws together so many people.
“It makes me so proud, because this is my hometown,” she said. “I remember dressing up for the Fourth of July parades, putting on my poodle skirt for Lost in the ’50s, being a part of all these Sandpoint events. I love this town.”
Despite rental fees increasing dramatically this year at the Fairgrounds, Wood said it’s important to keep the
costs low for attendees, so the admission fees are only $10 for the general public, with kids 12 and under entering free. There is also no charge for parking.
Along with the multitude of upcycled products on sale, Funky Junk will also have food and drinks available to purchase.
Visit funkyjunkantiqueshow. com for more information.
The Commuter Cup: A competition for everyday adventures
By Reader Staff
This May, Sandpoint businesses and organizations are putting a fresh spin on the daily grind with the first-ever Commuter Cup, a monthlong challenge designed to get people outside, moving and connecting with their community — one ride, walk or skate at a time.
Organized by Pend Oreille Pedalers, the Commuter Cup is a friendly competition where employees earn points for biking, walking or skateboarding to work. For those with long commutes, simply getting outside for 30 minutes during the workday also counts toward participation.
With some of Sandpoint’s most well-known businesses already on board — including Kochava, Bonner General Health, Evans Brothers Coffee and Schweitzer — the race for the coveted Commuter Cup Trophy is already heating up.
“We all know how much better we feel when we get some fresh air,” said Emily Strizich of Pend Oreille Pedalers. “The Commuter Cup is all about making it fun to shake up the daily routine — giving people a reason to move a little more, breathe a little deeper and connect with their surroundings.”
For companies like Schweitzer, the event is a natural fit.
“We’re in the business of outdoor recreation, so it’s important for us that our employees get out to be reminded why we’re here,” said Megan Reimers, human resources manager at Schweitzer. “This is a fun way to celebrate our Schweitzer family while also celebrating the broader Sandpoint community.”
Evans Brothers Coffee, the catalyst behind the Commuter Cup, sees the event as an extension of their commitment to community and connection.
“At Evans Brothers, we love being part of the fabric of this community,” said Randy Evans. “Sandpoint is a special place, and we believe it’s important to encourage people to slow down, step outside, and connect with the people and places around them. The Commuter Cup is a great way to build those connections — whether it’s sharing a wave with a fellow rider on the way to work or just starting your day with some fresh air. We’re excited to be part of it.”
How it works:
• Employees earn one point per day for not driving to work, whether they walk, bike, skateboard, rollerblade, ride the SPOT bus, etc.
• If a commute is too far, they can earn a point by moving their body for 30 minutes during the workday.
• Team names, creativity and team spirit are highly encouraged. Social media posts and communications are encouraged. At the end of May, the winning business will be awarded the Commuter Cup Trophy, and teams will be recognized for their enthusiasm, creativity, and commitment to getting outside and moving more.
The event also coincides with National Bike Month, an effort to get more local students riding to school. Lake Pend Oreille School District will be hosting bike rodeos, bike to school days and bike buses throughout the month of May. Together, the Commuter Cup and Bike to School Weeks celebrate the joy of movement and the simple pleasure of starting and ending your day outside.
Businesses interested in joining the Commuter Cup can sign up by contacting emily@pendoreillepedalers.org.
Courtesy photo
MUSIC
The Hive to host two touring bands
The Dead & Down and Babes in Canyon play doubleheader in downtown Sandpoint
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
It’ll be a two-for-one deal Friday, April 25, when The Dead & Down and Babes in Canyon take the stage at The Hive (207 N. First Ave., in downtown Sandpoint). Tickets are $5, and doors open at 7 p.m. with the show starting at 8 p.m.
The Dead & Down is an exploratory roots-rock five-piece band inspired by the vast landscapes and dramatic mountains of their Montana home.
and swampy rock ’n’ roll, with the occasional detour into psychedelia and genre-defying experimentation.
The Dead & Down and Babes in Canyon
Friday, April 25; doors at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m.; $5. The Hive, 207 N.First Ave., 208-920-9039, livefromthehive.com. Listen at thedeadanddown.com and babesincanyon.com.
With frontman Taylor Burlage’s introspective songwriting and dusty vocals, the band fluctuates somewhere between rust-flecked alt-county
“The Dead & Down have a sound that doesn’t fit into one bin,” said Bob Wall of KGVM Bozeman. “They combine elements of country, Americana and rock for a sonic experience that stays interesting. Their new song, ‘Switchbacks’ has a solid country-rock feel, but the break in the middle is a lot more akin to prog rock. It’s a combo that works.”
The band’s recently released sophomore album No Broken Bones was a strong follow-up to debut release Dead & Down in 2023. Both are available
on streaming sites, as well as thedeadanddown.com.
Joining the Montanans will be synth-folk, moody pop duo Babes in Canyon.
Hailing from Seattle, Babes in Canyon crafts music that feels both nostalgic and of the moment, blurring the line between loungey folk and moody pop, adding a dash of vocal harmonies that stick with you long after the last bar of the song.
Songwriters Nathan Hamer and Amanda Ebert continue to conjure their layered and articulate soundscapes, looping keys, beats and percussion in an electric live performance.
The band was born after a spontaneous writing session during a blackout when a severe windstorm stranded Hamer and Ebert in a remote cabin near Mount Baker. The pair has backed up that unique origin
story with a catalog of music that journeys into the land of heavy beats, lyrics dripping with storytelling and synth-folk instrumentation with a twist.
“We try to create a sonic landscape of standing on a mountain just after a storm, when the first beams of sunlight start to break through the clouds,” said Hamer.
The band’s first two EPs and latest single have received praise from listeners, including publications Under the Radar, Magnet and Atwood Magazine Meanwhile, Babes in Canyon is gearing up to release its first full-length album, The New Loud. Listen on streaming sites or visit babesincanyon.com to learn more.
A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint
EDM night with DJ Coral, Eichardt’s Pub, April 27 Jim Messina, Panida Theater, May 1
Eichardt’s upstairs will transform into a full-blown club for one night on Sunday, April 27, with a special performance by psychedelic, electronic dance musician DJ Coral (and a secret opener). Coral Slater has been DJing since the ’90s, finding her niche in the subgenre psytrance. Her original songs blend sampled speech with Indian Goa-inspired psychedelia and notes that sound like they came from
classic ‘80s video game music. Come prepared with glowsticks and colorful rave clothes to take advantage of the discount drinks and dance ’til you drop on a high-energy night to end all nights.
— Soncirey Mitchell
8 p.m., $10, 21+. Eichardt’s Pub, 212 Cedar St., 208-2634005, eichardtspub.com. Listen at linktr.ee/psycoral.
Tickets are dwindling for the Jim Messina show Thursday, May 1 at the Panida Theater, which shouldn’t be a surprise for those who were able to see Messina and his band, The Road Runners, when they last played in Sandpoint two years ago. Seats sold out quickly, which resulted in Messina promising to return. Messina’s career spans decades, including with Buffalo Springfield, Poco,
This week’s RLW by Soncirey Mitchell
READ
Award-winning author Susanna Clarke spent 10 years writing a comprehensive and dazzling alternative history in the form of her debut novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Set in 19th-century England, during the Napoleonic Wars, the novel imagines a world where magic is brought back by two talented, feuding magicians caught in a Gothic comedy of manners. The rivals use magic and political powers to fight against Napoleon, breaking down boundaries between the human and fairy worlds in the process.
LISTEN
Not enough modern music inspires you to go on a quest — whether that’s a trek to the grocery store or a hike in search of dragons. The sibling duo The Oh Hellos is one of the few bands to fill that niche, particularly with its 2015 album Dear Wormwood, which was inspired by the writings of C.S. Lewis and Patrick Rothfuss. The indie-folk band’s catchy, lyrical songs capture the essence of the Pacific Northwest, fantasy and mythology.
WATCH
and Loggins & Messina, the latter which sold more than 20 million albums. A Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Messina is a true country-rock icon and not to be missed.
— Zach Hagadone
Doors at 6:30 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m.; $42-$55. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave., 208-2639191, get tickets at panida.org or at the door. Listen at jimmessina.com.
I’m always a sucker for a whodunnit, which usually means I watch a lot of the BBC. Imagine my surprise, then, when Netflix gave us the delightful murder mystery The Residence, starring Uzo Aduba as the eccentric Detective Cordelia Cupp. When a murder occurs at the White House during a dinner with Australian delegates, everyone becomes a suspect in a massive game of Clue. Cupp’s deadpan comedy, partnered with the mystery’s hundreds of twists, turns and interpersonal issues, make for a hilarious and memorable miniseries.
Left: The Dead & Down. Right: Amanda Ebert and Nathan Hamer of Babes in Canyon. Courtesy photos
From Pend Oreille Review, April 26, 1906
GROUNDS FOR NEW BASEBALL PARK
At a meeting of the baseball association Monday evening, it was decided to purchase 18 lots in the Peterson addition, at the corner of Michigan Street and Euclid avenue, for a baseball park. The area will be 300 feet square and embrace from lots 9 to 24. The property is owned by Antone Peterson. The ground will be bought by individuals who will subscribe for from one to three lots. The ball association will rent for a period of years and have the first few years’ rental free upon their defraying the expenses of putting the lots in shape for ball playing, erecting a grandstand, etc.
The ball team expects to be able to occupy the new grounds for the first time one week from next Sunday. The old grandstand will be removed to the new grounds, a fence will be erected and the new park put in shape at once. The grandstand will be built so that the entrance will be from the street.
INSANE OVER EARTHQUAKE
Deputy Sheriff Merritt passed through Sandpoint Monday from Bonners Ferry having in custody Ed Ramsey, who had a hearing in probate court this week and was adjudged insane. Ramsey conducted a restaurant and lodging house at the Ferry. He became suddenly insane Sunday. The first that was noticed of his demented condition was when he walked into the place and seeing some cracks in the wall said they were effects of the San Francisco earthquake. He became so violent he had to be strapped for his journey to the county seat.
BACK OF THE BOOK
Born on Good Friday
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
I was born on Good Friday. I wasn’t raised religious, but I’ve always understood the cultural significance of that date and worn it like a birthmark. My life began on a day when the Christian world was celebrating the ultimate act of love, kindness and sacrifice. I have always believed in those ideals.
This week, I woke up on my 25th birthday to the overwhelming realization I’ve been staving off since high school — that the kindness, understanding and acceptance that I hold dear has been the instrument of our own destruction.
Every week, I watch government meetings, spend hours following national, state and local politics, and see how small-minded, pathetic narcissists have weaponized the ideal of “live and let live,” using it as a vulnerability to grasp power and wealth. These politicians and plutocrats have learned that our doctrine of acceptance has given them carte blanche to stomp on the rest of the world’s autonomy.
These people have no love, they have no joy, they have no kindness, and they have nothing but fear and hatred and the desire to distract from their own inadequacies by dominating anyone with less power than themselves. All that was good in them suffocated under the weight of their egos long, long ago, yet we have let their putrescence fester because we believe everyone should live how they want to live.
There comes a point when being kind to one group is inherently cruel to another. Our duty to respect one another’s beliefs ends when those be-
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liefs threaten someone else’s existence. We have been sedentary for too long, and now our friends, loved ones and neighbors are under threat.
It was just Easter, and even on one of Christianity’s most important holidays, men like Donald Trump and JD Vance throw around the name “Jesus” and use others’ good intentions to play God and hand down commandments to the masses they deem inferior. I guarantee that most people who have never been Christian a day in their lives are still better Christians than these fascist terrorists.
Trump and his bootlickers croon about having “God’s favor” like 15th-century Medicis, all the while steering humanity toward war, poverty and global catastrophe. I’ve read the Bible. If you see Christ’s likeness in Trump, you need to admit your so-called faith is a hollow ploy to control others.
“Jesus loves Trump.” Yes, Jesus loves Trump the way he loved the Romans as they executed him and the way he loved the money changers as he braided a whip with which to beat them. Jesus’ message was one of love and repentance, but these deranged oligarchs will never repent. Their goals are to seize power, revise history and call into question anything previously held to be true.
I am so consumed by rage and hate it makes me scream and cry and pull my hair. My body can’t contain the emotion. My whole life, I’ve lived under the threat of school shootings, watched the spread of preventable diseases among my peers and heard bigots celebrated on every street corner. I have watched the world degrade for 25 years because of the actions of a selfish few, and I know that compassion will
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not win the day.
Kindness is something to fight for, but we still have to fight.
These people will continue to infiltrate every level of government — every school board, health district and central committee — until they burn the world to the ground for the thrill of it. If you were fooled — if you voted for these people — I forgive you, but you have to help fix what you broke. Everyone who exclaims with glee that they will take away education, health care, food and clean water is not someone we can afford to tolerate any longer. We must pity them and recognize their humanity, but we must also strip them of their power, of their wealth and of their influence, just as they have done to everyone else.
Resist, protest, vote and organize while we still can. When the time comes, be ready for a fight the likes of which we haven’t seen since the ’40s. Even Jesus understood there was a time to turn the other cheek and a time to flip tables.
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Frank knew that no man had ever crossed the desert on foot and lived to tell about it. So, he decided to get back in his car and keep driving.
