Those who know me know of my visceral and unreasonable hatred for backtracking — that is, having to redo something I’ve already done, and it manifests both with mental and physical labor. Even in situations that seem petty, like if I forget something at home and get more than a half a block from my door, I won’t return for it unless it’s absolutely necessary, even if it means some minor inconvenience later. This quirk of mine underwent its most serious test in recent memory last Sunday, when my wife, kids and I traveled to Spokane to buy a new (used) car. I’ll spare all the details, but the basic story is that our current vehicle — a 2011 Subaru with only about 101,000 miles on it — apparently has enough problems that fixing them all wouldn’t be worth the expense, and my wife and I determined that it was probably time for us to enter the world of car buying; which, due to the immense generosity of our families, we’ve never had to do since all the cars we’ve driven for the past 25 years have been hand-me-downs.
All that said, we don’t really know what we’re doing, but found a car we liked in Spokane Valley and drove there to trade in the current ride. Because of the dire prognoses we received independently from two auto shops in town, we didn’t feel super comfortable all riding in the Subaru, so I offered myself as the sacrifice and drove alone while the wife and kids followed in my mom’s car. We arrived at the dealership without incident, went through all the rigamarole of verifying information, certifying the trade-in and took the new vehicle out for a spin. Satisfied that we’d made a good choice, we prepared to seal the deal. Until, to our horror, we found that we hadn’t brought the title. We thought we had, but due to incompetent record-keeping and generally not knowing what we were doing, we were unable to complete the transaction.
The only option was to drive back to Sandpoint, find the relevant document and return to Spokane before the dealership closed at 7 p.m. We left the Subaru there, along with insurance and registration papers, and got home about an hour and a half later. We then searched everywhere for our title, realizing that our most sensitive records have been organized and stored like a hoarder who puts everything in shoeboxes under the bed. After an hour or two of fruitless searching, we determined that the title disappeared at some point over the past six or so years, and we would have to return to Spokane empty-handed, retrieve our Subaru and make another turnand-burn to Sandpoint. Needless to say, my brain was melting. We started this process at about 10:30 a.m., and didn’t finally return home (for good) until about 7 p.m., having spent about six hours on the road for nothing. Meanwhile, the Subaru performed perfectly throughout, leading me to continue my deep skepticism that there’s even anything wrong with it, despite the evidence provided by local mechanics. I now have some inkling of what it’s like to be a “denier” of various facts delivered by experts. The upshot is that I’ve become quite familiar with the Highway 53/Hwy 290/Trent Avenue route to the Big City, which — regardless of the car I’m driving — I’ll be taking from now on.
DEAR READERS,
The Reader usually participates in the Sand Creek Regatta every September. For those who don’t know, the Regatta is an annual race in which locals build rafts out of scrap materials and race for bragging rights down Sand Creek. This year, we’re also sacrificing a tourist in the lake as part of the festivities (calm down, we’re just going to toss them in the water — we’re not even going to bind their limbs, and they already volunteered).
Every year, after the race, spectators ask me to remind them ahead of time the following year so they have time to put together a team and build a craft. This is your reminder!
It’s a super fun event and we’d love to have more boats to compete against. Stay tuned for a future edition of the Reader with a story announcing the race date and tourist sacrifice. If anyone has any big drums like you’d see in an Indiana Jones movie, hit me up.
– Ben Olson, publisher
READER
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About the Cover:
This week’s cover was designed by Ben Olson. Game on!
Doctors left Idaho after abortion ban, study confirms
By Kyle Pfannenstiel Idaho Capital Sun
Idaho lost more than a third of its practicing obstetrician doctors after the state’s near-total abortion ban took effect, a new study published in a peer-reviewed academic journal confirms.
The study — published July 31 in the JAMA Network Open, a division of the Journal of the American Medical Association — found that Idaho lost 35% of its doctors who practiced in obstetrics. In total, Idaho lost 94 of those doctors out of 268 between August 2022 and December 2024, the study found.
Idaho’s abortion ban took effect in 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned national abortion protections. Some OB-GYNs, including maternal-fetal medicine specialists, said publicly that they were leaving because of the ban.
“These results provide a stark picture of a rapidly declining maternal health workforce in our state,” the study’s lead author, Dr. Edward McEachern, said in a statement.
The study appears to confirm findings from a report in February 2024 by the Idaho Physician Well-Being Action Collaborative that found Idaho lost 22% of its practicing obstetricians since the state’s abortion bans took effect.
Despite calls for change in the three years Idaho’s ban has been in place, including by the state’s top medical association, Idaho lawmakers have largely refused to modify Idaho’s strict abortion laws. Organizers are collecting signatures to qualify a ballot initiative in November 2026 that could end Idaho’s strict abortion bans and establish reproductive freedom rights.
“Since Idaho’s abortion ban went into effect, [the Idaho Medical Association] has raised the alarm about the unintended consequences of criminalizing medically necessary care
for pregnant women,” Idaho Medical Association CEO Susie Keller said in a statement. “This study clearly shows how our legal environment is causing physicians to leave the state and making it more difficult to recruit new ones to take their place. Idaho is digging a physician workforce hole that will take years, if not decades, to fill.”
More than 40% of the ob-
stetrics doctors Idaho lost since its abortion bans took effect moved out of state, the study found. More than a fifth retired, but some narrowed their medical practice focus to gynecology or stopped practicing in rural areas, the study found.
The study pulled information from publicly available professional credentialing sources, physician websites, national registries and confir-
mation from the doctors.
The vast majority of Idaho’s remaining OB-GYN doctors are practicing in the state’s seven most populated counties, the study found. Just 23 OBGYN doctors practice in Idaho’s other 37 counties that are home to nearly a quarter of the state’s population, compared to 151 in Idaho’s seven most populated counties, according to the study.
States Newsroom reporter Kelcie Moseley-Morris contributed.
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.
What others have had to say about Idaho’s doctor
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
The Idaho Democratic Party issued a statement on the JAMA report on July 31, headlined: “Republican Abortion Ban has turned Idaho into a maternity care desert.”
“This report is horrifying, and it should be a wake-up call for every Idahoan,” wrote IDP Chair Lauren Necochea.
“Over a third of practicing obstetricians are gone. Hospitals across the state have shut down their maternity wards. And pregnant women are being left with nowhere to turn. This is what the Republican abortion ban has done: driven doctors out under threat of imprisonment, closed maternity wards, and put lives at risk. Idaho Democrats refuse to look the other way. We trust women to make their most intimate medical decisions without politicians standing in their way. We’ll keep fighting until every Idahoan can get the care they need.”
However, in the 2024 Legislative District 1 candidates’ forum, former-Sen. Scott Herndon, R-Sagle, argued that physician shortages stem from demographic changes that are affecting a number of other industries. During his one term in the Statehouse, Herndon — who is a selfstyled “abortion abolitionist” and also serves as chair of the Bonner County Republican Central Committee — was an architect of Idaho’s strict
exodus
abortion ban, and unsuccessfully pushed for removing all exceptions, including in cases of rape and incest.
“I don’t believe that we should put to death children for the crimes of their father ... I think our abortion ban is sound and I think my position is principled, based on the Constitution of the United States and scripture,” he said.
Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, who unseated Herndon in the 2024 election and currently serves LD1, countered Herndon’s claims, stating at the forum: “The facts are doctors are leaving and our women are suffering because of the existing Idaho law. ... We need to go back and revisit what we put in place.”
Two-term Dist. 1A Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint, said in the 2024 forum that
while “It’s a tough issue,” “I think we as the Legislature owe it to our health care professionals to give them some good guidance and put some curbs, so they can be comfortable in practicing.”
Sauter voted in favor of Idaho’s abortion law, but later came to question its effect on pushing doctors out of practice in the state. He and Woodward introduced legislation at the end of the 2025 Legislature to add an exception to the abortion ban to protect “the health of the mother,” but it was not taken up by the end of the session in March — rather, meant to “start a conversation” on the issue, to be taken up in the 2026 Legislature.
In an interview with the Reader in May, U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, echoed Herndon’s skepticism
that near-total abortion bans such as Idaho’s have spurred an exodus of OB-GYNS or other women’s health care practitioners, saying that he would “check into” the “claim that that’s the reason why those doctors left or whatever.”
“So far, when we’ve done that, there’s just more to it than that, and if that’s the case, then OK, that’s the case, but they at least have the option of going next door, because it’s legal there,” he said, later adding that laws related to abortion access should be with the states and that, “This state is overwhelmingly pro-life. And
< see DOCTORS, Page 5 >
Jen Jackson Quintano, founder and executive director of the Pro Voice Project, at work in her Sandpoint office. Photo by Ben Olson
Lightning Creek fire north of Clark Fork showing ‘moderate’
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
The Lightning Creek fire, burning on about 2,400 acres nine miles north of Clark Fork, remained at 0% containment as of Aug. 6, officials with the U.S. Forest Service reported.
Meanwhile, local fire managers and the incoming incident management team will host a community meeting at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 8 at the Clark Fork High School (502 N. Main St.) to provide general information and address community questions and concerns.
The fire began July 30 due to lightning strike, and is burning up the Lightning Creek drainage in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest following the scar and feeding on heavy dead and down fuels left by the Cougar Fire in 2018.
As of Aug. 6, there were 97 personnel on the fire, including three engines, one water tender, two excavators, one feller buncher, three falling modules, a hand crew and hotshots. Fire suppression aircraft are available and being used as needed.
Officials reported that
< DOCTORS, con’t from Page 4 >
the Legislature likes that, and I’m there with them.”
In response to a further question about the “unintended consequence” of Idaho’s abortion law prompting doctors to leave Idaho, Fulcher responded, “OK, I need to see the data. ... Idaho is a destination for the medical community. Overall, doctors want to come here.”
In March 2023, Bonner General Health announced it would suspend its labor and delivery services effective in May of that year, making it among the first hospitals to do so in the wake of Idaho’s then-new abortion ban and
activity, but remains 0% contained
personnel were mopping up operations along Lightning Creek Road on Aug. 6, using hand tools and water and working inward from the fire’s edge to reinforce a fireline.
In addition, a spot fire ignited across Lightning Creek had been contained on Aug. 5, as well as the nearby Steep Creek Fire, located across the valley to the west of the Lightning Creek fire, which topped out at 0.3 acres.
Overall, the Lightning Creek fire is displaying moderate behavior, with its growth occurring through flanking and backing. The weather turned cooler on Aug. 6, with temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit in the mountains. Rain showers are forecasted throughout the week, but also thunderstorms.
making national and international headlines.
Citing the “legal and political climate” in the state, BGH officials stated in a March 17, 2023 news release:
“Highly respected, talented physicians are leaving. Recruiting replacements will be extraordinarily difficult. In addition, the Idaho Legislature continues to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care. Consequences for Idaho physicians providing the standard of care may include civil litigation and criminal prosecution, leading to jail time or fines.”
A closure order remains in effect around the site of the fire, encompassing a broad area of land from Upper Lighting Creek and Moose Lake in the north, nearly to Scotchman Peak in the south and east and west outside of East Hope and into the high country, respectively.
A temporary flight restriction is also in place, prohib-
Jen Jackson Quintano, founder and executive director of the Sandpoint-based nonprofit reproductive rights advocacy organization Pro-Voice Project, told the Reader that, “While these new numbers are alarming, they’re not surprising — especially here in Bonner County, where we felt the harmful aftershocks of Idaho’s abortion bans early and mightily. Ours was the first labor and delivery department in the state to shutter. Ours was the first community to see all of its OB-GYNs leave. We’ve been living this data; now we have confirmation that we’re not alone. This is small comfort in the midst of a rapidly building
iting the operation of aircraft — including drones — without permission.
“Any unauthorized aircraft poses a serious hazard to aviation personnel, necessitating the grounding of aircraft and a potential delay of valuable fire suppression efforts,” officials stated. “If you fly, we can’t.”
The Lightning Creek fire remains the only blaze in the Idaho panhandle as of press time, though several fires are burning in eastern Washington in the Colville National Forest and northwest of Spokane.
The Hope fire is burning on more than 8,000 acres about 15 miles north of Kettle Falls, Wash., and is 95% contained. Its cause is currently under investigation. Meanwhile, the Castle Rock fire six miles southeast of Colville, Wash., was ignited by lightning and has so far consumed 58 acres and is 25% contained.
Finally, the Lake Spokane fire, 12 miles northwest of
health care crisis — one that may take a generation or more to reverse.”
Quintano said that aside from the shock of the number of physicians who have chosen not to practice in Idaho in the wake of the state’s abortion ban, “as a rural resident, I’m even more alarmed by the fact that only 23 obstetricians now serve Idaho’s less-populated 37 counties, where a quarter of the state’s population resides.
“Not only does this generate poorer health outcomes for patients, but it also leads to provider burnout, which exacerbates the problem of departures,” she added. “Our
Spokane, reached full containment on July 31 after burning just more than 2,500 acres.
The majority of the fires in Idaho so far this season are located on an east-west band through the Bitterroot Mountains from the Clearwater, Nez Perce and Payette National forests to the Montana border, where a number of other blazes are burning between Missoula and Helena.
Statewide media and fire officials have reported a higher-than-normal potential for severe fires in 2025, with hot temperatures and dry conditions, though the fire season to date has been mild compared to previous years.
As of mid-July, the Idaho Capital Sun reported that Idaho had spent about $9.2 million of the $40 million that lawmakers appropriated for wildfire suppression in the 2025 Legislature, and expected to reclaim nearly $2 million of that in reimbursable expenses. Last year, the state spent $58 million to fight wildfires.
For more information and updates on the Lightning Creek fire, go to inciweb. wildfire.gov/idipf-lightningcreek-fire.
reproductive health care system is in a death spiral.”
PVP is collecting physician stories intended to “pair experiences and emotions with this data.”
“Each of the 114 [physicians] who stopped practicing — and many of the 174 who remain — have tales of anxiety, anguish, tears and sleepless nights,” Quintano said. “None of these physicians are just a number. They carry big hearts and expansive hopes for their communities and patients. They saved lives — including mine. No amount of data can convey this full picture of loss. The numbers only hint at its depth.”
Map courtesy of USFS
BOCC, Planning hosts ongoing workshops on land use
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
As part of a years-long effort to update the Comprehensive Plan, the Bonner County board of commissioners and Planning Department continue to host a series of hearings and workshops to gather public input on proposed alterations. The two offices will host another installment on the Comp Plan’s land use and implementation components on Tuesday, Aug. 12, at 1:30 p.m. at the Bonner County Administration Building (1500 Highway 2).
The county divides the Comp Plan into 17 subsections, all of which are available at bit.ly/BoCoCompPlan.
During the most recent hearings
on July 31 and Aug. 6, the board discussed the subsections on property rights; recreation; hazardous areas; population; economic development; natural resources; school facilities and transportation; and public services, facilities and utilities.
The BOCC has yet to codify any proposed changes presented or suggested at those meetings with a vote.
The Aug. 12 meeting will pick up where the previous one left off, beginning with a discussion of the subsection “Special Areas or Sites.”
Stream all meetings on the Bonner County Planning or Bonner County YouTube pages. To participate online via Zoom, go to bonnercountyid.gov/ meetings and click on the event listing.
BOCC, Planning Department to host hearing on Deerfield Subdivision
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
The Bonner County board of commissioners and Planning Department will host a public hearing Thursday, Aug.14, at 1:30 p.m. in the Bonner County Administration Building (1500 Highway 2, in Sandpoint) to discuss the preliminary plat for the proposed Deerfield Subdivision. To attend the meeting remotely via Zoom, visit bonnercountyid.gov/meetings.
The development would divide approximately 32.67 acres off of Baldy Mountain Road into 24 lots ranging in size from one to three acres. The Bonner County Zoning Commission voted unanimously in June to recommend approval of the preliminary plat, subject to standard conditions.
Should the BOCC vote to approve
the preliminary plat as well, developers will have the green light to work with local entities like the Panhandle Health District to create a comprehensive proposal addressing the conditions stipulated by the Zoning Commission.
Such conditions include a fire risk assessment approved by Northside Fire District, and a stormwater runoff and erosion control plan endorsed by a Bonner County Engineer, among others. The development would utilize Syringa Heights Water District and individual septic systems.
Approval of the preliminary plat does not guarantee construction; the BOCC would still need to vote on the final plat after the developers address the conditions of approval.
For more information, or to give written public comment, go to bonnercountyid.gov/FileS0001-25.
Bits ’n’ Pieces
From east, west and beyond
According to Politico, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting immigrants fleeing violence or oppression at their port of entry. The move blocks the deportation of “hundreds of thousands of immigrants” who faced ramped-up deportation proceedings, with scant chance to challenge the orders. She wrote in her filing of “the freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty and the American dream.” “That is all Plaintiffs seek,” she wrote. “Instead they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names and purify their blood. The Court disagrees.”
The Department of Homeland Security said the ruling “is lawless and won’t stand.”
Hours after the U.S. Department of Labor reported significantly slowed job growth in July, President Donald Trump fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, who has served in numerous administrations. Economy experts said the report’s numbers confirmed warnings about the fallout from Trump’s tariff policies. Trump did not explain why he thought recent positive job reports were credible, but the latest were not.
Trump’s new tariffs range from 10% to 41%, and as high as 50%, various media reported. Axios reported that tariffs are higher than they’ve been in a century and that’s starting to show up in inflation data.
According to a report from Senate Democrats, the Department of Government Efficiency has wasted at least $21.7 billion in taxpayer dollars, undermining cuts to wasteful spending. Major sources of wasted “savings”: destruction of food aid and medical supplies, and deferred resignations for 91,288 government employees.
Trump has signed the GENIUS Act, which will “benefit scammers and tech oligarchs,” according to Americans for Financial Reform. Now the CLARITY Act, drafted by the crypto industry, is headed to the Senate. AFR said that the Act would legalize fraud. Mark Hays, of AFR, told NPR: “We’re waging an uncontrolled experiment on our financial system using a technology that hasn’t delivered yet as promised.”
A new Gallup poll shows six in 10 Americans disapprove of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Headlines from various media reporting on Israel-Gaza include that 31 Israeli public figures have called
By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Contributor
for “crippling sanctions” on their own country over starvation conditions in Gaza , as well as demanded a permanent ceasefire. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that Israel killed at least 18 people seeking food even as Trump’s envoy was visiting and The Guardian reported that Israel has closed 88% of cases of alleged war crimes or abuse. World leaders called for a formal Palestinian state and dozens of U.S. senators voted to block $700 million in U.S. weapons to Israel.
CBS News reported that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will end operations after federal budget cuts, which could cause radio station closures and compromise relaying emergency alerts.
Other headlines include Trump moving nuclear submarines after former-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent a “menacing tweet,” though some security analysts said the U.S. already has nuclear-powered submarines that are deployed and can strike Russia; while the Voting Rights Act turned 60 on Aug. 6, it now faces renewed Republican efforts favoring voter suppression and gerrymandering that compromises the principle of one person, one vote; legal errors are building as judges appear to be relying on AI to issue rulings; and more churches are suing ICE over arrests in places of worship since Trump’s ICE rescinded the prohibition of enforcement actions in places of worship, schools and hospitals. Churches object to “infringing on religious freedoms.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Trump’s budget bill includes a “backdoor for privatizing Social Security.”
The Hill wrote that “Trump’s mental decline is undeniable — so what now?”
The outlet cited Trump’s wild stories, marginal understanding of numbers and inability to place events correctly into a timeline as key signs of dementia.
Under pressure from the White House, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History last month removed references to Trump’s two first-term impeachments. They now plan to restore Trump’s impeachment info; an update will include all of the nation’s impeachment proceedings.
Blast from the past: “‘Who controls the past,’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’” — George Orwell, writer most famous for his novels Animal Farm and 1984 (1903-1950).
ICE arrests and detentions see steep rise in Idaho
Immigration agent arrests across state increased 797% in 2025, data review shows
By Laura Guido Idaho Capital Sun
Immigration arrests and detentions in Idaho sharply increased in 2025, following trends across the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in Idaho increased 797% in 2025 from the same time period in 2024, according to an Idaho Capital Sun review of ICE data collected by the Deportation Data Project. The project is led by attorneys and professors from multiple states who obtain public data sets through Freedom of Information Act requests.
From Jan. 1, 2024 to June 26, 2024, there were 41 reported arrests by ICE agents in Idaho, the data shows. For that time period in 2025, there were 368 arrests.
Idaho in 2024 and part of 2025 had certified the Elmore County and Jefferson County jails as federal immigration detention centers. From Jan. 1, 2024 to June 26, 2024, there were 65 reported ICE detentions in both of those facilities. For that period in 2025, there were 416 detentions, which is a 540% increase.
The number of detentions in the first six months of 2025 was more than double the number of detentions recorded for all of 2024.
“We’ve seen an increased number of calls, typically from loved ones whose loved one has been detained,” said Chris Christensen, a Boise immigration attorney. “We have seen a lot more immigration holds ... and we’ve also seen a lot more aggressive tactics used by local ICE.”
Christensen, who has worked in various areas of immigration law since 2009, said he was aware of three recent incidents when ICE agents broke the window of a vehicle to remove someone inside.
The ages of those detained in Idaho ranged from 18 to 64 years old.
The youngest people arrested
in Idaho were a 6-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, both from Peru. The children were arrested at the same time as a 33-year-old woman on Jan. 28 in the Twin Falls area. There is no record showing the woman and children were detained.
Christensen said in a February meeting with ICE agents in Idaho that local immigration lawyers were told the agency tries to avoid detaining minors because there is nowhere to hold them in the state. Many of those arrested in southern Idaho end up going to a detention facility in Las Vegas, Christensen said.
The share of those arrested who had criminal convictions declined in 2025 from the year prior.
Of the arrests made this year, 250 — or nearly 68% of all arrests — were of people with criminal convictions. There were 84 arrests of those with “pending charges,” and 34 people with “other immigration violations,” according to the data.
In 2024, 34 of the 41 arrests were of those with a criminal conviction (or 82%), and five were of those with pending charges.
ICE arrests are up across the U.S., many without prior criminal convictions
Nationwide, the share of immigrants with criminal convictions has declined overall since January, Stateline reported. From January to late-June, ICE made nearly 112,000 arrests, and 40% of them were of convicted criminals, the outlet media reported. For the same time period in 2024, 53% of the approximately 51,000 arrests were of those with criminal convictions.
Arrests in Washington state rose 35% in the first five months of Donald Trump’s presidency, the Washington State Standard reported, with 782 arrests in 2025 compared to 581 during the same period last year.
Trump administration officials have stated a goal of 3,000 immigration arrests per day; the current average is 711 as of June, the Stateline analysis found.
For those who have been in the U.S. for fewer than two years, officials under the current administration are using a process called expedited removal, Christensen said, which means they may be deported without the opportunity to see an immigration judge.
As of July, ICE issued a new policy that required those arrested by the agency to remain in detention while appealing their removal, NPR reported. The policy was challenged in court Aug. 4 in a class action lawsuit.
Christensen said this policy reverses a longtime interpretation of the law that allowed those who were considered of low or no threat to the community and a low flight risk to bond out of detention while their case went on in court.
“Personally, I think it’s the Trump administration using detention to wear immigrants down,” Christensen said. “If you’ve never been in jail before, and you are locked up in an ICE detention facility — which don’t get me wrong, looks exactly like a jail and feels exactly like a jail — people are pretty inclined to give up hope, and maybe give up on their case and return to where they’re from.”
Idaho law requires cooperation with immigration authorities
Through a law passed this year and an executive order by Idaho Gov. Brad Little, the state’s regulations largely require cooperation with immigration authorities.
On Feb. 18, Little issued an order requiring Idaho State Police and all state agencies to collaborate fully with federal immigration authorities. The order also directed the state’s prison and parole systems to confirm immigration status
prior to releasing incarcerated individuals.
The Idaho Legislature this year also passed House Bill 83, which created new state-level immigration crimes and required cooperation among local authorities and federal agencies for enforcement.
The ACLU of Idaho challenged the law in court, arguing it superseded the federal government’s authority, the Sun reported.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the portion of the law that would have created state crimes for illegal entry and illegal re-entry, but District Judge Amanda Brailsford did allow the parts of the bill requiring cooperation to go into effect.
In June, Idaho State Police announced it would enter into an agreement with ICE to assist with transporting undocumented immigrants from Idaho jails to ICE detention facilities. Under the agreement, ISP agreed to spend up to $300,000 for 100 transports, the Sun reported.
Little supported the effort by utilizing his office’s Emergency Fund to reimburse state police for personnel.
“Idaho is stepping up to help the Trump administration transport dangerous illegal alien criminals to ICE facilities instead of being released back into our communities,” Little said in a written statement June 5.
There had been no transports under this agreement as
photo
of June 30, an ISP spokesperson told the Sun.
What can be done after an ICE arrest or detention?
The options available to someone who’s been arrested by ICE are different in every case, Christensen said.
“I think [immigration law] is the most complex body of law out there,” he said.
The factors at play include a prior criminal history, community ties, the person’s “flight risk” and others, he said. For those afraid to return to their country of origin, they could apply for asylum or protection under the international human rights treaty, the Convention Against Torture. Some may qualify for protection under the Violence Against Women Act.
Christensen said he’s also received calls from people who are in the country lawfully, but who fear that may be revoked. His office has also seen an increased scrutiny and slower processing of green card applications.
“I think there is an assault on immigration at all levels,” Christensen said.
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.
Courtesy
Bouquets:
• Last week, I shared some critical thoughts on the Festival at Sandpoint. This week, I’m sharing what I loved about this season. First, the Festival staff and volunteers are what make this summer music series amazing. Everyone bands together to get the job done. The stage and production crew is amazing, the Green Team volunteers are heroes and the Festival staff members deserve a huge pat on the back for their tireless efforts. The logistics of putting on an event this large and involved every season are staggering, so I’ve got nothing but respect for those who make it happen. The Pend Oreille Pedalers’ Bike Valet was a fun addition this year, making it easier for people to attend the Festival on bikes instead of driving and shuttling. Finally, I’m a huge fan of having a “Community Night” every year, where regional bands play and ticket prices are lower, allowing everyone the opportunity to catch a Festival performance. It was a super fun locals’ night that warmed a lot of hearts. Thanks again, Festival staff and volunteers. We appreciate your efforts.
Barbs:
• For some reason, the automatic doors at a grocery store cause some people to glitch. They’ll stop right in the doorway — both while entering and exiting the store — to check their list or tie their shoe or think about wind erosion, perhaps. Nevermind the fact that they’re blocking people trying to enter or exit, they’ll just stand there without a care in the world. Can we stop doing this, please? Just walk five steps further and then stop to gaze at your navel. Yes, there are more important things in the world to complain about, but sometimes innocuous pet peeves are fun to rant about.
‘America needs help’...
Dear editor,
Twice President Trump has taken the Oath of Office for president and sworn to the Oath of Office on a Bible. The closing line of that oath states, “To protect, defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States.” When Trump was interviewed on television, the reporter asked him the question, “As president, are you supposed to defend, protect and uphold the Constitution of the United States of America?” Trump’s response: “I don’t know, I’m not a lawyer.”
Trump obviously doesn’t even remember the Oath of Office he has taken, on a Bible… twice.
Congress, it is time to impeach this moron who doesn’t even remember the Oath of Office he took. Trump needs to be investigated over the Epstein issues, and he needs to be investigated for his Putin issues. Since taking office the second time, he has done exactly what Putin hoped he would do during his first term: Create chaos in the U.S. and alienate our allies. He’s isolating America just as Putin wanted. (How many photos and videos does Putin have of Trump with underage girls in Russia?)
Michael Harmelin Sandpoint
Trombone story strikes a sour note…
Dear editor, This week’s “Junk Drawer” [“Naked Trombone,” July 31, 2025, by Reader Publisher Ben Olson] left a stale taste in my mouth.
When I read Ben’s story of trying to get campers to leave that camped too close to him to my 11-year-old, he responded with, “Why would he do that? When dad and I went boat camping last year, and we needed help with our boat grinding against the rocks, the folks camping near us came to help us push our boat in the water and were really kind.”
That’s North Idaho, and specifically Sandpoint to me. Public lands are meant for all of us, and we should all try to enjoy it respectfully, whether the experience looks exactly like we planned it or not.
Intentionally abusing the trombone in someone’s direction naked while bending over doesn’t sound respectful nor does it feel like a way of spreading kindness. We need all the kindness we can get, even in situations where we don’t get exactly what we want. That’s the difference between private
lands and public lands. As always, deeply appreciate of your work and your commitment to our community, Warmly,
Julia Kaufmann Sandpoint
No more ‘golden tickets’ at the Festival…
Dear editor,
A couple years ago, I spent the winter painting a great entry for the Festival at Sandpoint poster contest. I felt like Charlie and his aim for the “golden ticket” into the chocolate factory. I wanted to win so much because of the lifetime season passes and comradery with other poster artists each year. It felt like the ultimate way to get involved in the community, but I lost to a great artist and celebrated their joy. Sadly, there are no more golden tickets in another lame example of profits over local people. Although most shows are far from sold out, even the “grandparent” artists have been stripped of their golden tickets. Assuming that poster artists can afford and will prioritize paying for tickets is about as foolish as taking away people’s drinks.
Locals often reminisce about how great the party was prior to dumb changes. Hot turf with extra pesticides, trailer staging, no golden tickets or outside drinks, and buzzkill outside security hardly resembles a festival anymore.
Jodi Rawson Sandpoint
Sign theft only strengthens resolve…
Dear editor,
To whomever decided to trespass the homes on West Lake Street in order to liberate the “One Idaho” signs from our yards, we are offering to acquire one for you if you want one so badly. However, if your intent is to inhibit us from sharing our desire for tolerance, inclusion, diversity and equity in our community, this will only strengthen our resolve. Thanks for the reminder that we need to work harder towards that end.
Pam Duquette and Karen Glaeser Sandpoint
Send letters to the editor to letters@sandpointreader.com. Please keep them under 200 words and please elevate the conversation.
NEWS
Talbott resigns as Panida Theater director
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
Robb Talbott issued a letter of resignation to the Panida Theater Board of Directors on Aug. 6, ending his nearly two-year run as director of the historic downtown Sandpoint theater.
Talbott released a statement thanking the community for its support and lauding the theater’s achievements in the past couple of years.
the community — including staff, volunteers, patrons and artists.
“It has been a great honor to serve the Sandpoint community as the director of the Panida Theater,” Talbott wrote. “It is a space and institution that is near and dear to my heart, its value to our community is immeasurable and I couldn’t be more proud of what has been accomplished in the last 21 months of my tenure thanks to an amazing staff and dedicated group of volunteers.”
Talbott wrote that the Panida had hosted 220 events and brought approximately 55,000 customers through the doors under the iconic marquee under his leadership.
“Some of those events included the Panida Mom’s Gala, Summer Theater Camp, the return of Jim Messina, $5 films and many productions put on by local dance studios, theater companies and partner nonprofits,” he wrote. “We have also built a robust organizational and professional structure to support these events, helping the theater in its evolution as a space for entertainment and education.”
Talbott said that beyond the events and programming, he sees the Panida as a centerpiece that draws together
“It is these relationships and shared vision for a healthy and strong community that preserves the ability of the Panida to remain relevant and viable,” he stated.
Talbott said he wishes the theater great success moving forward.
“It has been made clear that it is time for me to step aside and to allow the board to pursue their vision for the Panida’s future,” he wrote. “I remain hopeful that their solutions will be the next step forward for the Panida.
“Thank you to the staff, volunteers and Sandpoint community for the opportunity to be part of this treasured nonprofit and theater,” Talbott added. “I am forever grateful to count myself among the many individuals who have dedicated themselves to preserve and support the legacy of this historic space as a center of entertainment, education and community involvement.”
The Panida Board told the Reader that it had received the letter but had not yet accepted it as of press time. They will consider it at the Thursday, Aug. 7 meeting.
Robb Talbott. Courtesy photo
Public lands make us who we are Idaho Democrats are fighting to keep them that way
By Lauren Necochea Reader Contributor
Public lands define Idaho. Whether you’re ranching in Owyhee, hunting near Salmon or hiking with your kids in the Sawtooths, your rights are equal to anyone else’s. These lands belong to all of us. Not billionaires, corporations or political insiders.
Idaho Democrats have always understood this. So do Idaho voters. A Conservation Voters for Idaho poll found that 96% of voters believe public lands should stay in public hands. Another 87% reject schemes like Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee’s plan to sell off millions of acres to fund billionaire tax cuts.
But the threats keep coming. Wealthy out-of-staters are turning Idaho into a private playground. Republican politicians are quietly helping them do it.
Just look at Teton Valley. A fifth-generation ranching family was forced off 160 acres of state land they had leased and cared for since 1992, because billionaire Thomas Tull wanted it. A major donor to Gov. Brad Little, Tull has already bought more than 8,000 acres in the area. The Republican-controlled State Land Board, chaired by Little, voted unanimously to auction off the parcel, known as Driggs 160. Dan Powers, the only Democrat on the Teton County Commission, is formally challenging the sale.
Republican politicians make performative gestures. Some came out against Sen. Lee’s plan, but only after public outrage forced him to withdraw it. Yet they go right along when their party leaders do the same thing in Idaho, greenlighting land grabs for their billionaire allies.
When the cameras are off, these same Republicans back an agenda aimed at dismantling public land protections. The Idaho GOP platform calls for a state takeover of federally protected lands. Once in state hands, massive sell-offs like Driggs 160 would become commonplace.
Democrats are different. We’ve been defending public lands for generations. Forty-five years ago this month, Idaho Democratic Sen. Frank Church protected the River of No Return Wilderness — the largest con-
tiguous wilderness in the lower 48. As Interior secretary, former-Gov. Cecil Andrus (also a Democrat) showed that conservation and economic growth can go hand in hand.
This year, House Democratic Leader Ilana Rubel introduced legislation to protect access to state lands. Her bill would have given the state more time to replace lands sold off to private
interests by reinvesting sale proceeds into new state lands, keeping tens of millions of dollars working for Idaho instead of being lost to Wall Street.
Meanwhile, Idaho Senate Democrats stood united against a Republican-led resolution to seize the Camas National Wildlife Refuge.
In Congress, Democrats are pushing back against a Republican budget that guts funding for national parks and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Idahoans deserve leaders who protect public lands when it matters. Leaders who act out of principle, not convenience. That’s the kind of leadership Idaho Democrats bring to the table.
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
Science: Mad about
writing tools
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist
One of my favorite phrases in my job is: “It isn’t science until it’s written down.” The written word is something truly unique to humankind, as far as we are aware. The ability to code information and store it in a physical medium for later use is the basis of our entire civilization. By creating a physical copy of information, we don’t need to store it in our brains.
A great example is a treasure map. Writing down directions to buried treasure means the person who buried it doesn’t need to actively remember exactly where they need to go, they just need to remember where they put the map. This takes up far less space in our brain than trying to remember landmarks and the exact number of steps it takes to get to the buried booty.
The history of tools for writing is prehistoric. The earliest writing tools were likely just hominid hands and fingers during the Neolithic Age. Hollowed out bones and reeds were also used to create depictions of animals and people in prehistoric cave paintings, the earliest of which date back 45,500 years ago in the Leang Tedongnge cave in Indonesia. It’s believed that artists of the time may have blown paint through the reeds like an airbrush.
It’s likely that the development of writing tools was a response to the media in
which writers were placing their information. The development of papyrus in Mesopotamia and Egypt about 5,000 years ago meant that scribes of that age needed a new tool in order to record their thoughts. Reeds dipped in pigments were likely one of the first tools used, as they could be easily found and manipulated and even cut to an angle to support writing in cuneiform.
The stylus was another tool developed for writing around this time. It was essentially a shaped stick that could be dipped in ink, or simply used to press into papyrus. By the time the Romans adopted the stylus, they had begun making it out of lead to give it more weight for pressing into papyrus or vellum. The term “pencil lead” is actually derived from the Roman stylus, rather than the pencils we use today.
Virtually every writing tool throughout history has been an evolution of either hollowed reeds or the solid stylus.
The quill pen’s first recorded usage was in the sixth century C.E. An evolution of the reed, it was a simple, yet elegant tool for the job. Bird feathers are hollow, which makes for a perfect ink reservoir. So how did the ink not simply spill from the quill?
Early quills were likely dipped in ink repeatedly so that only the end was wet. Later on, metal nibs were developed that would facilitate the capillary action of the ink and modulate the amount of fluid that would actually flow from the pen.
In the briefest of expla-
nations, capillary action is explained by liquid molecules’ tendency to stick with other liquid molecules, even in a situation where it seems to defy gravity. In the case of a pen, the ink would stick inside of the reservoir until the nib contacted paper and pulled out the ink.
If you want a cool visual of capillary action at play, get a water-washable marker, a paper towel and a jar of water. Make a horizontal line on the paper towel at least an inch above the water line, then set the bottom edge of the towel into the water — be sure not to submerge your line. Now give it about five minutes and watch how the water moves through the paper towel, pulling the ink with it.
Capillary action is the primary reason why ink pens don’t work in microgravity. Despite the story we’ve all heard about the Russians in the space race using pencils while NASA tried to develop a zero-gravity pen, graphite is not a great option for the microgravity environment, either.
Graphite, which is essentially just natural carbon, is very brittle and prone to breaking off into tiny dusty particles. This is the desired result for marking paper, as the pencil tip transfers this material over to the paper. However, in an enclosed environment with very little gravity, these tiny particles get everywhere, and are prone to clogging air filters or ending up in astronaut’s ears, eyes and noses.
Have you ever wondered
how they get the graphite into pencils? It was a process pioneered in the 1700s, but perfected by 1812. The pencil is actually two separate halves. The graphite is inlaid into one half, and then both sides are glued together around it. Colored pencils are manufactured in a similar way, with the interior colors being very long and flexible coils of material that are laid into the halves. Often, the
pencil is coated in paint to match the color and to seal the exterior and mask the process of it initially being three separate pieces.
What kinds of writing tools have yet to be invented? The stylus has made a comeback for the digital age with phones and tablets, it leaves one to wonder what may come next.
Stay curious, 7B.
Random Corner
• Wildfires are predominantly human caused. Fires can start from discarded cigarettes, unattended campfires, fireworks, malfunctioning equipment, burning debris and arson. The National Park Service estimates that up to 85% of wildland fires in the U.S. are caused by humans.
• Wildfires need three key ingredients to thrive: fuel, oxygen and heat. Fuel includes dry vegetation like grass, fallen leaves and trees. Oxygen is ample in the air, so a source of heat is the final key, usually in the form of a lightning strike or burning ember to cause ignition.
• Strong wind is problematic during wildfire season. Embers carried by the wind can jump long distances, igniting new fires ahead of the blaze, and uphill slopes also increase the rate of spread as heat rises faster.
• Regardless of one’s political “beliefs,” the facts are clear: The effects of climate change are undeniable in the increasing frequency
and intensity of wildfires. Rising global temperatures create longer, drier fire seasons. Drought turns landscapes into tinderboxes. On the other hand, CO2 emissions from wildfires and the destruction of Earth’s carbon sinks in the form of forests, further exacerbate climate change.
• Wildfires can sometimes burn underground in areas with organic-rich peat bogs. These fires smolder slowly, sometimes for months or years, making them difficult to extinguish.
• Some plants and animals have evolved to survive and even thrive in the aftermath of wildland fires. Some beetle species sense wildfires from great distances, allowing them to lay eggs in freshly burned wood. Some plants have seeds that require the heat of a fire to germinate.
• The state of Idaho has spent almost $9.2 million fighting wildfires this season (as of mid-July), which is far below normal for this time of year.
An ancient Roman wax tablet and stylus.
Courtesy photo
By Reader Staff
Bonner County Fair kicks off Aug. 12 with full schedule of events Lions Club Christmas in August Poker Run benefits Toys for Tots
There are few local summertime events more iconic than the Bonner County Fair, which this year kicks off Tuesday, Aug. 12 at the Bonner County Fairgrounds (4203 N. Boyer Road).
Featuring all the exhibits, food and entertainment that area residents have enjoyed for generations, gates open at 10 a.m. each day through Saturday, Aug. 16.
In addition to all fun and games during the day, events continue into the evening, beginning with NWBHA barrel racing — presented free to the public by Pape Machinery — at 7 p.m. on Aug. 12. Next, on Wednesday, Aug. 13, is ranch sorting from 5:30-9:30 p.m., which is also free to the public.
Xtreme Bronc Riding
will be the main event Thursday, Aug. 14 from 7-9 p.m., with mutton busting, bull poker and barrel racing. Presented by Wood V-X Ranch, general admission is $20.
Wynn Williams and Devon Wade will provide the signature sounds of the fair at the Summer Nights Concert from 7-9:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 15. Presented by H&S Unlimited, general admission is $11.60.
Finally, the evening festivities will conclude Saturday, Aug. 16 with the Bonner County Brawl Demolition Derby, with an epic night of action from 7-10 p.m. Presented by CO-OP Gas and Supply, general admission is $20.
Children 2 and under get in free to all ticketed events, though are expected to be seated in a lap for capacity considerations.
Get tickets and more information at bonnercountyfair. com/p/tickets-and-merchandise.
By Reader Staff
While it may be the high summer season, the Sandpoint Lions Club already has its eye on the festive winter months with its Christmas in August Poker Run, set for Saturday, Aug. 9.
The charity ride invites “all rides and rods” to join in to benefit Toys for Tots, with participant sign-in at 9 a.m. at the Lions Club (609 S. Ella Ave.).
Riders will set off at 10:30 a.m. and follow a scenic route to the Moose Knuckle in Coolin, then around Priest Lake and back to the Lions Club for a barbecue dinner featuring a live and silent auction, 50/50 raffle and beer garden.
Cost is $25 per rider and the dinner is $15.
“Let’s make this a Christmas to remember for kids in need,” the Lions stated. RSVP or get more info by calling 208-661-0428. Check out the Facebook event here.
Kids cooling off at the annual Bonner County Fair. Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
PORPA Sprints non-motorized water sports event returns to Priest River
By Reader Staff
After a cancellation in 2024 due to unexpected construction delays at the Priest River Recreation Area (a.k.a.
“The Mudhole”), the Pend Oreille Rowing and Paddling Association is returning with its PORPA Sprints boat race Saturday, Aug. 9 at The Mudhole, located about a half-mile east of Priest River on Highway 2.
PORPA is a club for rowing and other non-motorized water sports headquartered in Priest River, and its signature race is put on in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and volunteers from the Spokane River Rowing Association.
The Sprints includes paddling events for kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddleboards and rowing, and is open to all ages and skill levels, with kids 17 and under registered for free.
Experienced and novice (less than one year of experience) participants can register for $25.
The event begins at 7 a.m. with check-in at 7:30 a.m., followed by a 7:45 a.m. safety meeting. Races in various categories will run intermittently from 8 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. An awards ceremony and lunch will take place at 1 p.m. at the picnic pavilion, and free rowing lessons end the day at 2:30 p.m.
Professional sports photographer
Hollie Axel will be on the water taking action photos, which will be available to participants via online ordering a few days after the event.
Event T-shirts are available for pre-order during registration, which is available at bit.ly/3GVZ52l.
For more information, visit PORPA.org.
City of Dover seeking input on tree management plan
By Reader Staff
The city of Dover is launching an inventory of its trees, paid for with a grant from the Idaho Department of Lands Urban and Community Forestry program, which began the week of July 28.
Trees will be cataloged in city rights-of-way and on city owned property, intended to inform the de-
velopment of Dover’s new Urban and Community Forestry program.
Officials have scheduled a public meeting for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at Dover City Hall (699 Lakeshore Ave.) to discuss the new tree management plan and gather public feedback.
“Please attend,” Dover City Hall stated. “Your input is very important in developing this plan.”
A participant in the PORPA Sprints. Photo by Axel Imagery
All photos taken at the Festival at Sandpoint by Racheal Baker.
COMMUNITY
‘A celebration of creativity and community’
POAC’s annual Arts and Crafts Fair brings area creators to downtown Sandpoint
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
The streets of Sandpoint will be packed once again, as about 5,000 visitors and locals descend on downtown to enjoy the Pend Oreille Arts Council’s Arts and Crafts Fair. The 53rd annual fair will run Saturday, Aug. 9 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 10 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and cover Second Avenue and Main Street across from Farmin Park.
“There’s so much to discover at the fair this year,” said POAC Arts Coordinator Claire Christy. “From exciting new artists to longtime favorites, there’s truly something for everyone to enjoy.”
The fair will include more than 120 booths with artists working in myriad media, including painting, ceramics, photography, woodworking and more. There will also be interactive elements located near the fountain, such as art stations by POAC, the Sandpoint Waldorf School and Athol Ironworks, as well as live demonstrations.
Among the featured artists will be renowned area sculptor Dave Gonzo — who has contributed to the city’s Silver
Box Art on Loan program and created the interactive “Vessel of Intention,” which will be on display during the POAC fair.
The large sculpture “invites fairgoers to plant symbolic seeds of the change they wish to see in their community and the world,” according to the artist.
“The ‘Vessel of Intention’ is more than just a sculpture — it’s an evolving act of collective hope and creativity, encouraging reflection, connection and action through art,” Gonzo stated in a recent news release.
All the proceeds from each sale support the individual artist, making it an important event for area creators. Additionally, all booth fees go to POAC’s educational programs, such as Kaleidoscope and Ovations.
Ovations focuses on classes and workshops with performing artists to introduce K-12 students to the stage. Kaleidoscope Art lessons are the counterpoint, developing students’ foundational fine arts skills. Kaleidoscope serves about 900 students per year in the Lake Pend Oreille School District and has given the freedom of artistic expression to more than 20,000 kids over the past 30 years.
“This event is a celebration of creativity and community. It’s a weekend full of art, inspiration and connections, and we can’t wait to welcome everyone downtown,” said Christy.
For more information, visit artinsandpoint.org.
Courtesy photo
FARE Idaho brings ‘Field to Fork’ food trade fair to Sandpoint
By Reader Staff
The one-day Field to Fork trade fair from FARE Idaho is coming to Sandpoint for the first time on Thursday, Aug. 7, with booths, live tastings and roundtable discussions focused on North Idaho’s food economy.
Scheduled to run from 10 a.m.5 p.m. at the University of Idaho’s Sandpoint Organic Agriculture Center (10881 N. Boyer Ave.), the fair is free and open to the public, with special access to buyers beginning at noon.
Farmers, ranchers, food producers, chefs, retailers and community members from throughout the region will be in attendance and invited to “connect, collaborate and explore how we can build a more resilient regional food system — together,” FARE Idaho organizers stated.
A ticketed cocktail hour and dinner will follow the trade fair, though registration for that portion of the event is closed.
“Whether you’re joining us for the full day or just the dinner, this is your invitation to be part of something rooted, real and deliciously local,”
organizers stated.
“This event is about more than just great food, it’s about connection, commerce and community,” stated FARE Idaho Executive Director Tammie Halcomb. “We’re honored to launch Field to Fork in Sandpoint and help spotlight the producers, chefs and buyers who are shaping the region’s food future.”
For more information, visit fareidaho.org/field-to-fork-sandpoint.
Sandpoint gets Cretaceous
Idaho Museum of Natural History brings mobile exhibit for a visit
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
The Idaho Museum of Natural History will bring its brand new mobile exhibit to the Sandpoint and Clark Fork branches of the East Bonner County Library on Wednesday, Aug. 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 3-6 p.m., respectively. The interactive exhibit highlights Idaho’s relatively untapped wealth of paleontological treasures — especially dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous period.
“Everything in the van is going to be 3D printed replicas, so they’re all touchable. One of the big names I’m bringing is a fully articulated skeleton of Idaho’s state dinosaur, the Oryctodromeus,” said Mobile Museum Educator Pam Pascali, who will be on hand to talk about the
exhibit and answer questions.
In 2023, Idaho became the 19th state to select an official dinosaur, thanks to lobbying by students at White Pine Charter School near Idaho Falls.
The Oryctodromeus was a common inhabitant of Idaho roughly 100 million years ago and is the first known burrowing dinosaur, which helped preserve its fossils. Flooding would often entomb the creatures within their burrows, making for ideal paleontological discoveries millions of years later, which is why an Oryctodromeus fossil was the first fully intact dinosaur skeleton found in Idaho.
“I’m also bringing a fullsized skull of Idaho’s giant crocodile and the skull of a Giant Oviraptorosaur. Its nickname is the ‘Hell Chicken’ because it’s this really tall bird dinosaur. It had feathers,
but couldn’t fly because it was so big,” said Pascali.
Visitors have the opportunity to touch the exhibit and participate in different group activities that bring prehistory to life. Compare different vertebrae and attempt to match them to their corresponding dinosaurs, or try different possible tails on a replica of an armored dinosaur.
“I have a variety of tails, because we break down the armored dinosaurs’ families based on their tails. Idaho’s Ankylosauria fossil doesn’t have its tail, so we don’t know what family it falls into or if it’s brand new,” said Pascali.
Regular Weld Child
Check-Ups help you track growth milestones, discuss nutrition and sleep, and get preventive care tips for every stage.
Unlike states like California, Wyoming and Montana, Idaho doesn’t have a history of major paleontological discoveries. As Pascali explained, scientists only discovered the state’s first dinosaurs in the mid-’80s and did not undertake more extensive searches until the mid-’90s.
The relative lack of large discoveries doesn’t mean the dinosaurs weren’t here.
“One of the big things people always ask is, ‘How do we find more?’; ‘Why haven’t we found any in Boise?’ Well, if we think of Hagerman [Fossil Beds National Monument], it’s a river bed that’s been washed out, so nature is doing half of the work for us,” said Pascali.
“All of the dinosaurs in Idaho actually come from one spot in the Caribou Range in southeastern Idaho that’s been uplifted and eroded. That’s because right there on the border of Idaho, there was a giant inland sea that went from the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico. We were right on the edge of it, so we had things like the giant croc that lived in the waters. We had a huge diversity on land,” she added.
Thanks to the inland sea,
prehistoric Idaho resembled Washington’s modern rainforests, with dense foliage and a towering canopy. Its ancient, undiscovered biodiversity has recently put Idaho at the forefront of paleontological research, with scientists vying to excavate its unexplored depths.
“The research on Idaho’s dinosaurs is really brand new. We have paleontologists from all over come out here and do research at Idaho State University because it’s the new, shiny place to come investigate. You can find a dinosaur and name it after yourself,” said Pascali.
“We don’t usually think of Idaho as being on the cutting edge — a brand new scientific community — but we are. Our dinosaurs are really having their 15 minutes of fame,” she added.
Make like an Ornithomimus (the fastest dinosaur genus) and run over to the Sandpoint library (1407 Cedar St.) or the Clark Fork library (601 North Main St.) to see what all the hubbub is about. For more information, visit ebonnerlibrary.org and isu. edu/imnh.
Students examine dinosaur bones at the Idaho Museum of Natural History interactive exhibit. Courtesy photo
Alex’s Restaurant is local author Sandy Compton’s bold new novel
By Reader Staff
Celebrated local author Sandy Compton has released his 16th book, Alex’s Restaurant — a semi-autobiographical novel drawing on the wild eight months he spent working in a Nevada mountain lodge.
Known for his heartfelt, family-friendly storytelling, Compton takes a bold new turn in this more mature romp full of grit, redemption and humanity.
Alex’s Restaurant follows a cast of misfits, oddballs and outcasts — many inspired by real people Compton met during his time “on the run” in the 1980s. Though fictionalized, the funny, raw and poignant story is rooted in Compton’s own experience and showcases his gift for portraying the quirks and beauty of the human condition.
“This one’s a little different than anything I’ve written before,” Compton said. “It’s kind of spicy. I just
decided to let it all out — within reason — and see where the story took me.”
Compton is the founder of Blue Creek Press, an independent publishing house based in Heron, Mont. — the area in which he grew up before attending high school in Sandpoint — and is a longtime literary fixture throughout the Inland Northwest, whose work is known for its warmth, wit and wisdom.
For both fans and newcomers to Compton’s work, Alex’s Restaurant offers a fresh but familiar voice. The novel is available now on Amazon, BlueCreekPress.com and at Sandpoint Books (312 N. Second Ave., in Sandpoint).
Send event listings to calendar@sandpointreader.com
THURSDAY, august 7
Field to Fork Festival • 10am-5pm @ Sandpoint Organic Ag. Ctr.
Free to attend daytime festival centered on people who grow, raise, craft and serve our region’s food
Live Music w/ River Spell
9pm @ 219 Lounge
Live Music w/ Kim w/ the Buds
6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
Live Music w/ Mike Wagoner Band
5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Live Music w/ Hot Cheetohs
5pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Colby Acuff
7-11pm @ The Hive Idaho-born country artist
Live Music w/ Justin Lantrip
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs
6-8pm @ Baxters on Cedar
Live Music w/ Van Stone Band
9pm-midnight @ 219 Lounge
Live Music w/ Camden Morris
6-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
Live Music w/ Ben Barton
6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Ian Newbill
5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz
6pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante
Live Music w/ Sydney Dawn
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Live Music w/ Frytz Mor 8-11pm @ Roxy’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Sheldon 6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
FriDAY, august 8
Live Music w/ Waterhouse
6-8:30pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co. Blues, bluegrass, folk from Chris Paradis
Sandpoint Onstage Presents: Criminals
7:30pm @ Little Panida Theater
Written by Teresa Pesce, with showtimes Aug. 8-10, 15-16. Panida.org
Zesty Contra Dance
7-10pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall For experienced dancers. $5-$10
Historic Walking Tours
11pm @ Elevate Realty, 212 N. First Ave. RSVP required: bonnercountyhistory.org
Live Music w/ Mudslide Charley
5:30-8:30pm @ Smokesmith BBQ
SATURDAY, august 9
Summer Theater Camp performance: The Three Musketeers
2:30pm @ Panida Theater
Sandpoint Onstage Presents: Criminals
7:30pm @ Little Panida Theater
Christmas in August Poker Run
9am @ Sandpoint Lions Club, 609 Ella St. Charity ride to support the Lions’ Toys for Tots program. BBQ dinner
Live Music w/ Will J. Burton 9-11pm @ Roxy’s Lounge
Live Music w/ The Plastic Owls
5:30-8:30pm @ Smokesmith BBQ
POAC Annual Arts and Crafts Fair • 9am-5pm @ Downtown Sandpoint
Downtown Sandpoint will be bustling with vendor booths featuring artists, food and a youth art arena. Artwork on display and lots of fun for the whole family
SunDAY, august 10
Sandpoint Chess Club
9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee
Magic with Star Alexander
5-8pm @ Jalapeño’s
Sandpoint Onstage Presents: Criminals 2pm @ Little Panida Theater
BCA 8-Ball Tournaments
12pm @ Roxy’s Lounge
$10 buy in, double elimination
Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi
7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
Live trivia ($5 entry)
7pm @ Connie’s Lounge
BCA 8-Ball Tournaments
6pm @ Roxy’s Lounge
$10 buy in, double elimination
Movies on the Mountain
7:30pm @ Schweitzer
Free event, popcorn $1/each. BYO blankets and chairs. Film: Aladdin
Summer Theater Camp performance: The Three Musketeers
6pm @ Panida Theater
LPORT, POAC and the Panida hosted a three-week theater camp for students and this is the final performance
Live Music w/ Ken Mayginnes
6-8pm @ 1908 Saloon
Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 9am-1pm @ Farmin Park
Fresh foods and produce and more. Live music with Accidental Harmonies
Contra and Waltz Dance Party
7-10pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall 1940s theme, waltz instruction, potluck
SMS Auto & Marine 20th anniversary party 2-6pm @ 1217 Washington Ave. Food, drinks, live music w/ The Shift
PORPA Sprints
7am-2:30pm @ Priest River Mudhole
See PORPA.org for full info
Tai Chi at City Beach 9:30am @ Sandpoint City Beach
Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs 6-8pm @ Baxters on Cedar
POAC Annual Arts and Crafts Fair 9am-4pm @ Downtown Sandpoint Featuring artist booths, food vendors and more
Live Music w/ Kerry Leigh 3-5pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
monDAY, august 11
Outdoor Experience Group Run
6pm @ Outdoor Experience 3-5 miles, all levels welcome
tuesDAY, august 12
Bonner County Fair (Aug. 12-16) • 10am-10pm @ Bonner County Fairgrounds
See Page 11 for a full breakdown of Fair events and times
Family Hour and Live Music w/ John Firshi
5-7pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co.
Live Piano w/ Peter Lucht
5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
A Taste of Tango
6pm @ Barrel 33
Learn the basic dance steps of tango from experienced instructors. $15
wednesDAY, august 13
Humbletown (outdoor concert)
7pm @ The Heartwood Center (outside) South Dakota band to play this outdoor show. $20 suggested donation
ThursDAY, august 14
Sip and Shop to benefit the Panida 4-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
A percentage of proceeds will be donated to the Friends of the Panida
Pool tournament ($10 entry) 6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Trivia Night (hosted by Davey) 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Live piano w/ Carson Rhodes 5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Benny on the Deck concert 5:30pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Special guests: Reece and Brian
Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz
5-8pm @ Pearls on the Lake (Hope)
$5 movie: Alien 7pm @ Panida Theater
Live trivia ($5 entry)
7pm @ Connie’s Lounge Bingo with Dusty 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
It’s ‘all for one and one for all’ as LPO Rep brings
Three
Musketeers to the Panida
dumb of the week
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
By Reader Staff
French novelist Alexandre Dumas published The Three Musketeers in 1844, and the adventures of Athos, Porthos and Aramis (plus D’Artagnan) have yet to come to an end through hundreds of adaptations in books, song, film and stage.
Now, audiences are invited to experience the classic characters at the Panida Theater, with performances Friday, Aug. 8 and Saturday, Aug. 9 of The Three Musketeers and the Very Pretty Diamonds.
Presented by the Panida, Pend Oreille Arts Council and Lake Pend Oreille Repertory Theatre, the stage play features 31 students ages 8-17 who took part in the three-week LPO Rep summer theater camp, during which they learned about auditioning, blocking, line memorization, sets, props, costumes and more.
Taught by LPO Rep education Liz Iha, the students will put on the modern English pantomime in all its farcical charm, with slapstick aplenty and over-the-top characters. Set in the 1620s in France, many of the names will be familiar — from the titular kings’ guards to Cardinal Richelieu, Milady de Winter and Rochefort (none of the latter three very savory types) — but other players will be fresh, including some sillier than others.
This adaptation is geared toward younger performers — from grades 3-9 — and was written by Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.-based David Neilsen, an award-winning author of books for young readers and plays for children’s theater.
The production is full of laughs for audience members of all ages, and organizers stated that the LPO Rep students will bring all their energy, creativity and joy to the
stage. The Friday, Aug. 8 performance begins at 6 p.m., followed by a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Aug. 9. Doors open 30 minutes prior to showtime, and tickets are $22 for adults and $11.50 for youth for both performances, available at panida. org or the box office at 300 N. First Ave., in downtown Sandpoint.
For more information on LPO Rep’s productions and other programs, go to lporep. com.
Criminals brings ‘the art of interrogation’ to the Panida Little Theater stage
By Reader Staff
The new play Criminals, presented by Sandpoint OnStage, will bring audiences into a mystery that’s by turns tense and tricky and sometimes very funny, when it debuts with a five-show run Friday, Aug. 8-Saturday, Aug. 16 at the Panida Little Theater (300 N. First Ave., in downtown Sandpoint).
Criminals, written and directed by Teresa Pesce, is set in a sparse interrogation room, where three suspects are put in the hot seat for a grilling to close the gap between suspicion and certainty of guilt in an apparent murder.
First, there’s Emily — a widow who returns from shopping to find her husband’s
skull smashed in, arousing both sympathy and suspicion among investigators.
Then there’s Ponzo, the charming and glib mafioso who detectives suspect of double murder, but whose girlfriend’s embarrassing alibis complicate things for the detectives while a top defense attorney dismantles their interrogation.
Finally, there’s slippery Frytz Caplan, who’s so hard to handle that it’s possible he might walk free and the team will lose their jobs.
Billed as “a suspenseful comedy/drama for mature audiences,” the two-hour play is suitable for theatergoers 15 and older, and will hit the stage Friday, Aug. 8 and Saturday, Aug. 9 at 7:30 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee on
Sunday, Aug. 10.
Both shows Friday, Aug. 15 and Saturday, Aug. 16 start at 7:30 p.m. Doors open one hour before every performance.
President Donald Trump. There: Column finished.
Just kidding (not really).
This week’s entry from the Land of Dumb comes straight from the So You Wanna Be a Fascist playbook, which Trump has been following diligently since starting his second term.
Last week, Trump accused Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer of manipulating job numbers. He then, without presenting any evidence, fired her with a Truth Social post just hours after the BLS report showed that hiring had slowed significantly over the past three months.
In his usual bombastic and unhinged fashion, Trump claimed the country’s job reports “are being produced by Biden appointee [sic]” and ordered her termination.
“We need accurate Jobs Numbers,” Trump wrote. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes.”
Trump’s tantrum came after the BLS reported Aug. 1 that the U.S. economy added just 73,000 jobs in July, well below estimates. The bureau also revised the May and June numbers, which turned out lower than previously announced by 200,000 jobs — a move that Trump claimed made the report “RIGGED.” A familiar refrain.
“President Trump is once again destroying the credibility of our government by firing expert and nonpartisan officials because he does not like the facts that they present,” said Max Stier, the CEO of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service. “Governments that go down this path find themselves in ugly territory very quickly.”
Tickets are $27 (including fees), and available at the door or panida.org.
Yup. It’s called fascism. Don’t like the facts? Fire the person and hire someone who will give you “alternative facts.” What a time to be alive.
The cast of Criminals. Courtesy photo
By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist
I’ve been hosting my progeny here for more than a month. The last brood belonged to my youngest daughter, Casey, and her two adorable littles: Sam and Runa. There’s no shortage of fun to be had when they’re here, and a favorite outing for our three-generation entourage is to visit Shingle Mill Blueberry Farm, operated by three generations of the Omodt family.
From my house in Ponderpoint, it’s less than a 10-minute drive to the well-tended farm, where you’re sure to be greeted by an obliging Omodt family member. After a quick rundown of rules, we grabbed a wagon and a stack of buckets. Sam and Runa’s excitement was ripe for our berry-picking adventure!
I’ve been hauling blueberry-loving grandchildren there for 10-plus years, and have watched the Omodts’ labor of love grow into a lush and thriving (and hopefully lucrative) U-pick operation of 5,600 berry bushes, offering six varieties.
The farm is teeming with healthy crops and happy customers. The Omodts make it look easy, but coming from a ranching and farming operation, I know the blood, sweat and tears — not to mention money — that go into raising a seasonal crop. It’s hard to believe this picture-perfect rural farm is just minutes from Sandpoint. If I didn’t live so close, I’d be tempted to stay on the farm in their
The Sandpoint Eater Berry fun
new “Stay on the Farm, Blueberry Bungalow.” The bungalow is a yurt, operated by matriarch Patty Omodt. I’ll keep in mind for next summer’s overflow of visitors, that’s for sure.
This is the Omodt family’s busiest “all-hands” time of year, with adults and kids alike splitting duties between the farm’s U-pick operation of ripe berries (with a very short life cycle), and managing their popular stall of berries and baked goods at our local farmers’ market twice a week.
And that’s not all. As they continue to build their family legacy, I just learned that next year we’ll have the opportunity to pick several varieties of strawberries. Stay tuned.
Not all of the blueberries make it into a bucket, as evidenced by adults critiquing the various flavors, and lip-smacking kids polishing off handfuls of warm berries in adjacent rows. And why not? Even the signage at the entrance encourages us to eat a few. There are more than enough berries for a bit of tasting along the way, that’s for sure.
Occasionally, when I’m there, I pick nary a berry that makes it to the scale. Instead, I mosey slowly among the rows, sampling the plumpest of sweet berries, while eavesdropping on sticky-lipped chattering youngsters, eating their way alongside their wagon-pulling mothers, who are busy
swapping recipes and preservation tips with friends and strangers alike.
More than just a fun outing, hauling home those sweet U-pick berries reap great rewards. Blueberries are really good for us. They’re packed with antioxidants and fight inflammation, helping our cells stay young and spry. Studies show blueberries may help boost memory and brain function (yes, please). They’re full of fiber, too. They were once called “star berries” by Indigenous Americans because of their five-pointed blossoms.
Most blueberries consumed in the U.S. end up in muffins. However, around our parts, many of us prefer huckleberries for our choice of a muffin
berry. Not to worry, there is no shortage of uses for Shingle Mill Farm blueberries. In fact, Panhandle Cone and Coffee has introduced a new flavor, bursting with two of my favorite flavors: lemon and roasted blueberry swirl (it may be seasonal, so head on down for a scoop or two soon).
I made sure to pick enough for a frozen stash of several gallons, stockpiled for smoothies, yogurt toppers and winter pie-making sessions. But this time of year, I love them best fresh, in salads and dressings, like my favorite: blueberry and mango salad with candied pecans.
I hope you and yours will like it, too!
Blueberry mango salad with candied pecans and blueberry vinaigrette
This salad tastes like summer! If you have time to pickle the red onion and candy the pecans, by all means do so. But if you’re tossing it together at the last minute, it’s still going to taste great. Delicious topped with cold, grilled chicken slices, too. Serves 4.
Salad:
INGREDIENTS: DIRECTIONS:
• 4-6 cups of mixed baby greens, any combination (spinach, arugula or kale)
• ½ cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• ½ small red onion, thinly sliced rings (pickled, if time allows)
• ½ cup feta, cubed
• ½ cup candied pecans (see below). Or use plain halves if time constrains.
• ½ cup pecan halves
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp butter
Blueberry vinaigrette:
• ½ cup fresh blueberries
• 2 tbs apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Pinch of salt and black pepper
For pecans: Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add sugar and butter. When melted, stir in pecans. Stir constantly 2-3 minutes until pecans are glazed and lightly toasted. Place on parchment paper or foil to cool. Separate once cool enough to handle.
For vinaigrette: Blend all ingredients in a blender or Magic Bullet until smooth. Taste and adjust with more honey/lemon/salt/pepper as needed. Chill until ready to use.
To assemble: In a large bowl or platter, gently toss greens, mango and red onion, top with blueberries, cubed feta cheese and candied pecans.
Drizzle with blueberry vinaigrette and toss again, lightly, just before serving.
MUSIC
South Dakota-based Humbletown to play outdoor show at Heartwood Center
By Reader Staff
Hailing from the prairies of South Dakota, Humbletown has emerged as a multi-genre bluegrass-inspired ensemble.
The trio will play a special outdoor concert on Wednesday, Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. outside of The Heartwood Center (625 Oak St.). The series is presented by Mattox Farm Productions.
Humbletown’s original music is inspired by their home and travels. They perform an intricate set on the clawhammer banjo, flatpick guitar and upright bass, combining bluegrass, old time, hot club swing, Americana and classic country into a soundscape that takes listeners on a musical journey that stretches across time and space.
Gates will open at 6 p.m.
By Reader Staff
Idaho-born artist Maya Goldblum released a new single Aug. 1 titled “Waiting Tables” that is currently available to listen to online.
Goldblum plays under the moniker Queen Bonobo and said “Waiting Tables” is a personal song that was inspired by her own experiences.
“‘Waiting Tables’ is my Saturn Return song,” Bonobo wrote. “It’s about getting clear
in the vision of how I want my life to be and letting all that’s not serving me go. I’ve been in the service industry since I was 14 and this song is my slightly sassy and soothing way of manifesting success in my music career.”
Bonobo, who refers to herself as a “queer, androgynous songstress” has been making music rooted in folk, soul and jazz for years. Weaving through her eclectic song formations are introspective lyr-
and admission to the concert will be donation-based with a request of $20/person. Eichardt’s Pub will serve drinks and there will also be food vendors on site. Audience members can also bring their own food.
Learn more about Humbletown at humbletownband.org and Mattox Farm Productions at mattoxfarm.com.
Queen Bonobo drops new single: ‘Waiting Tables’ Waterhouse plays show at Matchwood Brewing Co.
By Reader Staff
Chris Paradis has an easygoing sound that fits well with a Sandpoint gig.
Paradis will play a show at Matchwood Brewing Co. under his stage name Waterhouse on Friday, Aug. 8 from 6-8:30 p.m.
In April, Paradis released an 11-song album titled Wavelengths under his artist name Waterhouse.
“This is my most experimental and exotic album to date,” Paradis wrote. “Though I’m sure you’ll recognize it as me, I hope it brings you some surprises, as it did for me
ics and ethereal melodies that continue to invite her listeners to feel, cry and dance.
Listen to Queen Bonobo’s new single and all of her music on streaming services like Spotify online. She’ll play the Emerge ArtWalk in Coeur d’Alene from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 8 and in Sandpoint at the Mountain Cloud Farm with Laurie Shook from 5-8 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 31.
while creating it.”
Along with performing live, Paradis also teaches music lessons to students of all ages. He plays and teaches a variety of styles, including jazz, blues, folk, rock, funk, bluegrass, ragtime, classical, Brazilian and more.
A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint
River Spell, 219 Lounge, Aug. 8
The indie jam band River Spell is a dream come true for anyone who enjoys well-executed musical improvisation and the singing style of the Mountain Goats. Hailing from the great state of Colorado, vocalist and guitarist Grant Livingston, bassist Charlie Milo and drummer Zack Ritchie create folk rock and psychedelic bluegrass with a distinct high-altitude flair. The band has already racked
up 30,000 Spotify plays on their song “Bottom of the Hill,” and their current tour has won them devoted fans in multiple states. See River Spell for free at the Niner before they make it really big.
— Soncirey Mitchell
9 p.m.-midnight, FREE, 21+. 219 Lounge, 219 N. First Ave., 208-263-5673, 219lounge.com. Listen at riverspellmusic.com.
He might hail from four generations of Idahoans and call Coeur d’Alene his hometown, but Colby Acuff lends a pitch-perfect South-country drawl to his honey-smooth vocals. With lyrics that explore everything from the state of the union to mental health, the human condition, and hope and love, Acuff is what Country News called “a bona fide storytelling powerhouse.” Five years after his debut album, he’s on
This week’s RLW by Ben Olson
READ
I’m a sucker for sci-fi novels that take me on a wild ride. Liu Cixin wrote a trilogy of novels — The ThreeBody Problem, The Dark Forest and Death’s End — set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, when a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth, which is forming into various factions. It’s a wildly imaginative series of books.
LISTEN
8
a headlining nationwide tour, hitting The Hive with fellow Idahoan Landon Vance, whose own sound evokes the high lonesome of the Gem State’s wide open spaces.
— Zach
Hagadone
7-11 p.m.; $20 adv, $25 at the door; 21+. The Hive, 207 N. First Ave., 208-920-9039, livefromthehive.com. Listen to both Acuff and Vance on YouTube and other streamers.
Like a lot of others, I started listening to Thievery Corporation after hearing their song, “Lebanese Blonde,” on the Garden State soundtrack. While the duo usually plays a thoughtful mix of electronica and acid jazz, their album Saudade is an unusual and fascinating record that incorporates a bossa nova vibe to their usual material. Fun fact: Saudade is Portuguese for “longing,” and that fits this record beautifully.
WATCH
We’re witnessing a change in media over the course of President Donald Trump’s second term, with major corporations folding to his pressure. Not only are these legacy media overlords paying the president tens of millions of dollars in what amounts to fealty, but they are now adjusting their content to serve his needs. When CBS parent company Paramount canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert only days before a merger with Trump-friendly Skydance, I vowed to watch every episode until the end to support Colbert. Then, no more Paramount or CBS for me. Ever. Boot lickers are the death of creativity.
Colby Acuff w/Landon Vance, The Hive, Aug.
Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
Photo by Keren Hernandez
From Northern Idaho News, August 8, 1911
McREYNOLDS CASHES WORTHLESS CHECK
James McReynolds, a well known character in this vicinity is again in the toil of the law, this time for drawing a check on a bank in which he had no funds. He is charged with a misdemeanor. McReynolds who is an ex-convict, having been sent from this place two years ago on the charge of forgery, appeared at the J&L Clothing company store yesterday and drew a check for $35 on the First National bank of this city, which he had made out to himself and had also endorsed it. The check was cashed and soon afterwards when it was found that the check was no good, McReynolds was arrested by Officer Matt Benson and was taken to the police station. McReynolds was later in the evening turned over to one of the deputy sheriffs, who allowed him to raise the money and make the check good.
This morning McReynolds was again arrested by Chief of Police Traue. A warrent was issued out of Judge Bunde’s court and the man was taken up for hearing. The case was postponed until Thursday at 2 p.m. McReynolds is an old offender and it is reported that he has served three terms in state prisons for offenses of the same nature.
BACK OF THE
BOOK
The Haunting of Homer Simpson
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
I used to be terrified of Homer Simpson.
It was the first grade, 2007, and the Simpsons were everywhere thanks to the then-upcoming movie. Burger King was giving away golden talking action figures, and I had the misfortune of picking up a yee-hawing Homer in a cowboy hat on a family road trip. It was innocent enough at first — he played with my Polly Pockets and generally stayed out of my way. It wasn’t until I went back to school that the horrors began.
There I’d be, sitting quietly in class trying to learn my numbers, when who should manifest before my eyes but Homer Jay Simpson. In my uncontrollable daydreams, he would pop up to block the chalkboard with his cowboy hat, “yee-hawing” as he did. His voice drowned out the teacher’s as he vied for my attention. I would plead with him to leave me alone, and though he would sometimes slink out of the room with his head bowed, he would always reappear to distract me.
Naturally, I assumed the Burger King toy was possessed by a malevolent spirit sent to stifle my academic goals. I was terrified that my teacher would discover my brain was harboring Homer and would punish me for not paying attention, as if it were my fault I was haunted. I had no power over him. I was a child.
To escape him, I began hiding the statuette around the house so he couldn’t follow me to school. My mom would inevitably find him while cleaning and give him back to me, which showed me that, as with Chucky, Homer would never truly
STR8TS Solution
die. I eventually began hiding from him, averting my eyes and clinging to my mom when in his presence. If The Simpsons came on TV, I would run out of the room with my eyes shut and my ears plugged, yelling, “La la la la la.”
My mom got the hint and tried to throw Homer away, only for my dad to resurrect him and place him on top of the bookshelf, where he would look down on me like a wrathful god. As long as I avoid ed the bookshelf, Homer left me alone, and I could finally learn 3+3.
As a kid, I had no way of understanding what was going on or explaining it to my parents. The only logical explanation was the supernatural. Now, at 25 years old with an obsessive-compulsive disorder diagnosis, I can safely say that Homer was a bizarre, childhood version of an intrusive thought.
The diagnosis makes sense in retrospect. I had a lot of panic attacks growing up; I washed my hands until they were cracked and bleeding; I meticulously folded towels and clothing — the list goes on. But this is North Idaho, and though I’ve had just about every symptom of OCD for my entire life, it wasn’t until I was 23 that I was formally diagnosed.
If you talk to just about any mental health worker or advocate in Sandpoint, they’ll tell you that North Idaho is a desert. All levels of care are hard to come by, which is why I ended up going to naturopaths who told me to carry quartz and get acupuncture and wear red socks “to ground me.”
Sudoku Solution
Talking about mental health and learning to spot the issues is also a relatively new idea. My mom had never experienced OCD, so how was she to know that my little idiosyncrasies were something larger? There was no one to teach her or me. Now there’s the internet, National Alliance on Mental Illness Far North and millions of other resources to address mental health.
The moral of the story is, if a child in your life has little ticks or funny habits, read up on them. Life is so much easier when you know why you do the things you do, and how you can work around blips before they balloon into larger problems. Otherwise, you have to be — or deal with — the kid who’s haunted by Homer Simpson, and that’s unnerving on so many levels.
Crossword Solution
If you’re in a war, instead of throwing a hand grenade at some guys, throw one of those little baby-type pumpkins. Maybe it’ll make everyone think of how crazy war is, and while they’re thinking, you can throw a real grenade.
Solution on page 22
Laughing Matter
By Bill Borders
CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1. Genders 6. A Great Lake 10. Asian nurse 14. Courtroom event 15. Croon
16. Ancient marketplaces 17. Licoricelike flavor
18. Type of salmon 19. Worry
20. Restates
22. Individual 23. Plays the bagpipes 24. Associated with the moon 25. Prostitute 29. Nearest orbital point 31. Shows up 33. Pass through
Time of the year 38. Encipher
More content
Kneecap 42. Testifies
1. to have a good or bad effect or result
“The artist’s bold choices redounded to a show that everyone’s still talking about”
Corrections: Sorry ma’am. We’re pert near flawless at this point.
Search 45. Phobias 48. Drills 50. Holy man 51. In a contemptuous manner
56. Excited
As well as 58. Red Sea peninsula 59. Turn on a pivot 60. Ran
Solution on page 22
A group of cattle
Makes lace
Affirmatives
Asterisk
Sea eagle
13 in Roman numerals
Where the sun rises
Solution on page 22 7. Violent troublemaker 8. Get by a will
Freudian topics
Wealths
Fool
Sporting venue
Bigot
Matured
Inclined
Big party
District
Enclose
Put down
Lubricated
Slumber
Eludes
Annuls
One and only 35. Inactive
Durable wood
German measles 41. Amounts of time 43. Body-shaping garment
Appear briefly
American symbol
Illicit sexual relationship 49. Pantywaist
Wacky 52. Egyptian river 53. Wildebeests 54. Hardly believable 55. Puppy sounds 61. Economic down time
