We celebrated my mom’s birthday in the past week — one year until 70! — and to mark the occasion, she wanted to get together just with my brother and me at Talache. We’ve been coming to both the left and right Talache beaches since we were babies. Growing up in Sagle, it was among our preferred ways to access the lake, away from the crowds at Garfield Bay and certainly not “Big City” Beach.
It’s a special place for us, and so we drove out to the right side — the beach with the creek running to the lake — and were pleased to see only one car in the parking area, but no people to be seen. However, the moment we stepped out of the car, we had to start cleaning up garbage.
First it was batteries on the ground and beer cans in the creek. Then, as we started carrying our coolers and chairs down to the firepit, we came across a trail of Busch Light Apple and hard soda cans, a half-consumed Dr. Pepper bottle, piles of dog crap and toilet paper. At the shoreline site, we found cigarette butts, bottle caps, bits of plastic and a firepit full of more Busch cans and a tin of mouldering beans that someone apparently didn’t want to finish.
To top it off, the trash people had brought along a Sharpie and used it to write their initials on one of the flat rocks ringing the firepit, circled them with a heart and written June 10, 2025. The chef’s kiss: When they finished signing and dating their work, they tossed the pen on the ground.
Of course I’m assuming it was those people; but, if not, that means some other trash people came later. Either way, it was trashy.
We spent about 20 minutes just cleaning the place before we could set up our chairs, and continued to periodically pick up bits of junk the whole time we were there. We left a few hours later with almost an entire garbage bag filled with their leavings.
Realizing that this sort of thing has been going on for decades upon decades, and will never stop happening, we still had to spend some time wondering aloud what compels people to go to the effort of packing their stuff, driving to a specific place (ostensibly because they like it), proceed to turn it into a landfill and just walk away when they’re finished. It would take a psychologist to answer that question — and probably an abnormal child psychologist — but my theory is that some people are simply garbage, and they feel more comfortable around garbage. Their parents were probably garbage, and their parents before them, ad nauseam (and nauseous).
It has nothing to do with whether they’re “from here” or not — some of the trashiest people I’ve ever met have been “locals.” It’s just some kind of mental illness combining entitlement with laziness, and spiced perhaps with a tinge of sneering nihilism: call it my diagnosis of a trash person.
We didn’t let it get us down too much, but after sitting around the fire for a few minutes, those stupid initials on that rock started to really gall me, so I picked it up and hurled it into the lake. My mom thanked me for doing so — “Looking at that was driving me crazy,” she said — and I considered it one of my birthday presents to her. To everyone else who loves and cares for Talache, you’re welcome: There is no longer any evidence of the trash people of June 10, 2025.
DEAR READERS,
Greetings and huzzah to all ye good folk. ’Tis time for the annual Sandpoint Renaissance Faire, which we’ve watched grow from a small, quirky gathering to the awesome weekend festival that it is today (see Page 16 for more info).
Perchance it has something to do with the incredible people who work hither and yon to host this annual event. Mayhap it has something to do with the North Idaho residents who stream through the gates in their thousands to join with fellow villagers for a weekend of revelry.
By my troth, I cannot answer verily, but can only estimate that it is a combination of both that keep this faire in good tidings.
Alack, it is anon to carouse with your worthy fairgoing friends. Seat thyself and avoid the cutpurses and rogues. It’s bound to be a hale and hearty time.
Gramercy and fare thee well. May thy lord keep thee in thy turkey-legged embrace.
–Ben
Olson, publisher
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About the Cover:
This week’s cover photo is by Karley Coleman featuring a jousting contest at the Sandpoint Renaissance Faire.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee makes new attempt to sell off public lands — with exceptions
By Jacob Fisher States Newsroom
U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said he will revamp his controversial proposal to require the sales of vast acres of federal lands in the West so it can be included in Senate Republicans’ sweeping tax and spending cut package.
Lee will seek approval for his revised plan from the Senate parliamentarian, who will decide if the provision complies with the chamber’s strict rules for the fast-track procedure Republicans are using to pass the bill. An earlier version of Lee’s plan was dropped from the measure.
Lee chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and wrote on X on June 23 night that he would alter the proposal to include only Bureau of Land Management land within five miles of a population center and exempt U.S. Forest Service lands from sale altogether.
The amended version would also create “freedom zones” and protect “our farmers, ranchers and recreational users,” Lee said.
It was not immediately clear what either point would mean and legislative text of the proposal was not publicly available on June 24. A spokesperson for the committee Lee leads did not return a message seeking comment by press time.
The original version of the proposal would have mandated the sale of at least 2 million acres of BLM and Forest Service land in 11 Western states — including Idaho. The Senate parliamentarian ruled that language did not comply with the Senate’s rules for budget reconciliation, according to the Senate Budget Committee’s ranking Democrat Jeff Merkley, of Oregon.
Budget reconciliation is the procedure Republicans are using to pass the package that con-
Democrats vow to fight against any provisions for public land sales
tains most of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy priorities — also known as the “big, beautiful bill” — including extension of the 2017 tax cuts.
The process allows passage with only a simple majority in the Senate, rather than the usual 60 votes, but comes with strict rules that every provision has a substantial impact on the federal deficit and relates to spending and taxes.
Polarizing provision
Lee’s social media post emphasized his goal was to expand housing supply by making public lands available for new construction.
“Housing prices are crushing families and keeping young Americans from living where they grew up,” Lee wrote. “We need to change that.”
Democrats and some Republicans from the affected states — Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming — strongly opposed the measure, seeing it as a one-time sell-off of public lands used by hunters, hikers, ranchers and other users of public lands.
The provision “would have gutted America’s public lands and auctioned them off to the highest bidder, in yet another bid to benefit the wealthy,”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, said on June 24.
“Republicans tried to rip away hundreds of millions of acres of public land — not to help families, not to solve real problems — but to hand yet another gift to the wealthy and well-connected,” he added. “It was outrageous, it was shameless and it would have forever changed the character of the country. Senate Democrats fought tooth and nail to keep public lands in public hands because these lands belong to everyone — not just the privileged few.”
A similar provision was
removed from the House’s version of the reconciliation bill in the face of heated opposition from Western Republicans led by Montana U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke.
The former Interior secretary said that he remained firmly opposed to the Senate version of the bill that included Lee’s proposal.
“I have said from day one I would not support a bill that sells public lands,” he wrote on X.“I am still a no on the senate reconciliation bill that sells public lands. We did our job in the House. Let’s get it finished.”
Other provisions stripped Merkley reported the Senate parliamentarian also ruled
several other provisions of the Energy Committee’s section of the package to be out of compliance with the “Byrd Rule,” which governs what can be included in a reconciliation bill.
Among the provisions the parliamentarian removed were items that would have waived environmental review requirements for offshore oil and gas development, mandated approval of a controversial mining road in Alaska, required annual lease sales for geothermal energy lease sales while changing how geothermal royalties are calculated and allowed natural gas exporters to pay a fee to have projects exempted from environmental requirements.
Other provisions in the committee’s reconciliation instructions were still under review as of June 24, Merkley said.
In a statement, Merkley said he would continue to lead Democrats’ campaign to strip provisions from the GOP bill.
“Democrats will not stand idly by while Republicans attempt to circumvent the rules of reconciliation in order to sell off public lands to fund tax breaks for billionaires,” he said. “We will make sure the Byrd Rule is followed and review any changes Republicans attempt to make to the bill.”
States Newsroom is the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
BOCC issues trespass after alleged threat
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
Bonner County Commissioner Asia Williams began the June 24 BOCC business meeting with an announcement that the board had taken action after receiving an alleged threat.
“Last week, the board of commissioners received information regarding a threat,” said Williams, who serves as the BOCC chair. “We held an emergency meeting and did a trespass of the individual in question.”
Minutes from the executive session obtained by the Reader via a public records request showed that Commissioners Ron Korn and Brian Domke joined Williams in voting to trespass Lawrence Morton “from all Bonner County owned properties due to threats of injury to Bonner County personnel.”
Morton must call ahead to make an appointment with the appropriate department prior to conducting any county business and, while on site, “will be escorted to transact business and promptly leave.”
A trespass statement issued
by the office of Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall stated that his office was presented with a law enforcement report to review for possible charges against Morton due to the June 16 incident.
“Mr. Morton had gone to the Bonner County Assessor’s Office and became upset and confrontational with staff over his refusal to provide documents related to a homeowner’s tax exemption,” Deputy Prosecutor Robert Abel wrote in the report. “Mr. Morton is reported to have made general threats during the confrontation, but no specific threats against specific office personnel were reported.”
Morton reportedly left the office and proceeded to sit in his car in the parking lot of the Bonner County Administration Building, where he was contacted by Sandpoint Police Officer Zachary Fisher, who advised him not to return to the office if he was going to make a scene. Fisher noted that Morton “had a long, scoped rifle sitting in plain view in the back seat” of his vehicle.
Later the same day, SPD received another call from the
Assessor’s Office stating that Morton was still in the parking lot and several staff members were afraid to walk to their vehicles, fearing that Morton might harm them. Fisher took a position in the parking lot where he could observe Morton from his vehicle.
“One staff member retrieved a rifle from his own vehicle in order to provide security for the departing office workers,” Abel wrote. “Officer Fisher saw this and asked the office worker to avoid escalating the situation.”
Fisher made contact with Morton again and, when asked why he was still in the lot, Morton replied he was “doing paperwork, and that the parking lot was public property.”
Once most office workers had left, Fisher asked the staff member who was providing security to leave. Morton left the parking lot immediately after and Fisher followed Morton to ensure no one was followed.
The Prosecutor’s Office declined to issue charges for disturbing the peace and exhibition of a deadly weapon, claiming that there was “lack of evidence to prove” Morton committed either crime.
Idaho Sens. Crapo and Risch come out against proposed public land sales
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
Americans of all political stripes have been in an uproar over a proposal in the budget reconciliation bill currently before the U.S. Senate that initially would have put about 250 million acres of public land on the block for sale to private interests — including nearly 22 million acres in Idaho alone.
However, Rep. Mike Lee, R-Utah, announced on June 23 that he proposed to limit that provision to Bureau of Land Management acres within five miles of a “population center” and take U.S. Forest Service lands off the table entirely. If approved, that would significantly limit the amount of land potentially for sale to about 1.2 million acres nationwide, according to a June 25 report from The Hill. (For more on that story, see Page 4.)
Lee’s move comes amid backlash even from MAGA conservatives, who have heard from a broad range of constituents that the land sale portion of President Donald Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” goes too far.
Even Lee’s proposed limitations met with pushback — including from members of his own party.
According to a June 24 report from E&E News, which is part of online media outlet Politico, “Lee’s most formidable opponents had been his own colleagues in the Senate. Four Republican senators said they did not support Lee’s proposal: Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy of Montana, and Jim Risch and Mike Crapo of Idaho.”
Crapo and Risch — both Republicans — had been silent on the public lands sell-off portion of the bill until last week, when both senators’ offices issued statements coming out against the proposal.
“After reviewing the Senate Energy and Natural Resources reconciliation language, I do not support the proposed provision to sell public lands,” Risch wrote in a June 20 statement.
A former state senator, lieutenant governor and governor of Idaho, the 11-term U.S. senator is the senior member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Crapo’s office issued a statement on June 19, writing, “After a careful and thorough review of the legislative text in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee reconciliation title, Senator Crapo does not support the proposed language to sell public lands,” Crapo’s Coeur d’Alene office told the Reader in an email June 25.
Republican U.S. Congressional District 2 Rep. Mike Simpson expressed his opposition to the public lands sale
portion of the bill in April, announcing he would join Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., in co-sponsoring the Public Lands in Public Hands Act, which would bar the “sale of most public lands managed by the Department of the Interior and the United States Forest Service except under specific conditions and where required under previous laws.”
“Public lands were set aside for public use, and we have a responsibility to ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy the same benefits we sometimes take for granted today,” Simpson stated in an April 21 news release.
“Idaho’s abundance of parks, forests, and public lands makes our state a wonderful place to live, work, and play,” he added. “As a lifelong Idahoan and chairman of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, I have worked long and hard to protect Idaho-
ans’ way of life by preserving access to Idaho’s public lands while ensuring the federal land management agencies are good neighbors. I am pleased that this legislation upholds that commitment ... .”
Republican U.S. CD1 Rep. Russ Fulcher, however, told the Reader in an April 23 interview that while he did not support privatizing public land, “I do believe that we’ve got to figure out how to manage it locally because the resources aren’t there nationally. ...
“The intent is not to try to privatize, the intent is to try to manage it. The intent is trying to take care of it,” he added, though indicated that while he wasn’t familiar with the details of the Public Lands in Public Hands Act, it “sounds to me like that’s a great way to lock stuff up so that you’re in the same system we’re in.”
Fulcher’s office did not respond to a request for further comment by press time.
Gov. Little tells agencies, education leaders to prepare for possible spending cuts
Ryan Suppe IdahoEdNews.org
Gov. Brad Little’s office last month told state agency directors to make internal plans for budget “holdbacks” due to midyear cuts in spending. Little also placed limits on budget requests.
The two directives came as state revenue lags behind projections and major tax cuts take effect.
Little’s Division of Financial Management on May 29 sent agency directors a memo outlining the governor’s expectations, as agencies prepare their budget requests ahead of next year’s legislative session.
DFM issues similar guidance memos around this time every year, but the state is facing “a different scenario
than we have seen in the past several years,” DFM Administrator Lori Wolff wrote in the latest memo, which Idaho Education News obtained through a public records request.
The Idaho Capital Sun previously reported that state tax revenue is $141.5 million below projections, while policymakers enacted $453 million in tax cuts this year. That means the state will have less revenue than projected in fiscal year 2027 and in future years, Wolff wrote in the memo.
Wolff told agency directors that budgets relying on state general fund dollars will be limited to “maintenance” spending. Directors must get pre-approval from the governor’s office before making new spending requests that use federal or dedicated funds. She
also told directors to “internally prepare” for 2%, 4% or 6% budget holdbacks “as we continue to watch economic trends at the national level.”
“Although we understand that there are still many initiatives and challenges that impact your agency and operations, we must submit a balanced budget,” Wolff wrote, “and Idaho’s current revenue projections only allow for slight growth in appropriations for FY 2027.”
It’s too early to say what the budget restrictions could mean for public education funding. But the Idaho Department of Education, State Board of Education, and colleges and universities will have to identify spending cuts up to 6%.
State revenue changes always impact education spend-
ing, whether tax collections are lower or higher than expected, Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield said.
“We are in budget discussions now and examining all types of scenarios,” she said.
In a statement to EdNews, Wolff sought to ease concerns. The state is still seeing year-over-year revenue growth, “signaling a strong Idaho economy.” Lawmakers and Little left a $400 million cushion in the current year’s budget. They also put 22% of general fund revenues in rainy-day funds, Wolff said.
“That said, as a responsible manager of taxpayer resources, Gov. Little is preparing for a number of scenarios as we get closer to the end of the fiscal year. While we continue to
watch revenue closely, we feel good about the strength of the state budget and our economy.”
Why is state revenue lagging?
In her memo, Wolff noted two reasons for the “conservative” budget guidance: lagging sales tax revenue and tax cuts.
In April, state tax revenue was $55 million short of the Legislature’s projection, and May revenues came in $98 million short, the Capital Sun reported.
Altogether, state revenue was $141.5 million below the Legislature’s projections heading into June, the last month of the 2025 fiscal year. The current shortfall would leave $278.2 million on the state’s ending balance for FY 2025, down from $420 million.
Lakes Commission provides update on ‘very dry conditions’ in the panhandle
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seeking park rangers, maintenance employee
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
According to a recent update from the Lakes Commission, the Idaho Department of Water Resources reported that peak runoff occurred as of June 11, with SNOTEL sites reporting “zero values for the snow-water-equivalent” at the Bunchgrass Meadow and Hidden Lake sites in the Priest River area, which are both at about 5,000 feet in elevation.
The National Resources Conservation Service forecast in early May showed below-average streamflow volume in the Priest River basin, while the U.S. Drought Monitor continues to report “abnormally dry” conditions throughout the Idaho panhandle.
That was backed up by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s seasonal outlook, which indicated that temperature and precipitation levels point to “hotter and drier-than-normal conditions for North Idaho in the June-July-August timeframe,” according to the Lakes Commission.
On top of that, NASA reported soil moistures of 10% or less in the panhandle, “suggesting very dry conditions.”
Meanwhile, Lake Pend Oreille is officially at normal pool, which is measured at between 2,062 and 2,062.5 feet, and Priest Lake will be stabilizing for the summer, as well, the Lakes Commission reported.
The commission will provide further updates through the summer months, and is planning to hold its next meeting in late October. At that time, the commission anticipates the Economic Impact Study on Lake Pend
Oreille lake levels should be complete and the results will be presented.
In the interim, the Lakes Commission indicated it would release a community survey on the topic, with more information to be distributed via email, fliers and in local publications.
Additionally, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a hiring announcement for park rangers on Lake Pend Oreille.
The Corps is seeking three temporary rangers, with a minimum age requirement of 18 and pay between $16.95 and $17.30 per hour, depending on experience. The full-time, 40-hour-per-week jobs include weekends, holidays and nights until at least mid-September, after which there will be an opportunity for extended employment. Training and uniforms will be provided.
According to a flier from the Corps, rangers will accrue annual and sick leave, as well as access to optional federal health care plans. Experience can be gained in environmental stewardship, interpretive programs, patrolling recreation areas and conducting biological surveys.
In addition, the Corps is seeking one permanent maintenance worker in its Natural Resource Maintenance Section.
The position is full-time with benefits, and the ideal candidate will have extensive experience in various trades, such as plumbing, electrical, equipment operation and welding that can be applied in an outdoor setting including buildings, utilities, docks, roads, vegetation and more. Pay starts at $29.19.
Applicants are invited to contact Shane McKinley at alan.s.mckinley@ usace.army.mil.
Bits ’n’ Pieces
From east, west and beyond
A Senate Republican plan to mandate selling millions acres of public land to help pay for a massive tax cut budget package is blocked — for now. Recent polling: 71% oppose the sale of public lands. The Lever reported that the land sales would have been held without hearings or public input.
The dominant right wing of the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the Trump administration could continue policies deporting immigrants to countries they’ve never inhabited, but need advance notice of their destination. Justices provided no reason for their ruling. Dissenting justices said, “thousands [of deportees] will suffer violence in farflung locales,” which they declared “as incomprehensible as it is inexcusable.”
According to various media, ICE is going broke, running $1 billion over budget; meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported a high-school soccer star with no criminal record. In addition, ICE detained an Afghan man after he attended an immigration court hearing — he helped U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and was detained after an immigration hearing — and ICE detained a 66-year-old legal immigrant who had worked as a legal assistant in the U.S. since 1967.
A CNN investigation found that fewer than 10% of those in ICE custody have violent crime convictions. At the same time, ICE officials reported that agents must wear masks and sunglasses amid a 413% increase in assaults. A Washington Post contradicted that claim, noting that assaults against ICE are 20% lower than in 2024, and ICE has blurred the distinction between “threatening to assault” and “assault,” and lacks evidence for its claim.
A New York City mayoral candidate was seized by ICE last week after he asked to see an arrest warrant for an immigrant. The candidate was restrained and charged with impeding and assaulting a law officer. The Washington Post reported that there was an “assault” in the sense that “a bully might accuse you of having gotten in the way of his fist.” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the charges were dropped.
Senate voting nears on President Donald Trump’s controversial “big, beautiful bill,” largely known for its tax cuts for the wealthy and sacrifices for everyone else. A recent Fox News poll showed 59% of voters oppose it.
Trump recently said he’d decide about bombing Iran in a “few weeks.”
By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Contributor
Two days later, on June 21, U.S. warplanes struck three sites in Iran said to have the potential for producing nuclear weapons — without congressional input or approval. Administration officials said no new intelligence suggested Iran was near to producing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied having sites with nuclear material for war purposes, but Trump disagreed (also disagreeing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth) and used that for his reason for dropping 30,000 pound “bunker buster” bombs. Trump had planned to send top level U.S. representatives to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to reach a deal, but he was in hiding over threats of assassination from Israel and could not be reached.
The U.S. and Iran were in nuclear talks when Trump initiated the attacks. Trump gave Iran two weeks to enter substantial negotiations before he would strike; and, since his bombings, he’s talked about backing “regime change” in Iran — contradicting his own administration’s position. A bipartisan resolution to block U.S. military action against Iran under certain conditions was recently introduced to Congress.
Trump claimed the targets in Iran were “completely and totally obliterated,” though that claim has not been confirmed. Iranian officials said two sites hit had previously been emptied of nuclear content. Hegseth claimed the operation took months of planning with “our allies in Israel.”
Trump promised “far greater” U.S. attacks unless Iran sought a diplomatic solution. A senior Russian official said there were countries ready to supply Iran with nuclear warheads. One political observer suggested Iran’s U.S. retaliation could be a cyber attack.
Other headlines report that the White House is scrambling to rehire key federal workers fired by DOGE, Social Security is “strong and solvent” until 2033, when payouts would shrink to 77%, and scientists warn that the U.S. and Europe face a 40% drop in food production this century due to the effects of climate change.
Blast from the past: In Trump’s first presidential term he called the nuclear deal President Barack Obama had brokered with Iran — and which appeared to be working — a “horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made.” Without U.S. support, the agreement broke down and Iran resumed its uranium-enriching program.
Wolff told agency directors that Idaho is “seeing slower growth in sales tax revenue, so our revenue projections for future years have been adjusted downward. This will have a direct impact on budget planning for agencies [in the 2026 legislative] session.”
She also noted that the Legislature and Little this year made tax cuts worth $453 million. While this “historic tax relief” will eventually result in economic growth, she wrote, it means the state will collect less revenue than projected.
Lawmakers passed and Little signed tax relief bills including:
• House Bill 40 — cut income taxes by $253 million by reducing the individual and corporate income tax rate from 5.695% to 5.3%, expanding exemptions for military pensions and eliminating capital gains taxes on gold bullion;
• H.B. 93 — created a $50 million refundable tax credit program covering private school and home-school expenses;
• H.B. 231 — increased the grocery tax credit to $155 per person, altogether providing $50 million in sales tax relief;
• H.B. 304 — added $100 million to property tax relief funds that benefit homeowners and help school districts pay down bonds and levies.
Those cuts were more than three times what Little proposed at the start of the 2025 legislative session. While the governor raised concerns about the scale of tax relief pitched by the Legislature’s Republican leadership, he has since touted the tax cuts in post-session appearances.
What does the budget guidance mean for public education?
The governor’s office did not address the likelihood of holdbacks in the coming months; but, Wolff said, “public education and teacher pay will remain the governor’s top priorities.”
In her memo, Wolff wrote that planning for holdbacks “helps us be prepared for uncertainty” and “allows agencies to look internally at priorities and operations and ensure critical operations are prioritized.”
The Idaho Constitution directs the state government to maintain a balanced budget, and state law allows the governor to rescind spending authority if budgeted expenses exceed revenue in a given year.
Little last ordered budget holdbacks in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he cut public school
spending by 5%. Most of the cuts focused on discretionary and salary spending. Before that, former-Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter ordered holdbacks in 2010, following the Great Recession.
Critchfield said local school leaders are “paying close attention” to state revenues this month as districts and charter schools set their 2025-’26 budgets. Some districts are facing budget strains already this year, after lawmakers and the Education Department required minimum salary increases.
Looking ahead, schools’ operations costs and special education costs “won’t be going down,” Critchfield said, “so we are looking at ways to ease those pressures without new or ongoing dollars.”
The “maintenance” budget limitations essentially mean that agencies can only request funding for bills they have to pay — expenses that keep the lights on, satisfy contractual obligations and pay employees.
DFM released estimates of what those budgets should look like for most agencies. Colleges and universities, for instance, are limited to $398.1 million, and the Office of the State Board of Education can request up to $47.3 million. IDE is not included in the list of estimates.
According to the memo, a maintenance budget include:
• A 1% placeholder for state employee raises;
• An 18% increase in health insurance costs;
• Inflationary adjustments that are contractually obligated;
• Replacement item costs, calculated using a three-year average;
• Non-discretionary changes to population forecast adjustments.
If an agency plans to ask for a lineitem “enhancement” from federal or dedicated funding sources, the agency must meet with the governor’s office “to discuss its necessity for inclusion,” Wolff wrote. Additionally, supplemental spending requests for FY ’26 should be “used as a tool of last resort.”
DFM will later assess whether revenue projections support state employee raises — including for K-12 teachers — Wolff wrote, adding, “Agencies should not submit line-item requests for additional personnel funds outside of” change in employee compensation, the state’s employee raise structure.
Idaho Education News is a nonprofit online news outlet based in Boise and supported by grants from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation, the Education Writers Association and the Solutions Journalism Network. Read more at idahoednews.org.
< LITTLE, con’t from Page 5 >
Bouquets:
GUEST SUBMISSION:
•“Thanks to Bonner County Road and Bridge Department for a timely and excellent job of mowing the tall grasses along the roadsides on the Hope peninsula before the massive influx of campers and tourists descend upon the area. With summer, the roads will again become congested with vehicles, joggers, bikers, dog walkers and deer lookers. Tall grasses along the roadways create dangerous conditions for the deer and their newborn fawns on this game preserve, as well as for the visitors who are often so absorbed in their activities, they aren’t aware of their surroundings. Thank you for helping to create a safer atmosphere for all.”
— By Jane Holzer
• Sometimes, very rarely, it seems as if Idaho’s elected officials might actually give a hoot about their constituents. When I read that there were four opponents to Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee’s bill that would see the sale of millions of acres of public lands, I never imagined two of those against it would be from Idaho. Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo, both Republicans, joined Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy, both Montana Republicans, in opposing Lee’s shortsighted plan. Lee pivoted by offering several concessions, but he’s facing tough scrutiny not only from the left and center, but also the right, as support for public lands crosses political lines. Finally, Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson deserves a Bouquet for co-sponsoring the Public Lands in Public Hands Act, which would ban the sale or transfer of most public lands managed by the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service. The sale of public lands in Idaho is a third rail that shouldn’t be touched. Ever. Hopefully our lawmakers continue to understand this.
Read your Constitution…
Dear editor,
In honor of our county’s 249th birthday this year, everyone raise your right hand and repeat after me: “I (your name) will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies both foreign and domestic.”
Now how do we do that?
Step 1: Read the Constitution, all of it. You will find it if you Google the full text of the U.S. Constitution. It contains a preamble, the body that explains the governing principles of our country and 27 amendments. It should take about an hour to read, and remember you just promised to defend all of it — not just the parts you like. If you don’t like a part of it, like birthright citizenship, there are provisions in the Constitution to change it. A president can’t just sign a paper to nullify it.
Step 2: Learn about the separation of powers. There are three governmental powers, not just one — one person (president) is a dictatorship, three is a republic. Congress passes laws, declares wars and controls the money. The president administers the laws and spends the money where and only where it was allocated. The courts rule if the laws and the administration of the laws are in the spirit and letter of the Constitution.
Step 3: Never put any person or party above your country and Constitution. Demand that all of the Constitution is followed, because if one part falls it all falls.
Mary Haley Sandpoint
‘Grimm results: Managing to fail’…
Dear editor,
From the get-go, the city’s management of the James E. Russell Racquet Sports Center from the mayor’s office on down has been a public relations disaster and embarrassment to the Sandpoint community. Poor thanks to the Russell family for the generous contribution of a superior racquet sports facility.
When the doors opened in December 2024, facility supervisor Daniel Luvisi, who left in frustration, told paid members that the city would be hiring a needed racquet sports professional in January 2025. It’s now June and the hiring of a racquet sports professional has not been accomplished.
A professional is necessary to build adult and youth racquet sports programs, organize tournaments and clinics, provide lessons and attract more membership, marketing and advertising revenue to support the facility. But the intentions of city management are to deliberately undermine the success of the JER racquet sports facility by claiming the costs of operating the facility are creating a budget deficit. The operating costs are actually a direct result of the city’s mismanagement of the facility, not the fault of the members and racquet sports community.
Instead of hiring a sports professional, Planning and Community Development Director Jason Welker hires receptionists and another replacement supervisor formerly from Staples, Ryan Wells, which simply runs up operating costs. Professional racquet sports expertise and experience are what’s needed to build revenue-generating membership programs, allowing the JER facility to succeed like other neighboring facilities have done for decades.
Mayor Grimm’s real intentions are to cover the racquet courts, convert the JER facility for contact sports, spending more taxpayers’ money to maintain the facility conversion.
Basketball, baseball or soccer play cannot coexist alongside tennis courts, as the USTA rules of the game do not allow for interference or noise disruptions during match play.
Mark Rossmiller Sandpoint
Respecting the judiciary…
Dear editor,
When judges stopped President Obama from implementing his border/immigration policies, were you frustrated or elated? How did you feel when the courts put a halt to some of President Biden’s favorite programs? How did your grandparents react when President F.D. Roosevelt tried to stack the Supreme Court after four years of its conservative rulings against him?
The framers of our Constitution built the tension between the judiciary and executive branches into the fabric of our government. Judges today are no more “activist” than they were 100 years ago. They don’t initiate cases, they rule on the ones brought before them. That is their job.
When Obama and Biden were each president, Red States fought them in district and appeals courts at every turn. Now Trump is president, and Blue States are filing the cases.
It is likely that you, like me, have been angry at some rulings, whether at the district level or the Supreme Court. When I feel that way, I grit my teeth and remind myself that this is one of the important ways our Constitution ensures that this country doesn’t veer too far left or right.
Twisting Voltaire’s words: I may disagree with the ruling of a judge, but I defend to the death their right to make that ruling and have it be our country’s law.
Molly O’Reilly Sandpoint
Truck taxonomy…
Dear editor,
The simple answer is that a local knows the difference between a logging truck and a cattle truck.
Larry Davidson Local
Publisher’s note: I knew I was in for it the moment I saw that typo. Thanks to all of those (including the author of the above letter to the editor) who responded with humor as opposed to those who were just mean or outright dumb. To answer the snarky/stupid ones: Yes, I know the difference between a logging truck and a cattle truck; it’s called a typo. I wonder how y’all would like it if a few thousand people followed you around every week to point out every trivial mistake you made while doing your job.
— Ben Olson, publisher
Flapping gums on both sides of their mouths…
Dear editor, I read Dave Mundell’s letter [“Away with Walz…,” June 19, 2025] and wondered if it is Dave who is “flapping his gums” rather than Tim Walz. Dave accuses only Democrat presidents and candidates of “reverse Darwinism” in choosing running mates. Let’s consider some on the Republican side in the vein of being fair and balanced.
First, don’t forget Nixon’s V.P. Spiro Agnew, who was forced to resign to avoid going to jail for crimes committed while governor of Maryland. I’d say Sarah Palin, the woefully unqualified running mate of John McCain, fits Dave’s description of “reverse Darwinism.” How about George W. Bush’s V.P. Dick Cheney, who shot hunting companion Harry Whittington with a shotgun while quail hunting? Whittington suffered a heart attack and a collapsed lung after being shot by Cheney, although he survived the ordeal.
Lastly, let’s consider President Trump, whose first V.P. Mike Pence refused to back Trump’s subsequent presidential bid after Trump falsely claimed electoral fraud. Trump’s current V.P. JD Vance wrote to his law school roommate that Trump is “America’s Hitler” and compared him to “cultural heroin.” Guess JD changed his tune and is now “flapping his gums.”
Laura Phillips Sandpoint
Applause for Sandpoint police for ‘No Kings’ protest security… How will Ponderay support planned aquatics center?…
Dear editor,
Kudos for the Sandpoint cops shutting down coal rollers and tire burners and generally keeping a serious presence [at the June 14 “No Kings” demonstration in downtown Sandpoint].
Really good to see more young people stepping up and being there. I saw Soncirey’s comments and they are well understood [Junk Drawer, “On a more bitter note,” June 12, 2025]. Our two 30-ish kids are in the same boat — doesn’t matter where you live anymore!
Glad to see more people nationwide in all the protests, so sad that there is such a group of people out there that see gunfire and murder as the solution! At least the militia section was very small, but they are among us.
Thanks for all the work you guys do — pass it around.
Gerry O’Connor Sandpoint
Dear editor,
Pondery has a population of approximately 1,900 people. How can the residents of Ponderay afford such an aquatic center or will the financial burden be passed on to the residents and taxpayers from the city of Sandpoint?
The city of Ponderay is proposing an aquatic center built for water polo, synchronized swimming and even lifeguard training, yet Sandpoint can’t even afford to have lifeguards at City Beach and has even gone as far as removing the lifeguard stands.
As quoted in the Reader on June 12, 2025, “the plans are robust — and will likely require tens of millions of dollars, or more, to bring to fruition …”
That equates to over $10,000 for every person residing in Ponderay, or
Trestle Creek bull trout sanctuary under threat again
By Jennifer Ekstrom Reader Contributor
There are places in North Idaho where the cycles of nature unfold with a quiet, sacred beauty. One of those places is Trestle Creek — a haven for wildlife, a classroom for curious children, and a lifeline for threatened bull trout and kokanee salmon. But this precious ecosystem remains threatened by the Idaho Club’s proposal to build a marina and luxury housing development near the mouth of the creek.
Trestle Creek’s irreplaceable role in Pend Oreille Basin bull trout survival
According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Trestle Creek is the most important spawning habitat for bull trout in the entire Pend Oreille Basin. Its spawning surveys show that about half of the basin’s bull trout redds — the nests where eggs are laid — were counted there each year. The creek’s calm, shallow waters and intricate shoreline offer essential shelter and breeding grounds that are rare in the basin.
However, the most recent survey, published in 2024, delivers a stark warning: bull trout redd counts in Trestle Creek plummeted by nearly 50% in 2023 compared to the year before, and are at the lowest count on record. Bull trout are sensitive indicators of water quality and ecosystem health, and are sounding an alarm that demands immediate attention.
< LTE, con’t from Page 8 > even more if it is put on property owners only. Hopefully it isn’t just another pickleball court that is now costing residents, instead of benefiting them.
The threat to this special place
The Idaho Club’s latest proposal calls for a commercial marina with 88 boat slips, a breakwater, parking lot and seven luxury homes with private docks. They hope to excavate 12,500 cubic yards of lakebed and part of an island totaling 3.2 acres, remove natural vegetation and a beaver dam that stabilizes the shoreline and protects water quality, and harden more than 3,800 feet of shoreline.
This is not just a marina and development project — it would transform a delicate ecosystem into a hub of boat traffic, noise, garbage, pollution and human disturbance. An absence of plans for sewage pump-out stations and public restrooms threatens water quality, along with polluted runoff from houses, lawns and parking lots.
Increased boat traffic risks oil and gas leaks and the spread of invasive species. Meanwhile, a growing body of research raises concerns that electric and magnetic fields emitted by boat traffic may interfere with navigation and migration patterns for fish like bull trout, which rely on Earth’s magnetic field to return to their spawning grounds.
Permitting and approvals
Public agencies are entrusted with safeguarding public trust values: clean water, healthy fish and aesthetic beauty. Despite overwhelming public opposition — evidenced by thousands of comments and hundreds of voices at hearings over the past few years — in
Jason Smith Sagle prohibiting any sales of them.
Tell Congress members to oppose public land sales…
Dear editor,
One looming threat to Idaho residents today is that approximately 21 million acres of our public lands — part of more than 250 million acres across 11 Western states — are slated to be sold under Trump’s “One big Beautiful Bill Act” facing Congress now. This includes local recreation areas, wilderness study areas and critical animal habitat. These sales will help to support tax cuts for the wealthy. I would like to urge anyone who values our public land access to please immediately contact our congressional delegation and urge them to protect these acres by
2024 the Idaho Department of Lands approved the marina permit.
The project also requires a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which must ensure the survival of threatened and endangered species. Their draft Biological Assessment found that the development was likely to adversely affect bull trout — an important recognition of the risks to this threatened species. However, in a suspicious turn of events, a private contractor was authorized to rewrite the BA, and the conclusion was changed to say the project is not likely to adversely affect bull trout. This change definitely smells fishy.
The Idaho Conservation League is closely scrutinizing the BA to determine if its conclusion is supported by science and satisfies the Endangered Species Act.
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is drafting a water quality certification for the project. When that is released, there will be a 30-day public comment period. We are closely monitoring the process and
will inform our community when it’s time to speak up.
A community united North Idahoans cherish Trestle Creek as a natural refuge and a place where families and schoolchildren can witness the spectacle of spawning kokanee salmon and bull trout. The loss of this habitat is not just an environmental issue, it’s a loss of community heritage and a connection to the natural world.
The bull trout’s decline is a canary in a coal mine and a call for us to act with urgency and care. Protecting Trestle Creek means protecting the future of bull trout, the health of our waters and the wild spirit of North Idaho. If we let this precious habitat be compromised, we risk not only the survival of a threatened species but the loss of a treasured place where life’s cycles inspire us.
Jennifer Ekstrom is North Idaho director of the Idaho Conservation League.
Contact Sen. Mike Crapo, crapo.senate. gov/contact; Sen. Jim Risch, risch.senate. gov/contact; Rep. Russ Fulcher, fulcher.house. gov/contact; and Rep. Mike Simpson, simpson. house.gov/contact (who at this point opposes selling off public lands).
Imagine, if at least everyone who stood with signs at our “No Kings Protest” were to share their objection to any provisions that would sell off or otherwise dispose of America’s public lands, what impact we may have. Please also urge friends and family members to do the same. Keep public lands in public hands! Thanks,
Pam Duquette Sandpoint
‘Keep Idaho’s public lands in public hands’...
To the editor,
Idaho’s public lands are under threat — not from D.C. bureaucrats, but from our own elected officials and the deep-pocketed industries behind them.
Sen. Mike Crapo, for example, is one of the
top recipients of real estate industry money in Congress. In just one election cycle, nearly one-third of his $1.6 million in campaign funding came from the finance, insurance and real estate sectors. Sen. Jim Risch has also accepted hundreds of thousands from similar donors. It’s no surprise that developers, extractive corporations and timber companies — all of whom stand to profit — are pressuring lawmakers to weaken protections and shift land into state or private hands.
This is a slow-moving land grab cloaked in patriotic language. The term “local control” may sound appealing, but when federal land is turned over to the state, the enormous cost of management often results in its sale — and our access disappears along with it.
Idahoans overwhelmingly oppose selling or transferring public lands, yet our leaders continue to promote policies that benefit campaign contributors instead of the people they represent. Our lands are part of our economy, our heritage and our daily lives. They support recreation, tourism, clean water and wide-open spaces that should remain in
public hands.
We must speak out. Once these lands are gone, they’re gone forever — fenced off, sold off and lost to future generations. Keep our public lands public — and protected from those who only see dollar signs.
Chris Park
Sandpoint
Recycle used bear spray canisters at local ranger station…
Dear editor,
I have just discovered that the U.S. Forest Ranger District (1602 Ontario St.) has installed a bear spray canister recycle station. It accepts any canister, used, expired or unneeded (yes, they do expire) and is located just outside the main front door, accessible 24/7.
I found this information by accident and wanted to share.
Best regards, Lori Getts Sandpoint
Trestle Creek. Courtesy photo
Science: Mad about
medieval helmets
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist
Hear ye, hear ye! It’s my favorite time of year: Renaissance Faire season! The Sandpoint Ren Faire will be spreading merriment on Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29 at the Bonner County Fairgrounds, so I thought it would be fun to take a trip back to the past and explore some medieval helmets — some of the most iconic bits of armor ever to exist throughout the history of warfare.
Ren faires celebrate a vast period of human history from the so-called Dark Ages to the Renaissance, which encompasses about 1,100 years. At the faire you will see all manner of armor and helmets, many of which never actually co-existed.
One of the earliest forms of helmet to appear on the battlefield after the collapse of the Roman Empire was the spangenhelm. The name derives from the metal strips that act as braces for the helmet, which is effectively a metal skull cap designed to protect the brain and little else. The spangenhelm had a long evolution, originating in the times of antiquity and briefly seeing some growth and adaptation during the days of the Roman legions.
Between 600 C.E. and 1100 C.E., the spangenhelm shrank in size, going from a conical shape to a more defined half-sphere that also occasionally came with a noseguard — called a “nasal” — or metal earflaps to protect the ears and cheeks of its wearer. This was a common piece of equipment for rankand-file soldiers, rather than the common rabble that had been pulled from villages to serve their lords.
An offshoot of the spangenhelm was the heaume, or great helm that is often associated with the Knights Templar during the Crusades. This was common among the knightly crusaders of varying orders by the 12th century, often forged with a cross at the center of the helmet with visor slits for visibility. This type of helmet was often used for jousting but likely extremely hot in the deserts of the Middle East, and it’s unlikely that they were worn for long periods of time — instead, only donned during battles.
Eventually, this helmet evolved into the “frog-mouth” helm that is often associated with jousting knights and late-medieval and early-Renaissance heraldry. The frogmouth helmet was designed specifically with jousting in mind, as it curved along the jaw to deflect incoming lances and protect the wearer from accidental death and dismemberment — most of the time.
This helmet evolved into its iconic form by 1500 C.E., and many principles of the frogmouth helmet are still used in modern design, particularly those seen in explosive ordinance disposal kits. The engineering intent is that plates are angled, curved and positioned to make high-velocity projectiles deflect from the wearer, rather than simply dissipating the energy like a bulletproof vest.
The barbute helmet, or barbuta, emerged around the time of the frog-mouth, appearing in Italy by 1407 C.E. This helmet fully covers the head while leaving a T-shaped opening for the eyes, nose and mouth. It is formed from a single piece of metal and was a direct evolution of the spangenhelm skullcap. In a more
contemporary context, the barbute was an inspiration for the iconic helmet design of Boba Fett, the Mandalorian bounty hunter from Star Wars, as well as later iterations of the fictional galactic mercenary warriors.
Given Italy’s history of warfare stemming from the days of the Roman Empire, it’s likely this helmet was not only an evolution of the spangenhelm, but the Roman legionary helmets.
While helmets developed full-head coverage from 1400 C.E. to 1600 C.E., they began to shrink during the Renaissance — seeming to disappear almost entirely by the late 1600s. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that helmets returned to the battlefield, mirroring the morion helmets worn by Spanish conquistadores of the 17th century. Today, you’ve likely seen morion helmets in ceremonial settings, such as the Vatican’s Swiss Guard. They appear as rounded, open-faced kettle helmets topped with a tall metal ridge sporting frilly ornaments.
The reason for the disappearance of helmets on the battlefield was simple: They were heavy and ineffective at stopping projectiles from guns and cannons. Maneuverability and visibility became more favorable survival traits until the development of heavy artillery, whose dangers include flinging shrapnel at high velocities into crowds of clustered soldiers. Shrapnel doesn’t move with the force of a bullet, which again made helmets vital protection for soldiers in the trenches, allowing for their reintroduction into warfare.
Contemporary helmets largely follow the design of the spangenhelm, designed to
protect soldiers from explosive shrapnel more effectively than projectiles while also granting maneuverability and visibility to the wearer, unlike the knightly helms of yore.
Despite the reduced visibility of knightly helmets, a well-fitted helmet was a work of art meant to function in perfect concert with its wearer and the armor that shielded them. Armor depicted as being clunky and poorly maneuverable is mostly a work of fantasy. Medieval armor was
designed to function like steel skin that would articulate and grant its wearer a full range of motion on the battlefield or on horseback. Craftsmen would even be able to apply their skills of armorsmithing to building prosthetic limbs for nobles who lost arms and legs in battle, an art that continues to this day in the medical engineering and 3-D design fields.
Stay curious, 7B, and see you at the faire!
Random Corner
•Proto-soaps, which mixed fat and alkali and were used for cleansing, were mentioned in texts by the Sumerians, Babylonians and Egyptians, with the earliest recorded evidence dating to around 2,800 B.C.E.
•According to Roman legend, soap derives its name from the fictional Mount Sapo. Rain would wash down the mountain, mixing with animal fat and ashes, and resulting in a clay mixture that was found to make cleaning easier.
•The first liquid soap patent came in 1865 by William Sheppard, of New York. It was known as “improved liquid soap,” but was not the substance we know today, but rather had a viscous, syrupy composition.
•Candlemaker William Procter and soap manufacturer James Gamble founded Procter & Gamble in 1837. The company was later one of the first soap brands to sponsor radio broadcasts in 1927, advertising its products to housewives. The broadcasts took story form,
the most successful being The Guiding Light. Starting in 1952, the show was also broadcast on television. To this day, we refer to daytime dramas as “soap operas.”
•American entrepreneur Robert Ridgely Taylor invented numerous variants of the common bar of soap, but he hit it big when he invented a liquid soap that could be easily pumped from the bottle using a dispenser, calling it Cream Soap on Tap. The product started selling as a luxury item and soon became part of our everyday lives.
•Taylor took the product further in 1980 with his invention of a dispenser that came with a plastic cap to cover the pump. This allowed the product to sell on shelves as-is, now under the name Softsoap.
•In 1989, Taiwanese inventor Guey-Chuan Shiau fused a motion sensor with a soap dispenser, resulting in the soap delivery system now found in most public bathrooms.
Food security is on the line and Congress must protect SNAP
By Mike Hayhurst Reader Contributor
Every community in Idaho, whether it’s a rural town, a farming valley or a city neighborhood, has something in common: someone there is skipping a meal so their child can eat. That’s the reality of food insecurity. It’s not always visible, but it’s everywhere. And for more than 130,000 Idahoans, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is the difference between going hungry and making it to the end of the month.
onto states like Idaho, requiring us to pay at least 5% of the total SNAP food benefits. That means the state must come up with at least an extra $14 million each year.
forced off the program unless they meet new, complex work-reporting requirements, despite already working one or more jobs. A senior who recently turned 60 and can’t find consistent employment in rural Idaho might be told to work more or lose their grocery assistance.
total output of $80.4 million in Idaho across grocery and other retailing industries.
Idaho has always believed in helping neighbors through tough times. SNAP embodies that value by helping people bridge gaps, recover from setbacks and get back on their feet.
But right now, that lifeline is under serious threat.
Congress is considering proposals that would gut SNAP by up to $300 billion. That’s not just a line in a spreadsheet; it’s a fundamental shift in how we support families in need. These cuts would push new financial burdens
And it gets worse. The proposal also includes expanded work requirements, increasing the mandatory work participation age from 54 to 64 and shrinking the definition of a dependent child from 18 to as young as 7 years old. That means more families will lose benefits — not because they don’t need food, but because arbitrary rule changes say they no longer qualify.
Let’s break this down. If these changes take effect, an Idaho parent working a minimum wage job who has a 9-year-old child could be
These are not people abusing the system. These are people doing their best to get by in a state where food prices are rising, wages often lag inflation and access to resources is limited by geography.
SNAP is one of the most efficient federal programs we have. For every $1 in benefits issued, $1.50 is returned to the local economy. That money gets spent at grocery stores, farmers’ markets and local shops, many of which rely on SNAP customers — especially in rural areas where customers are few and margins are slim. Specifically, SNAP drove
While food banks and pantries are doing heroic work, they were never meant to replace federal nutrition programs. SNAP provides nine times more food than the charitable food network distributes each year. Cutting SNAP doesn’t just increase hunger; it overwhelms the very nonprofits people turn to when the system fails.
A Fourth of July tradition gone awry
By Todd Wendle Reader Contributor
10:45 a.m. — a few days before the Fourth of July.
“Hey Honey, do you want to go up to Bonners with me? I heard there’s an awesome fireworks stand up there. We can get lunch, too. I’ve never done any fireworks. You?”
“Yes, that sounds great! But do you really think you know what you’re doing? I’ve heard a lot of stories of fires, maiming and even death. I don’t want to be on the front page of the newspaper.”
“Nonsense! I’ve watched two or three YouTube videos. They aren’t that dangerous. Light the fuse and get back. That’s it. Get your coat and purse and let’s go.”
10:05 p.m. — “You know, dear, I think we should just try one of these! Then we’ll know what to do on the Fourth.
“Yeah, let’s get one of these babies going! You have a match?”
10:10 p.m. — “911, what is your emergency?”
“Please help! My husband just lit something called ‘Night Thunder’! It tipped over, exploded! My husband is hurt and our back woods are on fire! Can you send some help this way? Please hurry!”
10:11 p.m. — The call went out and Bonner County EMS and Sam Owen Fire responded. Quick response and lots of water later, the nearby homes were safe, smoldering blackened trees and the smell of smoke filled the night air. Luckily the husband escaped with a burned hand and a bruised ego. Without the quick response and a little wind, it all could have been much worse. If he would have just listened, he could have said, “We can go down to Memorial Field and watch the fireworks.” And instead of a burnt hand and a blackened backyard, they both could be sipping a glass of wine under a North Idaho sunset on their back porch.
So how do we proceed this coming Fourth of July?
By far, the easiest thing to do is not buy any aerial
fireworks.
In the Sam Owen Fire Department and in the state of Idaho, it is illegal to use aerial fireworks.
They have been made illegal for several reasons. Mostly that they are inherently dangerous, both to the person and the place.
Here are some statistics to ponder:
• There were nine fireworks-related deaths and 9,700 injuries just in the U.S. in 2023;
• There were 31,302 fires started by fireworks at a cost of $109 million in 2022 (National Fire Protection Association);
• Most injuries come from firecrackers, sparklers and bottle rockets;
• Adolescents have the highest rate of injury (go figure);
• Thousands of pets go missing during Fourth of July fireworks.
Second best? If you are hell-bent on doing fireworks on the Fourth of July, be safe
At its core, food security means more than just having calories to eat. It means having peace of mind if you are a parent knowing you can afford a balanced, nutritious diet that helps your kids grow. It gives you peace of mind that your co-workers can stay focused. And it helps your parents age with dignity.
We urge Idaho’s congressional delegation to reject these harmful proposals and protect SNAP. This is not about politics. It’s about whether our communities have what they need to thrive. Whether families can sit down to dinner without fear. Whether seniors can buy groceries without skipping medications. Hunger doesn’t wait for the budget to be balanced. Let’s make sure no one in Idaho faces it alone.
Mike Hayhurst has been a board member of the Idaho Foodbank since 2016 and served as the chair of the board in 2020 and 2021. Hayhurst was born and raised in southeast Idaho and graduated from Idaho State University in 1990 with a degree in accounting and has more than 30 years of experience in public accounting.
about it. Don’t say something like, “That wouldn’t happen to me,” and become another entry in the statistics above.
• Have water ready, both with a hose and a bucket of water for the spent fireworks.
• Read the directions. They are most helpful, especially if you read them before you decide to light the fuse.
• Point them away from people and anything flammable. (Like your tree-filled backyard.)
• Adult supervision is a must (sober adult supervision, that is). Alcohol and fireworks do not mix well.
• Always be careful. Those are explosives in your hands and pointed upward toward your eyes.
I know, from past experience, that “it can’t happen to me” most certainly did. And it will to you, as well.
Give it some thought this year. The Hope fireworks are spectacular from the water. Get in your boat or find someone else with a boat and take it
in. There is nothing like it. There are many displays to choose from locally. Bayview, Sandpoint, Coeur d’Alene — you name the city, they’re probably going to have a public fireworks display. Grab the blanket, the cooler and a couple of lawn chairs and head out and enjoy the celebration of our country.
And maybe, more importantly, there will be no trip to the hospital and you don’t burn your house or a neighbor’s to the ground or the woods around you.
Remember, if it can’t happen, it won’t. Be careful out there.
Todd Wendle serves with the Sam Owen Fire Department in Hope. The Reader and Sam Owen Fire are working together to provide readers with real-life actionable fire and highway safety information. If there is a subject you would like to see covered, email the author at twendle55@ gmail.com.
Mike Hayhurst. File photo
COMMUNITY Summer Sampler returns to Farmin Park
By Reader Staff
The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce is again hosting the community’s tastiest tradition with the annual Summer Sampler, which will take over Main Street between Third and Fourth avenues from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, June 26.
Attendees will be invited to enjoy food and refreshments from award-winning local restaurants and establishments, and have a chance to win two tickets to the Festival at Sandpoint.
Food tickets cost $1 each, with most samples costing between three and seven tickets.
“This is a great chance for locals and visitors alike to enjoy the best of what our area has to offer,” organizers stated.
Live music will be provided by Mattox Farm Productions, featuring southwest Montana-based roots rock
band Dead and Down.
The Summer Sampler is free and open to all ages, though participants must be 21 or older, show ID and get a wristband to purchase alcohol.
For more info, visit sandpointchamber.org.
Marsha Meury serves up a few samples of delicious Sandpoint eats. Courtesy photo
Sandpoint’s backyard
Proposed Deerfield Subdivision threatens both local rural character and
By Mac Macdonald Reader Contributor
Amid all the new developments going on in our area, a new subdivision is proposed and contiguous with the Frisbee golf course west of town off Baldy Mountain Road. The 32-acre parcel is in the county. The developer, Sandpoint City Councilor Rick Howarth, has proposed a 24-lot plat, with 22 of those being one-acre lots. Rural areas like this are usually only allowed to be subdivided into minimum 2.5acre lots. However, if either public water or sewer can be supplied, then a one-acre minimum is allowed.
As there are apparently endless amounts of water hookups available through the Syringa Water District, these lots are allowed with onsite septic approval from Panhandle
Health. Pre-treatment subsurface drainage fields will be required when the owners apply for their building location permits.
Yes, this is in my neighbor’s and my backyard. It will change our world, with the impact of construction and then a neighborhood like nothing the Baldy and Gooby valleys have ever seen. We all assumed that someday someone would come along and develop 2.5-acre lots. The valley is now composed mostly of agricultural and farm-type properties. As you leave the industrial zone and cross the tracks, mount the hill past the Frisbee golf course and climb to the top of the hill next to the farm there, you get a breath of fresh air and a view of the valley and mountains.
The density of housing, pavement, curb and gutter, and hydrants
— along with the traffic generated — does not reflect the spirit or character of the area.
Howarth was appointed to the Sandpoint City Council by Mayor Jeremy Grimm. In a Reader article dated April 25, 2024, he replied when asked what was the biggest environmental concern facing Sandpoint in the future: management of runoff from the mountains into Lake Pend Orielle. This whole site borders and drains into Syringa Creek and Chuck Slough, then Lake Pend Oreille.
Howarth also mentioned how he would like to help guide the community so his family would like to come back to this area that he loves so much. Had any of this been true, he might have left his family the 32 acres in an Agricultural Easement, which the state of Idaho recently
asked all counties to make available. That, with designated building sites and utilities, would surely be something to come back to. He should reconsider who he is really representing.
This subdivision will impact wetlands and wildlife in the area. More consideration is needed due to the increased traffic, railroad location, fire suppression, water supply and septic runoff. Once development of these types of subdivisions is started, the domino effect will continue west through the valley.
A better plan for the area is to keep it rural and provide access to the people of Sandpoint for recreation.
Yes, this is my backyard, but it is Sandpoint’s backyard as well.
Image Maker owner killed in crash was quintessentially Sandpoint
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
Sandpoint lost one of its cherished small business owners on June 13.
Mike Hammersberg, 72, was embarking on a summer vacation with his wife Randi, 66, and daughter Michaella, 35, when an 18-year-old driver struck them while speeding and failed to maintain her lane of travel during an attempt to pass. The speeding vehicle collided with the Hammersbergs’ SUV and caused it to roll over several times.
Mike was declared dead at the scene. Randi and daughter Miki were flown by helicopter to hospitals in Missoula and Seattle, respectively, where they are fighting for their lives.
To call this a tragedy doesn’t begin to approach how devastating of a blow it is to those who knew and loved this wonderful family, which has owned and operated Image
Maker — the only camera shop and developer in Sandpoint — for many years.
Mike would be an immediate inclusion in any novel filled with Sandpoint characters. He wore flowing Hawaiian shirts, played in a Hall and Oates tribute band and always had a smile on his face. You’d be hard-pressed to meet a nicer guy.
I grew to know Mike, Randi and Miki over the years before I ran this newspaper, when I worked as a freelance photographer who shot only film. Mike and I often stood at his counter discussing my recent travels, photography, Sandpoint in general or anything else that came up. He was usually the first person I’d see after returning home, toting a half dozen rolls of black-and-white film to develop. Afterward, when I would pick up the film, we’d stand for another half an hour talking about where I’d been,
my favorite part of the trip and how much he enjoyed the images he saw while developing them.
Mike loved to talk. He was interested in all his customers, and always asked me how the Reader was doing, ending the conversation with a promise to get in another ad soon.
The last time we spoke he was so excited to embark on this summer’s vacation to visit a location where his ancestors had gathered while making their way west to homestead.
I was going to connect with him when he got back in the hopes of writing an article in the Reader about it. It sounded like a really cool plan, but ended in tragedy.
I felt a kinship with Mike for many reasons, mainly because we both operated anachronistic businesses that defied the odds by continuing to exist in today’s digital world. Knowing ImageMaker was there, just around the corner,
always gave me happiness. It’s one of those old-school Sandpoint businesses that, when it’s gone, it’ll likely never be replaced. It is, as was Mike, quintessentially Sandpoint.
When I heard Mike was gone, it was like a chair was pulled from under me. He was such a wonderful man. With Randi and Miki in critical condition, now is the time to do what Sandpointians do when our fellow residents are in trouble: help.
Family and friends started
a GoFundMe page to support Randi and Miki on the long road of recovery ahead of them. As of June 25, $46,518 has been raised toward the $50,000 goal. Donate here: bit.ly/Hammersberg.
Thank you for all the great conversations, Mike. We’ll take care of your family as best we can from here. Rest in peace, brother.
From left to right: Randi, Michaella and Mike Hammersberg. Courtesy photo
Chamber announces Volunteer and Business of the Month — and a new leader
By Reader Staff
The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce released news of both its Volunteer and Business of the Month, as well as announcing that Olivia Caso would be taking the reins of the organization from Mickey Quinn.
The chamber announced Caso as its new executive director in its June 9 newsletter, her statement reading, in part, “I am a fifth-generation Sandpoint resident and deeply care about the town and the success of those in it. I know how wonderful this area is and that our local businesses and non-profits are the heart of our community.”
Longtime locals may know Caso as the daughter of former-Daily Bee Publisher David Keyes and writer Marlisa Keyes, and from her time as Communications and Resources specialist at the chamber.
Quinn will remain with the chamber as an adviser and volunteer.
“I would like to recognize all the hard work, care and professionalism [that chamber leaders] have poured into making the chamber what it is today,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, Justine Murray has been honored as the chamber’s June Volunteer of the Month, highlighting her “outstanding service, advocacy and deep-rooted commitment to the Sandpoint community.”
Owner of downtown Sandpoint gift shop La Chic Boutique for more than 12 years, Murray is also the founder and executive director of the Ethan Murray Fund — a nonprofit organization estab-
lished in memory of her son to increase access to mental health care.
The fund has provided therapy scholarships for both teens and adults, as well as high school scholarships for students affected by mental health challenges or those pursuing careers in the mental health field.
“[Murray’s] tireless efforts have helped bridge vital gaps in care and support for individuals and families throughout the region,” the chamber stated, noting that Murray runs the nonprofit alongside her husband, Matt Connery, and their daughter Cora.
Through La Chic Boutique and her nonprofit efforts, Murray has supported NAMI Far North, coordinated backpack care kits for those in need and, for the past six years, collected and donated new socks to Bonner Homeless Transitions.
An avid hiker and backpacker, Murray and Connery hiked the 900mile Idaho Centennial Trail in 2021, raising nearly $70,000 for the Ethan Murray Fund.
The June Business of the Month award goes to The 219 Lounge, “honoring its longstanding history and outstanding commitment to the local community,” the chamber stated.
The 219 has been a fixture in downtown Sandpoint since 1937, serving as a gathering place for locals and visitors alike. Under the ownership of Mel and Claudia Dick since 2005, the chamber stated that “what truly sets The 219 Lounge apart is its deep-rooted culture of giving back. Over the past two decades, the business has collaborated
with over 30 nonprofit organizations, providing both financial support and creative donations such as private cocktail classes, mixology courses and whiskey tasting experiences.”
The business has supported local causes and organizations such as Pine Street Woods, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Idaho Wildlife Foundation, the former Kinderhaven organization, CHAFE 150 and numerous Rotary golf tournaments. The 219 has also been involved with the Panhandle Alliance for Education, the chamber, Tourism Council and Sandpoint Rotary.
“As a local landmark that blends tradition with community-minded generosity, The 219 Lounge exempli-
‘My Artrepreneur Program’ helps turn creative practices into thriving businesses
By Reader Staff
The Idaho Commission on the Arts, in partnership with the Pend Oreille Arts Council, is bringing the nationally recognized My Artrepreneur Program to Sandpoint — an intensive, hands-on business course designed for working artists.
Participants will be guided through the essential tools and strategies needed to build a sustainable career in the arts — from branding and pricing to crafting a business plan and building a customer base.
The program includes more than 40 hours of instruction over four weekends from July to November, hosted at the University of Idaho Organic
Agriculture Center (10881 N. Boyer Road, in Sandpoint).
Registration is now open and limited — “intended for artists who are serious about growing their creative business,” according to organizers. The cost is $300 to attend, which includes all course materials and lunches (though not lodging).
are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays and 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Sundays.
fies what it means to be a truly exceptional business in Bonner County,” the chamber stated.
Classes are scheduled for Saturdays and Sundays, July 19-20, Aug. 2-3, Sept. 13-14 and Nov. 15-16. Times
To learn more or register, visit arts. idaho.gov/map, email john.mcmahon@arts.idaho.gov or call 208-3342119.
Artist Daris Judd teaches an art class. Courtesy photo
Left: Justine Murray. Above: Claudia and Mel Dick. Courtesy photos
Feast and make merry The Sandpoint Renaissance Faire returns
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
Lords and ladies, knights and knaves, the wait is over. The annual Sandpoint Renaissance Faire returns to the Bonner County Fairgrounds (4203 N. Boyer Road, Sandpoint) on Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., ready to welcome an estimated 7,500 people to the all-day festivities.
“Prepare thyselves for merriment, Sandpoint. May we foster your curiosity, ignite your creativity and deliver you a most entertaining Renaissance experience,” said Sandpoint Renaissance Association President — and the faire’s Queen Elizabeth I — Tanya Anderson.
The faire will take up its usual sprawling layout, with more than 50 vendors, multiple stages and different hands-on experiences like mock battles, archery practice and blacksmithing. Throughout the wooded and open areas, belly dancers, aerialists, musicians and the Pacific Northwest’s famous Seattle Knights will stage daring feats and dramatic productions to
mesmerize and astound.
“I like to believe our faire is unique in many ways, starting with the foundation,” Anderson said. “A small handful of ‘business savvy’ women created an idea and manifested it into what it is today. We didn’t exactly know what we were doing; we were just using the skills we did have to achieve an outcome. ...
“[The faire] is such a beautiful way for so many different talents to come together in one event, be it the entertainment, merchants or the volunteers, they each bring their own uniqueness,” she added.
Daily tickets are $18 for adults and $14 for kids and seniors, while weekend tickets are $32 for adults or $24 for kids and seniors. Proceeds help fund next year’s faire as well as area nonprofits. Last year, funds went to Helping Hands Healing Hearts, Sandpoint Christian School, Music Conservatory of Sandpoint, the Panida Theater and Bonner Community Food Bank. Additionally, 100% of alcohol sales go to the local VFW Vietnam Veterans Chapter to
help soldiers with PTSD.
“Thank you to my fellow board members, Shaun Chaffee, Sarrah Morton, Cassandra Robinson and Anita Pew — who also serves as our faire director — for the endless hours of time you each put into making this such a beautiful event,” said Anderson.
“A special thank you for the support of my role as Queen Elizabeth I,” she added. “I am always and forever in gratitude to all my ladies and guards who have served my role over the years.
Some have come and gone, those who are with me now, you know who you are and I know that I am most blessed to have your love and support.”
Visit sandpointrenfaire.com for more information or to purchase tickets. Organizers are looking for a new venue to host in 2026. Reach out through the website’s volunteer portal if you’re interested in hosting.
Attendees at the Sandpoint Renaissance Faire.
Photo by Karley Coleman
Read the winning poems from the Celebrations of Trees writing event
By Reader Staff
The Sandpoint branch of the East Bonner County Library District partnered with Kaniksu Land Trust and Ooh La La Arboriculture to host a Celebration of Trees in May, instilling the love of trees to those who partici-
pated. As part of the event, local poets submitted poems that exemplify their love of trees. The Reader agreed to publish the winning poems, and we’re happy to present them here.
Three winners were selected — one from age 12 and under and two from age 13 and older. Winners received
Age 13 and under winner: Age 13 to adult
a $25 gift card and have their work published in this newspaper.
Thanks to all who submitted work, and congratulations to Luke Craig, Robens Napolitan and Vanessa Nickerson for sending winning entries.
Behemoth Tree Silver Lining Cherry Spring
By Logan Craig
There’s a giant, behemoth tree
That I’ve always liked to see.
Its limbs being long, its trunk being strong, But it almost looks like it got hit by a gong.
It got zapped by lightning on that day But still held on all the way.
It is a pine, and it’s quite fine And definitely taller than me while I’m nine.
The top is dead, got hit hard by that strike But that’s how there is no other tree alike.
At the top there is still some life As the bugs put up with a lot of strife.
The pileated woodpeckers perch at the top And the bugs hope that the pecking will stop.
For a tree that’s so tall, so strong, and so old And got struck by lightning, it truly is bold.
That’s why this tree really stands out to me
Got struck by lightning and yet it happened to survive And even today it’s partly alive.
My name is Logan and I am 9 years old. I just finished fourth grade and I am homeschooled. I enjoy playing LEGO, baseball and reading books. My favorite books are the Hank the Cowdog books. I have written one other poem about a raccoon and a squirrel just for fun. I was born in N.C. but I have loved living in North Idaho for the past seven years.
By S. Robens Napolitan
Long ago, and in a state far away my father planted a tree, a poplar, I think. It grew and grew in the years we lived on Clearview Avenue.
I remember his using the tree’s leaves to forecast the weather. When they turned their underside up, and shimmered like silver, he said it would rain. He was most often right.
S.Robens Napolitan is an 80-yearsyoung artist, writer and master gardener. She is a member of a long-running Monday Writers group and is currently collaborating with her husband Tom Kramer on an everyday drawing and short story Instagram post, in which Tom does the drawing, she colors it and they write a story for it. Their Instagram handle is @ thedailytomandrobens. She writes poetry when the spirit moves her.
By Vanessa Nickerson
In hush of dawn, when soft winds sigh, The cherry trees wake beneath the blushing sky. Their branches bare, now clothed in light, A thousand petals bloom overnight.
Like snowfall touched by morning’s kiss, They drift in pink and silent bliss. Each blossom hums a song so sweet, Of time reborn and hearts that beat.
The air is laced with perfumed dreams, A dance of bees, of brooks and streams. The world forgets its winter gray, As petals twirl in soft ballet.
Beneath their shade, the earth grows mild, The sun turns gentle, warm and mild. And every soul that wanders through Finds something bright, and something new.
So fleeting is their gentle reign, A whisper caught in April rain — Yet in their bloom, we come alive, For cherry spring reminds to thrive.
Vanessa Nickerson has loved reading since she was a child and was thrilled to begin working at the Sandpoint Library in 2016. She developed a passion for writing in 2011 when she started her first novel. Since then, Vanessa has published seven books. Although she has only dabbled in poetry, she appreciates how it can create vivid imagery with words, as she has an affinity for beautiful expressions. When she’s not at the library, Vanessa enjoys working with fiber, including spinning yarn, weaving and crocheting. She also cherishes time spent with her husband and their two feline friends.
Backpacking the Balkans, Part II
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
In the first installment of this travelogue, my partner Cadie and I had just completed the arduous hike through the Accursed Mountains in northern Albania, arriving in the beautiful village of Theth.
The day after our eight-hour trek, we lazed around the guest house perched on a hillside overlooking the incredible range of mountains that surround and protect this little shire. The air was cool and crisp, with a feeling of rain on the way. Sure enough, after breakfast, the clouds opened up and we played cards for hours as a torrential downpour settled in for the day. I thought of all the hikers that were caught in the elements on their treks over the mountains and wished them luck.
Theth is a bit more developed than Valbonë, with new guest houses popping up everywhere. Ten years ago, there was very little development in Theth. Ten years in the future, the quaint charm of this village will likely be supplanted by soulless tourist traps. But today, it’s still beautiful.
Our host brought us another round of Peja beers and lingered a bit, telling us about the locals in Theth who are fighting to keep it local. He shook his head and told us about Sazan, the last undeveloped island off the coast of Albania, which was sold to the Trump family to be developed into a luxury resort — as soon as they remove all the unexploded ordnance, of course. The locals call the island Ishulli i Trumpëve, or “Trump Island,” and none are happy about it.
“But we are a bit crazy here in Theth and we won’t allow that kind of oligarch development here,” our host told us. “We will fight them if they try it here. These are all locally-owned guest houses. We are tired of outsiders coming here and trying to buy up all of our land. Do you know what I mean?”
Yes, brother, I know exactly what you mean. I was born and raised in Sandpoint and have been watching that kind of thing happen all of my life. Same old story.
After three days of wandering the quiet meadows filled with wildflowers and photographing stone churches against the backdrop of the mountains, we bade Theth farewell and boarded a shuttle that climbed into the clouds and delivered us above them. We wound
through peaceful valleys tilled by ancient farmers while their stock lingered nearby, as they have done for generations. We reached Shkodër again and drank a quick beer before transferring to another bus headed north into Montenegro.
The five-hour ride followed large Lake Shkodër and, after a cursory stop at the border, we admired another stamp in our passports. Our destination was Kotor, an ancient fortress city tucked in a bay of the Adriatic Sea.
Kotor Bay resembles a fjord, with fingers of the waterway providing respite from the elements at sea. The bus dropped us a five-minute walk from old town Kotor — a UNESCO World Heritage Site surrounded by a fortress built by the Venetians in the 16th and 17th centuries.
We crossed over an actual moat into the southern gate, then wound with our packs through the narrow cobbled streets to the other side of the fortress, where our rental was located. Everywhere your eyes fell was a photograph: the ancient stone walls, the ramparts with generations of flowers sprouting between them, the beautifully dilapidated doorways, the arches and churches that give this place a special feeling.
The most famous residents of Kotor are its cats. They are literally everywhere. You’ll see them sunning on castle walls, roaming underfoot, lying unmolested on piazza tables. It was clear that Kotor was their city and we were just visitors. These felines were living in the closest thing to cat heaven this world has ever known and I loved them all for it.
They were all clean and well fed thanks to local shopkeepers keeping bowls of food and water outside their storefronts.
The cats of Kotor are descended from the felines brought off the boats of ancient mariners. Many consider the cats symbols of good luck — especially because they helped keep the town disease-free by hunting all the mice and other rodents.
It was a pleasant way to end a day: drinking a beer on a castle wall with a purring kitty in your lap.
A cruise ship puts in at Kotor, which means the fortress is crawling with people at midday; but, as we discovered on our second day, if you wake at sunrise, you can wander the castle walls until about 10 a.m. before the hordes of cruisers descend.
Cadie and I did just this our third morning in Kotor, splitting up and experiencing our own quiet morning in the ancient city. I must have taken 90 photographs just of the peeling, arched doorways and stone walls that spoke to me at every twist and bend.
The food inside the fortress was good, but more expensive than places outside the walls, so we walked to the beach and shared some cheap gyros. Beer was also cheaper outside the walls, so we hoofed it a few blocks and got monumentally day drunk at a local bar on Nikšićko beer, inventing a new dice game along the way.
Soon, it was time to move on, back into Albania to meet up with our friend Lucia, who was flying over from her time in Southeast Asia.
We stopped one more time in Shkodër, running into the cousin of our guest house host at a pizza place, proving it is indeed a small world. The next day it was onto Tirana to rent a car, pick up Lucia from the airport and head south.
Cadie and I spent about five hours < see BALKANS, page 19 >
The southern gate of the Kotor Fortress in Montenegro. Photo by Ben Olson
in an airport restaurant courtyard, drinking beer and hiding from the hot sun while we waited for Lucia’s new flight (she missed her first one, putting a slight delay on our travels).
Before long, we were speeding down the Albanian countryside in a rented Volkswagen, navigating the roundabouts and strange twists and turns like old pros. I seem to be specially engineered to drive in foreign countries. There’s something about the lawless, every-driver-for-themself vibe that speaks to me. Cadie and Lucia might have different interpretations of my driving abilities after several near-misses, but what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, I suppose.
Before sunset, we arrived in Berat, staying in an Italian-style villa just feet from the walls of another castle (for only $30 a night, no less).
We walked up the hill to the castle entrance, stopping at a terraced restaurant that was devoid of customers. This is where we met the fabled Angelo, the restaurateur who proceeded to get us drunk on rakija, a traditional 100-proof Albanian grape brandy that varies in taste from battery acid to high-grade moonshine.
Angelo poured a complimentary carafe of rakija for the table and, whenever he noticed it was empty, would fill it again. He was proud of the liquor, proclaiming that he made it himself. Because we were his only customers, he gave us his undivided attention — and lots more rakija.
The meal was excellent: kebabs, salad, spinach-filled pastries, chicken and wine.
“Rakija is good to drink at night... for the ladies,” Angelo whispered in my ear at one point. “I take two every morning with my cup of coffee. I have many children.”
After three hours of eating like lords, we paid the bill and laughed at the paltry amount. It was somewhere around $45 for three of us, with enough booze to stun a small horse. But Angelo wasn’t finished. He produced a wicker jug and insisted on pouring more rakija in a water bottle for us to take home and drink later, even providing us with three glasses to go.
We toasted to his health as swayed down the street in the general direction of our rental.
From Berat we traveled to the beach for a few days in the sun before the end of our trip. After hitting a foul ball in the city of Vlorë, where our rental was dirty and the town was an industrial port city, we checked out immediately and left to drive mystical mountain-lined roads where there were more sheepherders than buildings, ending up
at the cute town of Himarë a few hours south. This place was more our speed.
There was a promenade and several small, neat beaches with only a minimal amount of development.
Walking across town in the direction of the beach convinced us to spend the day. Near the beach, I noticed a gated cave surrounded by trash and cheesy constructions.
Upon closer examination, I read this was the Spile Cave. For those not versed in Homer, the Spile Cave is the mythical home of the cyclops Polyphemus in Homer’s Odyssey
That’s the thing about traveling in Europe — you can throw a rock in any direction and hit something that has historic significance. For history nerds like myself, that’s about as good as it gets.
Cadie, Lucia and I rented an umbrella for the day and proceeded to drink Korça beers, also finishing off the last of the rakija Angelo poured for us the night before.
Hours later, we stumbled back to our rental and slept it off. I woke up to find that I was more sunburned than I’d ever been, plus hungover on a few different types of beer and
tic Ocean bound for home, I penned a few final thoughts about the Balkans in my journal.
It’s a complex region with hurt that still festers just beneath the surface. Just a few decades ago there were civil wars raging in the same beautiful landscapes through which we traveled, but today the people are healing. There are still rivalries and probably always will be, but the Balkans are becoming the next place to visit that hasn’t yet been turned upside down by tourism.
liquor. I dubbed the hangover/sunburn a “hangburn” and wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemies.
Packing gingerly and moving like a slug through a salt pile, we loaded the car and headed out of Himarë along a beautiful coast road that rivaled the Pacific Coast Highway in every way.
Back in Berat, we spent our last night in Albania on the terrace of our rental, listening to the muezzin calling Muslims to prayer from the minarets scattered about the city. It’s a peaceful sound and one that confirms you are not in Kansas anymore.
The next day, we drove back to the airport at Tirana, dropped off the rental car and hopped a bus to the eastern station, saying goodbye to Lucia, who was headed to Bosnia for another stint of working in hostels and farms.
A long bus ride up and over the Albanian mountains led us back into Macedonia, where our trip began.
We drank Skopsko and Zlaten Dab beers, enjoying one final meal in Skopje before our early morning flight took us up and away from our Balkan adventure.
Flying 30,000 feet above the Atlan-
The prices are about half what we pay for things in the U.S., except for fuel. The food is healthy, delicious, and not filled with preservatives and empty calories. The beers are simply wonderful, every one of them. The people are friendly and many went out of their way to take care of us. We were all sad to say farewell to this beautiful place.
A few people asked before and after the trip, “Weren’t you scared to travel there?” Not for a second. Travel is a state of mind. It’s a way to gain perspective on the world that isn’t at our doorstep. It’s a vehicle to see the world not wrapped in our American gauze. Fear only gets in the way of the experience.
My biggest takeaway from this trip was realizing that the people of the Balkans — especially Albanians — have figured out a better way to live. I hope to keep that close in my life after coming back to the U.S. in its current ailing state. It was wonderful to take a break from the national toxicity that has become our everyday reality, if only for three glorious weeks in May.
Safe travels to you all and thanks for reading.
Top left: One of the hundreds of cats of Kotor, which are treated as good luck omens by the local shopkeepers. Left: The Berat Castle in Berat, Albania. Above: Berat, Albania restaurateur Angelo pours homemade rakija out of a wicker jug as Cadie Archer wonders how they’ll be able to drink it all.
Photos by Ben Olson
COMMUNITY
101 Women Sandpoint recruiting new members
By Reader Staff
101 Women Sandpoint is calling for new members to join the local nonprofit, which provides two $11,000 grants each year to organizations that provide essential services and meet vital needs in the community.
Membership requires a $225 donation, which is pooled with other members’ donations to fund grants that are given out in the fall and spring after recipients are selected from among three applicants in a vote.
The spring cycle is geared toward area nonprofits focused on food, clothing, shelter, physical and mental health, safety and other basic services. The fall cycle awards grants for nonprofits providing arts, education, recreation and environmental services.
Recipients are selected at two events each year, during which applicants present their missions and funding needs. Members get one vote per event, helping contribute a total of $22,000.
Apply for membership at 101WomenSandpoint. com. Applications are accepted through Oct. 31.
View a podcast with co-founders Becca Orchard and current President Vicki Reich on YouTube at bit.ly/4lquTLj.
To read a PDF of the 101 Women Sandpoint 2024 Annual Report, go to bit.ly/44alhNy.
dumb of the week
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
Greetings from the Land of Dumb. Here are a few choice selections this week:
Iran my mouth
President Donald Trump bombed nuclear facilities in Iran, prompting a retaliatory strike by Iran on U.S. bases in Qatar and Iraq. In case anyone has forgotten, Trump campaigned relentlessly as a “no war” president — even before he announced he’d run for the office. Here is a tiny selection of the dozens of statements he has made that have now aged like milk in the sun: “In order to get elected, Barack Obama will start a war with Iran.” (Nov. 29, 2011); “Barack Obama will attack Iran in order to get re-elected.” (Jan. 17, 2012); “I predict that President Obama will at some point attack Iran in order to save face!” (Sept. 16, 2013); “Remember what I previously said — Obama will someday attack Iran in order to show how tough he is.” (Sept. 25, 2013); “Remember that I predicted a long time ago that President Obama will attack Iran because of his inability to negotiate properly — not skilled!” (Nov. 10, 2013); “... GOING INTO THE MIDDLE EAST IS THE WORST DECISION EVER MADE.....” (Oct. 9, 2019); “... Kamala and her warmonger Cabinet will invade the Middle East, get millions of Muslims killed...” (Nov. 4, 2024).
Another point that Trump hammered incessantly over the years is his detestation of “regime change” in the Middle East. On June 22 — a day after the U.S. bombs dropped in Iran — he posted, “It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime Change???”
To wrap up this turd sandwich, a Republican congressman nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize for the
Iran-Israel ceasefire, after Trump declared the 12-day conflict “over.”
Trump has been nominated for the prize several times over the years, but has never won, which has apparently gotten under his skin — as evidenced by this post on June 20: “No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be. But the people know, and that’s all that matters to me!”
Trump appeared to back away from his “regime change” remarks on June 25, telling reporters, “I don’t want it. I’d like to see everything calm down as quickly as possible. Regime change takes chaos, and ideally, we don’t want to see so much chaos, so we’ll see how it does.”
Ugh. I’m tired, boss.
Not how that works
In 2024, Florida GOP Rep. Kat Cammack had a neardeath experience due to Florida’s extreme abortion ban.
Cammack, who is also the co-chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus, learned that her child’s embryo had grown outside of the uterus where the fallopian tube meets — a life-threatening situation. A doctor told her, “If this ruptures, it’ll kill you,” and determined she would need a shot of methotrexate to terminate her potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy. Or, in other words, an abortion. The only problem was, Florida’s newly enacted six-week abortion ban made medical professionals hesitant to save her life because they might lose their licenses or even be prosecuted and jailed. After hours of arguments, the doctors finally gave Cammack the life-saving care she needed. Months later, Cammack is pregnant again. Instead of using her near-death experience to point to the lethal dangers posed by extreme abortion bans, she instead blames “the left” for “fearmongering” and refuses to define her operation as an abortion. Sigh.
Send event listings to calendar@sandpointreader.com
Free live comedy night w/ Grant Winkels
7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Minneapolis-based stand-up comic will perform free at IPA! Opener Ben Olson on guitar and stories
Live Music w/ Frytz
8-11pm @ Roxy’s
Live Music w/ Ian Newbill
5-8pm @ Pearls, Beyond Hope
Live Music w/ Waterhouse
6-8:30pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co.
A mix of blues, bluegrass and folk
Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Live Music w/ Headwaters
6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Live Music w/ Ian Newbill
6-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
Live Music w/ Tom Boy Band 9pm-midnight @ 219 Lounge
Live Music w/ Sydney Dawn
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Live Music w/ Andru Gomez
5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Americana, blues and rock
Live Music w/ Monarch Mountain Band
5:30-8:30pm @ Barrel 33
Live Music w/ Liam Russell
6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Kyle Swaffard, Benny Baker
5:30-8:30pm @ Smokesmith BBQ
Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee
Magic with Star Alexander
5-8pm @ Jalapeño’s
Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz
1-4pm @ Pearls at Beyond Hope
Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi
7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
THURSDAY, june 26
Live Music w/ Cam Morris
6-8:30pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co. Folk and Americana storytelling tunes
Live trivia ($5 entry)
7pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Bubble Palooza
10-11:30am @ Lakeview Park
A free, fun-filled celebration for families
FriDAY, june 27
Live Music w/ Ken Mayginnes 6-9pm @ 1908 Saloon
Live Music w/ Double Shot & Toshi 5pm @ Connie’s Lounge Celebration for Toshi’s 50th birthday
Live Music w/ Dario Ré
5:30-8:30pm @ Barrel 33
Live Music w/ Kenny James Miller Band 5:30-8:30pm @ Smokesmith BBQ
SATURDAY, june 28
Nu Jack City: Pre-Funkin’ for the Fourth 8pm @ The Hive Motown, soul, funk, R&B party band!
Sandpoint Farmers’ Market
9am-1pm @ Farmin Park
Fresh produce, artisan goods, music
Cottage Market
10am-4pm @ River of Life Church
Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 6-8pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante
Live Music w/ The Cole Show
4-7pm @ Schweitzer
Live Music w/ Riley Anderson 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
SunDAY, june 29
Live Music w/ Jenny Christofferson
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Electric jazz improv
Sandpoint Renaissance Faire 10am-6pm @ Bonner County Fairgrounds
Outdoor Experience group run 6pm @ Outdoor Experience 3-5 miles, all levels welcome
monDAY, june 30 tuesDAY, july 1
In a Landscape: Classical Music in the Wild • 3-4:30pm @ Schweitzer
June 26 - July 3, 2025
Summer Sampler & Sandpoint
Summer Music Series opener w/ The Dead and Down
5-8pm @ Farmin Park
This event brings the finest Sandpoint restaurants and caterers to Farmin Park for a sample of their delicious food
POAC Annual Art Party
5pm @ Sandpoint Organic Ag. Center Get tickets at artinsandpoint.org
Live Music w/ Jordan Paddock 7pm @ The Hive
Line dancing lessons at 7:30pm ($10), country band starts at 8:30pm ($5)
Live Music w/ Justin Lantrip 6-8pm @ Baxter’s on Cedar
Sandpoint Renaissance Faire 10am-6pm @ Bonner County Fairgrounds
One of Sandpoint’s most unique annual gatherings! Read Page 16 for more info, or: sandpointrenfaire.com
Tai Chi at City Beach
9:30-10:30am @ Sandpoint City Beach
Dance and nightclub two-step lessons 7-10pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall Nightclub two-step lesson at 7pm, general dancing from 8-10pm. $10
Live Music w/ Chris Paradis 6-8pm @ Baxter’s on Cedar
Kanikapila Sunday (jam session)
3pm @ Sunshine on Cedar (Cedar St. Bridge) A Hawaiian-themed jam session! BYO-instrument
Live Music w/ Fiddlin’ Red 1-4pm @ Barrel 33
Trivia night
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Pool tournament ($10 entry) 6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Pianist Hunter Noack tours around with a 1912 Steinway concert grand piano on a flatbed trailer, bringing classical music to stunning natural places in the West. Tickets $85, includes chairlift ride. Tickets: schweitzer.com
Family Happy Hour
5-7pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co.
With live music by John Firshi
Artist reception: Heather Mehra-Pedersen
5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
PO Winery’s Arist of the Month for July and August. heatherscolors.com
wednesDAY, july 2
Sandpoint Farmers’ Market
3-5:30pm @ Farmin Park
Fresh produce, artisan goods, music
ThursDAY, july 3
Live trivia ($5 entry)
7pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live piano w/ Dwayne Parsons 4-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Mountainhead skewers the broligarchy, but its satire is almost documentary
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
It’s hard to say when the dark comedy film Mountainhead slips from parody to portraiture, but it does, and the result is the picture of Dorian Gray for the contemporary tech-billionaire bros ruining the world in real life.
Written and directed by Succession showrunner Jesse Armstrong and released May 31 on HBO Max, Mountainhead has a straightforward premise: four titans of tech and finance gather for a dudes-only weekend in a monstrous mansion atop a remote Utah mountain, ostensibly to unwind and enjoy some debaucherous bonding time.
However, the world is collapsing beyond the snow-capped peaks of Park City, and it’s mostly the fault of the foursome ribbing each other over their respective net worths.
First there is Venis (Cory Michael Smith), whose social media platform Traam has just rolled out an AI content generation tool that is immediately used to create incendiary deepfakes that spark violence around the globe. His response in an online post: “Fuuck.” Traam has made Venis the richest man in the world, and the explosion of its use is only making him richer by the second.
Then there’s Jeff (Ramy Youssef), whose company has invented software to filter out the kind of misinformation Traam is spewing. Of the four, he’s the only one with even a glimmer of a conscience. However, he can’t help but notice that the longer chaos reigns, the more valuable his product will become and the more necessary it will be for Venis to buy it. He spends much of the first two acts of the movie obsessively watching his wealth soar upward while bemoaning the atrocities that are helping fuel his valuation.
Filling the role of “wise old sage,” Randall (Steve Carell) is a venture capitalist with a penchant for quoting philosophy out of context to appear profound — at one point snarling, “I take Kant really fucking seriously.” However, he is haunted by his own mortality, having been given a terminal cancer diagnosis just prior to arriving at the lodge (and which he’s kept secret). This lends an air of desperation to his soliloquies about who “could get us to post-human in five [years]” and
the necessity of uploading human consciousness to the cloud and therefore achieve immortality.
Finally there’s Hugo (Jason Schwartzman), whose wealth amounts to a paltry $500 million, making him the only non-billionaire of the group and earning him the nickname “Souper” or “Soups,” à la “Soup Kitchen.” Hugo is simpering in his desire to join his “friends” among the rulers of tech, finding every opportunity to bring up his idea for a meditation app in a cringey bid for investment.
The characters assemble at Hugo’s abode — the titular Mountainhead, which is a clear allusion to Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, and for which the bros ridicule him. Noting the frigid glass-and-concrete style of his architectural blasphemy, Jeff asks, “Was your interior decorator Ayn Bland?”
All that in the first 10 minutes, and we’re off to the doom-struck races as the unraveling conditions in the rest of the world mirror the spiralling relationships and ever-increasing absurdity of the conversations inside the mansion (there’s an entire subplot that includes the bros trying to decide which small country to buy and ride out the disintegration of the world order).
Fans of Succession will find many throughlines to Armstrong’s acclaimed series, but while Mountainhead is full of his signature rapid-fire banter, peppered with the ludicrous neologisms of the uber-rich (word salad like “AI dooming and decelerationist alarmism,” “we’re completionists” and “founder energy,” for example),
it’s somehow more pitch-black and despairing in its satire.
The media mogul Roy dynasty in Succession included genuine power-playing, suit-clad predators, at least some of whom could be considered “serious.” The broligarchs ensconced in Mountainhead are man-baby frat boys who confuse their wealth for genius but are too dumb to realize they’re simply parasites in a diseased economic system. There is nothing “serious” about any of them, as they spout pseudo-intellectual gibberish like wondering aloud if “other people are real” and futurist claptrap like calling Earth a “solid starter planet.”
Every character is profoundly pathetic and clearly a failed human being on every level that matters. However, their obscene wealth does what obscene wealth always does: blind its possessors as completely as a world filled with AI deepfakes destroys objective reality.
It’s only the actors’ devilishly apt portrayal of their various characters’ repulsiveness that saves Mountainhead from being a soul-crushing slog. Still, it leaves the viewer feeling queasy — not so much for what’s happening on the screen, but for the realization that it’s barely a caricature and the system that creates pricks like these needs to be killed before they get all of us killed.
Steve Carell, Ramy Youssef, Jason Schwartzman and Cory Michael Smith in Mountainhead. Courtesy photo
By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist
I’ve done a fair amount of entertaining this month, and one of my favorite go-to offerings has seen a lot of action: quiche! A dear friend has generously shared plenteousness from her well-loved and tended hens. Nothing compares to a barnyard egg in taste or appearance, and my own beautiful golden quiches have never looked or tasted better.
I took my first bite of quiche about 50 years ago at Ichabod’s. It was a trendy bistro in Helena, Mont., serving bold fare with a flair. This sophisticated ’70s dining experience was memorable: a golden wedge of creamy quiche Lorraine plated alongside a fresh spinach salad loaded with bacon, hard-boiled eggs and red onions ladled with a creamy vinaigrette. It was a far cry from my usual clubhouse sandwich with fries, served at Woolworth’s luncheonette counter, just across the gulch.
Ichabod’s became a favorite eatery of mine (when my meager budget allowed), and the quiche, with its rich, flaky crust, savory bacon and silky cheese, became my all-time favorite dish on their menu.
Though it seems so French, the original quiche was created in Lothringen, Germany (otherwise known as German Lorraine, and which later became part of French Lorraine) and made with bits of leftover bread dough, eggs and bacon.
The Sandpoint Eater Give quiche a chance
It crossed the border into France and, soon after, other regional offerings began to appear: quiche Alsacienne (with onions), quiche Florentine (with spinach) and quiche Provençale (with tomatoes and herbs).
Julia Child showed off her famous baking skills a few hundred years later, introducing Americans to this decadent and savory custard. It became a favorite of others, too, and continued its rise to fame, showing up on lunch, brunch and tea menus everywhere. And we loved it!
Soon, it was a grocery store staple; and, by the ’80, it had reached peak popularity. Then, a few of the masculine gender type began tiring of this egg pie
and started lining up to buy a copy of Bruce Feirstein’s satirical Real Mean Don’t Eat Quiche.
Some of those “real men” included our crusty old ranch hands I fed daily, and no quantity of crispy bacon or diced ham piled high in the cheesy custard would convince them otherwise. It didn’t help that I’d recently purchased a magnificent, labor-saving Cuisinart food processor, and they were already a tad skeptical of the culinary creations (a.k.a. brilliantly camouflaged leftovers) I was bringing to our communal table.
While the ranch hands and a few other tough guys held out, the book only made quiche more popular,
and soon cookbooks were filled with a plethora of tasty recipes, all noted in the often overlooked and lonely “Q” section of the index. Notable chefs like Martha Stewart were whipping up countless Americanized versions featuring seafood, vegetables and elegant toppings, like crème fraîche and a dollop of caviar (actually a favorite of mine).
The 40th anniversary edition of Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking features 21 recipes for quiche. Today, you can find countless cookbooks dedicated exclusively to quiches that include the classics and recipes for eggless, crustless, vegetarian and vegan offerings.
Though we’ve seen its popularity wane in the last decade or so, many coffee houses and delis sell it by the slice, and Costco still sells it frozen in bulk packages. You could slip the frozen quiche into your own ceramic pie plate, bake it and add a bit of garnish, and your brunch guests will be none the wiser (I won’t tell).
Not too long ago, someone (much younger than me) was browsing through one of my cookbooks and asked if people still eat quiche! Of course we do, which is why I’ve turned out several since then (including my current favorite, prosciutto and grilled veggies).
All I am saying... is give quiche a chance.
Prosciutto and grilled vegetable quiche
A quiche you can serve for breakfast, brunch, luncheon or picnic. The salty prosciutto and grilled vegetables pack this quiche with flavor. Serve with a chilled rosé and a side salad. Makes one 9-inch quiche.
INGREDIENTS: DIRECTIONS:
•One 9-inch pie crust (your favorite recipe or store-bought)
Filling:
•4 large eggs
•1 cup heavy cream
•½ cup whole milk
•½ tsp salt
•¼ tsp fresh cracked black pepper
•¼ tsp ground nutmeg
•½ cup grated Gruyère cheese (or Swiss cheese)
•¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
•6 slices of prosciutto, finely chopped
•1 small zucchini, quartered and sliced into ¼-inch rounds
•1 small red bell pepper, diced
•½ small red onion, chopped
•1 tbs olive oil
•1 tbs fresh thyme leaves
Preheat oven to 425°F, you will lower to 375°F after 10 minutes.
Roll your pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan. Flute and prick all over, chill until ready to fill.
Grill the vegetables: Heat olive oil in a grill pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
Grill bell pepper, green and yellow zucchini, red onion, about 5-7 minutes or until softened and lightly charred. Season lightly with salt and let cool (remember the prosciutto will be salty).
Prepare the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Scatter grilled vegetables, prosciutto and cheese evenly over the crust.
Pour egg mixture over top. Gently tap to fill any air pockets.
Place quiche on lowest oven rack and bake for 10 minutes at 425°F. Lower
oven to 375°F and move quiche to middle or upper rack. Bake another 25-30 minutes, or until center is just set, slightly puffed and golden brown. If edges brown too quickly, cover
loosely with foil.
Let rest at least 10-15 minutes before cutting into pie wedges. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs.
MUSIC
Sandpoint Summer Music Series kicks off sixth year
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
The music lives on in Sandpoint, each and every year.
Back for its sixth installment, the Sandpoint Summer Music Series kicks off at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 26 at Farmin Park in Sandpoint. The annual free outdoor music festival is presented by Mattox Farm Productions and is sponsored by local businesses and private individuals.
Mattox Farm promoter Robb Talbott has been passionate about this music series since the beginning, and he’s proud to give Sandpoint music lovers a free outdoor concert every month of summer.
“We try to use music to bring people together,” Talbott told the Reader. “When I book bands, I try to get a wide variety for all four shows. Bands should have something that has a specific appeal to a general group, but still might have broad appeal so everybody can have fun.”
Kicking off this year’s series is Bozeman, Mont.-based band The Dead and Down, an exploratory roots-rock band with a sound that is inspired by the vast landscapes and dramatic mountain ranges of their home.
“They’re fantastic,” Talbott said of the five-piece. “It’s good high energy, lots of fun,
great vocals and instrumentation. All around a fun band.”
The Dead and Down centers on the introspective songwriting of frontman Tyler Burlage, whose dusty vocals and vivid imagery paints a clear picture with every song. The band swings between alt-country, swampy rock ’n’ roll, psychedelia and genre-bending experimentation that make their shows a delight for audiences.
The Sandpoint Summer Music Series is made possible each year thanks to donations from local businesses and community members, with Washington Trust Bank returning as the series’ main sponsor for the sixth year.
“They’ve been sponsors since the beginning,” Talbott said. “It’s amazing to continue having them with us.”
Sponsors also include the Ponderay Arts Council, Selle Design Group for graphic arts, the Heartwood Center, the Novas of Evergreen Realty and the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce. Talbott also said several private families who wish to remain anonymous have donated to keep the series alive each year.
Thursday’s show coincides with the annual Sandpoint Summer Sampler (see Page 12), so food and drinks will be plentiful; but, for subsequent shows throughout the summer, Talbott said there will be a food truck and, as
always, a bar provided by Eichardt’s Pub.
“We have three other shows coming up and we need a little more sponsorship to keep us going,” Talbott said.
Those interested in sponsoring the Sandpoint Summer Music Series are invited to email mattoxfarmproductions@gmail.com.
The upcoming lineup of bands will be announced at a later date, but the remaining Sandpoint Summer Music Series dates will be Thursdays, July 17, Aug. 21 and Sept. 11.
A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint
Nu Jack City, The Hive, June 28 In a Landscape, Schweitzer, July 1
The Inland Northwest’s favorite soul and funk cover band, Nu Jack City, returns to the Hive Saturday, June 28, with a taste of the oldies. The group will bring back their faithful interpretations of Motown hits by artists like The Temptations and Marvin Gaye, this time with new members in the large troupe, which includes strings, brass, percussion and vocals. Frontman Max Daniels and lead fe-
male vocalist Miss Monee will lead the musicians through R&B numbers to rock, blues and whatever other hit songs strike their fancy — and concertgoers are welcome to sing along.
— Soncirey Mitchell
8 p.m., $12.50 online or $18 day of, 21+. The Hive, 207 N. First Ave., 208-920-9039, livefromthehive.com. Listen at nujackcityband.net.
Acclaimed touring pianist Hunter Noack brings his program In a Landscape: Classical Music in the Wild back to Sandpoint, this time serenading Schweitzer’s summer slopes. Noak will perform on his traditional 1912 Steinway grand piano, which will transmit directly to wireless headphones for concertgoers to wear, giving them the freedom to explore the natural world while listening. Attend-
This week’s RLW by Soncirey Mitchell
ees should meet at the Selkirk Lodge to catch a complimentary chairlift up to the venue. Bring a chair or picnic blanket or wander around for the full hour-and-a-half-long concert to take in the views.
The 2022 Atlantic article “The Crunchy-to-Alt-Right Pipeline,” by Kathleen Belew, has only become more relevant to our current societal issues as the years have gone by. Giving shoutouts to Hayden, Coeur d’Alene and Metaline Falls, Northwestern University Professor Belew explores the historic and present overlap between the radical right and the radical left, demonstrating how the white power movement weaponizes traditional skills, environmental concerns and more to indoctrinate and entice new recruits.
I listen to a lot of indie rock bands and, honestly, after a while, they start to blur together. One that has managed to stay apart from the rest is the Utah-based The Backseat Lovers — who I thought were British up until writing this “RLW.” The band’s first full-length album, When We Were Friends, has just the right amount of gritty, artificial surface noise to give the catchy tunes a retro, underground sound. Listen on Spotify.
WATCH
Season 2 of Nine Perfect Strangers is coming to a close; and, despite how unnerved I usually am by Nicole Kidman’s Botox, I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Nine strangers with surprisingly interconnected lives attend a health retreat where they use a special blend of psychedelics to unlock and understand past trauma. Despite the anger and sadness these characters have faced, the story is surprisingly uplifting and funny, showing a new, drug-fueled side of friendship and human connection. Watch it on Hulu.
The Dead and Down will play the Sandpoint Summer Music Series Thursday, June 26 at 6 p.m. Courtesy photo
From Pend d’Oreille Review, June 25, 1925
CHILDREN HAVE WILD RIDE
Dora and Mac Bullock, age 8 and 4, had a wild ride Sunday evening and all through no fault of their own. The kiddies were coming along the street when some men supposedly under the influence of liquor, untied a horse from the city picket line and placing the children on its back gave it the word go. The horse went galloping down First street and turned on Cedar, meanwhile the cries of the children growing louder and louder, Dora was clinging to the mane and little Mac was holding to his sister for dear life. Just as it was passing the Travis car Billy Travis put Harry Carey, Bill Hart and all the rest of the Hollywood bunch to shame by his quick work in getting from his car to the horse and stopping the animal without unseating the children. Onlookers said it was the smoothest work they had ever seen. The frightened children were taken to the home of their parents, Mr. And Mrs. F.F. Bullock, 412 N. Third.
Young Travis was familiar with the horse and quicker than a flash knew the extreme danger the children were in. Being especially fond of horses and having had quite a little experience in handling them, he was quick to realize just the action necessary.
BACK OF THE BOOK
On politics, the weather, religion and literary license
By Sandy Compton Reader Columnist
Politics: Bombing Iran? So, what’s new? We’ve been interfering in Middle Eastern politics since forever. The argument that Donnie will keep us out of wars is now moot.
Maybe 100 times more folks showed up for “No Kings Day” than for Donnie’s birthday parade, à la Red Square. The military seemed out of step, which matches Donnie’s presidency so far. I’m pleased to see infighting going on in his “team.” It gives me hope that we might survive him and his henchmen and henchwomen. I’m a bit worried about ICE, though, which acts like it’s the American Schutzstaffel, but if the Dodgers can stand up to them, the rest of the U.S. can. I’m a Giants fan, but I gotta cheer for the Bums on that one.
On to the weather: The PNW is doing great. Much of the rest of the country is baking. It’s a real, old-fashioned June. We got some badly needed rain and I’m grateful, as are my neighbor’s oat fields. Four degrees cooler, and there might have been white stuff on top.
I’ll skip religion today, except for a quote from the late, great chief Parrothead: “There’s a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning.” Find “Fruitcakes” on YouTube for the rest of Jimmy’s thoughts.
Now for the literary arts: I’m home from my biggest road trip ever a month today. I’m sorting pictures (of which I took too many) and working
STR8TS Solution
on an illustrated travelogue-ish book I will finish and publish one of these days. Meantime, I’ve finished and published a book I’ve been threatening to finish and publish for three decades. I started writing it in the ’90s.
Back in my troubled youth, which ran well into my 30s, I ran away from home to Nevada, thinking maybe a reprise of my earlier four years in Hell... I mean Vegas... would expunge some of my earlier sins.
A thought for all sinners: In archery, a “sin” is a miss, not a moral failure. It’s a mistake in execution. I am guilty of more than my share of these, though some were made for a good cause. This does not make them not mine, nor did it keep their effects from spreading into the lives of others. Much of that has gotten sorted out, though not perfectly; the lesson being that there’s nothing perfect in the Universe except, perhaps, its continuing state of imperfection. I still make mistakes. So do we all.
On that second incursion into the proximity of Hell, I found refuge with other refugees in a mountain hideout featuring a restaurant employing a number of oddballs, loonies, social misconstructs, reprobates, addicts in recovery and addicts not. I fit right in.
I didn’t lie to get my job at the Lodge. I just said I would rather wait tables than tend bar, which was true. But it also implied that I’d waited tables, which I hadn’t. I learned.*
What followed was one of the most interesting (read “crazy”) times of my life, which I survived, evidently. That’s what the book I started in the ’90s is
Sudoku Solution
about. It’s sort of like life on Planet Earth in 2025. Some of it’s funny. Some of it’s not. Some of it’s true. Some of it’s not.
Fiction writers — which I often am— sometimes attribute many related incidents to one character in a book, a good way to flesh out a story. It’s like getting a job as a waiter: presenting a truth on top of a fiction to the advantage of the plot. Some of the incidents in the book happened to me. Some didn’t, but they happened to someone I knew.
*After his “training” at Mt. Charleston Lodge, Sandy waited tables for 30 years.
Sandy Compton’s newest book is Alex’s Restaurant, available now on amazon.com, at bluecreekpress.com and soon in nearby book stores.
Crossword Solution
If there was a big gardening convention, and you got up and gave a speech in favor of fast-motion gardening, I bet you would get booed right off the stage. They’re just not ready.
Laughing Matter
Solution on page 22 Solution on page 22
By Bill Borders
pugilistic /pyoo-juh-LIS-tik/
Word Week
of the
[adjective]
1. inclined or eager to fight
“The blackbird became very pugilistic if you approached its nest.”
Corrections: In the “Junk Drawer” column in the June 19 edition, Ben Olson meant “cattle trucks” instead of “logging trucks.” Some of you realized this, others decided to be jerks. So be it. May a CATTLE truck emit odors in your general direction.
If there was a big gardening convention, and you got up and gave a speech in favor of fast-motion gardening, I bet you would get booed right off the stage. They’re just not ready.
