It’s cliche, I know, but when Roman emperors felt their grip on power slipping, they leaned on mass spectacle and subsidies for popular luxury goods — that is, “bread and circuses.” Social critics decried these practices in their day, just as they do in ours; but what happens when it’s all a circus but bread is too expensive? That appears to be the situation we’re in 10 months after the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Every week, day or even hour sometimes feels like a constant circus, with the ringmaster-in-chief in command of infinite acts. It’s impossible to keep up. Look over there, and the East Wing of the White House is being torn down for a brazenly decadent ballroom that would make Louis XVI blush. Look over here and one of the most corrupt and feckless politicians in U.S. history is pardoned for his scams. Over there we’re musing about launching a land war in Venezuela. Over here it’s a Qatari military facility planned in Idaho, apparently without the advanced knowledge of our own state officials. Over there are ICE raids, and here are mass protests, and there are Young Republicans openly expressing admiration for the Third Reich, and during it all we don’t have a functioning government capable (or willing) to address any of the issues that actually matter to citizens, like being able to afford health insurance or even bread, as millions of Americans are on track to lose SNAP benefits on Saturday, Nov. 1. It’s a dizzying, sickening chaos agenda intended to be just that: dizzying and sickening enough that either people get glamored into celebrating it out of pure, prurient nihilism, or so wearied they check out. Either way, it provides cover for a wealth transfer of world-historical magnitude that its perpetrators — including the president, his family and courtiers — can’t even summon the basic shame to hide. The rubes, boobs and dopes who are still on board with this grift will always be rubes, boobs and dopes, and there’s no saving them. For the rest of us, we know that history has not been kind to regimes who supply the circus without the bread, and this one is making the worst of them look positively competent.
‘Ersatz dictatorship’
The Oct. 20 edition of The New Yorker’s “Talk of the Town” column, by Harvard Law scholar Jeannie Suk Gersen, carried a chilling lede: “The militarization of American cities, including Los Angeles, Portland and Chicago, has brought home a perverse irony. Throughout the history of the United States, immigrants have come here to escape authoritarian governments. But, in the 21st century, it is Donald Trump’s crackdowns on immigration, and on the protests against them, that are giving him momentum in the direction of ersatz dictatorship.” Gersen went on to quote Founding Father James Madison, whose warning words should be heeded now more than ever: “[A] standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty,” as soldiers deployed domestically could soon become “instruments of tyranny at home.”
READER DEAR READERS,
If you’ve paid attention during the month of October, you’ve probably noticed we started with our spooky covers at the beginning of the month to ramp up to our favorite holiday of the year, Halloween.
I like Halloween because it’s inclusive of everybody. It’s equal parts fantasy, horror, comedy and family-friendly fun. Some go all out, others just do the bare minimum, but for this one night, we all get to don our outrageous costumes and be something else.
If you’re curious about our covers the past five weeks, they weren’t AI-generated, as one of our readers claimed. They are all vintage illustrations that were collected in a niche graphic design publication called Crap Hound Magazine that resurrected these images from the 1920s-’50s for us to use in the modern day.
Finally, Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4. If you haven’t already, don’t forget to vote.
– Ben Olson, publisher
111 Cedar Street, Suite 9 Sandpoint, ID 83864 208-946-4368 sandpointreader.com
Contributing Artists: Ben Olson (cover design), Zach Hagadone, ITD, Don Fisher, Otto Kitsinger, Lyndsie KiebertCarey, Leslie Kiebert, Kelsey Booth, Guy Tensen, Bill Borders
Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Soncirey Mitchell, Lorraine H. Marie, Brenden Bobby, Laura Guido, Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, Barbara Schriber, Alyssa DuVall, Sandy Compton, Russell Meeuf, Marcia Pilgeram
Submit Stories To: stories@sandpointreader.com
Printed Weekly At: Tribune Publishing Co. Lewiston, ID
Subscription Price: $185 per year
Website Designed By: Keokee
The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, bluster, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho.
We hope to provide a quality alternative by offering honest, in-depth reporting that reflects the intelligence and interests of our diverse and growing community.
The Reader is printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink. Leftover copies are collected and recycled weekly, or burned in bonfires to appease the gods of journalism. For back issues, contact the publisher. Free to all, limit two per person, please.
Letter to the Editor Policy:
We welcome letters to the editor on all relavant topics. Please, no more than 200 words, no excessive profanity or libelous statements and no trolls. Please elevate the discussion and stay on topic.
Letters will be edited to comply with the above requirements. Opinons expressed in these pages are those of the writers, not necessarily the publisher. Send to: letters@sandpointreader.com
About the Cover:
This week’s cover is the final Halloween cover of October!
Panida selects Heather White as new executive director
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
The Panida Theater will welcome a new executive director when Heather White officially fills the leadership role, effective Saturday, Nov. 1.
Hailing from the Burien, Wash. community southwest of Seattle, White brings experience in financial planning and analysis, having worked with multi-million-dollar budgets at Boeing and OpSec Security. She also has an artistic background, with a bachelor’s of arts degree in music — emphasizing piano — from the University of Puget Sound. White ran her own full-time piano studio in the Seattle area, and after moving to Sandpoint with her husband and son in 2020, taught piano at the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint.
“That’s really what we were looking for as a board — what we were looking for in the executive director,” Panida Board President Sean Behm told the Reader in an interview. “It’s pretty amazing that she materialized: somebody that had the business background we needed, but also had an artistic side, as well.”
Drawing on her corporate background, White said she’ll first be focused on the administrative side of the theater’s operations, then reaching out to get to know patrons and fellow cultural and business institutions.
“For me, personally, this is going to be a great opportunity to get my
arms open to the entire community,” she said. “I’m looking forward to doing some collaboration — I know that there’s a lot of businesses that have come into town, and I think that there’s an opportunity to really get to know and collaborate with those businesses.”
As far as programming, White said she’s interested in exploring musical theater at the Panida while continuing to host film screenings, and also aims to connect with other regional theaters of the same vintage.
“It’d be really fun, I think, and informative to forge some relationships there and really see what their best practices [are] and what they’re doing and see if we could collaborate with our programming,” she said.
White’s new role comes amid a season of change at the Panida, following the resignation of Executive Director Robb Talbott in August and as the theater nears its 100th anniversary in 2027 while embarking on a series of large-scale improvements and renovations that have required heavy fundraising.
Behm said the Panida is currently in the process of pricing for work on the women’s bathroom, and the upcoming fundraising letter to patrons
Increased DUI patrols scheduled for Halloween
By Reader Staff
Law enforcement agencies of the North Idaho DUI Task Force are teaming up to help prevent impaired driving over the Halloween weekend. Targeted DUI patrols will be out Friday, Oct. 31 and Saturday, Nov. 1, with agencies across the region increasing enforcement to keep communities safe.
Halloween is a unique holiday, one that’s loved and celebrated by people of all ages in very different ways. From family trick-or-treating to late-night parties, it’s a time when both kids and adults fill the streets. That mix of festivities and foot traffic can be a dangerous combination when impaired driving is involved, according to officials.
It’s also not uncommon for trickor-treaters to still be out when the adult party crowd heads home. Drivers
are urged to slow down, watch closely for pedestrians, avoid distractions and always stay sober behind the wheel.
Parents and pedestrians can do their part, too. Carry a flashlight or glow stick, wear reflective clothing, cross streets at corners or crosswalks, and make sure costumes don’t block vision. Drivers and trick-or-treaters alike have a role in keeping Halloween fun and safe.
Formed in 2019, the North Idaho DUI Task Force is a collaborative effort to reduce alcohol- related fatalities and injuries across the region. Active participating agencies include the Idaho State Police; Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office; and the Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Rathdrum and Spirit Lake police departments.
Report all suspected impaired drivers by calling 911 or *ISP (*477).
will focus on raising money for a project to fix delamination on the exterior south wall.
That, in turn, will clear the way for seeking a grant to pursue interior restoration — similar to the recently completed restoration-cleaning project on the north interior wall.
Budgeting has been approved for drawings to work on what theater managers call “Phase 2,” Behm said, which includes expanding and connecting the Little Theater and the main theater’s lobby.
“One of the things that I liked with Heather is I feel like she’s somebody that likes to get things done and move forward, and I feel like we have a really great opportunity with the board and with Heather. And if we get the right patrons and the right donors on board to be able to complete the big vision to turn the Panida and the Little Theater into a complete entertainment venue.”
Following that, White said, “It’s time to put an actual operational game behind that and turn [the theater] into what it truly can be.”
Though with an emphasis on looking forward at the theater, White also said she’s committed to maintaining
the Panida’s function as the “community’s living room” — as it’s often been described — including bringing together community members of all ages and backgrounds, both in the audience and on the stage.
“I don’t think there’s anything else that prepares you for life quite like it, right?” she said. “To have that sort of an opportunity for these kids [to perform] and whether that be an instrument or whether that be theater or dance. You do that hard work, and you get out there and you put yourself in front of a community.”
As White settles into her new job, patrons are invited to get to know her — including at a community meeting Thursday, Nov. 6.
“That’s probably one of the more exciting things that I’m looking forward to is really getting to know everybody,” she said. “That was one of the things that I loved most about running my piano studio in Burien, was my connection with the community. I could go to the grocery store, and I knew half the people in the aisles. ...
“The other thing that I’ve learned about being here for the last five years is the sense of pride that people have with Sandpoint and all that it has to offer,” she added, “and I’d like to be part of that — really making the Panida Theater a part of that pride as well.”
City of Sandpoint prepping for winter snow removal
Residents given one month notice before snow season parking restrictions go into effect
By Reader Staff
Though fall is still in the air, winter snows have been known to visit the Sandpoint area as early as the first weeks of November. To get ahead of the season, the city of Sandpoint is asking residents to clear public rightsof-ways of basketball hoops, boats, trailers and other obstacles to snow removal by Saturday, Nov. 1.
The yearly winter parking restrictions won’t go into effect until Dec. 1, when signs will go up around town telling residents not to park their vehicles on the odd side of streets citywide, unless otherwise posted. Those restrictions will stay in place until March 1, 2026.
However, community resource officers with the Sandpoint Police Department will begin leaving tags
on vehicles parked on odd-numbered streetsides as a reminder of the seasonal restrictions as early as Nov. 1. Tickets will not be issued until the official start of the restriction period on Dec. 1.
“Clearer streets will allow for better snow management and help ensure safe accessibility during winter storms,” City Hall stated in an announcement. “We appreciate the community’s assistance in this regard; it takes cooperation from everyone to keep Sandpoint safe in the winter season, and we thank you for doing your part.”
For questions or assistance regarding the city’s snow removal policy, contact the Sandpoint Police Department at 208-265-1482. For questions or concerns regarding snow removal during a snow event, call the city’s Snow Hotline at 208-920-SNOW (7669).
Incoming Panida Executive Director Heather White. Photo by Zach Hagadone
ITD hosting open house on Priest River bridge replacement
Department also seeking input on updated statewide rail plan
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
The Idaho Transportation Department has two high-profile events scheduled for the coming weeks, with an open house Thursday, Nov. 6 on a project to replace the U.S. Highway 2 bridge east of Priest River, as well as a survey seeking input on the state’s rail network, which will remain open through Wednesday, Nov. 12.
The open house is set for 4-6 p.m. at the Priest River Event Center (5399 U.S. 2), and will include an in-person meeting where attendees can learn more about the project to replace the bridge — built in 1962 — pose questions to the design team and offer feedback.
For those who can’t attend in person, the same information will be available at itdprojects.idaho.gov — where visitors can also sign up for project updates — and public comment will be gathered from Friday, Nov. 7-Friday, Nov. 21.
According to ITD, the bridge is “functionally obsolete” and its full replacement is still in the design phase. The project site was surveyed
in the final months of 2024, with geotechnical exploration and other work in the field conducted this past summer. Construction is expected to start in 2029, with a completion date estimated in 2031.
ITD stated that the new bridge will have widened shoulders and an improved pedestrian and bike path. Fewer piers will be used to support the structure, opening the way for boats and other users of the river, which officials stated would stay open throughout the project.
Meanwhile, ITD is undertaking an update of its statewide rail plan, examining the present conditions and performance of the train tracks that cross Idaho with an eye toward identifying challenges, opportunities and strategies to improve infrastructure.
Officials stated that, “The plan will also explore key topics such as rail safety, grade crossings, and access for rail-served industries that help drive Idaho’s economy.”
No funding has been allocated for specific projects — rather, ITD is seeking to establish “a strategic founda-
tion” to support grant applications and coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration and other partners.
“We want to hear from Idaho communities about how rail infrastructure is working today and what improvements would make the biggest difference in the future,” stated Freight Program Manager Caleb Forrey. “Your feedback will help us better understand statewide priorities and shape a plan that reflects Idaho’s needs.”
While ITD shares responsibility for ensuring safety where railways intersect with highways, the former are privately operated.
“As is the case with public transportation in Idaho, there are no dedicated state funding sources for freight or passenger rail beyond match funds for federally-funded improvements for rail crossings,” the department stated.
The survey takes about five minutes to fill out online, and will remain open through Nov. 12 — available at surveymonkey.com/r/ITDrail. Questions include ranking the importance of rail traffic to respondents’ communities,
concerns about crossings, and the types of improvements (safety-related and otherwise) that residents would like to see addressed by rail investments.
ITD stated that feedback gathered from the survey will
be included in the final rail plan, which is scheduled for a spring 2026 release.
Find a summary of the rail plan at itd.idaho.gov/planning.
Orders for 370K+ pounds of food for low-income Idahoans were canceled this spring
By Laura Guido Idaho Capital Sun
This spring, the U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled thousands of orders, accounting for millions of pounds of food, meant for low-income Americans. Orders totaling more than 370,000 pounds of U.S.-produced meat, dairy and produce for Idaho food banks were canceled, according to USDA data obtained by ProPublica.
The deliveries had been scheduled between May and September under the USDA Emergency Food Assistance Program. Nationwide, the cuts totaled about $500 million for nearly 94 million pounds of food, ProPublica reported.
For Idaho, the canceled deliveries included cheese, turkey breast, dried cranberries, chicken, and pulled pork. The program is designed to provide nutritious, high-quality USDA foods for low-income residents and support U.S. agriculture markets.
Seven orders would have gone to food banks in North Idaho through the Community Action Partnership, which offers food assistance in Boundary, Kootenai, Shoshone, Benewah and Nez Perce counties. The deliveries would have included hundreds of cases of canned chicken, dried cranberries, and frozen chicken legs, the data shows.
Multiple orders of meat and cheese were scheduled to go to Boise Cold Storage on
behalf of El-Ada Community Action Partnership. The canceled orders totaled approximately 200 pounds of food, including shredded cheese, turkey breast, chicken breast, pork chops, chicken legs and turkey breast deli meat.
Food banks in Lewiston and Pocatello also had cases of pork and turkey that halted under the action.
The food banks affected by the order cancellations could not be reached for comment.
Products delivered through the program are some of the most expensive and difficult for food banks to keep in stock, ProPublica reported.
There may be additional strain on food banks as the federal government shutdown continues because the fed-
eral Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, has depleted its funding until Congress renews it. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced last week it will pause its SNAP program, previously known as food stamps, in November.
There are more than 130,000 Idahoans who use SNAP food assistance.
The Emergency Food Assistance Program, known as TEFAP, was authorized by Congress in 1981 to purchase farmers’ surplus food and distribute it to Americans in need. In 2018, under the first Donald Trump administration, funds were added to the program to help farmers dealing with tariffs amid trade disputes, ProPublica reported.
Under the current Trump administration, the additional funding was cut and characterized as a “Biden-era slush fund.”
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins in August announced the department would purchase up to $230 million in fresh seafood, fruits and vegetables from American producers for food assistance programs, including The Emergency Food Assistance Program.
This story was produced by Boise-based nonprofit news outlet the Idaho Capital Sun, which is part of the States Newsroom nationwide reporting project. For more information, visit idahocapitalsun.com.
A map showing the Idaho rail network, courtesy of Idaho Transportation Department
Sandpoint warns of fraudulent invoices targeting Planning Division customers
By Reader Staff
Officials at Sandpoint City Hall issued a warning Oct. 23 that customers of the Planning Division have been subject to at least one phishing attempt, while “there may be additional threats currently active,” according to a news release.
One fraudulent incident was identified, when a customer with a project under review received a fake invoice from a suspicious email address resembling a city of Sandpoint account.
According to the city, “The message requested a wire transfer payment of $4,800 and included fabricated invoice documentation. The customer, acting cautiously, brought the invoice directly to City Hall before proceeding with payment. No financial loss occurred, and the city is grateful this attempt was caught before any financial loss occurred.”
Officials are taking a number of steps to safeguard the public from spurious messages purporting to be from the city, including:
• Issuing direct warnings to applicants and developers with active projects;
• Reminding the public that the city will never request payment via wire transfer;
• Reviewing internal and external protocols to reduce exposure of applicant contact information;
• Exploring steps to redact sensitive information from public-facing webpages.
“Customers and members of the public are urged to exercise caution with unsolicited emails requesting payment or sensitive information,” the city stated. “If you receive a suspicious message or invoice that appears to come from the city, please contact City Hall directly before taking any action.”
Meanwhile, officials are reviewing digital security measures and remain “committed to protecting both internal operations and the community from cyber threats,” according to the release.
Reminder: Lakes Commission to meet Oct. 30, including LPO economic study results
By Reader Staff
The Lakes Commission will host its fall meeting on Thursday, Oct. 30, gathering from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the first-floor conference room of the Sandpoint Center (414 Church St.). Lakes Commission Chair Ford Elsaesser will open the meeting, followed by the Idaho Department of Water Resources providing an update on Priest Lake and Priest River Outlet Dam operations, then a presentation from 10:50-11:20 a.m. on the Pend Oreille Lake Level Economic Impact Study.
Bits ’n’ Pieces
From east, west and beyond
NBC News reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s hurry to acquire new recruits has resulted in ICE training for more than 200 people with disqualifying backgrounds, including criminal histories, failed drug tests, or inability to meet academic or physical requirements. Meanwhile, due to Chicagoans’ awareness of “Know Your Rights” protocols, President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, told CNN it has been difficult for ICE to enact Trump’s mass deportation plans in the city.
A reporter asked Trump last week why he has not asked Congress for a declaration of war against South American drug cartels that Trump claims are at war with the U.S. In response, Trump said: “Well, I don’t think we’re gonna necessarily ask for a declaration of war, I think we’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. OK? We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be, like, dead. OK?”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has introduced the Stop FUNDERs Act — shorthand for “Financial Underwriting of Nefarious Demonstrations and Extremist Riots” — which aims to address funding for violent protests and riots by amending the RICO Act (“Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act,” typically used to fight organized crime).
The extreme-right Geller Report indicated that such funding could include money behind “No Kings” rallies. According to Geller, a report from the Government Accountability Institute — which has a mixed accuracy rating — claimed “progressive” networks have donated to nonprofits like Indivisible, which organized “No Kings” events, while Cruz’s legislation would “advance legislation to curb such financing.”
Prepared by researchers at the University of Idaho and Washington State University, the report examines how current dam operations and fluctuating levels on Lake Pend Oreille impact the area economy.
After a break, the meeting will cover flexible winter operations with a presentation by the Bonneville Power Administration. Finally, Sandpoint Public Works Director Holly Ellis will
speak about the city of Sandpoint’s wastewater treatment plant bond measure, which will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot. Ellis’ portion of the meeting will run from 12:10-12:45 p.m.
Public comment, questions and announcements will conclude the event.
Attendance will be in-person only, with no virtual option available. Email Lakes Commission Executive Director Molly McCahon at lakescommission@gmail.com with questions about attending. Get more info at lakescommission.org.
Sponsors argue that it’s not intended to infringe on peaceful protest and free speech, but critics are concerned it can be stretched to violate the First Amendment by targeting groups that oppose undermining the Constitution.
U.S. Rep Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., called the current government shutdown an “Epstein shutdown.” He told Defending Democracy that Congress is not hashing out a shutdown solution because, for Republicans, that would mean swearing in a new congressperson who would force the vote on releasing the “Epstein files.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has posted on its website that federal food aid will not go out Saturday, Nov. 1.
By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Contributor
The AP reported the Trump administration said it will not draw on $5 billion in contingency funds to keep food benefits going, which help one out of eight people to eat. In violation of the Hatch Act, Republicans have posted on the Food and Nutrition website that Democrats are to blame for the loss of food benefits. Dozens of states have sued the Trump administration over planned food stamp cuts, according to various media.
The Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit health care research organization, stated that the loss of health premium tax credits will cause nearly 5 million people to lose their health insurance in 2026. The cost of premiums will force healthy people out of the insurance pool, which will send premium prices skyrocketing for those holding onto their health care insurance. Also at stake is close to 340,000 jobs, which could cause a $2.5 billion decline on local and state tax revenues. So far, Republicans voted three times to reject amendments from Democrats to extend tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, the Tri-City Herald reported.
The New York Times reported that the U.S. military killed as many as 14 people on boats sailing off the coasts of Central and South America, alleged to be carrying drugs — though no evidence has been provided to warrant the ongoing strikes, which have claimed nearly 60 lives to date. Meanwhile, The Times also wrote that Trump has indicated he’s aiming to send “more than the National Guard” into U.S. cities.
Blast from the past: The food benefits program — today referred to as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or SNAP) — began in 1939 with the first sale of so-called food stamps. The Food Stamp Act of 1977 eliminated the “purchase requirement” (meaning eligible users had to buy food stamps), thus opening the program to more citizens. In July 2025, congressional Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act cut $186 billion from SNAP, while also eliminating food insecurity reports. Government sources have stated that no SNAP benefits — which are dispersed to 42 million Americans — will be issued after Saturday, Nov. 1, as the government shutdown continues. Meanwhile, 80% of stores accepting SNAP are small businesses. Boise State Public Radio reported Oct. 29 that an estimated 130,000 Idahoans are poised to go without food benefits after Nov. 1.
Lake Pend Oreille at Sandpoint City Beach on a beautiful fall day. Photo by Don Fisher
Idaho’s DOGE looks to recommend elimination of positions, agencies and consolidations
Task force leaders to present report on long-term vacancies to state budget writers in November
By Laura Guido Idaho Capital Sun
Idaho’s DOGE Task Force is preparing to recommend potential state employee position eliminations as well as agency, board and commission repeals or mergers.
The legislative task force, named for the federal Department of Government Efficiency, voted Oct. 23 at a meeting in Boise to allow the co-chairs to provide state budget writers with information on long-term vacancies at the interim budget meeting in November.
DOGE members also heard a staff report on the first 13 potential agency eliminations or consolidations, with more planned for consideration.
Task force co-Chair Rep. Jeff Ehlers, R-Meridian, said the members would evaluate information compiled by legislative staff and hear from heads of the agencies to make recommendations at the meeting.
The task force may study issues and provide recommendations, but cannot pass legislation. Its recommendations will go to the germane legislative committee for consideration and a vote before going through the rest of the legislative process through the Idaho House and Idaho Senate.
Task force considers elimination of longstanding vacant positions statewide Legislative staff compiled and presented a list of all the agency employee positions that had been authorized and funded but not filled for the past six months, which totaled 381 positions.
Ehlers noted to lawmakers that he and co-Chair Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa, would be presenting findings from the task force at the budget-writing Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, or JFAC, meeting in early No-
vember, and said he’d entertain a motion to provide the report to the budget writers with the recommendation that the positions and their associated funding be eliminated.
The task force’s sole Democrat, Sen. Carrie Semmelroth of Boise, asked if there was a way that agencies could be reached about the necessity of each position to the functioning of the agency before the group recommended elimination.
Republican Rep. Dustin Manwaring of Pocatello, also thought the task force didn’t have enough information to recommend a full elimination, but thought JFAC members should have the information.
“That’s what I think JFAC’s job will be, is to dig into the weeds on some of these,” Manwaring said.
Some of the vacant positions included trial attorneys for the newly established State Public Defender’s Office, which Manwaring highlighted as wanting to have more time for those to be filled before removing their funding.
Other positions included in the report were Idaho State Police troopers, several nurses with the Division of Veterans Services, Idaho Department of Transportation engineers and technicians, and a number of health care provider and social worker-related positions at the Department of Health and Welfare.
Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, made a motion that the task force direct the co-chairs to provide the report to JFAC for its members’ “review, consideration and research” for possible removal of positions.
Members unanimously voted to provide the report without a specific recommendation.
Idaho DOGE look to cut seven state entities, move seven more under other agencies
Jared Tatro, of the Legislative Services Office’s Impact Review Team, provided an overview of items legislators on the task force had identified as “low-hanging fruit” for elimination and consolidation, many of which are no longer used or active:
• Eliminate OnePlan Executive Group; a now-defunct conservation planner;
• Eliminate Big Payette Lake Water Quality Council and Citizens Committee;
• Eliminate Columbia Compact Commission;
• Eliminate Junior College District-Dormitory Housing Commision;
• Merge Bingo-Raffle Advisory Board with Idaho Lottery Commission;
• Move STEM Action Center into Workforce Development Council;
• Merge Sheep and Goat Health Board with Department of Agriculture;
• Eliminate State Brand Board;
• Eliminate Idaho Honey Commission;
• Move State Brand Inspector into Department of Agriculture;
• Move Soil and Water Commission into Department of Water Resources;
• Move Office of Species Conservation into Office of Energy and Mineral Resources;
• Eliminate Regional Committees for Early Intervention Services.
Some of the eliminations may be done through work under the Idaho Code Cleanup Act, which passed this year and directed agencies to identify sections of code that are redundant, unnecessary or out of date.
Tatro told lawmakers staff would be diving into questions about feasibility, such as whether lottery commissioners had adequate knowledge and resources to advise charitable gaming and that lawmakers would need to consider questions such as if bingo and raffles needed to be regulated at the same level going forward.
North Idaho representative urges task force not to eliminate lake commission
In addition to the 13 elimination and merging options presented, Ehlers asked task force members to look at a larger list of about 70 possibilities that he previously presented, and recommend 10 more to research and consider.
The list to consider “further review” included the
Pend Oreille Basin Commission, which advises the state on North Idaho water quality and quantity issues.
Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint, who is not a member of the task force, told its members during the public comment period that the commission is vital to the area, and urged them not to remove it. He said it deals with issues related to federal authorities over the Albeni Falls Dam on the Pend Oreille River.
“It started out as an issue with Army Corps of Engineers, federal Fish and Game, federal endangered species, you name it,” Sauter said. “So it was just to push back against federal overreach, and we’ve been fighting ever since.”
The DOGE Task Force plans to meet again on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
This story was produced by Boise-based nonprofit news outlet the Idaho Capital Sun, which is part of the States Newsroom nationwide reporting project. For more information, visit idahocapitalsun.com.
The rotunda at the Idaho Capitol building in Boise as seen on March 23, 2021. Photo by Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun
Bouquets:
GUEST SUBMISSION:
• “Kudos to KRFY, the Reader and Chris Bessler for their election materials. The KRFY/Reader offerings have become a regular service I wait for expectantly each fall, like a seasonally petulant house cat. I never seem to make it to the live events, but I listen to the recordings every year — and this year, what I heard changed my vote! Thank you!”
— By Jen Heller
“P.S. Chris Bessler for Sandpoint City Council, anyone?”
Barbs:
• It breaks my heart to live in a country that has filled itself with such cruelty over the past decade or so. SNAP benefits, otherwise known as food stamps, will dry up Saturday, Nov. 1 thanks to the government shutdown, which Republicans blame on Democrats and Democrats blame on Republicans. Same old story. One in eight Americans rely on SNAP benefits to feed their families. To break that into numbers you might understand, that’s more than 6,200 people in Bonner County alone, or about 42 million Americans. These are your friends and neighbors, the elderly population, those who need a leg up or can’t keep up with rising grocery prices. We can find money to send Argentina billions of dollars and fund gilded ballrooms, but we can’t find the money to help feed people who need it most. Something is broken in America. There is food insecurity here, in the so-called “greatest country on Earth,” and no, Trump isn’t going to fix it. Sooner or later, we have to come to the realization that we’re on our own, because the oligarchs are too busy claiming more power and stacking their coins to help any of us little people. If you can, please consider donating to our local Food Bank. People are going to come into some hard times next month. Peace.
Idaho Medical Freedom Act puts us all at risk…
Dear editor,
So much for the faux-Christian right, ultra-MAGA concern for children. With the Medical Freedom Act, Idaho will not require immunization for anyone for anything — including unvaccinated children in schools, with outbreaks already putting kids in quarantine over the measles outbreak. Meanwhile, health care workers in hospitals, nursing homes and retirement centers are not required to get COVID or influenza vaccines.
Even more concerning, who is going to announce an outbreak?
Schools — especially private ones — will not want to let students and parents know. Hospitals will not want the public to know. Idaho does not have an active agency to track an outbreak.
Who will be there to test and treat your children and family?
Unless you have medical coverage, there will be no help for you or your children. Doctors will not allow you to come to their office. Hospitals will send people away.
Anti-vaccine folks are ignorant, in part because they have never witnessed or know about the effects of polio, measles, chickenpox, diphtheria, mumps, tetanus or whooping cough.
Maybe they think they can pray the disease away, or figure it’s natural species selection at work. Idaho is going to be the last place anyone will want to live.
Sue Koller Sandpoint
‘Nero fiddles while Rome burns’...
Dear editor,
SNAP is gone on Nov. 1 and government employees are furloughed, with no pay for who knows how long. Parts of the White House are being torn down for a “glorious ballroom.”
Airport controllers are laid off, and those remaining are also unpaid until another decision is made. Medicaid will be stopped, leaving
millions of Americans unable to get medical care. The list goes on… and the government shutdown is on track to set a record for the longest downtime ever.
Meanwhile, our leader goes on a tour of Asia, making nice with leaders — some of whom he was calling names in the recent past. Congress is unlikely to make a move until Nero returns.
Diane Newcomer
Clark Fork
Torrez would be a welcome addition to Sandpoint City Council…
Dear editor:
Joshua Torrez will be getting my vote on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Josh will be a fresh, young presence on a City Council that desperately needs new perspectives. Josh’s overarching priority — “keep Sandpoint, Sandpoint” — resonates deeply with city residents, and it should serve as a welcome guidepost for council decisions.
Josh Torrez may not lead the pack in yard signs around town, but his purposeful platform should lead you to vote for him on Nov. 4.
Russ Tomlin Sandpoint
Nov.
4 is time to perform your civic duty and vote…
Dear editor,
With the Tuesday, Nov. 4 election nearing, now it is time to make decisions that impact our community.The wastewater treatment bond is vital to the health of our lake, the environment, and Sandpoint’s vitality and businesses. Approving the bond allows the city to replace the plant and keep the overall cost more reasonable because it allows the city to access state and federal loans and grants. No matter what, the plant needs to be replaced. If we don’t pass the bond, the plant still needs to be replaced/repaired, but the city will not be able to access the lower rates received through government-sponsored loans.
The city has provided excellent explanations of the bond. As much as I don’t want my rates going up
100%, it will be much higher if we don’t pass this bond. Vote to support the bond.
In addition, we have the opportunity to add new councilors to our council. I am excited to see some new blood in there and give my full support to Joshua Torrez and Joe Tate. Fresh new ideas, go-getters, supporters to keep Sandpoint in the here-and-now while preserving her character.
Do your civic duty and vote.
Ann Giantvalley Sandpoint
‘Fighting drugs with compassion, not missiles’...
Dear editor,
Recent U.S. actions against alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers repeat a failed pattern: trying to bomb or arrest our way out of a drug crisis. History shows this doesn’t work. When one cartel leader falls, another rises, while demand for drugs stays strong. If the U.S. truly wants to weaken the networks operating through Venezuela and Latin America, it
should invest less in missiles and more in people — in treatment, prevention and rebuilding communities harmed by addiction. Programs that help people stop using drugs, and education that prevents use in the first place, save far more lives and money than military strikes or mass incarceration.
There’s also a deeper question: Is this really about drugs? With Washington-Caracas relations already tense, these operations may serve political goals — pressure, posturing or election-year theater — rather than public safety. That makes them even more reckless.
Militarized “anti-drug” actions near Venezuela’s coast risk regional escalation and deepen the country’s humanitarian crisis. Punishing the poor won’t stop the flow of drugs; it will only fuel more despair and more trafficking.
The smarter, humane path is to reduce demand at home, build real partnerships abroad and treat drug use as the public health issue it is.
Kari Saccomanno Sandpoint
What the hunt holds Reflections on elk season 2025
By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Contributor
“It isn’t feeling very elk-y out here today,” my dad whispered.
We stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the trail, rifles in the crooks of our arms and the majority of our routes behind us, leading us to our predetermined meeting place: a section of semi-open timber my family calls Jack Pine Flats.
I nodded in agreement. It was opening day of rifle season for our tags, and every step on bone-dry leaves and pine cones threatened to give us away. That, and the way the filtered sun and fluctuating temperature kept whipping up wind gusts against the mountain’s face, made the task of remaining unheard and unsmelled rather difficult.
While game trails and typical bedding sights showed ample sign from previous days, I could feel my dad and I becoming resigned to the fact that the elk of Hope had probably heard us coming and retreated into the furthest reaches of the canyon. We’d already walked our respective routes; eaten our customary
mid-morning snack while seated on the same log; and now had just a short distance to the dry fork of the creek, which served as a typical bail-off point when a hunt had reached its natural, harvestless end.
“I’ll stay here while you take a peek around this patch of vine maple,” my dad whispered, motioning a black-andred-checked wool arm down the trail. “We’ll head down after that.”
I gave the affirmative nod, adjusted my pack and turned trailward. Just two steps in, we heard the crash: four or five head, just behind the vine maple screen, making a break for the creek crossing.
I ran, the hunt having reached the fever pitch where noise and scent no longer play a factor, and searched the brush frantically for any shooting window filled with ungulate hide.
Finally, the crashing sounds having faded behind a curtain of oceanspray and thickening timber, I stood still. My breathing was labored, but steady. I had to be ready to shoot at a bull in hot pursuit of his herd, after all. But, upon further inspection, this herd’s male appeared to
have been among them, leaving his fresh track in the mud of the crossing.
Things had gone from not “feeling very elk-y” to being very elk-y very fast — a lesson which, despite how many times you learn it, does not become any less surprising.
My elk season took on a very different look the following day. The leaves and pine cones once so eager to give us away were now saturated by hours of rain. My husband, Alex, and I pressed them further into the soft decay of the forest with each step, any noise produced by our walking drowned out by the pitter-patter of the steady downpour.
Perfect elk-stalking conditions — or they would have been, if not for our companion: our 2-year-old son, Liam.
We knew what we were getting ourselves into, taking a chatterbox toddler on a “hunt.” The hunt wasn’t the point, despite the rifles and knives and dragging rope. With toddlers, accomplishing anything real is so rarely the point.
Still, I made a futile effort to introduce key concepts to him.
“We are looking for elk,” I whispered to him, crouched in the middle of a logging road
while we stared eye-to-eye. “We have to be quiet so that they don’t hear us coming.”
“OK, Mama,” he’d reply, then pressed a finger to his lips.
We’d take a few steps before his sweet voice would ring out over the rain: “Mama, elkies go? Where elkies?”
We did manage to stalk a whitetail deer at a distance along the road’s switchbacks, and Liam walked under his own power the whole way. I’d rank it easily in my top three favorite hunts of all time.
As it turned out, this rifle season wasn’t very elk-y for my family, but it did mark a major milestone for the Kieberts as a sixth-generation Bonner County hunter got his feet wet — only figuratively. Good boots are non-negotiable, even if whispering is.
Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey is a fifth-generation Bonner County hunter and editor emeritus of the Reader. She has contributed a column about elk hunting every October since 2017.
Middle right: Travis Kiebert takes in an opening day sunrise.
All other photos by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey
Top left: The first sit of the hunt is best with hot coffee.
Top right: Alex and Liam Carey on an earnest quest to find the elusive elkies.
Bottom right: Travis Kiebert and the author exhange stories from a wet hunt. Photo by Leslie Kiebert.
Science: Mad about
dry ice
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist
Have you ever watched a music video from the 1980s to see fog rolling across a stage and wonder to yourself, ”Wow, how did they do that?”
Dry ice is the curious substance responsible for rock ’n’ roll stage fog, in addition to transporting lifesaving medications, organs and foodstuffs around the world. It has been in commercial use for well over a century, though it was discovered nearly 200 years ago.
The first recorded observation of dry ice was by French inventor Adrien-JeanPierre Thilorier in 1835. He had been experimenting with pressurized carbon dioxide in a sealed container to bring the gas into a liquid state. Upon opening the container, he discovered that a thick gas emerged while also leaving behind a solid block of ice.
This was really a block of carbon dioxide that steadily outgassed due to its contact with water moisture in the atmosphere.
Water-based ice will go through phase transitions when heat is applied. Beginning as solid ice, heat that brings the ice to 32 degrees Fahrenheit will cause it to change into its liquid form of water. Water will naturally evaporate into the atmosphere over time, but will rapidly expand into a gaseous form at 212 degrees F to create steam. This will predictably occur at sea level within Earth’s atmosphere, but pressure will change the temperatures in which water will transition into its other forms. This is true of many things in the
universe, including metals.
Iron will transition into a liquid form at 2,800 degrees F, and it will evaporate at 5,182 degrees F. (“Irongas” would be a sweet band name.)
Carbon dioxide is unique in that it will actually skip transitioning into a liquid state while subjected to Earth’s atmospheric pressure. It will go straight from a solid to a gas in a process called sublimation.
We explored sublimation in the April 17 edition of the Reader. Sublimation occurs when something skips the transition step to a liquid. H2O can do this in a very low-pressure environment, which occurs inside of freeze dryers. Freeze dryers are favored for the same reason dry ice is: liquid water residue create a breeding ground for bacteria, which will spoil food rapidly.
The lack of residue is certainly one of dry ice’s biggest benefits. The other is that the gaseous carbon dioxide looks really cool as a rolling fog that can be used in haunted houses and rock concerts, though other forms of artificial vapor have overtaken the use of dry ice in recent years.
Dry ice can be dangerous to use for a number of reasons. Its extreme cold and reaction to water can cause frostbite when handled by human hands. Additionally, elevated CO2 can cause asphyxiation, which means it shouldn’t be used in large quantities in enclosed and unventilated spaces.
Industrial production of dry ice captures carbon dioxide from other manufacturing processes, such as during industrial sugar fermentation when creating alcohol at breweries. The breweries
themselves don’t produce the dry ice, but can capture and sell the carbon dioxide to a dedicated manufacturer. This also occurs during the process of refining crude oil, but the mixture needs to be refined or it can be very dangerous to manufacture later.
Due to its evaporative nature, dry ice is fairly detrimental to the environment when used regularly. The production of dry ice requires energy and the evaporation releases CO2 into the atmosphere; so, from an environmental perspective, it could be considered a stay of execution at best. Its practicality lies in its ability to chill and preserve items when mechanical refrigeration is impossible or impractical.
This is especially useful during organ transplants, when an organ must be quickly harvested from a donor and transported — often by air.
Organs are small and each one may be headed to a different location, depending on how urgently they are needed.
This means you can’t simply load them onto a refrigerated truck and ship them off to a distribution center to be housed for weeks at a time. Styrofoam containers act as an insulator to trap the cold air while the organ is wrapped in plastic or another container to prevent frostbite from contact with the dry ice. They are then transported, usually by helicopter or an emergency vehicle, to be transplanted into the waiting recipient.
Vaccines and blood are also often stored using dry ice, due to their small size and portability. An extra measure of safety is that dry ice evaporates predictably, whereas mechanical refrigeration is
by
threatened by sudden power outages.
It is predicted that 13.6 million pints of blood are collected and used annually in the United States. If the entire electrical grid were to be disrupted due to terrorism
or natural disasters, that has the potential to put hundreds of thousands of lives at risk overnight — something that could be prevented by storing dry ice as a contingency. Stay curious, 7B.
Random Corner
• The Beast of Gévaudan was an unknown creature that killed more than 100 people in a rural region of France between 1765-1767.
• Many French at the time believed the creature to be a wolf and most modern scholars agree, but some have suggested it wasn’t a wolf at all. The beast’s first recorded victim was a young woman tending cattle who was attacked by an animal “like a wolf, yet not a wolf,” but she escaped because her herd defended her. The first fatal attack happened two months later and was followed by approximately 100 fatal attacks over the next two years.
• The beast captivated the French public, who were terrified. Bounties were offered for the capture and/or killing of the beast and hunters regularly combed the countryside looking for the creature. Hours after a mauling on Oct. 8, 1764, hunters followed their quarry into the woods and shot a volley of musket fire into the creature; but, after it fell, the beast allegedly rose and ran off.
• Jacques Portefaix, then 10 years old, was a diminutive boy who was often called a chicken by his peers. On Jan. 12, 1765, when the
beast attacked Portefaix and his group of friends, the boy led a counterattack with sticks and drove off the creature, becoming a folk hero for his bravery. Even French King Louis XV rewarded the child by giving him an education paid for by the crown.
• Another folk hero was 19-year-old Marie-Jeanne Valet, who was attacked by the beast on Aug. 11, 1765 and impaled its chest with a bayonet affixed to a pole. She was later known as the “Amazon” and the “Maid of Gévaudan.”
• The king’s 71-year-old gunbearer, Francois Antoine, shot a large wolf on Sept. 20, 1765 that was assumed to be the beast. When attacks started again a couple months later, the royal court chose to ignore them and declared the beast dead. But, an outbreak of attacks in June 1767 compelled local nobleman the Marquis d’Apcher to organize a hunt. On June 19, 1767, a hunter named Jean Chastel shot a wolf and the autopsy revealed human remains inside. The attacks ended after that, but doubts remained over the years that it was indeed the beast.
Photo
Kelsey Booth
Passing Northside Fire levy measure would benefit all community members
By Barbara Schriber Reader Contributor
I wanted to share a few thoughts as someone who lives in the Northside Fire District about the levy override coming up on the Tuesday, Nov. 4 ballot. You might remember this same request in May, when about 65% voted “no.” But, only about 25% of voters actually voted — far too few to be making such an important decision that affects us all.
I get that there’s never a “good” time to talk about raising taxes, especially when budgets are already tight for many families.Still, Northside Fire has been serving this community since 1961 — that’s more than six decades of commitment. The community has grown a lot since then, but the funding hasn’t kept pace.
The fire district’s main funding source — property taxes — can only go up 3% a year by law, while just about everything else (equipment, wages, fuel, insurance) has gone up much faster.They’ve been doing their best to make every dollar count: applying for federal grants, sharing a fire chief and administrative costs with Selkirk Fire, and even doing their own vehicle and station maintenance.
Their two active fire engines are more than 20 years old — which tells you how careful they’ve been about stretching their budget.
I also had a personal wakeup call on this issue. Our homeowner’s insur-
ance got canceled because of “proximity to wildfire.” It took a while to find new coverage; and, when we did, the premiums were much higher. One of the reasons was our distance from a staffed fire station. That hit me — our fire services don’t just protect our homes from fires, they actually affect how much we pay to insure them; and, in some cases, whether we can even get coverage. Additionally, that can affect our property values.
You probably remember the Sunset fire this summer down in Sagle. It was a good reminder of what’s at stake when fire risk turns real — how hard it is to respond, how much it costs and how much we all depend on these resources being there when they’re needed most.
Some people have said the property tax system itself needs reform — maybe so — but that doesn’t really help with the situation the fire district is facing today. They have to work within the rules as they exist now, and there aren’t other solid funding options available.
After the May levy failed, the district went back, listened to feedback and scaled down the proposal. The new request is smaller and no longer includes adding staff for another station. It’s focused just on keeping the current level of service. Without it, there could be times when only one firefighter is on duty, which isn’t safe — not for the firefighter and not for the public. One person can’t handle a house fire or serious car crash alone.
Since 2010, Northside Fire has responded to more than 10,000 calls — everything from fires and medical emergencies to rescues and accidents. Those aren’t just numbers; they’re our neighbors, our friends, our families. These firefighters live here, too, and they’re doing all they can to keep the district running safely and responsibly.
None of us like paying more in taxes, but that’s the system we have to keep public services going.
Reliable emergency services matter — and losing them would cost us much more in the long run: slower response times, higher insurance rates, and greater risks to people and property. I just hope everyone really thinks about the kind of protection and safety we want to keep in our community.
Barbara Schriber is a Bonner County resident.
By Sandy Compton Reader Columnist
It’s the end of golf season. Mourning should be over by April. Mariners fans are mourning, as well, though baseball season is not quite over as I write this. Nor will it be when the paper comes out, unless the Dodgers win the Series in five, heaven forbid. I’m rooting for the Blue Jays. As a recovering Giant’s fan, I have no choice. If the Blue Jays do win, the Lunatic-in-Chief won’t invite them to the White House. Even if he did, I doubt they would accept the invitation. The Dodgers might not either. I don’t blame them.
Baseball and golf seasons are longer than they used to be, as are football and basketball seasons. As far as golf in the Northwest goes, global warming has shortened the period between first and last
frosts, which course superintendents monitor closely. We were due a first hard frost this week, which may or may not have happened. My weather app tells me one thing on Monday and another on Tuesday. Sometimes it’s even right. Professional sport seasons have been extended by the addition of teams and divisions, wild-card play and the desire of owners, players, networks and venues to make mega bucks. Which they do, with our help. Professional golfers also make mega bucks, and their season has expanded to
most of the year.
On golf, extended sport seasons and being average
I admit to watching sports, including golf; so, in small ways, I contribute to their wealth. But I try not to give them much. They have more than plenty.
But we were talking about golf. One golf joke — there are many — is that it’s called “golf” because all the other four-letter words were taken. Golf can be described by another four-letter word: hard. It’s hard. It’s frustrating. It’s not even a game. It’s an endeavor. You aren’t playing against the three fellow players keeping comments to themselves (most of the time) as you look for the ball that bounced off the cart path sign. You’re playing against the course and yourself.
I’m not a golf pro, though I know one who lost his senses and went into the newspaper business. But I suspect that top professionals don’t think
as much about the competition as they do the course and how and where their ball lies. Except maybe on Sunday afternoon, particularly if they’re watching from the clubhouse with a one-stroke lead over Rory McElroy, and Rory’s on the 17th tee.
In a freaking hilarious book by David Feherty, A Nasty Bit of Rough, one of the characters says, “Play the ball as it lies, and the course as you find it.” This seems the first true rule of golf, though the following 600 years have piled 544 pages of sub-rules on top of it. Most of these seem to have resulted from the insatiable curiosity and somewhat anal nature of Homo sapiens and territoriality.
Example: In year 1670, two Scots bothers golfing in the local pasture — now St. Andrew’s — came upon a curious situation.
“Aye, Spooner,” Wedgie said, “The ball has landed on the back of a sheep. Whatever shall we do?”
There’s the curiosity. Spooner answers: “We’ll have to make a rule about that.”
There’s the somewhat anal. And, yes, there’s a rule covering that, just in more formal language.
Out-of-bounds was probably invented to keep errant golfers out of the baron’s front yard.
Even Scotty Scheffler (the best golfer in the world at this moment), who seldom hits out of bounds, doesn’t know all the nuances of the rules of golf. His caddy probably knows more than he does. What Scotty knows is, “Play
the ball as it lies and the course as you find it.”
Famous golf instructor Harvey Pennick noted that the average golfer, when adhering to that basic rule, seldom takes fewer than 100 strokes to complete 18 holes. Once in a great while, I’m an above-average golfer, which makes my day. I have a goal and desire to become an above-average golfer on a more regular basis, so I do battle with the course and myself as often as I can. Most of the time, though, I’m an average golfer, though being “average” in our day seems to be unacceptable. According to automobile/ cellphone/whiskey/beer/E.D. medication/credit card advertising, if you don’t have an extraordinary something going on in your life, you are a loser.
How funny is that? It’s ridiculous, really. If your life was that exciting, you could burn out before you’re 40. And that would be a short season. Still, there are a number of well-known examples of that.
It’s OK to be average. That’s what I think. You may be good at some things, but you don’t have to be good at everything. Accepting that can take the pressure off, and that in itself can lengthen your own season. Fore!
Sandy Compton’s book Alex’s Restaurant is not about golf, but it is available at Sandpoint Books on Second Avenue; The Ledger office in Thompson Falls, Mont.; and online at bluecreekpress.com or Amazon.
Sandy Compton. Courtesy photo
2025 Election CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE
Sandpoint City Council, wastewater treatment plant bond, Ponderay 1% local option tax and area budget and fire levies
By Reader Staff
Editor’s note: Before each election, the Sandpoint Reader reaches out to candidates in local contested races to ask questions about how they would represent the constituents in the offices they seek. Below are questions and answers for the four candidates running for three open Sandpoint City Council seats.
Those seats carry a term of four years, and are “at large,” meaning there are no specific districts or seats representing those districts. Rather, those who win the most votes across all of Sandpoint’s voting precincts win the seats.
In addition, below is information on two ballot measures: a $130 million revenue bond to replace Sandpoint’s wastewater treatment plant and a 1% local option sales tax in Ponderay, as well as ballot questions on area budget and fire levies.
All candidates who responded to our questions have been included below, with some answers lightly edited for length and/or clarity.
The Reader joined KRFY 88.5FM and SandpointOnline.com to host a candidates’ forum at the Sandpoint Center on Oct. 20. Find a recording of the forum at krfy.org. Finally, don’t forget to vote Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Sandpoint City Council
1. Why are you running for Sandpoint City Council?
2. What concrete steps should the city take with the wastewater treatment plant project if the $130 million bond measure fails in this election?
3. Do you support the city’s current development impact fee schedule and timeline, with a one-time increase effective Jan. 1, 2026, and why?
4. If elected, you will serve on the last council before the 2030 Census, when Sandpoint will likely lose its resort city status with a population over 10,000, and therefore no longer have access to local option taxing authority. How would you prepare for the loss of that revenue gathering tool?
5. A major feature of the last city election was debate over whether to continue with a city administrator or eliminate the position in favor of a “strong mayor.” Do you support continuing without an administrator or would you consider bringing back the position?
Joel Aispuro (incumbent)
Age: 38
Birthplace and residence: San Diego, Calif.; Sandpoint
How many years lived in Bonner County: 30
Past/current government service (if applicable): Eight years on Sandpoint City Council
Education: Sandpoint High School, family business
Contact info: jaispuro@sandpointidaho.gov
1. I am running for office because of my deep love for this community, my children and my future grandchildren. Eight years ago, I decided to become actively involved, which led to my election and
re-election to the Sandpoint City Council. I continue to possess the desire and passion to serve this community in that capacity. My experience is a crucial asset in this role; I have worked with many staff members, fellow councilors and various mayors. The ability to work effectively with others, especially those with differing views, is very vital in this position. It’s about making decisions that benefit our community not only today but also in the future. This is a challenging endeavor, and I cannot achieve it alone. Nor will anyone else.
2. Following the election, we will assess the will of the people. If re-elected, we will then return to the drawing board to determine where further education is needed and to explore additional options, whether federal or state funding. I am confident that significant work has been done and will continue to be done on this matter.
3. I do support this. We voted to proceed with it; and,
legally, we are obligated to do so. This does not mean we are unaware of the potential impact, but it is a reality we must address. It is important that growth pays for itself. Impact fees assure that new development does not diminish the level of service for existing residents. While the increase is steep, this is because we have not increased it annually over most of the past 15 years, and the cost of everything is higher today. If we want current residents to continue enjoying their parks, pathways, police and fire service that they are accustomed to, new development must pay its fair share, and the new impact fees represent growth’s share of demand on our infrastructure and services.
4. We will continue to work with our legislators on this issue to see if we can maintain our resort status. If not, we will once again collaborate with the mayor, council, staff and community to identify our best options moving forward. There is no simple answer
to this. Anyone who suggests otherwise has not been in this position. It’s important to note that Sandpoint is part of a resort city coalition that is actively engaged in efforts to protect resort cities’ abilities to collect local option taxes; regulate their housing markets, including short-term rentals; and assure that the impacts of tourism do not diminish the livability for year-round residents. We hope and trust that we will be effective with this approach.
Rick Howarth (incumbent)
Age: 67
Birthplace and residence: Great Falls, Mont.; Sandpoint
How many years lived in Bonner County: Part-time since 1988, full-time since 2017
Past/current government service (if applicable): Sandpoint City Council — 1.5 years
Education: Master’s degree in mechanical engineering, University of Idaho, 1982
Contact info: 208 920-9090 or rick.a.howarth@icloud.com
1. I am running because I want to ensure the future of Sandpoint. I want to make sure city government is aligned with the desires of the citizens of Sandpoint,
5. My commitment is to do what is best for our city and community. This means continuing to work alongside other council members, the mayor, staff and the community to make the best decisions for Sandpoint. It is always about what is best for Sandpoint. And this is the leadership we need and I believe I bring that to the table. Perfectly? No, but with integrity and vision. Please consider me for re-election, Nov. 4. < see ELECTION, Page 14
< ELECTION, con’t from Page 13 > enough duration on it (10 or 15 years), that the city would still enjoy the additional revenues far past 2030. I would also recommend meeting with state representatives to work to provide an extension of the resort city status or find a new way of creating tax revenues through state legislative changes.
remains fiscally responsible, rebuilds trust and confidence while addressing the big needs (wastewater, roads, recreational facilities) of the city. I have over 40 years of experience in the high-tech industry leading large organizations and can leverage this knowledge for the city that I love.
2. If the $130 million bond fails, the city still must find ways to rebuild a very old plant that is falling apart. There are several concrete steps that could be taken to address the challenges: leverage the reserves that the city has (between $8 million-$9 million) to make critical repairs to address the highest priorities to try and avoid any escapes; meet with state leaders and our local representatives to communicate the challenges of the current plant and request their support to help find state funding sources for the rebuilding of the plant; and work with state DEQ to find a way to minimally treat the inflows/infiltration that we get in the spring rain/snow season. This would allow us to build a significantly smaller treatment plant and thereby reduce the overall cost.
3. I did not support the current development impact fee schedule when it was brought before council a couple of months ago for two reasons: first the new development fees almost doubled across the board from the prior impact fees. I was in favor of a smaller increase. Secondly, I wanted to start the new fee schedule in August rather than the beginning of 2026 to provide all development (homes, remodeling, major projects, etc.) to have time to get their building permits under the old fee schedule.
4. I like the use of local option taxing authority, because when we have visitors in town, they are also paying taxes that help the city. So, it is a great way to take some of the financial burden for city improvements off the citizens of Sandpoint. What I would like to do is work to get a local option tax authority approved before 2030 and put a long
5. Organizational structures in and of themselves do not improve the functioning of any organization, rather it is the character and quality of people that are placed in roles of responsibility that determine how well an organization will function. If you have a mayor that can dedicate the time and energy to running the city, then the city administrator is not needed. If the mayor is limited in the time he/she can apply to running the city, then a city administrator may be a logical consideration, but even that really depends on the quality of the department heads. You must really look at the skills and capabilities of the leaders within city hall to determine what is the best structure to run the city.
Joe Tate
Age: 41
Birthplace and residence: Born and raised in Sandpoint
Years lived in Bonner County: 1984-2002 and 2016-present (27 years total)
Past/current government service: First-time candidate for public office
Education: Bachelor’s degree in sustainability studies (focused on the three E’s of sustainability: economy, social equity and environment), Colorado Mountain College; master’s degree in Counseling, University of Idaho-Coeur d’Alene
Contact info: bit.ly/JoeTateFacebook
1. I’m running because I deeply care about Sandpoint — this is my hometown, and I
want to protect what makes it special while planning wisely for the future. My background in sustainability studies taught me the “three E’s” of sustainable communities: economy, social equity and the environment. Those values shape how I approach decision-making today. As a licensed mental health counselor, I help people find solutions through listening, empathy and accountability — skills our city government needs now more than ever. I’m committed to transparent leadership, rebuilding public trust and tackling issues like affordable housing, infrastructure, and responsible growth with both practicality and compassion.
2. If the bond fails, the first step is to educate the public on the reality of our situation — this isn’t a project we can avoid or delay. Previous administrations have kicked this can down the road, and now it’s on us to take responsibility for decades of deferred maintenance. Whether through a revised bond, phased funding or grants, the work must get done. It’s about being fiscally responsible while protecting our lake and community health. The question we should all ask is this: Will future Sandpoint residents look back with respect for doing the hard but necessary work — or with regret that we failed to act when it mattered most?
3. Yes. Growth should help pay for the impacts it creates. The 2026 increase allows time for builders and developers to adjust, while ensuring that critical infrastructure — roads, parks and utilities — keeps pace with demand. At the same time, we should look for ways to incentivize development that actually serves Sandpoint — single-family homes, local workers and year-round residents — not speculative or short-term properties. That could include reduced fees or streamlined permitting for workforce and primary residences. Impact fees must be fair, transparent and part of a broader housing strategy that supports those who live and work here full time.
4. We need to plan now
to avoid a fiscal cliff later. If Sandpoint surpasses 10,000 residents and loses resort city status, we must strengthen our financial resilience by diversifying revenue sources and improving efficiency. That includes exploring modest user-based fees, regional partnerships and more effective grant-seeking. Just as important is prioritizing economic development that supports our year-round workforce — so that we build stability from within, not just through tourism. Transparent budgeting and early community engagement will be key to navigating this transition responsibly.
5. I support evaluating the city’s current structure with an open mind, but I believe clear accountability is more important than titles. The mayor-council model can work well if communication, transparency and collaboration remain strong. However, if the workload or complexity of city operations begins to exceed the council’s capacity, reinstating an administrator could provide professional oversight and continuity. My focus would be on results — ensuring that whatever system we use best serves Sandpoint residents through efficient, ethical and transparent governance.
Age: 45
Birthplace and residence: Born in Denver, Colo.; resident of Sandpoint since 2017 Years in Bonner County: Eight
Past/current government service: board member, Colorado Wildlife Federation (served through 2024) and policy advocate with the National Wildlife Federation, representing hunters, anglers, birders and hikers on national conservation policy; board member, city and county of Denver Workforce Development; secretary, Ponderay Economic
Partners; Sandpoint Chamber member; certified U.S. D-License soccer coach and referee Education: Bachelor’s degree in behavioral science (psychology emphasis) with a Spanish minor, Metropolitan State University of Denver
1. I’m running to keep Sandpoint’s future in the hands of locals. I work multiple jobs, coach youth sports, and see firsthand the challenges facing families and small businesses here. My goal is practical, balanced leadership that supports workers, protects affordability and ensures growth benefits everyone — not just developers. Sandpoint’s strength comes from its people, and our policies should reflect that local spirit while maintaining the mountain-town character we all love.
2. If the bond fails, we must act quickly to protect public health and the lake. I’d work to secure emergency funding through the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, the EPA and federal infrastructure programs. We can pursue phased improvements to keep the system running safely while rebuilding public trust through transparency and a clearer, more affordable long-term plan. Protecting our waterways and residents must come first.
3. Yes. I support impact fees because growth should pay its way. As development continues, it’s important that new projects contribute to the infrastructure they depend on — roads, water, sewer and parks — rather than placing the burden on existing residents. The scheduled increase gives developers time to plan while ensuring fairness for locals. It’s a responsible and balanced approach to managing growth.
4. We must plan ahead now by diversifying revenue sources and managing growth-related costs efficiently. I’d focus on expanding grants, partnerships and careful budgeting to reduce dependency on a single revenue stream. In addition to impact fees and long-term < see ELECTION, Page 15 >
Joshua Torrez
< ELECTION, con’t from Page 14 > infrastructure planning, Sandpoint’s recreation economy — from skiing and biking to lake activities and community events — can help generate sustainable revenue for both local businesses and the city. By supporting recreation and tourism in a balanced way, we can keep Sandpoint vibrant while protecting what makes it special. Transparency and community engagement will be key as we prepare together for that transition.
5. The city administrator role historically provided structure, guidance and accountability — helping manage budgets, laws and complex projects. Since Sandpoint recently transitioned away from that model, I believe we need to give the current system time to stabilize before making another change. My focus is on transparency, communication, and professionalism. If this new structure doesn’t deliver stability and trust over time, I’d be open to reassessing it with community input.
Wastewater treatment plant bond
Sandpoint voters will see a measure on their Tuesday, Nov. 4 election ballot asking whether they approve of the city bonding for up to $130 million to address the ailing wastewater treatment plant adjacent to Lakeview Park on the Pend Oreille River.
According to the question that will be asked on the ballot, the $130 million would be put toward financing the design, acquisition and construction of a wide range of improvements to the aged plant, as well as pay for related expenses.
The anticipated interest rate would be 4.27% per year, with the total amount to be repaid over the 40-year life of the bonds estimated at $257,285,000 — including $130 million in principal and $127,285,000 of interest. The $130 million full-project bond contains 40% contingency.
If approved, ratepayers can expect to see their sewer bills
increase by up to 100% over the course of five years, though officials have pledged to seek outside funding sufficient to keep those increases as minimal as possible.
Visitors to sandpoint-wwtp. org will find a rundown of the needs at the plant, which has operated for 70 years with some components dating to the 1940s and early ’50s; an explanation of the elements of the proposed reconstruction; frequently asked questions; and media reports on the project.
Ponderay 1% local option tax, and other area budget and fire levies
In Ponderay, voters will weigh in on a 10-year, 1% local option sales tax intended to raise funds for continued development of public access to Lake Pend Oreille and the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail, including a railroad underpass; ongoing construction at the Field of Dreams recreational
complex; creation of a Field of Dreams Endowment Fund for future maintenance at the facility; and support for streets and stormwater projects, with $500,000 designated on top of the existing streets budget.
East Hope voters will consider a permanent override property tax levy, estimated to cost $20.89 per $100,000 of taxable assessed property value per year in order to fund street maintenance and capital improvements.
Residents in the Northside Fire District will vote on a special permanent tax levy of $1,345,410 — up from $661,071 — effective in Fiscal Year 2026 to pay for equipping and maintaining the district’s operations. The additional $684,339 would result in an estimated increase of $20.20 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value per year.
For more election information, including registration, polling place locations, sample ballots and calendars, go to bonnercountyid. gov/Elections-Home.
Important information for Election Day:
• Early in-person voting runs 9 a.m.-5 p.m. through Friday, Oct. 31 at the Bonner County Elections Office (1500 Highway 2, Suite 124, in Sandpoint).
• Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4, with polls open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
• For all things election-related — including registration, polling places, sample ballots, results and other information — go to bonnercountyid.gov/elections or voteidaho.gov.
Maria Larson’s ‘Sandpoint Now and Then’ mural depicts local identity
By Alyssa DuVall Reader Contributor
As color painted boldly across the gray of the taupe brick and cinder block exterior of Sandpoint Super Drug, cars passed by with windows rolled down and smiling passengers shouting, “Thank you!” and, “It’s beautiful!” and, “We love you!”
Local artist Maria Larson and her husband, Lars, were busy covering the 45-foot wall with the “Sandpoint Now and Then” mural — a vivid, custom painting commissioned by Sandpoint Super Drug celebrating the town we love.
Maria’s paintings always illustrate the natural wonders that surround us here in the Inland Northwest. Animals, mountains, trees and open skies can sometimes feel commonplace, but Maria’s work reminds us that they are anything but.
The Sandpoint mural creates a visual reminder of how many things make this town so special. With a front-row seat to Lake Pend Oreille and wild four-legged, winged and finned creatures meandering the edges, locals and visitors alike are transported into a time that bridges both the nostalgia of decades past and the bright joy that is our future.
Olden days of Panhandle Milling and the Power House are linked to current local treasures like Sandpoint Super Drug, the Festival at Sandpoint, Kodiak, Panida Theater and The Bank (the perfect juxtaposition of an establishment with many different iterations over the decades).
The mural — like the town it represents — remembers the Sandpoint of grandparents and parents, and reminds the community of its identity.
Most of Larson’s work is large-scale gallery paintings
Register on Oct. 30 for SelkirkPend Oreille Food Summit
By Reader Staff
The deadline to register for the fourth-annual Selkirk-Pend Oreille Food Summit is now, with an admission price of $10 due by Thursday, Oct. 30.
Tickets grant access to two days of events including opportunities to connect with farmers, ranchers, foragers, chefs and community members with short presentations and networking on Friday, Nov. 7 from 1-4:30 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 8 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Sandpoint Organic Agriculture Center (10881 N. Boyer Road).
The free Fall Harvest Festival features local vendors, farmers and food businesses showcasing the region’s bounty. Details and registration can be found at idahofoodworks.org under the “Events” page.
distinguished by bold colors that depict a love for North Idaho’s nature and wildlife, interspersed with the recreational watercraft used to explore its beautiful landscapes.
Find the largest collection of her pieces at Northwest Handmade and a new and modern body of work coming soon which will be available at marialarsonart.com.
Artist Maria Larson, left, and husband Lars put the finishing touches on “the Sandpoint Now and Then” mural outside Sandpoint Super Drug.
Photo by Ben Olson
Chamber welcomes Lake Life Wellness Center and Yoga Studio
By Reader Staff
The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce recently welcomed Lake Life Wellness Center and Yoga Studio to its downtown Sandpoint location with a grand-opening ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Founded by Jamie Davis, a licensed acupuncturist with a doctor of acupuncture and Oriental medicine degree, Lake Life Wellness Center “brings an integrative, science-based approach to holistic health and wellness,” according to the chamber.
Davis has expanded her practice — formerly known as Lake Life Acupuncture — into a comprehensive wellness hub located at 200 Main St., in downtown Sandpoint.
In practice since 2006 and part of the Sandpoint and Hope community for the past nine years, Davis is also a certified functional medicine practitioner, and also holds a master’s in medical anthropology. Her training includes internships in China, Taiwan and New York, and she has published a book titled Acupuncture and the Extracellular Matrix: Exploring a Biomedical Mechanism.
Lake Life Wellness Center now
offers an expanded range of services including acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, functional medicine, esthetics, massage therapy, microneedling, facial rejuvenation, halotherapy infrared sauna, ionic foot detox and a full yoga studio offering gentle flow, chair yoga, restorative and lunchtime flow classes.
“Our mission is to bring balance to everyday life by providing a range of holistic services designed to promote true wellness,” Davis stated. “We combine evidence-based healing modalities with movement and mindfulness practices to help sustain lasting change and empower individuals to take control of their own bodies and health.”
The newly renovated 5,300-squarefoot historic building features eight treatment rooms, an ionic detox room, an infrared halotherapy sauna room, a yoga and classroom space, a retail area, and locally inspired décor. The center welcomes new patients, offers memberships and accepts most major insurance plans, including the VA.
For more information, visit lakelifewellnesscenter.com or call 208-2640644.
POP raises funds for local biking programs
By Reader Staff
The Pend Oreille Pedalers recently wrapped up the season with a trail-building party and the third annual POP Progressive Dinner, which is the organization’s “signature fundraiser.”
“Themed around famous bike races from around the world,” POP said that this year, the dinner focused on Spanish fare.
“Picture it: 40 drenched but determined diners savoring four Spanish-style courses, each more delicious than the last. Our amazing hosts — the Welker family, Wells family, Meyer and Stempson family and Burges family — went all out with food, drinks and decor fit for royalty,” organizers wrote. “Not even the rain could dampen the joy.”
Three guests pledged $1,000 each during the main course, helping POP raise
SHS Junior Ponderettes open registration for mini dance camp
By Reader Staff
The Sandpoint High School Dance Team’s Junior Ponderettes troupe is opening registration Saturday, Nov. 1 for its annual Dancegiving Mini Dance Camp, open to students from pre-K through eighth grade.
Campers will gather Monday, Nov. 17 from 4:45-7:30 p.m. at the Farmin Stidwell Elementary School gym (1626 Spruce St., in Sandpoint) to learn a dance routine, work on dance techniques and play games — all in preparation for a performance during halftime at the SHS girls’ varsity basketball game on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
Cost to participate in the camp is $35, and includes a T-shirt, instruction and the performance. Attendees are asked to bring a snack and water bottle. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. with halftime around 8 p.m. The camp is limited to 55 campers, and registrants are asked to fill out a form — including T-shirt size — at bit.ly/ PonderettesRegistration.
Proceeds will go to help expand the dance program.
a total of $5,918 toward its $10,000 goal.
Funds will support youth programs in Sandpoint, providing mountain bike scholarships, peer coach salaries, and MTB camp and clinic scholarships. This year alone, POP supported 12 bikes, 170 youth and 20 peer coaches.
Earlier that day, the biking community showed up to help winterize the basin. Volunteers dug, raked and pounded — helping complete 10 miles of new trails this season with a 14-person local crew and more than 3,000 volunteer hours.
“By hiring locally, we kept $150,000 in our community’s economy,” POP wrote. “We’re in awe of your dedication and heart. We’re just $4,000 shy of our goal. If you have a little extra to give, we’d be so grateful for your support.”
To donate, visit pendoreillepedalers. org/donate.
Courtesy photo
John Anderson (Feb. 4, 1945-Oct. 11, 2025)
John Anderson has passed away at his home in Sandpoint, Idaho.
As some of his friends described him, he was a “wonderful amazing kindhearted man ... the sweetest man on the planet and gave the best bear hugs ever!”
Yes! And also, as some of his friends may know, he never could get his shirt buttons lined up.
Aside from some of those things that endeared him to us, he was a very focused individual, who after a short career in academia, dedicated over 40 years to learning the real stories of our Native Americans, particularly the Chumash of California and the Kalispel of the Northwest, and doing his best to pass that knowledge on to others.
After years of research and writing, he has offered his accumulated knowledge by way of his website: johnandersonlibrary.org. Not all of his work is there, as he was still in the process of transferring his extensive writings to the website when he passed away. However, some of his friends will con-
tinue the process as much as possible over time.
Above anything else, he wanted this work to be his offering to all of us.
John also enjoyed creating beautiful things, such as the straw-bale house he built in Sandpoint with the help of many friends, and the wonderful designs on pottery inspired by Native American artists.
He loved nurturing plants of every kind, including in his garden — particularly beans, Chinese peas and tomatoes.
John appreciated Sandpoint because of the community spirit that is here. He would wish us to remember him by visiting his website and by also using other resources available to learn about the present cultures and the history of our Native Americans. You are also invited to post a tribute on the Lakeview Funeral Home website at Lakeviewfuneral.com
Submitted by the friends and family of John Anderson.
John Anderson in the garden with his beloved green beans. Courtesy photo
Local architecture firm wins awards for Second Ave. renovation
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
Architecture may be the most functional of art forms. A building can reflect the culture, identity, community and history of a particular area, while also serving the distinct function for which it was built.
Someone who understands that balance between art and function is Sandpoint architect Reid Weber, of North Root Architecture, who recently received two awards for his renovation of one of Sandpoint’s historic downtown buildings on Second Avenue.
The building at 318 and 320 N. Second Ave. is jointly owned by Stephen Snedden and Jacob Styer and houses their law office and accounting firm, respectively.
Weber began on the project after a conversation with Styer and Snedden about building an ADA ramp. From there, Weber said the project became a more involved renovation.
“We started from a small amount of scope and went into fully designing a remodel and renovation of the historic building,” Weber told the Reader. “A big part of that process was uncovering the layers and everything that was put up in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, like drop ceilings, paneled walls and carpeted floors.”
Weber said a lot of the design was removing those elements and exposing original material underneath that honored the big storefront opening.
“It was the Gold Medal Grocery, then a lumber office on the other side when it was first built,” he said.
Over the years, the building has
housed a saddlery, law offices, hair salons, retail spaces and many other users. After submitting the design to the city, Weber realized the floor framing he was trying to save was rotted out.
“We tore out all the floor framing and that removed the need for the ADA ramp to begin with and opened up the space to create mezzanine levels and loftier ceilings,” he said. “Then we put in concrete slab flooring with radiant heat, which is much more efficient.”
Weber said he enjoyed the process of working with Snedden and Styer, who had their own unique visions of how they wanted their spaces to look. The magic was finding a cohesive design for the elevation, or facade (which Weber redrew about 20 times until it was perfect), but also incorporating their individual designs inside each side of the building.
“I liked how the design they wanted pushed towards more of a modern style,” while also honoring the historic elements that the building presented, he said.
During demolition, Weber found three barricaded skylights, which were part of the original building design. He added a fourth as well as modern insulation to bring it up to code.
“There was a great palette to work with, built by the masters back in their time,” Weber said. “Where it ties in with the Farmin Building next door, you can see it interlocks with that stone building and their foundations are on top of each other. It’s beautiful craftsmanship done 100 years ago that just wouldn’t be affordable to pull off today.”
Other elements included exposing
brick on both sides, which were sealed off with plaster since the 1980s.
“On Jacob’s side, he really wanted a ton of natural light in each office, and had multiple employees that needed their own space,” Weber said, which led to placing big storefront windows high up on the ceiling to bring the light into each office.
“Stephen’s side was more particular, because he’s a sole practitioner with a receptionist, so we built out a conference room space with a mezzanine and a speakeasy-style apartment along the alley. It’s probably one of the only apartments accessed off an alley in Sandpoint.”
The renovation was submitted to the Idaho Chapter of the American Institute of Architects — a nationwide membership of architects that has been around since 1857. Today, AIA’s mission remains to promote excellence in architecture and design. The organization gives awards for notable projects every two years.
This year, Weber received two awards from AIA Idaho: an Architecture Award of Merit and an Award of Best Architectural Element for the storefront elevation.
Weber said the entire project was the culmination of many talented people who banded together to produce what the clients requested.
Along with North Root Architecture, Cory Lindholm of Alpenglow Construction; interior designer Nikki Luttmann, with Seven Bee Interiors; and Bitterroot Structural all contributed to the final product.
“I feel proud that this work was recognized for all the effort that went into it by our team,” Weber said. “It
A
was a one-and-a-half or two-year process, and there were definitely harder moments that were extremely stressful; but, looking back on it, that hard work and time committed helped create this holistic, beautiful architecture in the end. It wasn’t just me designing this thing; it was the builder executing details working with the interior designer, the belief from the owners that we could pull this off and they supported it and pushed it along as well. It took everyone going beyond what’s normal to pull off a more spectacular project and to be able to do that as a group.”
Weber opened North Root Architecture in 2020 and has three employees, including Weber, who left for about a decade while he got his education and saw the world, then returned to Sandpoint to open his firm.
“I’m interested in architecture that contributes to a better community,” said Weber, who also serves on the Sandpoint Planning and Zoning Commission. “It connects more people and directly impacts our environment around us. ... When the community walks by, those are the people I was thinking of while designing this, in addition to the two clients, because their clientele is also the public at large.”
To learn more about North Root Architecture, visit northrootarchitecture.com.
Top left: The facade of the 318 and 320 N. Second Ave. building housing Jacob W. Styer, CPA, PLLC, and Snedden Law Office, respectively.
Top middle:
conference room inside Snedden Law Office.
Top right: The waiting area inside Styer’s office.
Courtesy photos
HOLIDAY
A scary good time
By Reader Staff
Halloween is on a Friday this year, so there’s bound to be some spooky shenanigans afoot. Here are a just a few of your options (and more music-related festivities on Page 25):
Alpine Vista trick-or-treat
1705 W. Pine St.
3-5 p.m.
The residents at Alpine Vista invite any and all trick-or-treaters to visit the apartments and show off their costumes in exchange for treats.
Boos and Brews
513 Oak St.
4:30 p m.- closing time
Matchwood Brewing Co. is hosting both a pre- and post-trick-or-treat Halloween party, with a themed, in-costume happy hour (which can be either before or after hitting the streets for a candy haul), as well as a craft area for kids upstairs, a kids costume contest and music all night long.
Church of God trunk-or-treat
221 S. Division Ave.
4-6 p.m.
Stop by the Sandpoint Church of God for a festive afternoon of food, games, candy and more. Get more info at the church’s Facebook page.
Halloween costume skate and trunkor-treat
995 Kootenai Cutoff Road., in Ponderay 4:30-8:30 p.m.
The Pond Ice Rink in Ponderay will be the place to be for a Halloween costume contest (with winners chosen during multiple skate sessions) throughout the afternoon and early evening. All-ages sessions are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., with
Here’s what’s happening around Sandpoint for Halloween 2025
an adults-only session at 8:30 p.m. Plus, there will be candy aplenty. Get tickets at skatethepond.com.
Lions Club trunk-or-treat
609 S. Ella Ave.
4-7 p.m.
The Sandpoint Lions Club will have fresh popcorn, hot cocoa and apple cider on hand for a Halloween trunk-or-treat event that doubles as an opportunity to collect donations for the 2025 Toys for Tots season. Check out sandpointlions.wixsite.com for more info.
Luther Park trick-or-treat
510 S. Olive Ave.
3-6 p.m.
Costumes, candy bags and scary-season vibes are welcome for an afternoon of Halloween fun at Luther Park, in Sandpoint. Trick-or-treat through the building and hop on a haunted hay ride circling the property. The event is free and open to all. Get more info at the Luther Park Facebook page.
Trunk-or-treat at The Rusty Trunk 875 Kootenai Cutoff Rd., in Ponderay 5-7 p.m.
The vendors and staff at The Rusty Trunk vintage, antique and art market will decorate themselves and the trunks of their vehicles to hand out goodies to children.
Sandpoint Nordic Club kicks off ski season with a community bash
By Reader Staff
The Sandpoint Nordic Club is throwing a party to celebrate the onset of snow season with a Winter Welcome party Sunday, Nov. 2, from 1-4 p.m. at the Pine Street Woods Outdoor Recreation Center (11915 Pine St., in Sandpoint).
Meet the SNC board, coaches and volunteers; learn about youth and adult programs; and take part in a scavenger hunt packed with treats and prizes. There will also be a raffle for cross-country skis and Schweitzer Nordic season passes, as well as games, s’mores, beverag es, bonfires and conversation with
fellow winter enthusiasts.
“Whether you’re a seasoned skier or just curious about gliding through a winter wonderland, SNC is here to help you find your stride,” organizers stated. “Join us for the snow dance!”
SNC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to making cross-country skiing accessible for everyone through scholarships, clinics, races and groomed trails. Get more info at sandpointnordic.com.
By Soncirey Mitchell and Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
Halloween has a definitive sound; but, each week in October, we’re offering a few suggestions to freshen (or deaden) up your spooky season playlist.
The Tiger Lillies
Some describe British trio The Tiger Lillies as “dark cabaret”; others maintain it’s so punk it doesn’t sound like punk. Founded in 1989 by Martyn Jacques, The Tiger Lillies is 100% an acquired taste — offensive, profane, grotesque and as unsettling as it is beguiling — the band’s choice tracks include “The Crack of Doom,” “Living Hell,” “Bully Boys,” “The Freaks” and “Heroin.” Again: None of these songs are for the faint of heart; but, if you can handle it, The Tiger Lillies’ sound is inimitable and priceless. (Still active, the band’s newest album Serenade from the Sewer, released Oct. 28, includes the track “Stupid Life,” which is already a personal anthem of this author.) Through it all, frontman Jacques leers and snarls through a falsetto warbling timbre and creepy clown grease paint, undergirded by a sinister accordion-fueled sound that current bandmates Adrian Stout and Budi Butenop augment with jazzy/ carnivalesque bass, horn, strings and drum work. These gents don’t mess about either in song or video format. Find The Tiger Lillies at tigerlillies. com, YouTube or other streamers.
Eldritch tunes
There are few things nerdier than pairing musical selections with a board game, but some se lections stand on their own, sans game. Such is the case with the genre of “El dritch” music, which exists in various YouTube itera tions intended for accompa niment to games like Horror, Elder Sign, Eldritch Horror and Mansions of Mad ness, among others. For those in the know, these all refer to the works of early-20th-cen tury horror/weird tales author H.P. Lovecraft — he of “The Call of Cthulhu,” “At the Mountains
of Madness,” “The Dunwich Horror” and many others. The soundtrack selections — which you can find by searching for “Eldritch music” — are almost all instrumental (or include indecipherable chanting, etc.) and are by turns brooding and nervy, slinky, slimy and outright orchestral in all the darkest ways. Looking for atmosphere? These tracks deliver cosmic dread befitting even the Oldest of Old Ones.
Scary Bitches
From its debut album, Creepy Crawlies, to its most recent, Sitting in the Graveyard, the Scary Bitches have established themselves as the best deathrock band in the business. Mixing gothic, punk and glam rock, the British group has created a Rocky Horror-esque, campy tribute to B-movies and the supernatural with humorous and headbangin’ songs like “There’s a Lycanthrope on the Bus,” “Bats” and “You Always Eat the Ones You Love.” The band’s best (and most famous) song is “Lesbian Vampyres From Outer Space,” which juxtaposes snippets of Winston Churchill’s speech “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” with dry British humor. Overall, they’re the perfect choice for a Halloween dance party or a spooky pick-me-up to raise your spirits (pun intended). Listen on Spotify.
Sufjan Stevens
Indie folk-pop multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens is known for his soft, shaky singing and lyrics that walk the line between terror and divinity — much like a Biblically accurate angel. The true ghostliness of his music stems from the vulnerability and poetic language that he uses to describe both the mundane and the horrific, relating it back to his personal struggles and mental state. There’s an overwhelming amount of his music to choose from, considering he’s released 10 studio albums (not including his collaborations with other artists), but begin with “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.,” “Genuflecting Ghost” and “They Are Night Zombies!!! They Are Neighbors!!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhh!” Listen on Spotify.
BY THE NUMBERS
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
70 days
The amount of time it took the U.S. government under President Donald Trump to accumulate $1 trillion in gross national debt, representing the fastest accumulation of debt ever outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. The national debt surpassed $38 trillion on Oct. 22. It took more than 200 years for the national debt to hit $1 trillion.
75%
China’s share of all global patent applications for clean energy technologies, which increased from around 5% in 2000 to 75% in 2022. This includes 90% of patent applications for solar and wind technology, 85% for energy storage, and more than 70% for batteries and electromobility. Trump has largely scaled back the U.S. interests in clean energy technologies, opening the door for other countries — namely China — to lead the way.
20%
The projected increased demand for electricity in the West over the next decade, according to the Western Electricity Coordinating Council. This estimated demand growth has doubled over the past few years and has more than quadrupled the demand growth rate of 4.5% that the region saw between 2013 and 2022.
370,00 pounds
The amount of U.S.-produced meat, dairy and produce for Idaho food banks that was canceled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to data obtained by ProPublica. The deliveries were scheduled between May and September under the USDA Emergency Food Assistance Program. Nationwide, the cuts totaled about $500 million for nearly $94 million pounds of food.
Send event listings to calendar@sandpointreader.com
Tap takeover
5-8pm @ Burger Dock
Black Raven Brewing will have four different beers on draft, also chance to win prizes. Costumes encouraged
Live Music w/ Monarch Mountain Band
5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Live Music w/ Sheldon Packwood
6-8pm @ Smokesmith BBQ
Hogwild Halloween w/ Hogwire
7:30-11pm @ The Hive
Line dance lessons at 7:30pm, show with Hogwire starts at 8:45pm (rockin’ country) and costume contest at 10pm
Live Music w/ Truck Mills
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Live Music w/ Andru Gomez
5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Singer-songwriter Americana/folk
Fright Night heavy metal fest
6pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall
With music by Every Dying Breath and Upon the Fallen. Costume contest with $100 prize! Come looking gnarly
Live Music w/ Marcus Stephens
6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs
6-8pm @ Smokesmith BBQ
Live Music w/ The Night Mayors
9pm-midnight @ 219 Lounge
Soul and funk band from Spokane
Music w/ DJ Sterling
9pm-midnight @ Roxy’s
Live Music w/ Mason Van Stone
6-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
Magic with Star Alexander 5-8pm @ Jalapeño’s
Live Piano w/ Jenny and Rich
1-3pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
October 30 - November 6, 2025
THURSDAY, October 30
Movie night
6:30pm @ Barrel 33
Cribbage tournament
6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Watch Hocus Pocus with snacks and treats Line dancing lessons ($10) 6:30-8:30pm @ The Hive
Live Music w/ Frytz Mor 8pm @ Roxy’s
FriDAY, october 31
Various Halloween parties See Pages 16 and 21 for full listings
Play: Arsenic & Old Lace
7pm @ Panida Theater
Classic black comedy; a witty tale of family, murder and mayhem. panida.org
Live Music w/ Matt Lome 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
SATURDAY, november 1
Sandpoint Lions poker night 4pm @ Sandpoint Lions Den Food, drinks and cash prizes. Fun night of poker benefiting local Lions Club programs. Games start at 5pm
Panhandle Ducks Unlimited dinner 4pm @ Bonner County Fairgrounds Conservation dinner, family-friendly, raffles, auction items, games. Prime rib dinner by Klondyke Cafe. idahodu.org
PS I Love U: A Love Letter to the Beatles
8pm @ The Hive
Show is part Beatles devotion, part vinyl worship and pure fun. A tribute to one of the greatest groups of all time
Friends of the Library monthly book sale
10am-2pm @ Sandpoint Library Wonderful selection of all genres
SunDAY, november 2
Kaputt! an operatic comedy... of some sort 5pm @ Little Carnegie Hall, MCS Tickets at sandpointconservatory.org
Live Music w/ Kerry Leigh and friends
3-5pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
Open Jam w/ Seamus Divine 6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Handwoven textiles by four local artists
1-6pm @ Wine4U, 1309 Ponderosa, Ste. 116 Wine4U will sell handwoven textiles by Sue Gervais, Vicki Reich, Mary Catherine Role and Kristie Sherrodd
BCA 8-Ball Tournaments ($10) 6pm @ Roxy’s, 215 Pine St.
Music w/ DJ General Slime
9pm @ 219 Lounge
Live Music w/ Kevin Dorin
6-8pm @ Baxters on Cedar
Healing Garden Cleanup
10am-1pm @ Healing Garden
Please bring rakes, tarps and clippers
Handwoven textiles by four local artists
11am-6pm @ Wine4U
Old Time Fiddlers jam
2-4pm @ Sandpoint Senior Center
Free to watch and if you play, join!
Play: Arsenic & Old Lace
7pm @ Panida Theater
Fall bingo
4:30pm @ Sandpoint Church of God
$10 entry fee includes Bingo cards
Kaputt! an operatic comedy... of some sort
5pm @ Little Carnegie Hall, MCS Tickets at sandpointconservatory.org
Live Music w/ Hannah and Ezra
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Live Music w/ Chris Paradis
6-8pm @ Baxters on Cedar
Play: Arsenic & Old Lace 2pm @ Panida Theater
Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee
Sandpoint Nordic Club Winter Welcome
Sandpoint Swing Dance
6-9pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall Swing lessons 6pm, dance 7-9pm
1-4pm @ Pine Street Woods Outdoor Rec. Center
Connect with Nordic community, drinks, games, renew membership and win auction items
monDAY, november 3
Outdoor Experience group run 6pm @ Outdoor Experience
Trivia (hosted by Logan) 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
tuesDAY, november 4
Living Art: Craft a mounted staghorn fern
5:30-7pm @ Verdant Plant Shop
$25. RSVP: bit.ly/4pRsiwX
Live acoustic guitar w/ Jonathan Nicholson
5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Karaoke night 9pm-1am @ Roxy’s Rights and Resistance hosted by PVP and SAFE 5-7pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co.
Live piano w/ Dwayne Parsons
4-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Artist Reception: Marsinah Runge
5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Runge is artist of the month
Cribbage tournament
6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
28th annual Hospice Rose Event
208-265-1179 to order
A dozen roses costs $25/each and supports Hospice
wednesDAY, november 5
Trivia w/ Toshi 7pm @ Connie’s Lounge Open Mic Night 7pm @ Tervan Tavern
ThursDAY, november 6
Live Music w/ John Gerald 8-11pm @ Tervan Tavern
Bingo Thursday 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Family Night w/ Live Music by John Firshi 5-7pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co.
Live Music w/ Frytz Mor 8pm @ Roxy’s
Digging up horror gems
By Russell Meeuf Reader Contributor
Horror films are a yearround pleasure, but they are especially fun around Halloween — our culturally sanctioned holiday to indulge our fascination with death and decay. What better way to celebrate than with movies about supernatural killers, the undead, or psychopaths run amok?
Classic horror monsters — from Dracula to Freddy Krueger to Pennywise — are perennial favorites, and they reflect our collective obsessions and fears. But classic horror stories are almost always inspired by works that came before them. For every popular horror film that captivates the masses, there are countless lesser known (often low-budget) movies that helped pave the way for their brethren with more renown.
If you’re looking to explore the depths of horror history this season, or wanting to impress your party guests with your cult-horror bona fides, or simply looking for something new to watch, check out these lesser-known horror classics:
Carnival of Souls (1962) Kansas-based filmmaker Herk Harvey produced this influential cult horror film for a meager $33,000 — a tiny budget, even in the early 1960s. The film tells the story of a young woman’s eerie encounters with pale-faced ghouls that only she can see. Carnival of Souls’ black-andwhite cinematography evokes German expressionist films from the 1920s, and it relies on an original organ score that gives the whole affair an ethereal quality.
As the protagonist tries to navigate her haunted world, she is increasingly called to a mysterious, abandoned carnival in the desert, leading to an unforgettable encounter with the dead.
The makeup design for the strange specters that haunt
the protagonist would inspire George Romero’s famous zombies a few years later, and the slow, dreamlike unfolding of events would shape the surreal aesthetics of David Lynch in the decades to come. The climactic scene — shot in an abandoned Utah resort — is an extravagant, creepy and bizarre spectacle that makes the rougher elements of the low-budget film worth the wait.
Other similar films to check out: the 1963 low-budget splatter film from Herschell Gordon Lewis, Blood Feast (not for the faint of heart), or the bizarre Roger Corman film, X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, also from 1963.
Return of the Living Dead (1985)
1985 was a big year for zombie films, seeing the release of the nihilistic zombie drama, Day of the Dead, and its cinematic cousin, Return of the Living Dead. Day of the Dead was the third in George Romero’s zombie series, while Return of the Living Dead was conceived by Romero’s onetime writing partner, John Russo, who split creatively from Romero and took the copyright to the term “Living Dead” with him. While Romero’s better known 1985 classic tackles the zombie apocalypse with a somber tone, Return of the Living Dead is a campy and hilariously disturbing zombie thriller with a punk-rock soundtrack.
The film was adapted from Russo’s vision by horror/sci-fi legend Dan O’Bannon, who brought a zany comedy to the film’s gory premise. Capturing the first hours of a zombie outbreak (rather than dropping its characters into a world already lost to the undead), the film follows a group of rebellious teenagers who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time when the outbreak begins.
Many of the tropes of the zombie film today are derived from Return of the Living Dead. We couldn’t have Zombieland or Shaun of the Dead without this zombie-comedy pioneer.
Other similar films to check out: the low-budget slasher Sleepaway Camp from 1983, with one of the most shocking and disturbing twists
in the genre, or Killer Klowns from Outer Space, a campy horror/sci-fi film from 1988 that has shaped the horror-comedy aesthetic ever since.
Oculus (2013) Before horror-maestro Mike Flanagan became a household name through his run of popular Netflix horror shows — The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club and The Fall of the House of Usher — he worked his way through a series of smaller-budget horror projects where he honed his craft.
Oculus is his sophomore film, telling the story of a brother and a sister who believe their family was terrorized by a haunted mirror in their youth.
Jumping between the children’s traumatic past and their horrific present, Oculus toys with the characters’ sense of time and reality. In the process, the film highlights Flanagan’s central preoccupation as a storyteller: the real hauntings in this world are how we grapple with our past traumas.
Of course, while the characters’ emotional turmoil animates the story, the ghosts are real, and Oculus delivers some visceral and clever scares (including one scene that will linger with you whenever you take a bite into a crisp apple).
Other similar films to check out: Flanagan’s 2016 home invasion film, Hush, which he co-wrote with his wife, Kate Siegel, who also stars in this compelling thriller, or The Haunting in Connecticut from 2009, which helped launch the resurgence of the haunted house film in the mid-2000s, paving the way for modern classics like The Conjuring.
Russell Meeuf is a professor at the University of Idaho who teaches in the film and television program. Among other books, he is the author of White Terror: The Horror Film from Obama to Trump, which explores the cultural politics of the contemporary horror film. Find it at the Indiana University Press at iupress. org, Barnes and Noble, Amazon or wherever you buy books.
Kaputt! Bel Canto debuts original opera
By Reader Staff
The Music Conservatory of Sandpoint’s Bel Canto Opera will give back-to-back performances of Karin Wedemeyer’s newest opera, Kaputt! on Saturday, Nov. 1 and Sunday, Nov. 2 at 5 p.m. Staged at the Little Carnegie theater space (110 Main St.), the comedy tackles the relationship be-
tween humanity and technology, and took in donations of old electronics from the public for the set design, which will eventually be recycled.
“I love the idea of combining art with something useful, like recycling, and in a way help ‘recycle’ opera as an art form, by welcoming and engaging new audiences,” said Wedemeyer.
This will be one of many original performances by Bel Canto and Wedemeyer, the founder of MCS and a professional opera singer, following the success of Tortellini, Olivia’s Lament and Moonlight Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students, available at sandpointconservatory.org/ events or at the door.
Promotional imagery for Return of the Living Dead. Courtesy image
By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist
Welp, the “Sandpoint Eater” has been eating everywhere but Sandpoint lately; and, truth be told, I’ve been missing my usual local haunts. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve settled into my favorite eateries, and perched on a stool for a late-afternoon libation. But sometimes life — and family — pulls us down the road, and that’s where a lot of my recent stories come from, too. Alas, I’ll be home most of November and already have lots of lunch dates on the books.
Last week, the road led me six hours southeast to Butte, Mont. My college-aged grandson, Zane, was having a birthday, and I wasn’t about to miss it. His cousin Alden joined me for the ride. We met up in Coeur d’Alene for our long-planned road trip. I count myself lucky to have grandkids who still enjoy hanging out with their Mimi. It made the long miles feel like a treat rather than a trek.
When we pulled into Butte, there was no question about where we’d celebrate: Lydia’s Supper Club. If you’ve spent any time in Butte, you probably know it — or at least have heard stories about it. Lydia’s has been serving Meaderville-style Italian food for generations. It’s one of those timeless restaurants where the lights are just a little dim, the waitresses call you “honey” and complimentary first courses — like handmade ravioli, spaghetti and sweet potato salad — are served on family-style platters meant to be shared.
I’m not the only one who loves Lydia’s; in fact, about 10 years ago, Anthony Bourdain stopped there on one of his Montana episodes — and for good reason. Lydia’s isn’t
The Sandpoint Eater Falling into place
fancy, but it’s pure, old-world comfort. Their spaghetti, steaks and even the chicken are legendary, and the homemade ravioli tastes like it was handrolled in Nonna’s kitchen.
For me, though, it wasn’t just about the food — it was about the memories. I’ve celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and reunions there over the years, and this night felt like a full-circle moment. Introducing the grandsons to this iconic eatery was both nostalgic and fulfilling, and Alden declared it the best steak he’d ever tasted.
I’ve been loyal to Lydia’s for 50-plus years, and I well remember when there were many similar restaurants in the area; sadly, all but Lydia’s are now just fond memories.
This week I’m off on another adventure — a short trip north to Nelson and Ainsworth Hot Springs, which might in-
clude a quick stop in Creston, for its local Poutine Month, celebrating Canada’s beloved comfort food of crispy fries topped with squeaky cheese curds and rich brown gravy.
Every region of Canada puts its own spin on it, so I’m curious to see what Creston’s chefs are serving up. How could anyone resist that? Maybe I’ll even bring home a new recipe or two to try out in my own kitchen. Nelson’s just a hop and a skip beyond, and those northern neighbors (still!) welcome us with open arms.
I’ll be home for most of November, watching the unpredictable fall season. There’s already a chill in the air, making the mornings crisp and the evenings perfect for soup and shawls. I don’t make shawls, but I have already been simmering stock pots of soup (including a gallon of
split pea soup that I portioned into single servings and delivered frozen to the birthday boy in Butte).
Around this time every year, my snowbird friends start packing up and heading south — some to Arizona, some to California, others to wherever the sunshine is brightest. Snowbirding is always on my winter list, yet to be fulfilled. I always feel a twinge of envy, but also a quiet appreciation for those of us who stay behind to enjoy the slower rhythms of fall in North Idaho.
One of those dear friends stopped by before leaving town and handed me a basket of homegrown pears — one of my absolute favorite fall fruits. Pears are such an underrated treasure: tender, sweet and fragrant when perfectly ripe. I’ve been thinking about what to do with them, and I think
I’ve landed on the perfect plan: I’m going to bake them up in puff pastry, with a bit of sugar, butter and love.
The result is simple — golden parcels that puff and crackle in the oven, filling the kitchen with a scent that makes you forget about winter for a moment.
I love baking on a chilly afternoon. Maybe it’s the nostalgia (that my family says I’m famous for), or just the comfort of making familiar foods and recalling fond memories to warm me up.
If you’re not yet a snowbird and packing up to wander south, here’s a cozy (and fragrant) baking project for the weekend. All you need is a few ripe pears and store-bought puff pastry. To the rest of you, there’s solace knowing that no matter where we wander, we all find our way back home.
Baked pears on puff pastry
These are a lovely fall dessert, served as-is or with a dollop of whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of (my favorite) caramel sauce. Serves 4.
INGREDIENTS: DIRECTIONS:
• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
• 2 ripe but firm pears, peeled and halved vertically
• 2 tbs finely chopped pecans
• 2 tbs unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tbs granulated sugar
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the puff pastry slightly and cut into 4 equal rectangles. Place each rectangle on the prepared baking sheet. Cut each rectangle slightly larger than the pear halves (about 1 inch wider all around).
Peel and halve the pears vertically. Carefully scoop out the cores. Fill each hollow with finely chopped pecans.
Mix cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Brush the tops of the pear halves with melted butter and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Place each pear half, core side down, onto a puff pastry rectangle. Crimp the edges of the pastry around the pear with a fork or your fingers. Make several thin vertical slashes on the pears so the sugar and butter can seep into the pears.
Use the trimmed pastry corners to cut out small leaf shapes. Score veins into the leaves with a knife. Arrange the leaves on baking sheet with pears.
Brush all exposed pastry (including leaves) with beaten egg.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until pastry is puffed and golden.
Check the leaves after 10-12 minutes — remove them early if golden brown to prevent overbaking.
Once pears are tender and pastry is golden, remove from oven. Transfer to a cooling rack and loosely cover with foil.
Let cool to room temperature before serving.
MUSIC
Halloween parties to delight the ears
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
Oct. 31 at The Hive
207 N. First Ave.
21+, $7-17, 7-11:30 p.m.
Rockin’ country band Hogwire has been a favorite on The Hive’s stage for more than a dozen performances, all with one thing in common: a boot kickin’ sound that brings down the house. This Sandpoint power band’s Halloween gig — featuring Ian Newbill, Matt Linscott and Mark Linscott — will be a spookier version of their famous Southern rock sound. Swing dance lessons begin at 7:30 p.m. for $10, music begins at 8:45 p.m. and the costume contest starts at 10 p.m. Listen on Hogwire’s Facebook page.
Oct. 31 at Eichardt’s Pub
212 Cedar St.
$10, 8 p.m.
Eichardt’s owner, Jeff Nizzoli, wants to recreate the heyday of Halloween parties, when everyone came dressed to the nines and fully committed to the haunting night. To keep everyone in a frightfully good mood, the pub will be serving drink specials to all the ghouls while local quartet The Headwaters jams out. Combining a perfect threepart harmony and mesmerizing command of strings, The Headwaters’ genre-bending
performances of original songs and covers with plenty of improvisation are always dance-worthy. Listen at headwatersband.com.
Oct. 31 at Roxy’s 215 Pine St. 21+, FREE, 9 p.m.
Wear your best costume to Roxy’s for a chance to win a cash prize and do the “Mon-
ster Mash” to spooky Halloween tunes by DJ Crooz.
Oct. 31 at Pend d’Oreille Winery
301 Cedar St.
FREE, 5-8 p.m.
The winery’s Halloween plans center on a lively performance by Sandpoint’s own Monarch Mountain Band — a folk, Americana and bluegrass
trio partial to The Beatles, Bob Dylan and more. Listen at monarchmountainband.com.
Oct. 31 at 219 Lounge
219 First Ave. 21+, FREE, 9-midnight
Taking inspiration from its barnwood and industrial elements, the Niner will host an apocalyptic Western-themed party with the help of DJ General Slime. If Western music isn’t your jam, don’t worry; Slime will be spinning hip hop, funk and soul tracks, as well.
Nov. 1 Fright Night at the Sandpoint Community Hall
204 S. First Ave. $10, 6 p.m.
Sandpoint-based metalcore band Every Dying Breath is hoping to add another family-friendly activity to Halloweekend with a special, multi-band performance. The group will headline alongside Spokane’s Upon the Fallen, with special performances from Fate Defined, ’80s hair metal cover band Louder Than Hell and one-man-band Devoured Soul. The night will include a mosh pit and costume contest with a grand prize of $100. Listen at everydyingbreath.com, uponthefallen.com, fatedefined.com, the Instagram profile louderthanhell.band and the Facebook page for Devoured Soul.
A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint
The Night Mayors, 219 Lounge, Nov. 1 Jonathan Nicholson, Pend d’Oreille Winery, Nov. 4
Since Spokane-based funk band The Night Mayors is an amalgamation of some of the region’s best musicians, rotating in and out as the mood strikes them, every performance is new and special. Usually composed of five members — including saxophone and trombone players — and led by frontman Lucas Brown, the soulful band will keep Halloween going into November with their Saturday, Nov. 1 show at the
Niner. They’re favorites at the lounge; but, if you haven’t heard them before, here’s a tip: Prepare by wearing dancing shoes and drinking plenty of water. Get ready to party the night away.
— Soncirey Mitchell
9-midnight, FREE, 21+. The 219 Lounge, 219 North First Ave., 208-263-5673, 219lounge. com. Listen on The Night Mayors’ Facebook page.
Spokane-based American fingerstyle expert Jonathan Nicholson will return to the Pend d’Oreille Winery for a mid-week set Tuesday, Nov. 4, bringing his impeccable guitar stylings back to town for an evening of mellow, instrumental and atmospheric ambience in the vein of Will Ackerman, Alex DeGrassi, Michael Hedges and Andy McKee. With multiple albums to his credit, Nicholson is a
This week’s RLW by Ben Olson
READ
... an opposing viewpoint. We have all become so accustomed to reading only the news curated for us through our algorithms — or through our own media habits — that often important stories don’t even reach us. Recently, I argued with a reader about politics and couldn’t believe they hadn’t even heard of several important topics that weren’t covered on their preferred news source. Information isn’t partisan, it’s just information. You choose what to do with it later; but, at the very least, we should all have exposure to it.
LISTEN
Folk singer Hudson Freeman started writing his first songs at 13 when he made a radical break from his evangelical missionary parents and moved from the suburbs of Dallas to Eswatini, just east of South Africa. Inspired by Midwest folk artists like Sufjan Stevens and Bon Iver, Freeman’s vibe is fresh, resonant, reflective and poignant. His songs “If You Know Me” and “I’m Most Me,” are among his best. Listen on streamers.
WATCH
mainstay at events ranging from weddings to black-tie galas and Fortune 100 soirees — and is among the winery’s finest musical accompaniments to a relaxed evening in one of Sandpoint’s favorite venues.
— Zach Hagadone
5-7 p.m., FREE. Pend d’Oreille Winery, 301 Cedar St., 208-2658545, powine.com. Listen at jonathannicholson.net.
The Netflix documentary The Perfect Neighbor is a unique film. Not only does it tell a heart-wrenching story about a white Florida woman who shot her Black neighbor, but it consists primarily of police body camera footage from the many times law enforcement visited the neighborhood over two years. The documentary is so well done yet so sparing in production value, I didn’t think I’d come out of it dabbing tears from my eyes. It shows an intimate, powerful view of this one neighborhood in the U.S. that will truly make you thankful for having good neighbors.
Illustration by Guy Tensen
From Pend Oreille Review, August 6, 1915
FINN CLAIMS HE IS INNOCENT
Gust Nickolson, Finlander, is in the county jail awaiting his appearance at the September term of the district court to answer to the charge of killing Samuel Burns, the Laclede bartender, last November.
Nickolson was arrested at Pasco last week on information furnished by one Charles Brown, and when taken before Probate Judge Wood last Monday was found to answer the description of the Finn suspected of the murder.
Nickolson, in company with several other Finns, had been in and around Laclede for several days prior to the muder, and that on the day of November 4, on which Burns was fatally wounded in the holding up of the Graves saloon. The Finns had been in the store of Carl Jacobon several times.
Fred Reem, of Hope, testified that about 5:30 o’clock on the day of the murder, he was told by one of the Finns that at the saloon next door a fight was in progress and that the bartender was shot. As he ran toward the saloon he found one of the Finns crawling through the fence and when Reem attempted to stop him, the Finn stated that he was shot. Reem turned the Finn over to the crowd that had gathered and proceeded to the Graves saloon where he found Burns, the bartender, lying on the floor near the stove. Burns and the Finn both died in less than a day but before his death, “Daddy” as Burns was called in Laclede, told Reem that the Finn who did the shooting was the one with whom Reem had had an argument while he, Burns, was in the store earlier in the day. Reem stated on the stand that Nickolson was the Finn with whom he had had the argument and that was the one accused by Burns. Nickolson was unable to provide an alibi, but claimed he was innocent.
BACK OF THE BOOK
Puddingmit Generation Z
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
I recently introduced my coworkers to the newest Generation Z craze — at least in the German-speaking world — pudding mit gabel or “pudding with a fork.” To host a pudding mit gabel gathering, simply advertise a time and place for people to meet, then wait. Thousands of people attend these events with their own fork and pudding cup and, after counting down together (with pudding cup percussion), they all sit and eat. It’s as simple as that.
This baffles most people, as do many Gen Z trends.
It’s next to impossible to explain why it’s funny without ruining it (like Reader Editor Zach Hagadone did for the Gen Alpha meme “6-7” in his Oct. 23 piece, “Switching Geertz”). It’s also next to impossible to explain why it’s funny because, well, it just is. Pudding is funny. Eating it wrong is funny. If it isn’t, explain to me why.
Still, my perspective on the why of this pudding party is easier to understand.
Gen Z has grown up in an often-overpopulated, economically insecure and technology-reliant world. Unlike Millennials, we weren’t told that the world was our oyster, only to hit our 20s and learn that the rich and powerful were actively working to destroy the planet.
As soon as we were old enough to comprehend language, we were taught that the world is on fire — a very preventable fire — and that people are throwing gasoline on it because they
STR8TS Solution
don’t believe life is sacred unless it’s their own or a pea in a uterus. We learned about all the animals going extinct and the children starving and the soldiers living with PTSD on the streets and we were shown how the American government could work to fix these issues, and it just doesn’t.
But hey, as a reward for surviving all those school shootings, we got the choice to vote for either the incompetent party or the fascist party.
In America, especially, while Gen Z was in the first stages of developing various anxiety disorders, we also saw — and continued to see — the loss of after-school programs and safe outdoor spaces. So, when your playground is razed and made into pickleball courts and the state cuts funding for your daycare or art club, the most addictive platform left to create connections is technology. The virtual replaces the tangible out of necessity. This issue doesn’t go away as we age, because eventually the third place outside of work and home becomes the bar, and that has its own issues.
This increasingly isolating age has made it more difficult and more important than ever to find community.
What can you do when your social needs aren’t being met, but going to a bar or trying to find a book club just isn’t working? You eat pudding with a fork. Pudding mit gabel provides a safe space for groups to interact and leverages the absurdity of the act to break the ice between strangers. Moreover, unlike a bar or a regularly scheduled activity, it requires very little time and money.
Absurdism is Gen Z’s comedy and philosophy of choice for the same reasons listed above. We have grown up
Sudoku Solution
believing that we never stood a chance and that everything we do is meaningless. Whether or not you believe that, Albert Camus and the absurdists taught us that you can spend your life searching for meaning in the meaningless, or you can rebel and enjoy life, knowing there is no greater purpose.
Gen Z often feels that we have nothing to lose and everything to gain, so rather than waiting for the metaphorical Godot, we embrace the fact that nothing matters. We free ourselves from the bigger picture that we can’t control and instead focus on what makes living life bearable.
This can lead to hedonism and consumerism, sure, but also a strong desire to build up and protect our communities. If all we have is what’s before us, then we make the best of what’s there, laughing as we do so. Sometimes that means joining a protest dressed as Captain America because our government doesn’t see our friends as human beings; or, sometimes, it just means eating pudding with a fork.
Crossword Solution
Whether they ever find life there or not, I think Jupiter should be considered an enemy planet.
Laughing Matter
Solution on page 26 Solution on page 26
By Bill Borders
/PINCH-bek/
[adjective] 1. sham, spurious or counterfeit.
CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1. Without delay
6. Outward 11. Steam
12. Questionable
15. Dissuades
16. Abrasive
17. Before, in poetry
18. Hopelessness
20. Arctic bird
21. Emollient
23. Rub with a circular motion
24. Circular course
25. Type of fruit
26. All right
27. Small songbird
28. Earl Grey and orange pekoe
29. Beer
30. Forays
31. Born dead 34. Lustrous fabric
36. Consume food 37. Fathers
41. Long, long time
Solution on page 26
56. Smiled scornfully
Fairy tale character
Inscribed pillar
An alloy of iron Word Week of the
“The president, with his pinchbeck concern for the American people, is busily building a gilded ballroom and planning to name it after himself.”
Corrections: Our corrections box is as empty as a vampire’s coffin on Halloween.
42. Sounds of disapproval
43. Broadcast
44. At the peak of 45. Workshop gripper 46. Ascend 47. Grayish brown
48. Sophisticated
51. Consumed
52. Residential parking spot 54. Offer more for
10. Rotted
Makes butter
Kid 15. Beginning
Lacking courage
Slop
1. Arithmetic mean
Kneecap
Type of primate
128 cubic feet
Celtic language
Get away
Radium discoverer
Russian emperor
Appropriate DOWN
Error 24. Emery wheel 26. In a willing manner (archaic) 27. Armed conflict
30. Decays 32. Poetic contraction
33. Cooked by dry heat
34. Ringed planet 35. Torments 38. Friendly 39. Purify 40. Horse 42. Harangue 44. Combines 45. Not a consonant 48. We are (contraction)
