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The week in random review
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
worthy news
Professional journalists get just as worn out by the news cycle as anyone else. Despite what some politicians, pundits and barstool bloviators might say, we are actually human, and there’s only so much bad news and bitterness we can take. Dissociation takes a lot of forms — binge watching shows we’ve seen a thousand times, retreating into the fetal position with blinds drawn all weekend, gorging on junk food and unhealthy drink — but one tactic I’ve come to enjoy is reading other people’s news. Specifically, I often peruse The Lymington Times and New Milton Advertiser, which are the community weekly broadsheet newspapers that cover the New Forest area of Hampshire County, England, as well as nearby Christchurch and Dorset. That might seem weirdly specific, but it’s the part of the U.K. where my aunt and uncle have lived for decades and which I’ve visited more than a few times. I love it there — it’s the definition of the English countryside, bucolic and quaint. The New Forest is one of the biggest national parks in the country, filled with free-ranging ponies, and the surrounding towns are brick-walled and thatch-roofed with at least two cozy pubs apiece. When I read The Advertiser and Times, I’m able to return there and gain comfort from the goings-on. This past week the headlines included the closure of the A35 bypass for three weeks of work, prompting Christchurch drivers to plan for delays. Meanwhile, an effort to establish “reserve status” for a “beauty spot” in New Milton is going forward. Two projects totaling 153 homes are in the process of replacing farmland, and some of the neighbors are none too pleased. Other bad news: an “angry villager” is launching a final effort to save a historic bridge slated for demolition, a “vandal with a grudge” smashed the New Milton Town Hall doors and “a pensioner” was knocked over by a cow while walking her dog in the forest and later died of her injuries. While it’s calming to disappear into these small-town happenings across the pond, alas, President Donald Trump still managed to spoil the mood this week. According to The Advertiser and Times, a poll by YouGov shows 45% of Britons feel that Trump’s recent state visit to Windsor Castle for a banquet with the royal family was “wrong.” Sigh.
sloppy
AI “slop” is fast taking over the internet. The Guardian reported that nine of the top 100 fastest-growing YouTube channels are purely AI-generated, while a recent article on theconversation.com highlighted the “band” The Velvet Sundown, which made waves in the summer when The Rolling Stone reported that it’s an AI confection. As for sites like LinkedIn? An analysis showed more than 54% of those posts are “likely AI-generated,” according to WIRED.
DEAR READERS,
Autumn officially begins Sept. 22, but in talking to locals around town, it started last week when the cooler temperatures rolled in and the hordes of summer tourists began to recede. Everyone seems ready.
I’ll miss the warm days on the lake, wearing no socks for months in a row, walking out my front door with nothing but a t-shirt and shorts and knowing I’ll be comfortable. I’ll miss summer music floating through the air, the smell of backyard barbecues and the faraway sound of kids splashing in the water at City Beach.
We experience four full seasons in North Idaho (several more if you count “mud season,” “fire season,” “lingering winter season” and “holy cow is winter finished yet? season”), so it’s nice to sink into the transition and say goodbye to one while welcoming another.
Here’s wishing you all a fantastic fall.
– Ben Olson, publisher
111 Cedar Street, Suite 9 Sandpoint, ID 83864 208-946-4368 sandpointreader.com
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About the Cover:
This week’s cover photo by John Larrabee captures a kayaker returning to the boat launch near the Clark Fork river entrance to Lake Pend Oreille
BoCo Museum faces obstacles to lease renewal
Repairs, potential expansion on hold
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
After six years of applications, the Bonner County Historical Society and Museum has once again petitioned the city of Sandpoint to renew its 40-year lease agreement at Lakeview Park, which the two entities entered into in 1979. The nonprofit first applied for renewal in 2019 under a previous City Hall administration and, after going without an active lease for nearly four years, received an extension in 2023 that will expire later this month.
BCHS and the city began working to create a long-term home for the museum in 1972 and completed construction of the current building in 1980, stipulating in the lease that the organization would pay for and facilitate all future maintenance and improvements on the grounds. In return, the museum would pay $1 per year in rent and “shall have the option to renew this lease for a like period on each successive termination,” according to the 1979 agreement. The museum has made several attempts to fulfill the lease, going so far as to drop the $40 rent check off at City Hall, but has yet to receive a definitive answer on its future at Lakeview Park.
The Sandpoint City Council has not voted to deny the renewal, nor has it accepted it. In May, the city proposed a 30-year lease that would give it the option not to renew the museum’s lease. The item was scheduled to appear on the Sept. 17 City Council meeting agenda; however, Sandpoint
Mayor Jeremy Grimm removed it at the request of the museum.
Grimm told the Reader on Sept. 10 that the city “does not support an automatic renewal” of the lease because the museum should be “subject to periodic review to ensure it continues to serve the public interest.” He further argued that if the City Council had intended to give the space to the museum in perpetuity, it would have “sold the property for a nominal amount.”
“Circumstances change over decades — community needs evolve, property values shift and priorities must be reassessed,” Grimm told the Reader. “An auto-renewing lease would effectively eliminate the opportunity for the public and their elected representatives to review whether the terms remain fair and appropriate.”
BCHS Board President Tonya Sherman acknowledged those concerns but argued that they do not apply to the nonprofit, which has maintained its original mission to educate and preserve local history throughout its time at Lakeview Park.
“We are a civic organization,” said Sherman. “We’ve been founded by the community, and it directly aligns with what the city does.”
The small, volunteer-run organization stewards more than 400,000 historical objects and operates as the county’s primary archive with only two part-time employees. According to Sherman, it is subject to both state and federal reporting.
“[The 30-year lease] fundamentally breaks the promise of 1979,” said
Sherman at the Sept. 6 City Council meeting. “This new lease dismantled the partnership [between BCHS and Sandpoint] and reduced Bonner County Historical Society to a shortterm tenant. Thirty years may sound like a very long time, but we’re talking about a historical society. We’re planning for the next 99 years right now.”
Sherman told the Reader that the museum is “open to an amended agreement,” but that a new lease without an automatic renewal securing the museum’s future would discourage people from investing time and money in the organization.
“This is not about questioning the museum’s contributions or value — they are recognized and deeply appreciated,” said Grimm. “Rather, it is about preserving transparency, accountability and flexibility for the community as a whole.”
He later told the Reader that he looks “forward to a mutually agreeable solution to this sticky point over the term of the lease.”
“Per our attorney’s guidance, BCHS will not engage directly with city personnel,” Sherman wrote in a Sept. 14 email sent to the BCHS board and the Reader. “Next steps will proceed counsel-to-counsel, meaning our attorney will work directly with the city’s attorney.”
BCHS continues to operate as usual; but, until it can secure a lease, all repairs and potential improvements to the building and grounds are on hold. According to Sherman, the museum depleted almost all of its reserve funds
— approximately $20,000 — in 2024 to repair water and sewer lines on the property and still needs to replace its leaking roof, which will cost an estimated $90,000. The Bonner County board of commissioners allocated an additional $15,000 to BCHS’s fiscal year 2026 budget to help cover costs, and the organization received an additional $1 million from an anonymous donor to replenish its coffers and plan for future projects.
The City Council approved preliminary plans to expand the museum in 2001, when BCHS first realized that its collection was rapidly outgrowing the space. The nonprofit has recently moved forward with the planning process, creating a five-year plan and budget, evaluating all programs and services, and undergoing a collection assessment for preservation to determine how best to store the artifacts and maximize space.
BCHS collaborated with North Root Architecture to develop potential building plans, which it will then present to the community for feedback and suggestions.
“We want to come back to the community and say, ‘Does this work? Is this really what people like?’” Sherman said.
< see MUSEUM, Page 5 >
Top left: As the Bonner County Museum and Historical Society’s collection continues to grow, volunteers do what they can to make use of all available space. Photo by Soncirey Mitchell.
Top left: Riders and their horses at the old fairgrounds, which are now Lakeview Park. Photo courtesy of the Bonner County Historical Society and Museum.
New lawsuit challenges Idaho’s private school tax credit program
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
Idaho’s controversial private school tax credit program is being challenged in court, with a lawsuit announced Sept. 17 in Boise arguing that House Bill 93 is unconstitutional.
According to Idaho Education News, the challenge is brought by the Idaho Education Association; Moscow School District; Mormon Women for Ethical Government; former-Superintendent of Public Instruction Jerry Evans; Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, R-Idaho Falls; the Committee to Protect and Preserve the Idaho Constitution; and several citizens.
The lawsuit centers on the obligation under Idaho Constitution’s that the state “establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public free common schools.” Meanwhile, the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit, passed by the Legislature in the 2025 session and signed by Gov. Brad Little, allocates $50 million in taxpayer money each year to provide families with students in private or religious schools with support for tuition costs and other expenses.
Referring to the Constitution’s requirement to support statewide public education, Boise attorney and
< MUSEUM, con’t from Page 4 >
“When people are involved in building something, then they have ownership in it, too. So we need to create ways to do that,” she later added.
The priority is to ensure a safe environment with sufficient space to store the museum’s ever-expanding collection. However, with that task complete, BCHS staff and volunteers have dozens of ideas to make the space more inviting and accessible to the public, including new classrooms and archive programs. Current proposed improvements are broken down into two phases. Phase 1 would add 1,500 square feet of archive and program space and completely renovate the building’s HVAC system to better preserve the collection, costing BCHS an estimated $737,500.
Phase 2 would add another 2,700 square feet and remodel the current interior to maximize storage space and improve the building’s flow so that the museum can remain partially open, even while changing out exhibits. Those improvements would cost approximately $1.6 million. Neither phase would
president of the Committee to Protect and Preserve the Idaho Constitution Daniel Mooney said: “These 14 words are simple, yet they’re profound, and H.B. 93 has no basis in them.”
Under the provisions of the program, recipients are eligible for a tax credit up to $5,000 per child enrolled in a private or religious school, and $7,500 per student with special needs.
Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, who co-sponsored H.B. 93, told Idaho EdNews that she is “as confident as we ever have been in the constitutionality of this bill, both with the Idaho Constitution and the United States Constitution.”
At the same time, Reclaim Idaho is gathering signatures for a petition titled “Not A Dollar More!” to oppose H.B. 93, available at reclaimidaho.org.
The lawsuit comes amid a series of town halls hosted throughout the state by the Save Our Schools organization, which came to Ponderay on Sept. 11, and Priest River and Post Falls on Sept. 13.
Moderated by educator and high school debate coach Marcy Curr, the
impact the park’s trees, playground or defining features, though BCHS intends to partner with the neighboring Sandpoint Lions Club and Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society to create a landscaped, cohesive campus.
Without a guaranteed lease renewal, BCHS has also begun conducting “feasibility studies” on other properties to which the museum could potentially relocate. The historic granary building (599 Church St., in Sandpoint), which recently came back on the market, is one such possibility, but it would cost BCHS $11 million. Both BCHS Executive Director Hannah Combs and Sherman were quick to say that no one at BCHS wants to leave, and they “don’t think it’s the [city’s] intent to have us not be here.”
“The Bonner County Historical Society belongs in the heart of Sandpoint because it helps residents see themselves as part of something larger, connected to this place and its ongoing story,” Combs at the Sept. 6 council meeting, going on to talk about how the museum affects each generation in Sandpoint.
Ponderay town hall included panelists Jan Bayer, Boundary County School District superintendent; education policy researcher Elizabeth Wargo; and Kim Keaton, of the Idaho Building Capacity Project and former Sandpoint Middle School principal.
“For the first time in Idaho history, our tax dollars are going to private education,” Curr said during her introductory remarks, later adding, “This is not just a matter of families taking their dollars to another school of choice, they’re taking all of our dollars with them.”
Curr went on to say that in addition to H.B. 93 channeling public funds toward private education, it lacks ac-
countability. When the tax credit goes into effect in January 2026, it will be the only educational program administered by the Idaho Tax Commission, which raises concerns about whether those funds will be appropriately put toward legitimate educational needs. While recipients are required to show proof of their use of the money, Curr said there have been examples in other states with similar programs of credits or vouchers being used to buy LEGOs or trips to Disneyland. Public
< see SCHOOLS, Page 7 >
“This is what the Bonner County Historical Society does every single day. It helps us discover our place in the grand story of this remarkable community,” she added. “This sense of belonging transforms visitors into invested community members and residents into
people who don’t just live in Sandpoint, but actively build its future.”
Sen. Jim Woodward and Rep. Mark Sauter explain why they voted against H.B. 93. Photo by Soncirey Mitchell.
Construction of the Bonner County Historical Society and Museum building at Lakeview Park concluded in 1980. Photo courtesy of the BCHSM.
‘100 Deadliest Days’ on Idaho roads total 88 fatalities
By Reader Staff
The Idaho Office of Highway Safety reported Sept. 17 that 88 people died in crashes on Idaho roads during the so-called “100 Deadliest Days” — defined as the dates between the Memorial and Labor Day holidays.
Though all numbers are preliminary, that figure is up from 82 during the same period in 2024, with one fatality reported in Bonner County during this year’s busiest traffic season.
“During this time, more people are on vacation, celebrating or traveling, and risky driving behaviors tend to rise,” OHS stated. “Of the 60 people killed in motor vehicle crashes, 23 were not wearing seat belts. Nearly one-quarter of those killed this summer were motorcyclists.”
The top contributing factors to road fatalities were lack of seat belt use; failure to maintain lane; speeding; alcohol impairment; inattention; driving left of center; overcorrection; lack of helmet use; asleep, drowsy or
fatigued while driving; and improper overtaking.
According to an announcement of this year’s 100 Deadliest Days, the Idaho Transportation Department and OHS are working to change the upward trend in road fatalities by gathering and sharing data, as well as ramping up public awareness through statewide education campaigns, expanding enforcement efforts in conjunction with local law enforcement and improving infrastructure for safety.
The top two most populous counties in Idaho experienced the highest number of fatalities with a combined total of 17 during the period, while Kootenai County — the third-largest county in the state — suffered four fatalities.
“Every death is a tragedy,” stated Highway Safety Manager Jo Middleton. “We can save lives by always wearing a seat belt, driving engaged, driving sober, and slowing down so everyone can make it home safely.”
Bits ’n’ Pieces
From east, west and beyond
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot last week while answering questions from a crowd at a Utah university, various media reported. He had just been asked “do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” To which he replied, “Too many.” After being told the number was five in 10 years, the fatal shot was fired from a nearby rooftop.
Days later, recognizing his son in a photo, the shooter’s father urged Tyler Robinson, 22, to turn himself in, the AP reported. He’s been charged with aggravated murder, alongside weapon and obstruction offenses.
Kirk, 31, established Turning Point USA as a teen to push right-wing politics onto campuses. Survivors include his wife and two daughters.
An angry President Donald Trump said, “For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis ...”
No motive had been confirmed as of press time, but charging documents made public this week indicated that Robinson left a note for his roommate stating, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to take it.” In a subsequent text message to his roommate, Robinson allegedly wrote, “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.” As of Sept. 17, Robinson had not made a formal confession and is being held without bail in Utah. If convicted, prosecutors plan to pursue the death penalty. Kirk’s documented statements include, in part: “We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the mid-1960s”; “Reject feminism. Submit to your husband ...”; “[I] t’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment ...”; and Martin Luther King was “awful.” Kirk denigrated prominent Black women such as former-first lady Michelle Obama and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and called transgender people “an abomination to God.”
Trump doubled down on blaming the left for Kirk’s demise and vowed to “destroy” progressive groups, such as the Ford Foundation, Southern Poverty Law Center and Open Society Foundations. All three organizations have condemned Kirk’s killing
According to The Hill, the Department of Justice recently removed a 2024 National Institute of Justice study from its website showing far-right
By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Contributor
extremists have “committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than far-left or radical Islamist extremists, including 227 events that took more than took 520 lives.” That was compared to 42 ideologically motivated attacks by far-left extremists during the same time period, claiming 78 lives, according to the study.
CNN reported that about 150 politically motivated attacks occurred in the U.S. during the first half of this year — almost twice the number from the same period in 2024.
Left and right expressed sympathy for the Kirk family and denounced political violence, but MAGA influencers are calling for anyone who speaks “ill” of Kirk to be punished or fired, and some have been, according to various media.
Speaking on the Megyn Kelly Show, Donald Trump Jr. claimed there’s not “a group more violent per capita than the radical trans movement,” claiming “It feels like” trans people have perpetrated “practically every mass shooting in America for the last few years.” Since 2018, there have been 4,147 mass shootings, seven of which were committed by a transgender person, or 0.17% of the total, according to Politifact.
Meanwhile, the AP reported that Senate Republicans defeated Democrats’ effort to force the release of Epstein files ; an appeals court affirmed the $83.3 million defamation jury verdict against Trump for damaging E. Jean Carroll’s reputation, according to The New York Times ; and Politico reported that a district judge ruled Trump’s mass firing of probationary federal employees was illegal.
Former-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for a coup attempt, Mother Jones reported and Venezuelan officials said the U.S. Navy “illegally and hostilely boarded” a tuna fishing boat in the Caribbean, according to the Military Times. Trump said the U.S. military again targeted a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela killing three alleged “narcoterrorists,” the AP reported. That strike came almost two weeks after U.S. forces attacked a Venezuelan speedboat that killed 11 alleged drug traffickers, in what bi-partisan lawmakers have called executive overreach and international human rights groups described as “an extrajudicial execution.”
Blast from the past: “A key to intelligence is the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn.” — Futurist and businessman Alvin Toffler, author of the influential Future Shock (1928-2016).
What’s on the ballot for the Nov. 4 election
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
With the Tuesday, Nov. 4 election fewer than two months away, absentee ballots could start being mailed as soon as Thursday, Sept. 25 and early voting open on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Meanwhile, the deadline for candidate filings and ballot measures has passed, meaning that what voters will see at the polls has been established by election officials.
Depending on the precinct in which they live, Bonner County voters will have municipal offices, fire district commissioners, levies, a local option tax and a special municipal revenue bond to consider.
In Sandpoint, the ballot
< SCHOOLS, con’t from Page 5 >
schools are audited every year and those results made public.
“They’re only held accountable if they’re audited, and right now fewer than 2% of tax returns in Idaho are being audited,” she said.
H.B. 93 passed the Legislature and secured Little’s signature despite “20 to 1 opposition” from the public, including a letter signed by 73 superintendents from around the state urging the governor to veto the bill, Curr said.
Bayer said that while she’s “not opposed at all to parent choice, it’s just very difficult when we have to go out and beg the public for a supplemental levy and a bond and we can’t hardly pass those, and we continue then to fight an uphill battle and funds are diverted.”
She argued that the state should first fulfill its constitutional obligation to fully fund public education, “and once that’s accomplished, I don’t mind those funds being diverted.”
Wargo warned that “an enormous amount of money is going to for-profit companies, most of which are nowhere near Idaho, in ways that don’t benefit kids. Those dollars are your tax dollars. ... I don’t frankly believe that that’s
will include four candidates running for three seats on the Sandpoint City Council: incumbents Joel Aispuro and Rick Howarth, as well as Joshua Torrez (listed as Torrez Joshua) and Joe Tate.
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.
Sandpoint voters will also be asked whether they are in favor or against giving City Hall the authority to issue up to $130 million of revenue bonds to design, acquire and construct improvements to the wastewater treatment plant
what’s going to be best for our communities and the Idaho panhandle, specifically.”
Kim Keaton said Idaho’s “one-size-fits-all” funding formula doesn’t work for every school — especially rural schools where enrollments are small — requiring levies to make up the difference. Taking $50 million more out of the budget only makes that situation worse.
“In areas that don’t have the income that urban areas do ... we need to have enough money for them,” he said, later adding, “Have we created more choice with private schools? They already existed. ... [T]hey’re just going to get tax money.”
The potential windfall for the $300 billion education technology industry is obvious, Wargo said.
“If you don’t think that folks are trying to capitalize now knowing that that money is potentially there, you’re wrong,” she said.
While H.B. 93 came with a cap of $50 million, Wargo added that one of the advocates of the bill said that figure will rise to $250 million “in the blink of an eye.” In other states, such as Arizona and Florida, where similar pro-
located on the Pend Oreille River adjacent to Lakeview Park and War Memorial Field.
In Clark Fork, incumbent Mayor Russell Schenck will run against Tanya Becker, while in Dover voters will choose between incumbent City Council President Kim Bledsoe, incumbent Councilor Merlin Glass, Jerry Heaps and Hans Steidl for two four-year seats. Kootenai residents will cast ballots for one four-year seat on the City Council, picking between Robert Dressel and Danelle Baumgarten-Pickett.
Those who reside within the West Pend Oreille Fire District in the Priest River area will vote for one four-year commissioner seat for Sub-District 1, with David A. Van Natter
grams are in place, appropriations have spiraled into hundreds of millions of dollars.
Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, explained his vote against H.B. 93, saying, “Our forefathers set in place this system where we said those who would otherwise not receive an education do. And that’s what the public system is doing — it creates community and a sense of belonging in the state. That is not to take away at all from what some parents do ... but if we have to prioritize the money, we have to make sure that public system is taken care of. That’s been a real challenge.”
He echoed Wargo’s warning that the $50 million cap on H.B. 93 is no protection against increasing allocations.
“I think that made the legislation more palatable, but that cap will be challenged,” said Woodward, who serves on the budget-setting Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee. “If it’s not removed by the Legislature, then that cap will be challenged in court, I believe.”
Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint, also voted against the bill, in part because he’s a strong supporter of public education, but also
and Nigel Cave on the ballot.
In Ponderay, voters will weigh in either for or against 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
because he said it wasn’t a responsible use of tax dollars.
“I just didn’t think it was right that we would shift $50 million to something it was estimated that somewhere between 7% and 10% of our families might benefit from.”
Rather, he argued that those dollars should have been put toward property tax relief.
What’s more, Sauter didn’t see how H.B. 93 increased school choice.
of taxable assessed property value per year in order to fund street maintenance and capital improvements.
Finally, Northside Fire District residents will vote in favor or against a special permanent tax levy of $1,345,410 — up from $661,071 — effective in Fiscal Year 2026 to pay for staffing and 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, absentee ballot requests, polling place locations, sample ballots and calendars, go to bonnercountyid.gov/Elections-Home.
“There’s lots of school choices across districts, as well,” he said. “I just thought, for a myriad of reasons, I just couldn’t bring myself to vote for [H.B.] 93. I think there’s got to be better ways for us to support public education and school choice. ... but we have to vote ‘no’ sometimes, and this was one that it wasn’t that hard for me to push the button.”
Bouquets:
• A Bouquet goes out to Kevin Dorin and Mack Deibel at The Hive for their excellent work putting on the second year of the Deep Roots songwriting showcase. It’s really awesome to see people support original songwriting and help bring it in front of audiences. The show on Sept. 13 was a lot of fun and I left feeling like my artistic well had refilled to the brim. Special thanks to all those who came out to support local artists.
Barbs:
• Another week, another notch closer to complete lunacy in America. Fox News host and perpetually angry troll Brian Kilmeade let slip a remark that, in any other timeline, would have been enough to send him with his walking papers. Instead, it barely registered as a blip on the radar. While discussing the recent murder of a woman by a homeless and mentally ill man on Fox & Friends, Kilmeade’s co-host Lawrence Jones talked about public money spent on trying to help homeless people, suggesting that those who didn’t accept the services offered to them should be jailed.
I’m sorry, what? Are we at the point in the U.S. where one of the leading “news” network hosts casually brings up an idea to round up homeless people and kill them and the show just continues unabated?
Four days later, Kilmeade offered a lukewarm apology, saying, “I wrongly said they should get lethal injection. I apologize for that extremely callous remark.”
Neoconservative writer Bill Kristol tweeted that Kilmeade, “deserves praise for” the apology.
Doing the bare minimum — like apologizing after saying homeless and mentally ill people should be euthanized — is not worthy of praise, Bill.
Ready to listen?…
Dear editor,
I just read Ted Wert’s guest submission barb in the Reader [Sept. 4], and it brought to mind a similar experience. I attended a Simon and Garfunkel concert at college in 1968. It was a small venue, and when they started playing there was a fair amount of background talking. They simply stopped and said they would continue when the audience was ready to listen. This led to a great evening of music. This is almost nonexistent anymore, with the exception of music at the Panida. It certainly isn’t true at the Festival.
Jon Nylund Sandpoint
‘Congratulations, you’ve succeeded’...
Dear editor,
In a past publication Ben Olson says, “In fact I’m not trained to do anything ... All I’ve ever wanted to do is write exactly what I want to write and get some idiot to pay me for it.”
Congratulations, you’ve succeeded. Your, and Hagadone’s hatred for our president (and country) is so blatantly obvious that it borders on psychosis.
I suggest a visit to a psychologist to calm your compromised mind.
Dr. A.D.C.
Sandpoint
Publisher’s note: We normally don’t publish anonymous letters, preferring our readers to take accountability for their words (you know, like we do every week), but this person left their address and at least some initials on the handwritten letter, so we’ll let it slide.
It’s a perfect sign of our times that they believe I (and Editor-in-Chief Zach Hagadone) need to “visit … a psychologist” because we sometimes offer fact-based criticism toward our growing authoritarian-in-chief. Also, what about Senior Writer Soncirey Mitchell? What is she, chopped liver? Does she not also deserve to share in your shower of vitriol?
It’s probably easy for this letter-writer to justify backing somebody like Donald Trump because the actions Trump has taken to dismantle America as we know it and supplant it with a neo-fascist oligarchy won’t ever affect them. If it did, they wouldn’t think that people who call it out need a psychiatrist. Obviously, Dr. A.D.C. feels Trump’s policies and rhetoric benefit them in some way,
or at least harm the kinds of people they want to see harmed. Maybe both. Classic ladder-puller: get to safe ground and yank the ladder up behind you so nobody else follows. In Britain, the expression, “I’m alright, Jack,” encapsulates those who only act in their own self-interests, even if providing aid to others would cost them minimal effort.
We prefer to build ladders here at the Reader
When the great ledger of history is written, I’m one of those cranky people who demand that I be associated with those who fought against fascism, not bent a knee to it. When we write criticism about Trump — or any number of other people from the president down to the city councilors — we do so using facts, logic and evidence-based experience. How common it is to receive a letter like this that boils everything down into a simple, “Well, they think differently than me, so they must be clinically insane and need help.”
And for the record, offering nuanced criticism of your country isn’t “hate.” I’d argue that it means quite the opposite. We used to be proud of our First Amendment protections. But I suppose nuance is wasted on a closed mind.
Rest assured, Dr. A.D.C., this “idiot” will continue penning articles in this newspaper long after you are
gone. Perhaps then, in the not-toodistant future, we as Americans will realize that it’s not “psychosis” to think differently than someone else; that compassion is not a weakness; that empathy is not a negative thing.
The ladder-pullers of the world will always bellow, “I’m alright, Jack,” but all I hear are words of privilege, spoken by a scared and ignorant segment of our population who will not be remembered with kindness in the annals of history.
— Ben Olson, publisher (and ladder-builder)
‘Piece priority’…
Dear editor, Is the Second Amendment now No. 1? Our country is No. 1 in gun ownership and deaths and you’d better shut up about it unless you love it.
“I think it’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the second amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational” — Charlie Kirk, April 5, 2023. When Kirk said “some” gun deaths, was he considering around 47,000 U.S. citizens that would be gun victims in 2024? I’d be willing to bet he didn’t want to be a martyr himself to this cause, yet leaders
are using Kirk’s Second Amendment zeal and tragic death as fuel for suppressing freedom and speech and bearing arms as proudly as ever.. I respectfully disagree with Kirk’s irrational nonchalance about “some deaths” being “worth it” to “protect our other God-given rights.” I hope I don’t get shot or locked up for saying this, but Jesus didn’t own a gun, and neither should a third of my fellow countrymen. I believe in the sanctity of human life over gun sales.
Jodi Rawson Sandpoint
‘Loose end at Schweitzer’…
Dear editor,
As a skier who is over 80 years old, I no longer ski alpine and just ski X-country at Schweitzer. Their Nordic trails are super and especially well groomed. Not only that, but because of my age, Schweitzer lets me have a free day pass. Bravo Schweitzer, for the splendid grooming and free day pass!
However, one mystery remains. There is no over-80 price break for a season pass for Nordic skiers. That is strange.
Richard Sevenich Sandpoint
Speak up to protect Roadless Rule and preserve our national forests
By Amy Anderson Reader Contributor
The Roadless Rule protects 58 million acres of our most intact, unlogged national forests from road building ,which facilitates industrial logging, mining, drilling and other industrial activities.
The Trump administration recently announced its intention to repeal the Roadless Rule and we only have until Friday, Sept. 19 to speak up.
Twenty-five years ago, roads were banned in these precious 58 million acres and the Roadless Rule was adopted and embraced by our legislators for a number of far-sighted reasons. (Note: roadless areas are, for the most part, open to the public for camping, mountain biking and other uses).
It has long been understood that roads are bad for wildlife for a number of reasons, the primary one being habitat fragmentation. These protected roadless areas are often home to the headwaters of major river systems, as
well as the last undeveloped watershed, wetland and forest complexes left in the contiguous continental U.S., which are critical to conserve in the face of global climate change.
Roads also increase human caused wildfire, which accounts for the vast majority of wildfires globally. In the U.S., approximately 85% of wildfires are attributed to human actions. As for recreation, the need for roadless areas is self explanatory.
The primary reason the Roadless Rule was passed was because of the extreme burden on the American taxpayer related to the massive cost of building and maintaining existing roads, which included a huge maintenance backlog on existing roads. Building and maintaining millions of miles of roads in our remote national forests is not cheap.
Make no mistake: If this rule is repealed it will be another bonanza for billionaires paid for by the American
people into perpetuity.
It is important to submit individual comments, mentioning specific places that are important to you, to the U.S. Department of Agriculture at regulations.gov, Docket Number FS-2025-0001.
Please copy all of your legislators as well, and let them know loud and clear that you support the Roadless Rule Conservation Act.
To help with your comment submission, below is a template from the John Muir Project:
“I strongly oppose the administration’s proposal to rescind the Roadless Rule. Eliminating these protections will harm our water, wildlife and public lands. Roadless areas safeguard the headwaters that provide drinking water to millions of Americans. They are critical wildlife corridors, cultural and spiritual sites and some of the last intact ecosystems in the U.S. The
USFS has acknowledged it ‘makes little fiscal or environmental sense’ to keep building new roads, especially when nearly 95% of human caused wildfires start within a half-mile of existing roads. Removing the Roadless Rule would open the door to logging and road construction that fragment habitat, degrade water quality and increase taxpayer cost for building and maintaining unnecessary infrastructure.
“Instead of rolling back protections, the administration and Congress should strengthen them: close all logging loopholes, ban destructive activities in roadless areas and ensure permanent protection in law. I urge you to keep the Roadless Rule in place and pursue stronger, permanent protection for these irreplaceable landscapes.”
Amy Anderson is executive director of the Selkirk Conservation Alliance. Learn more at scawild.org.
Amy Anderson. Courtesy photo
Science: Mad about
b-17 ball gun
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist
The gunners of the B-17 Flying Fortress were a different breed. These men endured unimaginably low temperatures, near-constant bombardment by heavy ordnance and cramped conditions to do a job that wasn’t suited for any human being. The ball gunners were especially vulnerable, locked into a cramped space on the underbelly of the plane while flak erupted all around and enemy fighters roared by with guns blazing. If something went wrong — like if the landing gear couldn’t deploy — the ball gunner would almost certainly be sacrificed for the safety of the rest of the crew, leading to a terrifying and agonizing death.
Despite their obvious shortcomings in design, the B-17 ball gun was an essential engineering marvel that helped preserve untold lives throughout the course of World War II.
The ball gun seems like a simple design. It’s a sphere installed with two .50 caliber guns and attached to the bottom of an aircraft. However, this gun was precisely engineered so that it would minimally affect the aerodynamics of the plane while also being just short enough that it wouldn’t scrape against the tarmac during takeoff and landing. The guns had to be set to their maximum angle of 85 degrees, almost parallel with the bottom of the plane, in order for the plane to smoothly take off.
The gunner wasn’t in the sphere for the entire flight. This would have been extremely uncomfortable and
wildly impractical. The entire gun was about 3.5 feet in diameter, meaning the gunner had to cram in there and sit in the fetal position for as long as he was protecting the plane. Additionally, the gun had a separate air supply that could last for about two hours. This separate air supply was vital, as the 360-degree movement of the gun would have caused kinks in the supply line that would have asphyxiated the gunner. This line was fed by a small tank attached to the mounting and could be replaced by the waist gunner in the main body of the plane.
The space within the ball gun was so cramped that the gunner couldn’t wear a parachute while locked into position. They could wear a harness to strap on their parachute, but the parachute was hanging in the fuselage of the plane above. If the plane was going down, it was likely too late for the gunner, who would have had to rotate the ball gun back into its proper position, lock it in place, open the hatch, and climb back into the plane and attach their chute all while the aircraft was likely in the middle of a flaming doom spiral.
The B-17 was an open-air aircraft. This meant the temperature inside of the plane was whatever the temperature was outside of the plane. This is a far cry from modern passenger aircraft with pressurized climate control. The B-17 and the ball gun could reach temperatures as low as minus-50 degrees Fahrenheit. To manage these temperatures, flight crews wore insulated leather flight suits with fur-lined boots. An external suit with heating coils was also worn, which could be hooked into
the plane’s electrical system. This system also extended into the ball gun to feed the suit and the controls within, including the gun’s targeting sights and gun controls.
Controlling the ball gun was a full-body experience. Two handles with firing buttons controlled the rotation of the turret and were mounted just below the gunsight in front of the gunner’s head. Pushing the handles had inverted controls for left and right, while pushing forward would lower the guns and pulling back would raise them. The gunner had a push-totalk button for his microphone to communicate with the rest of the crew, which was located next to the heel rest of his right foot and operated by his foot.
Manual gun selector switches were mounted near the gunsights. These were effectively safety switches and were vital to the operation of the guns. Due to the heavy mittens gunners needed to wear during a sortie, it was easy to unintentionally press the firing buttons on the handles. The selectors were switched off until the gunner was ready to fire.
Before the gun could be fired, it had to be charged. You’ve seen this in movies when a character dramatically cocks a rifle, racking a round into the chamber. This was a complicated thing to do in the cramped space of the ball gun, as a gunner couldn’t generate the force required to charge it with a straight pull. Instead, engineers devised a pulley system that generated extra force and allowed the gunner to pull crossways, as if they were rowing a boat.
Due to the angles at which
the gun was able to fire, engineers had to be crafty to preserve the plane’s propellers. The guns could point at an angle that would destroy the propellers when firing, so a little extra care had to be taken by the designers of the ball gun.
A cam at the front was rigged to the B-17 mounted at the front of the ball turret — this was stationary and would not move with the turret. A pin at the head of the ball tur-
ret would touch the cam and interrupt the circuit, stopping the ability of the guns to fire. As you might have guessed, this was precisely situated to prevent the guns from firing on their own propellers — however, that system didn’t preserve the open bomb bay doors. Looking for more? Your local library has a comprehensive collection of WWII books, particularly on aircraft. Stay curious, 7B.
Random Corner
• Milk chocolate is a high-fat, high-sugar treat, but dark chocolate can actually have some health benefits. According to Harvard University, eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate can help lower blood pressure and reduce inflammation. Also, dark chocolate with 70% cocoa or more contains more caffeine per ounce than coffee.
• Raspberries are a member of the rose family. Other relatives include cherries, apricots, plums, pears, apples, peaches, strawberries and blackberries.
• Chickpeas (or garbanzo beans) and almonds contain almost as much protein as steak. One hundred grams of steak can contain up to 25 grams of protein, while the same amount of chickpeas contains 21 grams and almonds weigh in at 28 grams.
• Brussels sprouts are one of the most hated vegetables, but they’re among the most nutritious to eat. They are packed with vitamins and minerals, have virtually no calories, no fat, no cholesterol
and they fill you up. Also, they are an amazing antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties.
• Pistachios aren’t actually a nut. They’re a “drupe,” a family that includes cherries, peaches and olives. So, technically, pistachios are a fruit (actually the seeds of a fruit, because the outer fruit is removed during processing).
• Caesar salad has nothing to do with the ancient Roman dictator of the same name. It was actually invented in Tijuana, Mexico, in 1927 by Hotel Caesar owner Caesar Cardini.
• California rolls and Hawaiian pizza were invented in Canada, not the U.S. The California roll was first crafted in Vancouver, B.C., by chef Hidekazu Tojo. The Hawaiian pizza was an experiment by Greek-Canadian Sam Panopoulos, who named it based on the brand of pineapple the chef was using at the time.
• Bananas are the world’s oldest fruit, dating back more than 10,000 years.
A ball gunner climbs into the B-17 Sperry ball turret; 8th Air Force. Photo courtesy of U.S. Army archives.
Expect budget-setting to be contentious in the 2026 Legislature
By Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle Reader Contributor
In the past decade, we have made substantial investments in Idaho’s future by investing in infrastructure. Rural sewer and water, state and local transportation, and schools have been a real focus in the recent past. Those investments are going to get cut short soon.
Unfortunately, it appears we are going to prove an old adage true: “It isn’t the decisions made during difficult times that will cause you grief, it is the decisions made during good times.”
The state of Idaho is facing budget difficulties in the current year with potentially bigger challenges in the next few years. Why? Because the Legislature got too aggressive cutting taxes.
In the past eight years, Idaho has reduced the income tax rate five times. I have been in the Senate for three of those rate reductions. I voted for the first two because I support keeping our taxes low. I voted against the 2025 income tax reduction with the belief it
would cause problems balancing the budget in a few years. Instead, the problem came home to roost in a matter of months, as evidenced by the Gov. Brad Little’s 3% budget holdback this summer.
We also overestimated revenues. Every year, we balance the state budget. To do that we estimate tax collections for the upcoming budget year, then decide how we will spend the amount we have estimated.
In the 2025 legislative session, political gamesmanship ran amok. Normally, the revenue estimate is voted on in the first or second week. We went two months without setting an estimated revenue, while spending money as if there were no limit.
In other words, some folks figured out what they wanted to spend and then set the revenue estimate to match.
I believe it is unprecedented in Idaho history to set budgets without first
setting the revenue estimate. It is another step down the path toward functioning (or not functioning) like Washington, D.C.
That is a pretty strong complaint I’ve made. What am I doing about it then? I am going back to Boise in January to fight for balanced, thoughtful decision-making like Idaho is traditionally known for. I believe budget-setting will be the most prominent and contentious issue of the 2026 legislative session.
As vice-chair of the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee, I will be pushing for a more conservative budgeting process.
Jim Woodward is the Dist. 1 Republican senator from Sagle. He serves on the Joint Finance-Appropriations (vice-chair) and Education committees. Reach him during the legislative session at 208-332-1349 (Statehouse), 208-946-7963 (home) or jwoodward@ senate.idaho.gov.
Sen. Jim Woodward. File photo
Separating Kirk and state
By Dave Britton Reader Staff
I write this on “Constitution Day,” Sept. 17, 2025, in the wake of last night’s monthly session of the Bonner County Republican Central Committee at which the chair, Scott Herndon, presented a resolution to honor Charlie Kirk, an influential American rightwing activist who was shot and killed Sept. 10 for apparently politically motivated reasons.
Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA and contributed to building the Christian nationalist wing of the Republican Party. The full text of the resolution can be found at bit.ly/BCRCCKirkResolution.
The irony of Constitution Day comes from the reasons I expressed when I moved to amend the resolution by striking the words “and biblical” from the last sentence, and the reasons for my vote against the resolution when my amendment did not pass (it failed and the resolution passed, both by 23-3 votes).
The core issue for me is the U. S. Constitution’s protection of our freedom
of religion. The text of that last sentence in the resolution is an explicit commitment to “contending for a conservative, Republican and biblical worldview in politics and civic engagement.” I’m a rational, responsible Republican, so I would prefer to avoid the term “conservative” as being too emotionally loaded and ambiguous, especially in these times. But I absolutely cannot support a “biblical worldview in politics.”
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...” are the first two provisions of the First Amendment of the U.S Constitution. This is clear and definitive by itself, but there are lots of further analyses and historical and legal discussions and precedents that clearly establish that a publicly elected official acting in an official capacity in the U.S. must not seek to impose a biblical worldview or its effects on their constituents.
Historically, Quakers were among the first religious groups in the early American colonies to have to protest to defend their freedom to practice their religion. It is in the spirit of their “Flushing Remonstrance” of 1657 that I stand against
the intrusion of a “biblical worldview” into the laws, regulations and practices of our government.
According to Wikipedia, “The Flushing Remonstrance was a 1657 petition to Director-General of New Netherland Peter Stuyvesant, in which some thirty residents of the small settlement at Flushing requested an exemption to his ban on Quaker worship. It is considered a precursor to the United States Constitution’s provision on freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights.”
It is sad, in my view as a person of faith — a practicing Quaker and a recorded minister of the Sandpoint Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), that a flank of the Republican Party disrespects this and will readily engage in dismissing or glossing over the fundamental right we have to worship as we choose, neither impeded by nor differentially favored by government policy or practice.
Dave Britton serves as Beach Precinct committeeman for the Bonner County Republican Central Committee.
Hope kicks off Oktoberfest season at Memorial Community Center
By Reader Staff
Moving into the final weeks of September means it’s getting time to don the lederhosen and dirndls, and the kickoff to Oktoberfest season will be Saturday, Oct. 20 at the Memorial Community Center (515 E. Wellington Place, in Hope).
Revelers are invited to enjoy a dinner of homemade brats with sauerkraut, potato salad, beans and dessert for $20, with Bavarian pretzels, wine, margaritas and Oktoberfest beer available for additional purchase.
The fest runs from 5-7:30 p.m. and includes live music and dancing with Ian Newbill and Hogwire, which includes
Newbill on guitar and vocals, Matt Linscott on bass and vocals, and Mark Linscott on drums and vocals.
The band specializes in high-energy southern rock and country tunes. As they state on their Facebook page, “It’s not uncommon to catch Hogwire delivering impromptu mashups of iconic country hits by Jason Aldean and Johnny Cash with the electrifying energy of AC/DC. Their performances are characterized by perma-grins, flying pork rinds, and an infectious sense of joy that leaves audiences craving more.”
For more information, or to volunteer for the Oktoberfest in Hope, go to mccinhope.com/events.
What parents and community members need to know about measles in Bonner County
By Dr. Andrew Vizcarra Reader Contributor
Bonner County has recently seen a confirmed case of measles — something many families haven’t encountered in decades. Measles is an ancient disease with known patterns of infection, rates of complications and effective preventative measures. This robust history and knowledge, while not predictive of future effects on our community, can certainly help us mitigate the harm measles may cause. Local health care providers want you to know that our priority is keeping this community informed and supported.
Recognizing the signs
Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads easily through coughing, sneezing or lingering in the air of enclosed spaces. Symptoms usually appear seven to 14 days after exposure and often begin with: a high fever, often over 101° Fahrenheit; cough; runny nose; and red, watery eyes. A few days later, a rash typically appears — starting at the hairline and spreading downward.
Why early action matters
While most recover fully, measles can lead to hospitalization and serious complications — especially in young children, pregnant individuals and those with weakened immune systems. That’s why it’s important to act early and reach out to your health care team if you notice symptoms.
What to do
If you or your child has been exposed or is showing symptoms:
• Call your health care office before coming in. This helps clinics prepare
and protect others;
• Stay home and avoid public spaces until you’ve spoken with a provider;
• Keep track of symptoms and share any changes with your care team.
How providers can help
Your local health care providers are here to listen, answer questions and guide you with compassion and care. You don’t have to navigate this alone. We may ask about: recent travel or known exposure; vaccination history, if applicable; and when symptoms started and how they’ve progressed. Even if you’re unsure, reaching out is always the right step.
A community response
The relevance and existence of Kaniksu Community Health is requisite on our ability to serve this community well. Our pediatric providers are parents and honor the responsibility, joy and gravity inherent in the role of parents in our community. We are intentional in positioning ourselves alongside, rather than in front of, parents and children when they seek to make important decisions about their health. We are here to listen, offer guidance and help you make the best decisions for your family.
It is from that position that we approach the subject of measles in our community. We encourage everyone to stay informed, be cautious and lean on your providers for guidance.
If you have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We are here for you.
Dr. Andrew Vizcarra is chief of pediatrics at Kaniksu Community Health, located at 810 Sixth Ave., in Sandpoint.
FEATURE
From New York to Sandpoint, the long way ’round Sandpoint local
Alan Ball receives a postcard — 72 years later
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
Most Sandpointians will recognize the name Alan Ball — whether from his time at the Gardenia Center, his performances with the Singer’s Dozen or from the Bonner General Health emergency room. He’s been a beloved member of the community for decades, and now the rest of the nation is catching on, launching Ball into stardom thanks to a late postal delivery.
The postman recently delivered Ball a postcard marked “return to sender” — 72 years after he dropped it in the mail in New York City.
The memento from his high-school trip didn’t reach its destination of Ottawa, Ill. — or likely leave New York — until August 2025, when its arrival piqued the interest of the local postmaster. With the help of a few genealogists, the U.S. Postal Service managed to track down Ball and finally deliver the card.
Now an 88-year-old retired doctor, Ball recalls his 1953 trip as a “life-changing” experience. He’d worked for years mowing lawns and shoveling snow until he saved up enough money to visit his cousins and aunt at their coffee plantation in Puerto Rico. Ten years before the invention
of the ZIP code, a trip like that meant taking the train from Illinois to New York, then hopping on a plane.
“I’d never been on a train,” Ball told the Reader. “And then I had to catch an airliner to Puerto Rico from New York — I’d never been on an airliner before, either. It was a propeller-driven thing.”
During his brief stop in the city, Ball visited the newly built United Nations headquarters and sent a quick postcard to his folks telling them he’d arrived safely. Little did he know that postcard would garner the interest of both The New York Times and CNN seven decades later.
“I took the airplane down to Puerto Rico overnight, which was really something because I had a window seat in the airplane and here was the engine spewing out these gold and blue flames,” said Ball. “As I was watching it, it kind of made me sad. I was thinking, ‘These engines have to do all that work. They’re working all night long and here I am.’”
Years later, Ball would find himself on a similar path, working through the night in the ER; but, back then, he was just the sheltered son of an Illinois Methodist preacher about to experience another culture for the first time.
“It changed my life, seeing how other people live in other
cultures and how there’s really no difference between them and ourselves,” said Ball. “They just happen to live in a different spot and have different traditions and languages.”
Over that summer vacation, he learned three crucial things: to accept everyone as they are; to see that, deep down, “everybody is nice”; and that Puerto Rican horses speak Spanish. He then went off to college and met the love of his life, Jeanie Ball, before dropping out and heading to Alaska, where he worked on the railroad, fixed and invented electronics, panned for gold and successfully earned his pilot’s license from a con artist. Eventually, by accident, he ended up in medical school.
“I thought, ‘Well, I could do that,’” he said — “that” being a charter member of the American College of Emergency Physicians, a then upand-coming medical field.
“It was something that was fun, you know. I liked being an ER doc,” said Ball. “I never knew what was coming in the door, and it was always OK, because I might not know everything about it, but I
got to see the world from somebody else’s eyes.”
probably know more than the person who came in the door.”
Ball has plenty of tales from his time practicing in Iowa and Idaho, where he made friends with every patient, nurse and doctor that crossed his path.
“One thing about the emergency room is not only that it’s new every few minutes, but you get to see life from another side,” said Ball. “You get to talking to them when you’re working with them — usually, unless they’re unconscious.”
He remembers one particular patient — a little girl who was having trouble breathing — that earned him an unlikely friend: her gun-toting father.
“The poor guy, he was just so scared,” said Ball. “He pulled a gun out and he said, ‘Doc, you better save my daughter.’ I looked at him and I kind of smiled to myself. I said, ‘You know, if you shoot me, then I can’t take care of your daughter.’ So he backed off.”
“That’d be pretty frightening for a parent,” he added. “You don’t know if your baby’s dying or not. So I can understand why he would be upset. You’ve
Despite three near-death experiences, Ball has spent his days laughing, painting, playing piano, singing, landscaping and caring for dozens of wild pets over the years, including a crow, opossum, raccoon, mole and bat.
“[There are] lots of expanding experiences in a person’s life — not just mine, but everyone’s — if you’re paying attention to what’s happening around you and are ready to accept it,” said Ball.
Clearly, life isn’t done with him yet, sending him on yet another adventure in the form of a faded postcard with a two-cent stamp like a one-way ticket down memory lane.
“It kind of struck me that, when they were trying to find my folks in Ottawa, nobody knew who they had been,” said Ball. “Our legacy doesn’t last very long locally, or any place. Nobody knew who I was, nobody knew my father, and it didn’t matter.”
Maybe “nobody” knew who he was then — at least in Ottawa — but now it seems that half the U.S. knows his name. Whether in Idaho, Iowa or Illinois, the ongoing story of Alan Ball won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
Above: Domestic postcard stamps cost $0.61 today, but USPS honored the original $0.02 stamp.
Left: Alan and Jeanie have been together for nearly 70 years. Photo by Soncirey Mitchell
Above: Jeanie Ball cuddles up with the couple’s pet racoon. Photo by Alan Ball
A portrait of 1933
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
On the recommendation of a former professor-adviser of my undergraduate studies in political economy, I purchased a copy of The Oppermanns, a novel written by Lion Feuchtwanger in the incandescent heat of the year 1933 in Berlin, Germany.
Feuchtwanger was born in 1884 — five years older than Adolf Hitler — but was an actual German, unlike the “Bohemian corporal,” as Weimar President and Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg referred to him, owing to der Führer’s provenance in Austria.
Born in Munich to an Orthodox Jewish family that had weathered pogroms in the 16th century and, by the 19th century, had flourished in the foodstuffs industry, Feuchtwanger went on to found the publication Der Spiegel (which exists today as a powerful media property) and developed into a playwright, who influenced the likes of Bertolt Brecht.
Unlike Brecht, Feuchtwanger’s plays were not performed in their day, including Jud Süß, written in 1916 for stage but novelized in 1925, then appropriated and doggerelized in 1940 by the Nazis into a notorious piece of antisemitic propaganda
The other play Feuchtwanger wrote and that morphed into a novel was The Oppermanns, which portrays how the members of a large Jewish-Christian family navigated the swiftly evolving (or devolving) conditions in their multi-generational homeland.
Divided into three sections titled “Yesterday,” “Today” and “Tomorrow,” the book covers a deceptively short amount of time — only a year or so, with certain days, weeks and months freighted with more uncertainty and terror than others. But the structure lends itself to the stepwise progression of dictatorship as it creeps up on people who are too often over-confident in the stability of their lives and the institutions that underpin them.
While being populated by composite characters, The Oppermanns is a gripping portrait that feels absolutely true, considering that it was written amid the real-time, real-life advance of National Socialism in crumbling Weimar Germany. The book’s horror
flows not only from the everyday travails experienced by its personalities — nor what the reader knows occurred in the Holocaust, which was looming on the horizon, and which Feuchtwanger foresaw even in those “early days” of the Nazi regime — but how relatable it feels to current conditions in the United States.
For instance, the passage below occurs on Page 225 and is (in part) a monologue by the family attorney Mühlheim in reference to the fire that gutted Germany’s parliament, the Reichstag, which had just occurred and an event that various Oppermann family members are either denying the Nazis perpetrated, claiming it wasn’t that big of a deal or getting ready to quit Germany for Palestine because of.
“They [the Nazis] have gambled on the stupidity of the masses with alarming accuracy,” Mühlheim warns Gustav Oppermann in a predawn visitation during which he encourages his friend and client to get out while the getting is good.
“The Leader [Hitler] himself frankly stated that such gambles were the fundamental principle of his political actions: why shouldn’t they continue along those lines? ...,” he says, adding:
“They don’t bother about unnecessary niceties. They are gigantic, shockingly coarsened, provincial Machiavellis. Their success is chiefly due to this primitive peasant craftiness. The fact is, the others inevitably persist in believing that no one could be taken in by such crudeness. And then, equally inevitably, everybody is taken in.”
As more and more of the Oppermanns’ neighbors, colleagues and erstwhile friends are “taken in,” they find their status slipping away, their jobs imperiled and their reputations destroyed by the opportunism that the Nazi terror offers to those who stand to benefit from it. Their reactions are varied: shock, denial, flight and the torturous act of coming to grips with what’s really happening around them. They suddenly can’t say certain things, do certain things, go certain places — not because of some high-handed edict (that would come later), but because of fear. With all other political parties outlawed and mobs marching in the streets to the tune of the HorstWessel-Lied (named for an assassinated brownshirt whom the Nazis turned
The Oppermanns is a novel torn from history, but with lessons for today
into a national martyr), they simply don’t feel safe in the place their family has called home for centuries.
There is one character in The Oppermanns who confronts this “crudeness” with the most heartbreaking directness and courage, and that is Berthold Oppermann, Gustav’s nephew.
Berthold is 17 years old and the best student at his school, which prides itself on its liberal arts approach to education. Berthold’s earnestness and integrity are challenged when a new headmaster arrives with a Hitlerian agenda, full of pseudo-history, pseudo-science and pseudo-morality, and he fills the class’ curriculum with his claptrap.
Meanwhile, Berthold has been preparing a lecture to be presented to his classmates on humanism, but is forced to scrap that in favor of an exploration of “Arminius, the German” — an obviously propagandistic fantasy rooted in German exceptionalism.
Berthold is no dummy, though. He immediately picks up on the intellectual dishonesty of the assignment, yet works through the nights to write a nuanced, critical and analytical argument that deflates the myth of Arminius while also extolling supposed “German values.”
(Arminius was the Roman-era Cheruscan tribal chieftain who destroyed three legions in the Teutoburg Forest and — at least according to the Nazis’ retelling — founded the Germanic cultural tradition, which was untrue, as Berthold knows.)
With his thesis completed and mid-delivery, Berthold suggests Arminius wasn’t the grand founder of Germanism, and the headmaster interrupts and denounces him before the class — the former’s attempt at “restoring truth and sanity” to German history, to borrow a contemporary phrase.
The headmaster demands Berthold apologize and recant — despite the fact that he wasn’t allowed to finish — though the boy sticks to his guns, despite the dire ramifications to his own academic life and the lives of
his family. He’s a patriotic German with a true and powerful sense of the country’s intellectual, moral and philosophical heritage, of which he feels a part. He can’t imagine why another German would be so dense. It doesn’t matter: The headmaster is in charge and Berthold isn’t.
A lot of us feel like Berthold right now. We’re being told by the “headmaster” or “the Leader” a pack of nonsense that is simply not true, and if we say the obvious thing — that it’s not true — then we’re told that we’re the ones who are crazy or unpatriotic, ahistorical, un-American.
We are not.
And if there’s one truth in Feuchtwanger’s wrenching portrait of the deeply human Oppermanns, it’s how terrifying it is to live in a country you love as it gives in to its basest instincts — against reason, against community, against humanity — along with the immense sadness that brings and the courage necessary to meet it.
The cover of Lion Feuchtwanger’s The Oppermanns. Courtesy image
COMMUNITY
Jeanine Asche’s MostlySandpoint art exhibit on display at Evans Brothers
By Reader Staff
Local artist Jeanine Asche will be featured at a reception for her Mostly Sandpoint show Thursday, Sept. 18 from 5-7 p.m. at Evans Brothers Coffee (524 Church St., in Sandpoint).
Community members are invited to view her work, enjoy refreshments and meet the artist. Admission is free and, during the reception, Asche will raffle off one of her giclèes. Her other works will be on sale both unframed and matted
and framed.
Asche is an accomplished local artist known for her unique painting style and interesting depictions of our region and beyond. Her Mostly Sandpoint exhibition showcases her connection to the Sandpoint area through a series of watercolor, oil and acrylic paintings.
Asche’s work will be on display at Evans Brothers through Friday, Oct. 10. View more of her pieces — including prices — at facebook.com/sandpointartist.
Artwork by Jeanine Asche
POAC, Mattox Farm Productions named as finalists for national concert series grant
By Reader Staff
The voting period has closed for the Levitt Foundation’s Music Series Grants, and the Pend Oreille Arts Council has made the cut to be among 50 finalists nationwide.
Applicants are seeking a multi-year grant of up to $120,000 in matching funds to support their efforts at providing live music in their communities. In Sandpoint, POAC and Mattox Farm Productions have joined forces to seek the grant to sustain the Sandpoint Summer Music Series, which offers four free outdoor shows each year at Farmin Park and The Heartwood Center (615 Oak St.).
“We are excited about the possibility
of bringing even more free concerts to Sandpoint,” POAC Executive Director Tone Stolz said as voting opened on Sept. 5. “While there are many opportunities to experience music in town, the cost can be a barrier for many families. Our goal is to create a vibrant, accessible space where everyone can enjoy live music without the expense.”
The application from POAC and Mattox Farm was the only finalist from Idaho, and the only one from the Inland Northwest.
With the finalists identified, the Levitt Foundation has begun its final review process, which will result in the winners receiving their grant dollars in up to $40,000 installments from 2026-2028.
The L.A.-based Levitt Foundation has
awarded grants to nonprofit arts organizations in more than 50 communities since 2015. The most recent round of grants drew more than 300 proposals, with only 100 advancing to the public voting phase.
Selected recipients will be announced Nov. 18, and voting was conducted through public process from Sept. 5-15.
The grants are to be used to present between seven and 10 free concerts each year “that inject new life into underused public spaces, creating joyous, inclusive community destinations in towns and cities of all sizes,” according to the foundation.
To learn more, visit levitt.org, artinsandpoint.org and mattoxfarm.com/ summermusicseries.
NIMSEF opens 2025-’26 ski scholarships with new website
By Reader Staff
Local nonprofit invites students and disabled individuals to apply for season-long ski and snowboard opportunities at Schweitzer.
Applications are now being accepted for ski and snowboard scholarships from the North Idaho Mountain Sports Education Fund, which has also unveiled a redesigned website for the 2025-’26 season at nimsef.com.
The updated website streamlines the scholarship application process, offers detailed information about NIMSEF programs and highlights inspiring alumni stories. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which celebrated its 15th anniversary during the 2024-’25 ski season, was founded to provide youth scholarships so that participants who otherwise wouldn’t have the financial resources can access a lifelong sport.
Each scholarship recipient is asked to contribute a small portion of the nominal entrance fee and participate in fundraising by selling raffle tickets. In return, students receive a full Schweitzer season pass, lessons and equipment rentals for the entire season.
NIMSEF makes scholarships available to children in Bonner and Boundary counties on a financial needs basis, as well as disabled residents who want to participate in snowsports.
In partnership with Schweitzer, NIMSEF has helped more than 1,000 youth and dozens of disabled athletes experience skiing and snowboarding since its founding in 2010. NIMSEF also supports veterans by helping to sponsor an annual Veterans’ Ski Day at Schweitzer.
“The resort, and really any resort, revolves around everyone doing their part, whether it’s as a waiter, a ski
tech, or security,” stated NIMSEF founder and former Schweitzer ski instructor Jeff Rouleau. “And while it’s a great environment to work in, a large portion of the people who hold up this infrastructure can’t afford to enjoy it or expose their kids to it.”
Ninety-six percent of all donations to NIMSEF go to scholarships, with only minimal expenses for storage, insurance and website upkeep. Jason Steffens, of Smalltown Designs, donated his efforts to redesign the website. Some of his children were NIMSEF scholarship recipients, who not only developed a love of skiing, but also built their own business to fund their own skiing and eventually pursued careers in the sport.
Applications for the 2025-’26 season are open through Wednesday, Oct. 15. To learn more or to apply, visit nimsef.com.
Sandpoint Music Conservatory throws 115th birthday bash for 110 Main building
By Reader Staff
Some things get better with age. Fine wine. Violins. And, apparently, historic Sandpoint buildings. The iconic building at 110 Main St., in downtown Sandpoint, turns 115 years old in September, and the current occupants — the Sandpoint Music Conservatory — are throwing a birthday bash.
The celebration will kick off Friday, Sept. 19 with “Bells & Brews” from 5-8 p.m. on the patio at Connie’s Lounge (323 Cedar St.). Guests can enjoy drink specials while MCS students provide live music. There will also be a raffle, with proceeds supporting student scholarships.
The fun continues Sunday, Sept. 21 with “Birthday Tea and Tales” from 1-3 p.m. at the conservatory. Guests are invited to enjoy tea savories and mimosas, take guided mini tours of 110 Main St., and share stories and memories from the historic building’s remarkable past.
At 2 p.m., something “special” will rise up from the cornerstone at Second Avenue and Main Street.
According to MCS organizers, “an unforgettable birthday song will spill into the street, followed by cake and a cheer for all who gather.”
Coinciding with the birthday celebration of 110 Main, MCS is launching into its 17th school year, proving that while Sandpoint has seen plenty of changes over the past century — from horse-and-buggy parking to paved streets — some changes are most definitely for the better.
Over its 115 years, 110 Main St. has housed City Hall, Sandpoint
Police and Fire stations, a library, a local bank and utility offices, and even a jail. Today, it’s home to music, creativity and community thanks to the conservatory’s work and vision.
“Sandpoint’s downtown has reinvented itself many times,” said MCS founder and Executive Director Karin Wedemeyer. “Now the conservatory’s presence in 110 Main is breathing new life into a prominent corner through its growing generation of young performers. We’re proud to be a positive force for education, creativity and community in a building that’s full of so much rich history.”
All are welcome to join in celebrating this beloved part of Sandpoint’s past, as it has witnessed generations of change, laughter and stories. Now, 110 Main St. continues to ring with the sound of young artists learning and growing, thanks to MCS.
“This is more than a birthday party,” the organization wrote. “It’s a
‘What’s Happening Up North’ economic summit brings regional experts to Sandpoint
By Reader Staff
The Pend Oreille Economic Partnership will host its annual “What’s Happening Up North” economic summit, scheduled beginning at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25 at the Sandpoint Center community room (414 Church St.).
Registration is $89 and includes a lunch catered by Marigold Bistro, limited to 90 participants who will take in presentations from 9:15 a.m.-4 p.m., followed by a no-host happy hour. Register at pepidaho.org/economic-summit.
Business owners, community leaders and area residents are invited to attend the all-day event, which features insights from regional economists, plus panel and interactive discussions and networking opportunities.
The morning keynote speaker will be Avista Corp Chief Economist Grant Forsythe, providing an economic overview and outlook titled “Making Sense in Times of Chaos and Uncertainty.”
Forsythe holds a Ph.D. in economics from Washington State Universi-
ty and taught economics at Eastern Washington University from 1999 to 2012. Forsythe also serves on the Washington Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers, the Citizen Commission for the Performance of Tax Preferences, the Association of Washington Business’ Council of Economic Advisers and the Spokane Mayor’s Economic Advisory Roundtable.
Local Impact speakers include Ford Elsaesser, senior partner in the law firm Elsaesser Anderson Chtd. and a lifelong Sandpoint resident who serves as chair of the Idaho Lakes Commission and board president of Bonner General Health; Timothy Nadreau, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Idaho; and Steven Peterson, a clinical assistant professor of economics at U of I.
Elsaesser, Nadreau and Peterson will discuss the “what, why and how” of the Lake Pend Oreille economic impact study.
Community and Network speakers will be Joshua Kaiel, director of community development at the Inno-
via Foundation; Paul Kimmell, who serves as the Palouse regional business and public affairs manager for Avista; and Molly Sanchez, chief community investment officer at Innovia.
Kaiel and Sanchez will present on “Community Heart and Soul and the Power of Philanthropy,” while Kimmel will moderate a discussion titled “The Network: How Economic Development Really Works.”
Question-and-answer sessions and community discussions will follow each of the presentations, with networking opportunities throughout the day.
“As in previous years, our lineup of speakers, panels and participants will be examining and trading ideas for how rural communities such as ours can thrive in what are uncertain times nationally with economic factors changing frequently,” organizers stated. “How do we build sustainable communities? This is how. Come hear from experts and join the conversation.”
Get more information about the Pend Oreille Economic Partnership at pepidaho.org.
chance to honor the past, celebrate the present and look ahead to a future filled with music and community spirit.”
If you know someone who should receive a personal invitation, or might have stories to share about 110 Main St., email mcs@sandpointconservatory.org or call 208-265-4444.
The 110 Main St. building when it was Sandpoint City Hall, c. 1910s. Photo courtesy of Bonner County Historic Society
Send event listings to calendar@sandpointreader.com
Paint & Sip w/ Nicole Black
5:30-7:30pm @ Barrel 33
$45 includes instruction and supplies
Trivia with Toshi ($5/person)
7pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Maya, Arthur and Peter
5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Live Music w/ Moneypenny
5:30-8:30pm @ Smokesmith BBQ
Live Music w/ Möbius Riff
6-9pm @ Barrel 33
Live Music w/ Spool Effect
8-11pm @ 219 Lounge
Live Music w/ Hannah Meehan & Ezra
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Live Music w/ Mason Van Stone
6-8pm @ Baxters on Cedar
Live Music w/ Stephanie and Doug Hawkins Trio
5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Live Music w/ Ponderay Paradox
5:30-8:30pm @ Barrel 33
Live Music w/ Two Stones, One Bird
5:30-8:30pm @ Smokesmith BBQ
Live Music w/ Mason Van Stone
6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ The Liam McCoy Band
9pm-midnight @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Justin Lantrip
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Sandpoint Chess Club
9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee
Pool tournament
6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Fiddlin’ Red
1-4pm @ Barrel 33
THURSDAY, september 18
Line Dancing Lessons 6:30pm @ The Hive
FriDAY, september 19
Bells & Brews with MCS
5pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Charity event and performances with Sandpoint Music Conservatory students
Terry Robb in concert
6pm @ CREATE Arts Center (Newport)
Blues guitar virtuoso. $20/person
Karaoke Nights (Fri/Sat/Sun)
8pm @ Tervan Tavern
Live Music w/ Ken Mayginnes
6-9pm @ 1908 Saloon
SATURDAY, september 20
Roll On: Alabama tribute concert
8:30pm @ The Hive
Tickets: livefromthehive.com
Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 6pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante (weather-permitting)
Sandpoint Farmers’ Market
9am-1pm @ Farmin Park
Fresh foods and produce and more Sandpoint Lions Club Bingo Night
5pm @ Sandpoint Lions Den Games, prizes, food and drinks
Music w/ DJ Sterling 6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
SunDAY, september 21
September 18 - 25, 2025
‘Mostly Sandpoint’ artist reception 5-7pm @ Evans Brothers Coffee Free artist reception for Jeanine Asche
Terry Robb in concert
6pm @ Create Arts Center, Newport See Page 21
Chocolate making class 5-7pm @ Sandpoint Chocolate, 608 Lake St. $75/person. RSVP: 208-304-3591
BCA 8 Ball Pool Tournament (Fri/Sat) 6pm @ Roxy’s
Live Music w/ Chris Paradis
6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
Live Music w/ Swingin’ Jays 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
Fall Seed Saving Workshop 11am-2pm @ Sandpoint Library Garden
Learn important harvest practices and seed cleaning techniques. FREE Friends of the Library Special Sale 10:30am-1pm @ Sandpoint Library Only vintage and collectible books will be for sale this day. Lots of treasures! Oktoberfest in Hope
5-7:30pm @ Memorial Community Center Brats, drinks, beer, live music w/ Ian Newbill and Hogwire band
Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs 6-8pm @ Baxters on Cedar
Birthday Tea & Tales • 1-3pm @ Music Conservatory of Sandpoint
All are invited to share tea savories and mimosas, take guided mini tours of the building and share stores and memories from the building’s remarkable past. At 2pm, something special will rise from the cornerstone of Second and Main
monDAY, september 22
Live Music w/ Katelyn Fajardo and Mirabelle Skipworth
5-6pm @ Idaho Pour Authority East Coast troubadour folk musicians
Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi
7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
Sandpoint Farmers’ Market
3-5:30pm @ Farmin Park
Live piano w/ Malachi
5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Benny on the Deck w/ guest John Daffron
5pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Outdoor Experience Group Run 6pm @ Outdoor Experience 3-5 miles, all levels welcome
Trivia night 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Live Music w/ Tim G. 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
Celtic Folk Jam 3-6pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
tuesDAY, september 23
Karaoke night (every Tuesday) 9pm-1am @ Roxy’s
Live piano w/ Rich & Jenny 5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
wednesDAY, september 24
Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce After Hours hosted by Festival at Sandpoint 5-7pm @ Festival office (525 Pine St.)
Door prizes, appetizers, drinks. Learn about FAS’s year-round education programs at this open house event
ThursDAY, september 25
What’s Happening Up North Economic Summit
8:30-5pm @ Sandpoint Center community room
Insights from top economists in our region, plus panel discussions and networking opportunities. It’s a valuable day for business people, local leaders and those who share a quality of life here. pepidaho.org for info
Live trivia
7pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Line Dancing Lessons
6:30pm @ The Hive
Wild Open Mic Night
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Celebrate National Public Lands Day, share a story, song, poem about an impactful moment spent in the wild. Raffles, also. IPA will donate a portion of beer sales to Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness
A Taste of Tango 6pm @ Barrel 33
$15/person, no partner needed. Learn the tango from instructor Muffy!
Family Hour & Live Music w/ John Firshi
5-7pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co.
Also flower pop-up sale from 4-7pm
‘Secret Sunrise’ dance
5:30-6:30pm @ Sandpoint Library Garden Dance in the Library garden with wireless headphones
Movie Night on patio (The Sandlot) 6:30-9pm @ Barrel 33
Live Music w/ Carson Rhodes 8-11pm @ Tervan Tavern
The good, bad and ugly of film trilogies
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
While the film business is flooded with sequels, prequels, spin-offs and reimaginings, there’s something complete about a trilogy.
In a truly good film trilogy, each film stands on its own, but also compliments its counterparts while connecting all the dots to completely flesh out a story. In other words, it’s just right when you want something that’s just right.
At the conclusion of a good trilogy, cinephiles should turn off their TV and ruminate for a moment, allowing a graceful exit from that world back into the one we occupy together.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of trilogies that just leave us shrugging our shoulders saying, “Meh.”
In that spirit, here are some good, some bad and some downright ugly film trilogies.
The good
One cannot discuss film trilogies without mentioning what I consider the holy trinity of trilogies: Star Wars (Episodes IV, V and VI); Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King); and Batman (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises).
You’ve likely seen these nine films, so there’s nothing more for me to do but bow to them all.
I love Sergio Leone’s “Man with No Name” trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars; For a Few Dollars More; and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly) starring the young and grimacing Clint Eastwood.
The soundtrack, the setting and the old-school Western vibes give these films a mystique that lives on to this day. Perfect for watching in a hotel room in the middle of the day with some warm whiskey.
The Back to the Future trilogy also makes this list, because it’s just a fun romp through time, both within the film and looking back at the 1980s style that defined the era.
Finally, for those who enjoy a break from seriousness, The Naked Gun trilogy (From the Files of Police Squad, The Smell of Fear and The Final Insult) are some of the best and silliest comedies ever put on film. With the inimitable Leslie Nielsen leading the way, this triptych is a joy to watch, even if it is a little weird seeing O.J. Simpson before that whole murder thing.
Honorable mentions include The Matrix trilogy (which started off with a bang and ended with a CGI whimper), Kevin Smith’s trilogy (Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy), the vibey first three Bourne films (Identity, Ultimatum and Supremacy) and, finally, the Die Hard trilogy, which held its own until the last “Yippee ki-yay.”
The bad Some films are just a little too slick. The Oceans trilogy (Oceans 11, Oceans 12 and Oceans 13) falls into this category not because they’re bad films; they’re just lazy.
Brad Pitt’s schtick of eating in every scene is funny until it’s not. Julie Roberts walking in heels is about as awkward as her minor throwaway role surrounded by men. Each of the heist characters with their trite remarks elicited more eye rolls than laughs. The films got progressively worse — and banal — as they went on.
While I love J.R.R. Tolkien’s book The Hobbit, the trilogy (An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies) lacks the magic of the LOTR trilogy. It felt spread thin and too cheeky. Despite having three films in which to do so, it struggled to adapt Tolkien’s iconic book to film.
The ugly I enjoyed my first time watching The Hangover. Then they decided to make Part II and Part III. While the first film had some moments of hilarity (though some parts aged terribly), subsequent films were pandering stinkers that seemingly only had one goal: to make money off the first one by retelling it in a worse way.
In the same vein, if they would have only made one Taken film, it would have
“How many more damn dinosaur movies are we gonna have to watch, anyway?” Courtesy still from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
remained a favorite in the action genre, if only for that one Liam Neeson line everyone loves to parody.
However, when a new group of kidnappers returns in Taken 2, Neeson has another chance to show off his “particular set of skills” and proceeds to bore everybody. By the time Taken 3 came along, the whole cast and crew should have been taken behind the woodshed and given a smack in the chops for expecting anyone to sit through such unbelievable drivel. I mean, how many times can one person be kidnapped?
Finally, Jurassic Park was so monumental, the film industry will likely never be the same after the original hit theaters in 1993. With director Steven
Spielberg’s adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel about capitalist downfall due to the constant hunger for perpetual innovation, how could anything go wrong?
Then The Lost World and Jurassic Park III slowly took away from the iconic original until the real garbage Jurassic World films (Jurassic World, Fallen Kingdom and Dominion) entered the chat. The prehistoric slop fest that followed kept getting worse as they tossed more and more money at the franchise, which should have ended with the survivors boarding the helicopter and leaving the island once and for all.
As each new title was released, moviegoers kept asking, “But why do they keep bringing the damn dinosaurs back?” Indeed. But they did, over and over again, and now the franchise is a joke as old as the blubbery beasts that keep turning on their human captors and eating them. Mediocrity must taste pretty good.
Final thoughts
A good trilogy can elevate a franchise into something akin to a spiritual experience, but poor execution on subsequent films can taint the original so badly that it lies down with the dogs that now inhabit its space. Life is too short to watch cinematic bilge. Lipstick on a pig might look fun, but you’re still kissing a pig.
Barrel 33 launches patio movie night series with The Sandlot
By Reader Staff
As far as movie-watching experiences go, it’s hard to beat taking in a film in the open air, with access to a full food and drink menu — and bonus if it’s next to the water’s edge.
That’s what will be on offer from 6:30-9 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 25 with the first of a planned weekly Under the Stars Movie Night on the patio at Barrel 33 (100 N. First Ave., in downtown Sandpoint).
Organizers will project the
classic film The Sandlot either on a screen, with the audience facing Sand Creek, or on the outside wall of neighboring Spud’s. The free, family friendly event will feature popcorn and treats — including s’mores — alongside Barrel 33’s slate of food options, as well as beer, wine and soft drinks.
The patio Tiki Bar will be open for easy ordering, and attendees are invited to bring blankets. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, the film will be moved to Barrel 33’s
back room, which overlooks the creek.
The beloved 1993 comingof-age sports comedy The Sandlot follows the misadventures of a rowdy band of kids who spend the summer of 1962 at their neighborhood ball field.
When Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry) moves to a new house with his mom and step-dad, he tries to fit in with the neighbor kids, who are all diehard baseball players.
However, Smalls isn’t much of an athlete and
struggles to fit in, but all that changes over the summer — particularly after Hamilton “Ham” Porter (Patrick Renna in an iconic role) smacks a ball into the backyard of Mr. Mertle (James Earl Jones), whose English mastiff is aptly nicknamed “the Beast.”
Amid all the raucous goings on are doomed romance, a difficult step-dad and the loss of a particularly valuable baseball — which all builds to a showdown with the Beast, with some important life les-
sons learned along the way.
The Sandlot won the 1994 Young Artist Award for outstanding youth ensemble, and was nominated in 2024 for Best Iconic Family Film in the Family Film and TV Awards. Barrel 33 plans to host a movie every week, with E.T. scheduled for early October. Once the temperatures drop, films will be screened inside. For more information on Barrel 33 and its events, go to barrel33sandpoint.com.
By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist
Last weekend I traveled to Portland, Ore., for a bat mitzvah. It was a first for me, and it was moving. I had no idea of the preparation, study and practice that goes into this milestone event. Watching a young girl stand before her family, friends and congregation, carrying the weight of tradition and her own bright future, I felt honored to be in their presence.
There were proud adults wiping tears, a stirring presentation of the Torah and lively children diving under my seat for the traditionally tossed candy. A festive party came afterward, where we gathered with generations of the celebrating family to share delicious food, conversation, laughter and endless ice cream novelties, served from the cutest little truck ever.
The irony was not lost on me: I hadn’t been to Portland in five years, and suddenly I was there twice in one month. The first visit had been for a baby shower, so, within weeks, I witnessed both ends of the early-life spectrum — a celebration of a newly anticipated life (hosted by a dear friend, expecting her first grandchild) and another of sharing Jewish traditions from one generation to the next (another dear friend’s granddaughter).
I used to spend a lot of time in Portland. My oldest daughter went to college in the area (Forest Grove), and it was my connection city to board the Coast Starlight, the Amtrak train that snakes south to California. I used to design Oregon Food and Wine tours for Smithsonian Journeys that originated in Portland, and I’d spend days scouring the city to discover interesting food and wine facts and eateries that became personal favorites —
The Sandpoint Eater From bat mitzvah to bok choy
including Wilf’s, the iconic restaurant in Union Station, which has been going strong for 50 years.
Another favorite is Huber’s, Portland’s oldest restaurant, where Spanish coffee is set aflame tableside and the turkey dinners have been a standby for more than a century (it’s always fried oysters for me).
I went there on both of my recent visits, partly for nostalgia and partly because some traditions deserve to be kept alive. Another tradition of mine is wandering grocery stores in far-flung locations. You know you’ve found your people when your Sandpoint friends suggest visiting Portland’s largest Asian market, and you light up like a child on Christmas morning. Off we went. It was a challenge, with only a small carry-on (and my ever-present computer backpack) for the flight home. But that didn’t stop me from strolling through every single aisle, marveling at the rainbow
of rice noodles, rows of sauces, neatly stacked pyramids of baby bok choy and other perfect greens. I eyed the barbecue ducks that hung in orderly rows, glistening with glaze, but there, practicality won out. Instead, I tucked kaffir lime leaves (indispensable for a good curry) into my basket, a few varieties of noodles and the prize of the day: a giant bag of baby bok choy.
By the time my friends dropped me at the airport, bags in hand, I’m sure they were grateful they didn’t have to witness the (produce) production that was my repacking. Let’s say the travelers around me got a good show as I shuffled, folded and squeezed those vegetables into my suitcase. I’m happy to report the bok choy survived the trip home, and even happier to report that it has starred in several dishes this week.
Bok choy is one of those perfect ingredients: versatile, nutritious and compatible with
nearly anything you pair it with. Technically, it’s a type of Chinese cabbage, although it doesn’t resemble the round, green heads we’re accustomed to shredding every fall for sauerkraut. Its name means “white vegetable” in Cantonese, a nod to its pale stalks and spoon-shaped leaves.
Cultivated in China for more than 5,000 years, bok choy has traveled the world and earned its place in home kitchens far from its origins. The baby version, which I carried home like a treasure, cooks up especially tender and sweet.
The good news is you don’t need a trip to Portland’s Asian markets to bring some home. On my visit to our farmers’ market, I noticed a couple of vendor stalls stocked with baby bok choy. The season lingers a few more weeks, so now’s the time to grab a bundle or two.
At home, I’ve been slicing mine into ribbons and tossing it into stir-fries with ginger and sesame oil, folding it into noo-
dle bowls. One night, I gently braised it in chicken broth with garlic, ginger and soy, and added some wontons. Each time I cook with it, I think back to that bustling Portland market, where the satisfaction of finding something both familiar and fresh is palpable.
Travel has always been about more than destinations for me — it’s about connections. Sometimes those connections are as profound as watching a young girl step proudly into her faith and heritage. Sometimes they’re as simple as filling your carry-on with vegetables and laughing at yourself as you squeeze them between your shoes and laptop. Both moments nourished me.
So if you find yourself at the farmers’ market this weekend, look for those sweet little bundles of bok choy and bring some home. Toss it in a hot pan with garlic, drizzle in some soy sauce and add a few shrimp. My recipe is easy. Mazel tov, Ruthie.
Garlic-sesame shrimp with baby bok choy
Make this Asian-inspired dish vegetarian-friendly by using vegetable stock and extra veggies in place of the shrimp. Serve with a cold Riesling and wonton chips. If serving rice, begin cooking before you start the recipe. Both take about 20 minutes. Serves 4.
INGREDIENTS: DIRECTIONS:
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil (divided)
• 1 tbs vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ shallot, chopped fine
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• ½ pound fresh sliced mushrooms
• 1 pound baby bok choy, washed and halved lengthwise (or quartered if larger)
• ¼ cup chicken broth
• 1 tbs oyster sauce (omit for vegetarian)
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• Sesame seeds, for garnish
• Cooked jasmine rice or rice noodles, for serving
In a bowl, toss shrimp with soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Marinate 10 minutes. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high. Cook shrimp until pink, about 2 minutes per side. Remove to a plate.
Add garlic, shallot and ginger to the skillet; cook 30 seconds until fragrant, do not overcook the garlic! Add mushrooms, bok choy, broth, oyster sauce and red pepper flakes. Stir-fry until mushrooms and bok choy are tender, 3-4 minutes.
Return shrimp, drizzle with remaining sesame oil and heat through. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles. For extra sauce, mix 1 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs rice wine vinegar and 1 tbs of cornstarch with ¼ cup cold water, blend well. Add with the mushrooms and bok choy and stir until thickened.
MUSIC
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
When you ask Boundary County band Spool Effect what kind of music they play, the answer will likely be, “Yes.”
Kevin Dye, Tyler Pearson and Luke Zohn are proud to say their band isn’t just about the music, but also the family-centered culture that surrounds it.
As 9bnews.com described it, Spool Effect took their name from the vibe that comes with a weekly North Idaho get together with kids
You don’t need to be James Bond to get an appointment with this Moneypenny. The Missoula-based blues-rock band will play for free at Smokesmith BBQ on Friday, Sept. 19, entertaining diners from 5:30-8:30 p.m. The masters of improvisation will share their personal music and breathe new life into classic songs from legends like Eric Clapton.
Guitarist Christopher Gray,
frolicking about the yard, parents scurrying back and forth from the kitchen with with trays of food, and coolers of drinks — all of it focused on a large cable spool sprawled with flatware, drinks and paper plates. The spool is the core or heart of the family gathering.
Spool Effect plays a high-energy mix of reggae, funk and jam band tunes, but they’re always exploring new sounds.
“We’re all over the place,” said frontman Dye. “We play reggae, improv jam and, well, we just play music. It’s differ-
ent and fun. It’s family friendly and if you like to dance, dance. We’ll play for you! Music is about expression and if you play music, it’s in you forever.”
8-11 p.m., FREE, 21+. 219 Lounge, 219 N. First Ave., 208-263-5673, 219lounge.com. Listen on YouTube and other streaming services.
This week’s RLW by Ben Olson
READ
It’s incumbent upon all of us to be prepared for the inevitable moment in U.S. history when our “great experiment” fails at the hands of the ones who seek power over everything else. We could be in that moment right now. Written in 2017, historian Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century is like a guidebook during “America’s turn towards authoritarianism,” according to the author. It’s a quick read, but is filled with useful instructions for how to combat the rise of tyranny. Find it where you find books.
harmonica player Charlie Jopkins and bassist Mark Price all lend their voices to the band’s funky originals, which drummer Bryan Farmer rounds out with a driving beat. Their experimental style has earned them gigs across the Inland Northwest, often as headliners for regional blues festivals. Each musician brings years of experience and talent, culminating in a smoky, bayou sound that pairs perfectly with barbecue.
Roll On, The Hive, Sept. 20 Terry Robb, Create Arts Center, Sept. 19
The country charts belong to Alabama in the ’80s, with 27 No. 1 hits, seven multi-platinum records and a boatload of awards in that decade alone. Overall, the band boasts more than 40 No. 1 hits; 21 gold, platinum and multi-platinum records; and was named the Country Group of the Century by the RIAA. Carrying on the tradition is Roll On — a tribute group based in Portland, Ore., featuring veteran regional musicians Brian Pelky, Jerry Hatcher, Doug Reeder and
Jerod Moore — which will bring the iconic sounds of Alabama to The Hive, where audiences will get down to high-energy rocking country such as “Mountain Music,” “Tennessee River,” “Love in the First Degree,” “Roll On” and more hits.
— Zach Hagadone
Doors at 7 p.m., show at 8:30 p.m.; $34.80 adv, $40.38 day of; 21+. The Hive, 207 N. First Ave., 208-920-9039, livefromthehive. com. Listen at alabamatributeband.com.
Blues guitarists don’t come much more distinguished than Terry Robb, whose virtuosic acoustic performances have made him “a true blues legend,” according to Blues Matters magazine, and landed him in the Oregon Music Hall of Fame and Cascade Blues Association Hall of Fame. He took home the Muddy Award for Best Acoustic Guitar 19 times in row, resulting in it being renamed the “Terry Robb” Acoustic Guitar Mud-
dy Award. Born in British Columbia, raised in the U.S. and based in Portland, Ore., Robb will play a special show at the Create Arts Center in Newport, Wash., giving audiences a chance to hear one of the greats in an intimate setting.
— Zach Hagadone
6 p.m., $20. Create Arts Center, 900 W. Fourth St., Newport, Wash., 208-509-447-9277, createarts.org. Listen at terryrobb.com.
LISTEN WATCH
I’ve promoted a podcast called Scamfluencers in this space before, but this time I’d like to highlight a specific episode: “Brian Reader and the Diamond Wheezers: The Geriatric Jewel Thieves.” I don’t know what is so endearing about very elderly people committing heists, but I was in stitches listening to this unbelievable story. I won’t spoil anything other than to say this one is definitely worth a listen on Spotify or other streamers.
In preparation for my article on Page 19, I rewatched the Bourne trilogy, which includes The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. The films showcase a young Matt Damon coming into his own as an action star. They are terse films that each have that edge of early 2000s tech flowing throughout. Dare I say I’m nostalgic for the late 1990s/early 2000s spytech films? Yes, I dare. Stream them online or get them at the library.
Kevin Dye, Tyler Pearson and Luke Zohn of Spool Effect. Courtesy photo
Christopher Gray, Charlie Jopkins, Mark Price and Bryan Farmer are Moneypenny. Courtesy photo
From Northern Idaho News, Sept. 19, 1907
MR. AND MRS. MCMATH KISS AND MAKE UP
The George G. McMath divorce, which was so prominently before the public some months ago, is getting attention again for the reason that Mrs. McMath, who has been employed in this city for several years while his suit for divorce was happening in Spokane, gathered his things last Sunday morning and went to Spokane where she and he kissed and made up. Those at the greeting said it was touching.
Deferences are said to have been made under a shower of osculations before they went off to the hotel and have since been living together.
In the weeks before the reconciliation, the local telephone and post offices were kept busy with amorous treaties without the knowledge of attorneys, who have so ably attended Mr. McMath in his efforts to obtain a divorce.
The case has been a very bitter one from the beginning. Each side charged the other with cruelties specific and general. McMath filed suit in Spokane for divorce last winter, charging his wife with all manner of cruelties, and in her answer, Mrs. McMath filed counter charges of infidelity. Gun plays were mentioned in the complaint and answer and the spiriting away of the youngest boy by the father, and the 35-mile kidnapping ride from Davenport to Sprague, by the mother in order to recover him and bring him under the jurisdiction of the Idaho courts, will all be remembered as a part of the notoriety developed in this case last spring. The subsequent attempt of McMath to recapture the boy here in Sandpoint by night and the attempt for police to beat brush to capture him, is still fresh in the memory.
BACK OF THE BOOK Summerween
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
Never underestimate the power of a store display. As a kid, nothing ruined my summer like seeing “Back to School” in big yellow letters above shelves of pencils, notebooks and glue. I imagine it was a similar feeling to hearing a tornado siren during a birthday party — it was a sign that fun was coming to a screeching halt, and disaster was right on its heels.
That feeling only ever got worse. Not to be dramatic, but as a socially anxious teenager with undiagnosed OCD who averaged two hours of sleep because of my homework load, high school represented the worst years of my life. The first slog until Thanksgiving break would drag on and on, slowly draining the life from me. One of my only consolations was (you guessed it) a store display of a different color — orange, purple and black, to be precise.
After the stores take down the back-to-school horrors, they always put up the Halloween wonders: jacko’-lanterns, skeletons and fake gore.
Back then, the stores’ Halloween displays gave me so much joy that, for a moment, I could pretend I wasn’t a depressed, sleep-deprived teen. I was a little kid getting ready to carve pumpkins and barter my Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for my friends’ Butterfingers. I get that same feeling to this day when the Halloween decor comes out.
Reader Publisher Ben Olson is not so appreciative of the early start to spooky season, as he wrote in his Sept. 4 “Bouquets and Barbs” column. I
STR8TS Solution
get the sentiment — as a kid, I would have lobbied for a law banning backto-school displays until the Friday before the school year. Now, as I pick up some “bleeding” candles and salad fixings in the same shopping trip, I realize I’ve changed my tune.
Yes, the displays are promoting consumerism. They’re stores; they’re meant to entice you into buying unnecessary things. But just because the plastic severed arm I’ve set on the windowsill every October since first grade isn’t utilitarian doesn’t mean that it isn’t playing an important role in my life.
The way I see it, Halloween is an excuse to do things that make us happy and to be unapologetically ourselves. Almost everyone wants to be goofy or nerdy or goth every once and a while, either through clothing or home decor, and not be judged for it. The fake fangs and spiders are great, but people love them for the emotions they evoke — freedom, nostalgia, anticipation and even fear — not the plastic shell.
It makes sense to me, then, that Halloween decorations appear earlier and earlier each year. We want to stretch that joyful feeling out as long as possible, and stores have picked up on that.
I’m not saying play “Spooky Scary Skeletons” — or “Jingle Bells,” for that matter — over the radio in June, but if you want to have a “Summerween” beach party, I say go for it. Likewise, if a store has a big enough clientele to support it, I’d invite them to have dedicated holiday sections all year long. I’ll buy a skull goblet in
May or a snowglobe in August with a smile on my face, and I’ll proudly display it in my home whenever I want, no matter the season.
We’ve been living through a rough 25 years (at least), and it’s taken a toll on people’s mental health. To survive the barrage of bad news and make the world better, we have to be happy enough to want to change things. It’s hard to get out and volunteer, learn or grow as a person when you’re taking an 11 a.m. depression nap. So buy the 12-foot-tall Home Depot skeleton and watch Casper if it gets you out of bed. Do whatever it is that makes you happy, then go out and share that feeling with everyone. Sometimes, that’s all we can do.
Happy Summerween, Sandpoint.
Photo illustration by Ben Olson
Laughing Matter
Solution on page 22
By Bill Borders
bullionist /BUL-lion-ist/
Word Week
of the
[noun]
1. an advocate of a metallic medium of exchange
“After a life spent as a bullionist, Rodney left many pounds of gold and silver bars to his family after passing away.”
In the Sept. 11 article “Commissioners deny Deerfield Subdivision preliminary plat application”, we reported that Deerfield, LLC legal counsel Dan Rodriguez “also serves as chief deputy prosecutor for Bonner County.” Rodriguez left his position to work for Davillier Law Group in late July. We regret the error.
If the Vikings were around today, they would probably be amazed at how much glow-in-thedark stuff we have, and how we take so much of it for granted.
CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1. Incorrect
6. Wheelchair access
10. Cummerbund
14. A 4 base hit in baseball
15. One of the Great Lakes
16. Arm bone
17. Drama set to classical music
18. All right
19. Lives, in brief
20. Relating to menopause
22. A heavy open wagon
23. Go inside
24. In need of cleaning
25. Tallow source
29. Universal
31. Spoke
33. To the touch
37. Streamer
38. Mild expletive
39. Less reputable
41. Interpret incorrectly
42. Confined to certain regions
44. Glimpse
45. Grizzlies for example
48. Pertaining to the sun
50. Precipitation
51. Being at the right time
56. Rear end
57. Thought
58. Female demon
59. Misfortunes
60. Breathing organ
Solution on page 22
Enlighten
Colors
French for “Head”
Pub game
1. Which person? 2. Lariat 3. Portent 4. Detective ____ Wolfe 5. Vineyard fruit 6. Proved false 7. Come to light 8. Mosque turret 9. Rind DOWN
