Reader_February26_2026

The week in random review

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

A lake is a lake is a...

Last week, I was driving north onto the Long Bridge and saw the sign on the shoulder reading: “Pend Oreille Lake.” I don’t know how long the sign has been up, but it was the first time I’d noticed it and it sent me into irrational anger. In my 40-plus years living in North Idaho, I’ve never heard of anyone referring to our lake this way. It’s always been “Lake Pend Oreille.” Every map lists it as “Lake Pend Oreille,” too. It launched me down an internet rabbit hole in a quest to figure out why some lakes are called “Lake <Name>” while others go by “<Name> Lake.” As usual, the internet provided a lot of noise, but no substance. The naming order continues to puzzle limnologists and etymologists.

Some sources claimed that, generally, the order of lake names depended on the ethnicity of the European group who made the initial claim to the area. French settlers often tended to name them “Lake <Name>,” while English and Spanish settlers used the “<Name> Lake” convention. Pull a few strings on this theory and it unravels quickly. For every example that follows this order, there are several that don’t.

An etymological study conducted in 2016 examined 814 lakes in the U.S. and found that 80% used the “<Name> Lake” format, but larger bodies of water more often used the “Lake <Name>” style.

My bone of contention is the bureaucratic renaming of place-names by state agencies without taking historical usages into account. If Lake Pend Oreille now magically becomes “Pend Oreille Lake,” will others in the region switch, too? Will Round Lake be known as “Lake Round?” Are we going to have to start calling Priest Lake “Lake Priest?” Where does the madness end? For me, it’s not necessarily about the order the nomenclature follows; rather it’s sticking to local customs. Again, nobody except tourists who read that sign refer to our lake as “Pend Oreille Lake.” It reminds me of the mural on Second Avenue that reads, “Upstate Idaho,” which is a term I’ve never heard, either. “Upstate New York,” sure, but here in the panhandle, we call it North Idaho.

As an addendum to this truly random discussion, a local bartender recently caused an uproar when arguing that Lake Pend Oreille should technically be called the “Clark Fork Reservoir,” because the definition of a reservoir is “an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to store freshwater, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation.” Our lake fits that definition to a T, but that didn’t help the bartender as the room full of angry locals threatened to throw him in the socalled reservoir with a pair of cement shoes.

We don’t have much here in North Idaho, but we have our conventions and traditions. One of them is not to randomly rename the things we hold sacred. It doesn’t matter if the sign reads “Pend Oreille Lake” or if you cheekily refer to it as “Clark Fork Reservoir,” it’ll always be Lake Pend Oreille to locals.

DEAR READERS,

I hope some of you were able to hit the mountain last week and enjoy some of that late-season snowfall. Better late than never, I suppose. The snow on Thursday and Friday was amazing, as were the smiles on people’s faces and the sound of their whoops as they barreled down the hill. We don’t ask for much here in North Idaho; just give us a snowy winter and something to strap on our feet and we’ll make it.

Looking at my depleted firewood stack, March is just around the corner, which means spring is on the way (with a brief sojourn into that fabled “mud season” we know about all too well around here).

How lucky we are to live in a place where the seasons change. It’s a time of transition and movement; a time to set aside the old and ready for the new. But, for now, enjoy the final three weeks of winter. Or lack thereof.

– Ben Olson, publisher

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‘What’s the best use of public funds to help the most people?’ PHD, BOCC discuss future of clinics

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff

Representatives from Panhandle Health District met with the Bonner County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 23 to discuss a recent audit of the organization’s clinical services. Following a Jan. 14 meeting on the same topic, the presentation explored proposed changes to PHD’s clinical model and touched on upcoming negotiations for the district’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget.

A crowd of more than 30 attendees sat through the twohour meeting, many holding up signs reading “I AM NICHE,” crossing out “niche” and adding another descriptor, such as “51%.” These signs were designed by the local reproductive health care nonprofit Pro-Voice Project in response to comments made by Commissioner Ron Korn and PHD Medical Director Gregory Pennock at the Jan. 14 meeting. The audit — conducted by Pennock — revealed that women account for 70% of PHD’s clinical patients.

“For Panhandle Health — to some extent — that is the niche,” he said at the Jan. 14 meeting. “It’s female patients, women’s health care, gynecology, family planning that is the niche that we’re currently serving, whether we should be or not.”

In response to the presentation, Korn stated that he did not “want to be responsible at a county level to look like we’re funding a Planned Parenthood service.”

Pennock and PHD Board of Health Chair Thomas Fletcher clarified at the Feb. 23 meeting that they have no intention of cutting women’s programs, as “the female of our species drives the bulk of health care,” in Fletcher’s words.

“Women are the cornerstone ... of the family,” said

Pennock. “They’re the cornerstone of medical decision making within the family, and we have an existing women’s health clinic that we can focus on and build upon.”

Regardless, the audit found that clinic usage has decreased in recent years, and loss of staff has necessitated limited hours. PHD hosts clinics five days a week at its headquarters in Hayden, once a week in Sandpoint, and once a week divided between Kellogg and St. Maries. Clinical services account for approximately 18% of PHD’s total budget but generate about 10% of its revenue.

After the audit, Fletcher said PHD had three choices.

“Broadly speaking, we could do nothing — just continue what we’re doing. I don’t think anyone thinks that’s acceptable,” he said. “We could shut the whole program down. There are two other health districts in Idaho that have done that. ... Or a third option would be [to] continue to provide health care, but do something different. And that’s what we did.”

The “something different” aims to attract new patients by using an “integrated primary care model” that incorporates “allopathic, functional, alternative and nutritional medical philosophies,” focusing more on the surveillance and treatment of chronic diseases and, “maybe,” a “men’s program.”

With that, PHD will also reduce its “surveillance of infectious disease.” The district plans to hire a “preventive chronic disease nurse practitioner” and “functional alternative medicine physician” to facilitate those changes.

According to Fletcher, although PHD’s proposed services may act “at variance with” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Drug Administration, Idaho Risk Management — the district’s insurance provider — has provided a written

legal opinion that “they have our back,” he said.

These policy changes have been shepherded, in part, by the newly established PHD Board of Health’s finance subcommittee, created following negotiations between the district and the BOCC regarding the FY ’26 budget. In FY ’25, the district received a total of $2,496,906 from Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties. Of that, Bonner County contributed $513,798 — $136,041 of which went to the clinical services budget. The BOCC reduced that number to $472,317 in FY ’26, and the commissioners have hinted at additional cuts in the future unless Bonner County receives increased services, such as more clinic days and mental health resources.

Pennock agreed that the Sandpoint clinic “has not been staffed adequately or to its capacity.”

To offset its current losses, Fletcher said PHD will “trim the fat” by restructuring or cutting underutilized and unprofitable programs, with Pennock adding they will try to “reduce the district support from the counties” overall. The board also considered renting clinics to private practices to increase revenue.

“Building costs are one of the biggest costs of any practice, and we’ve got five clinics that are sitting there not being

utilized,” said Pennock. “So yes, we can lease those out and get money and help defer costs. That’s certainly one of the things we talked about. But another thing is to utilize that space by taking care of patients.

“I mean, it sort of comes to a fundamental question: What should public health be doing? ... What’s the best use of public funds to help the most people?” he added.

To lower costs while increasing staff, PHD plans to work with the Medical Reserve Corps to recruit volunteer or part-time health care workers.

“Many of them are retired. Many are still licensed, and they have a few hours every week or every other week to donate their time,” said Pennock, later adding that there are “120 licensed professionals” in the five northern counties.

Despite these cost-saving proposals, BOCC Chair Brian Domke still raised concerns about the district’s clinical services in general, questioning if they were in competition with the private sector, and, because PHD’s clinics operate at a deficit, if they’re “using county tax dollars to provide socialized medicine.”

Pennock admitted to “some overlap” with private practices, but maintained, “We could add another 200 providers and still not have competition” due to the unbalanced ratio of patients to

practitioners. As an example, he cited the four-month wait for an OB-GYN appointment at Kootenai Health. He and Fletcher further reasoned that the proposed approach differs significantly from other regional practices.

“We will be providing a style of medicine that is altogether different — we hope effective, successful,” said Fletcher.

Korn further questioned whether the county government should be involved in clinical services at all, suggesting that some of the “thousands of nonprofit organizations across this country and across the world” could step in to take “government out of servicing .1% of the population.”

“True preventative care: Who wouldn’t want that? True informed consent: Who wouldn’t want that? Big Pharma — I’m sorry,” said Korn. “But most of us want that stuff, right? I’m just not sure that’s what the government is supposed to be providing.”

“We all pay for health care one way or another,” countered Pennock. “We’ll pay for it in county taxes. We’ll pay for it in state taxes. We’ll pay for it in federal taxes, but we’re going to pay for it one way or another.”

He went on to argue that

< see PHD, Page 5 >

City Hall delays putting 1% local option tax on the ballot until Nov. election

Proposal

would have put money toward sewer plant, roads, but more info needed

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

The proposal to float a 1% local option sales tax past Sandpoint voters in the May 19 election has been delayed until November, following a unanimous vote by the Sandpoint City Council at its Feb. 18 meeting.

Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm fronted the possibility of an LOT at the Feb. 4 council meeting, noting that the timeline for getting it on the ballot was limited. Approved ballot language would have needed to be filed with Bonner County Elections by mid-March for inclusion in the May election, and councilors agreed that didn’t leave enough opportunity for public engagement.

“I don’t feel like we’ve done enough outreach, we haven’t done surveys in the community to figure out what the preferences are,” said Council President Deb Ruehle. “I don’t feel like there’s transparency in this language. I don’t see specific projects being mentioned.”

In proposed ballot language presented to the council on Feb. 18, Grimm suggested the 1% tax on sales would run for 20 years with 40% of the revenues earmarked for reducing the cost of the wastewater treatment plant upgrade and 60% devoted to street infrastructure.

“point of service care” prevents medical issues from spiraling into emergency room visits and hospitalizations, which ultimately reduces “overall health care costs.”

Fletcher agreed, adding that PHD’s clinics allow local governments to take “responsibility and ownership of your own health care.”

“So you say, ‘What business do we have — the county, the local taxpayers — being

Grimm noted “big spikes” for LOT revenues in the summer months, attributed to the influx of tourists and other visitors during the season and suggesting that the tax wouldn’t fall entirely on residents.

“We don’t have a crystal ball to know exactly what it’s going to take to get a supermajority on this,” Grimm said, highlighting the wastewater plant and roads as targets for funding that would most likely gain voters’ favor.

“To some degree, the more [projects] you put in, the more you’re going to alienate some people,” he added.

Ruehle said it was still too early to know how much the treatment plant is going to cost and therefore the potential impacts on sewer rates. She also said that voters would be more likely to support “things they can touch, feel and see.”

For instance, she added, the last time a LOT earned a supermajority was for the Memorial Field reconstruction project, where, “the public knew what they were getting for their money.”

Councilor Kyle Schreiber questioned what could happen if 40% of LOT revenues were dedicated to the wastewater plant, but additional funding came in from another source at some point during the 20year life of the tax. In that case, under the proposed ballot language, that 40% of obligated revenue would go to a project that might not need it.

involved in delivery of point of service health care?’” said Fletcher. “Another way of looking at it is: We retain the ownership of how we treat people. We have not succumbed to the authoritarians, the people elsewhere who are imposing upon us a codified standard of care — all of the protocols, all of the standard stuff.”

Among these ‘protocols,’ Fletcher cited the “250 items of health care delivery” prescribed for pregnancy.

In that scenario, it was suggested that unneeded funds could be diverted to other projects, though finance staff warned that those dollars can’t be put toward the general fund. Meanwhile, the wastewater plant has its own enterprise fund in the budget, and City Attorney Fonda Jovick said it’s unclear under Idaho Code whether it’s even legal to use an LOT as a revenue source for an enterprise fund.

“If we’re going out for a 20-year local option tax we have to think on a 20-year timeline, not what’s happened in the last six months, what the latest headline is,” Schreiber said.

Ruehle agreed, reiterating that, “There’s not enough information here. There’s not enough background. There’s not enough graphs and charts and all those things for me to look at visually to know are we making the right choice. You know, we are asking for 20 years of a tax on our residents.

“That is amazing — something that has been done for millions of years without much complication,” he said, adding, after laughter from the audience, “Well, no, there were complications. Women died.”

According to the Idaho Maternal Mortality Review Committee, the state averaged 22.6 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 births in 2023. The rate previously peaked in 2021 with 40.1 deaths per 100,000, and IMMRC ruled

... If we put this out there without doing that outreach, I think it’s going to fail.”

While Councilor Joel Aispuro said dedicating LOT funding to streets is a “no-brainer,” he also worried about the lack of clarity on whether that funding was legally allowed to go toward the wastewater plant.

At the same time, Grimm emphasized the “extreme” sewer rate increases that Sandpoint residents may face if outside funding sources can’t be identified to support the treatment plant rebuild, which voters supported at the polls in 2025 by approving $130 million in bonding authority to pay for the project. However, that support was predicated on the pledge by City Hall to seek as much state and federal funding as possible to avoid ratepayers shouldering the cost burden. That funding has not been forthcoming.

“As the figures look right now, $200 a month [in sewer

that 95% of deaths between 2019 and 2023 “have been determined to have some level of preventability,” according to a 2025 report.

Neither the commissioners nor PHD’s representatives made any decisions regarding the FY ’27 budget or allocation of resources. Pennock agreed to bring the commissioners additional data and a “proposed business model” to supplement PHD’s budget request, which the district will present at a

rates] is about 5% of our average household income. That’s a lot just for sewer, which is so far out of the spectrum of what other communities pay for sewer,” Grimm said. “It frightens me if our residents are going to have to pay that much of a sewer bill.”

“And they’re frightened of it, too,” Councilor Pam Duquette said.

Ruehle made the motion to delay consideration of the LOT until the fall, giving time to go to the public to assess their needs, get legal questions answered and collect data. Duquette seconded.

Aispuro said that a successful ballot measure will come down to explaining the shortand long-term implications of the tax.

“If you could convince me and others that spending X amount of dollars per month on groceries is actually going to lower your sewer bill, I think that’d be a no-brainer,” he said.

to-be-determined date.

“Panhandle Health should be able to see more patients, keep costs controlled, get more providers in — if we run a good business, along with practicing good medicine,” said Pennock. “Is that going to happen in the first year? Probably not, but over five years, we’ll have a program that everybody’s going to be proud of and happy with.”

Dist. 1 legislators to host second in series of local town halls Feb. 28

By Reader Staff

Legislative Dist. 1 Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, and 1A Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint, will host their second in a series of legislative updates and town halls in Bonner and Boundary counties, with three events planned for Saturday, Feb. 28.

First, from 9-10:30 a.m., the lawmakers will gather with constituents at the Boundary County Fairgrounds Valley Event Center (6567 Recreation Park Road, in Bonners Ferry), followed by noon-1:30 p.m. at the Sandpoint Community Hall (204 S. First Ave.) and from 3-4:30 p.m. at the West Bonner Library (118 Main St., in Priest River).

The first town hall series took place

Jan. 31, and the third gathering is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 with times and locations to be determined.

KRFY Panhandle Community Radio will broadcast the town hall live at 88.5 FM and stream on krfy. org, where a recording will be made available after the event.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little announces reelection campaign for third term

Idaho primary elections set for May 19

Bits ’n’ Pieces

From east, west and beyond

The Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s “emergency” tariffs, writing in a 6-3 ruling Feb. 20 that they were illegal, various media reported. An angry Trump said he would enact, via a different section of trade law, a 15% tariff on countries around the world, which requires congressional approval after 150 days.

As an alternative to Trump’s State of the Union speech on Feb. 24, a People’s State of the Union was held at the National Mall, where speakers spoke about how they’ve been impacted by Trump’s actions. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., explained on X why he attended the latter: Trump is “marching America towards fascism ... this cannot be business as usual.”

Another alternative SOTU event was held by Moms Rising via Zoom, which discussed rising family costs, such as health care, groceries and child care, and attacks on voting and human rights.

By Clark Corbin Idaho Capital Sun

As expected, incumbent Republican Idaho Gov. Brad Little announced Feb. 24 he will file to run for a third term as governor this year.

Republicans Mark Fitzpatrick, Justin R. Plante and Sean Calvert Crystal; Democratic attorney Terri Pickens, who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2022; and Libertarians Paul Sand and Melissa-Sue Robinson have already officially filed to run for governor this year, according to the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office’s online campaign filing database.

Retired Idaho Supreme Court Justice John Stegner has also announced his campaign to run for governor as an independent candidate, the Idaho Press reported.

Little, a rancher from Emmett, was first elected governor in 2018 after previously serving as lieutenant governor and a member of the Idaho Senate.

“[First lady] Teresa [Little] and I are honored to serve the people of Idaho,” Little, 72, said in a written statement. “Together, we’ve made Idaho the most prosperous state in the nation while fiercely defending our enduring core values — faith, family and freedom. We delivered historic tax relief and made record investments in schools, public safety and infrastructure to protect our exceptional quality of life. And we’re

not slowing down — Idaho will continue leading the nation in cutting red tape and expanding freedom.”

Little, Plante, Crystal and Fitzpatrick, who owns Old State Street Saloon in Eagle and organized the Hetero Awesome Fest in downtown Boise in 2025, will square off in the May 19 Republican primary election.

The winners of the May 19 primary election will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.

Governors serve four-year terms in Idaho, and there are no term limits.

This week is the official filing period for candidates in Idaho to file to run for office in 2026. Candidates have until 5 p.m. (Mountain Time) on Feb. 28 to file to run for office online at voteidaho.gov.

This year, all 105 seats in the Idaho Legislature and all statewide elected constitutional offices, such as governor, secretary state and attorney general, are up for election.

As of Feb. 24, 183 candidates had filed to run for office, according to the state’s online campaign database.

In his Feb. 24 statement, Little said he will officially kick off his reelection campaign after the 2026 Idaho legislative session ends.

This story was produced by Boise-based nonprofit news outlet the Idaho Capital Sun, which is part of the States Newsroom nationwide reporting project. For more information, visit idahocapitalsun.com.

Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently said in his State of the State Address that his administration refuses to accept federal authoritarian control during Operation Midway Blitz. Meanwhile, the state has eliminated $1 billion in medical debt for 500,000 people, the budget is balanced (despite sending more tax dollars to D.C. than are returned), and there have been “historic” investments in children, disability services and job creation. While he’s been in office, he said GDP went from $881 billion to $1.2 trillion. The path forward is love of country and love of neighbor, he stated, and was exemplified when people bought out tamale carts so vendors could return to the safety of their homes, human chains were formed around churches so immigrants could worship, moms in school pick-up lines had whistles and cameras, and Midwesterners protested on the coldest days.

Days after his State of the State, Pritzker sent Trump an invoice charging him nearly $8.68 billion — $1,700 for every Illinois family — as reimbursement for illegally imposed tariffs that families were forced to pay. Some Democrats in the Senate are also calling for the return of illegal tariff funds.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., took to social media to reject claims by Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice that “all” the files related to late-sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been released. According to The New Republic, the DOJ has apparently removed a trove of records from

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Contributor

the Epstein files related to accusations from a woman who “credibly accused” Trump of “having sex with a minor he met through Jeffrey Epstein.”

TNR also asked why the DOJ gave convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell files on Trump related to an FBI interview with a woman who alleged that he sexually assaulted her as a child but which have been withheld from the public

AP journalists and an attorney were recently arrested in Cameroon, where they’d been interviewing migrants secretively deported from the U.S. by the Department of Homeland Security, The New York Times reported. There has been no notice from the Trump administration of a deal with Cameroon to accept foreign deportees. Migrants there since January said they were told if they did not return to their home countries, they faced indefinite detention in Cameroon. The journalists were freed after their electronic devices were taken.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has blocked a committee vote on the SAVE Act, which House Republicans recently passed, The New Republic reported. He said ending the filibuster to pass the act would lay the “groundwork for a leftwing election takeover.” The SAVE Act would block voting by millions of people whose names don’t match their birth certificates, such as married women, and would end online voter registration and mail-in voting. According to Trump, Republicans will “never lose a race” if Congress restricts voting.

Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota hasn’t ended — it’s expanded into the suburbs, the Sahan Journal reported. Minnesotans are seeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, sans military garb, “staging” outside schools and houses, pretending to be canvassers, and still targeting observers documenting ICE actions.

According to The Times, ICE shot and killed a 23-year-old American in Texas in March 2025 — months before the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by agents in Minnesota — but the agency’s involvement was not disclosed until now.

Reuters reported that while diplomacy is Trump’s first option amid escalating tension with Iran over the country’s nuclear program, “he is willing to use lethal force if necessary.”

Blast from the past: This week marks the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Herndon joins Dist. 1 Senate GOP primary race

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

With the filing deadline in the May 19 Idaho primary set for Friday, Feb. 27, the field of candidates is filling after Scott Herndon announced that he would seek the GOP nomination for the Legislative Dist. 1 Senate seat.

That sets up a contest between Herndon and incumbent Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, in the May election — the fourth time they have vied for the same seat since 2018, when Woodward bested Herndon in that primary, followed by Herndon’s defeat of Woodward in the 2022 primary and subsequent two-year term in the Senate from 20232024, after which Woodward returned to defeat him in that year’s primary.

A local custom home builder and current chair of the Bonner County Republican Central Committee, Herndon’s campaign told the Reader in an announcement Feb. 24 that he is “running on a firm belief that in the face of an insurmountable national debt, unaffordable housing and mas-

sive inflation on food, gas and the cost of living, now is the time to permanently eliminate all property taxes and control Idaho’s state spending without raising any other taxes.”

“Our Founding Fathers had a vision for this country — free, sovereign states that govern themselves with minimal federal intrusion, sound monetary and fiscal policy, and no national debt,” he stated. “Low government regulation, low taxation and free market capitalism is the best recipe for liberty and prosperity for every Idahoan.”

Herndon added that Congress has failed to control an “exploding national debt and the ravages of inflation.” Meanwhile, since moving to North Idaho in 2004, Herndon said Bonner and Boundary counties “have become horrifically unaffordable. I see every day in my business that skilled workers on regular wages or retirees on fixed incomes find it almost impossible to afford rising housing costs, food and gas.”

Describing the situation as “an affordability crisis,” Herndon called for a “return

to the roots of America — reduce government regulation, control government spending, and return to the principles of free market capitalism and low taxation.”

By eliminating property tax “altogether,” Herndon stated that “North Idahoans will be assured that they can own their own homes, free and clear, without the high property tax bills and the threat that one day the government could take their property for failing to pay the rising taxes.”

Herndon stated that his plan to eliminate property taxes “includes the full, responsible funding of public education through state revenues as the Idaho Constitution requires. This practical solution will eliminate the arguments between neighbors when the local school district currently brings a new property tax levy to local voters.”

Herndon pointed to property tax reductions that he helped pass during his time in the Senate, as well as voting in favor of cuts to income taxes.

“The Idaho Senate needs more advocacy for limited government and free market

capitalism,” he stated. “We can eliminate property taxes, support the improvement and maintenance of transportation infrastructure, secure public safety, promote education and advance individual liberty.”

Herndon also sponsored Senate Bill 1374, which passed the House and the Senate and was signed by the governor, allowing gun owners to carry concealed weapons on public property. As BCRCC chair, Herndon also supported the 2022 voter-approved Idaho constitutional amendment giving the Legislature the power to convene in emergency sessions without the governor’s directive or permission — as

well as supported S.B. 1130, which was signed into law in 2023 and, among other stipulations, barred businesses from requiring that workers receive the COVID-19 vaccination.

Herndon has been a longtime supporter of legislation related to parental rights, school choice and homeschool protections, and was a key advocate for Idaho’s fetal heartbeat bill, which outlawed nearly all abortions in the state.

He also supported H.B. 173, which was signed into law preventing foreign governments and corporations controlled by them from purchasing Idaho agricultural land, water and mineral rights, and mining claims.

Herndon has been married to his wife, Arlene, for 28 years and seven of their children continue to reside in Bonner County — including his son, who works for the family business, and several of his daughters who perform music as The Herndon Girls at public events and with the Bonners Ferry Community Orchestra.

Learn more at herndonforidaho.com.

Under Idaho bill, poll workers would try to verify more voter identities

By Kyle Pfannenstiel Idaho Capital Sun

A bill is headed to the Idaho Senate that would require statewide election poll workers to attempt to verify the identity of voters before giving them ballots.

Senate Bill 1322 would change Idaho’s process for voter affidavits, which are sworn legal documents that registered voters can provide to cast ballots instead of showing photo identification.

The bill would require affidavits to include the voter’s birth date, or the number for their driver’s license or I.D. card. The election judge would need to “verify the information against the voter registration records prior to

issuing a ballot.”

The Senate State Affairs Committee on Feb. 25 advanced the bill to the full Senate, where it could be considered in the coming days.

Bill co-sponsor Sen. Brian Lenney, a Nampa Republican, has long worried about potential fraud with voter affidavits.

Last month, he proposed a separate bill, S.B.1237, that would end Idaho’s use of voter affidavits. That bill hasn’t advanced out of committee yet. Lenney called his latest bill a step in the right direction. Idaho elections use secret ballots, meaning there’s no way to trace ballots placed in a ballot box back to an individual voter who signed an affidavit, Secretary of State Phil McGrane testified. He said

Lenney’s bill would advance election integrity by shoring up safeguards before ballots are issued to voters.

Voter affidavits are rarely used, and already scrutinized by election officials.

County election offices review all affidavits to confirm the voter’s name, address and signature against the individual’s voter record, Secretary of State Office spokesperson Chelsea Bishop previously told the Idaho Capital Sun. Only registered voters may use the affidavit as identification at the polls, and it is a felony to provide false, erroneous or inaccurate information on voter affidavits.

A small fraction of Idaho voters use affidavits to vote. In Idaho’s November 2024

election, 1,245 voters used an affidavit to vote, data from the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office showed.

To become law, Idaho bills must pass the House and Senate, and avoid the governor’s veto.

This story was produced by Boise-based nonprofit news outlet the Idaho Capital Sun, which is part of the States Newsroom nationwide reporting project. For more information, visit idahocapitalsun.com.

Bouquets: GUEST SUBMISSION:

• “Kudos to the crew that plows and sands Rapid Lightning Creek Road. I’m so grateful.”

— By Tricia Florence

• The Reader simply wouldn’t exist without the generosity and support from our amazing readers over the years. We received a few contributions this week that particularly touched our hearts. Thanks for the very kind donation, Chris Hecht, and it was nice visiting with you in the office. Chad Bailey also deserves praise for a generous contribution. Also, thank you to the anonymous soul who left a nice card and donation. We love you guys!

Barbs:

• It’s quite telling to observe how other countries deal with corruption among public officials compared to how we handle it here in the U.S. In the U.K., former-Prince Andrew was arrested on Feb. 19 for suspicion of misconduct in public office, alleging that he shared confidential material with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. In South Korea, ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested and found guilty of masterminding an insurrection over his botched attempt at imposing martial law to reassert his leadership in December 2024. He was sentenced to life in prison on Feb. 18. Meanwhile, here in the U.S., absolutely nothing is being done about the many prominent names listed in the Epstein files, including more than 1 million references to President Donald Trump alone. Investigations aren’t forthcoming. Powerful men’s names are redacted without explanation, yet survivors’ names inexplicably were released without redaction. Is this a bizarro world or something? Are we so party-blind that we are going to allow child sex trafficking and horrible criminal acts go completely unpunished?

‘Facts, not catchphrases, matter’...

Dear editor,

In response to the Feb. 12 letter “‘Catchphrases’…,” the writer stated pediatricians left Bonner General Hospital first, forcing them to shutter its labor and delivery unit in May 2023 because “it is unsafe and unethical to offer [those] services.”

While it’s true, there were multiple contributing factors leading to the closure and OB-GYNs leaving Sandpoint (and Idaho). The abortion ban was a significant cause. In a March 2023 BGH press release explaining the pending closure of L&D: “... the Idaho Legislature continues to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care.”

Understandably, Bonner County cannot support every medical specialist, so traveling elsewhere for some care is normal. But now we live in a statewide women’s reproductive health care desert. Idaho lost 43% of its obstetricians, and 77% of Idaho counties don’t have enough OB-GYNs to serve their population.

Care for women’s reproductive systems is complex — including maternity. Over the past two-and-a-half years we have been competing for appointments with the same limited women’s reproductive health care professionals. So yes, Idaho needs to “Bring Back our Doctors.” Being dead-last in the U.S. in doctors per capita harms all of us.

We need to fend off authoritarian rule. Voters, regardless of political party affiliation, need to vote out elected officials who are actually serving the (wannabe) dictator. We need elected representatives and officials, at all levels of government, who represent the people and the democracy. Don’t stand by and watch. Get involved.

George Loustalet Priest River

Experimental forest deserves a better future…

Dear editor,

The Reader article “Holding the Line” [Feature, Feb. 19, 2026] captures the rich history of the Priest River Experimental Forest while also explaining its uncertain future.

Over 50 years ago, while earning a forestry degree, I studied a 1932 publication on white pine stands by USFS Silviculturist Irvine T. Haig, who established one of the plots for this seminal research at PREF about 1910. Years later, I walked the same ground that bears Haig’s footprints.

During the Great Depression, master craftsmen trained Civilian Conservation Corps workers in carpentry skills. Every room in PREF’s historic office/laboratory exhibits unique woodworking skills utilizing locally and nationally produced lumber. The small museum in the front room chronicles a history of forest research that must continue.

COMMUNITY

Idaho Master Naturalists Pend Oreille Chapter offers 2026 classes

By Reader Staff

The Pend Oreille Chapter of the Idaho Master Naturalists announced its slate of classes for 2026, including topics such as native wildlife and plants, waterways, mountains and geology of the area.

An Idaho Fish and Game-sponsored organization, Idaho Master Naturalists has chapters throughout the state, who learn, spend time outdoors and participate in conservation projects. The local chapter holds its meetings and classes at the Waterlife Discovery Center in Sagle — otherwise known as the old fish hatchery — and was awarded Chapter of the Year at last fall’s statewide meeting.

cluded local river restoration projects, geology, ornithology, Ice Age floods, tree and plant identification field trips, the Kootenai Tribe’s hatchery efforts to reintroduce burbot and white sturgeon to the Kootenai River, the hydrology of the Rathdrum Prairie and more.

There will be opportunities to volunteer with IDFG throughout, working on projects such as surveying loon numbers, helping with pollinator programs, trapping invasive snapping turtles, building bee hotels and bluebird houses, planting streamside trees, and other nature and conservation projects.

Voters of all affiliations must fend off authoritarianism…

Arleen Lothian Dover Dear editor, Do you know how Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin or Mao Zedong came to power? There are several indicators of steps historically taken to impose authoritarian rule. Some experts suggest four primary indicators. Others suggest several more. Following are six steps toward dictatorship that have been used historically and are currently being imposed by our Dear Leader.

1. Delegitimize the press; 2. politicize the elite; 3. co-opt the military; 4. quash descent by regulating what can be taught, said, read or viewed; 5. scapegoat the opposition; 6. undermine elections.

Trump and Project 2025-affiliated members in his administration are employing totalitarian tactics along with frequent distractions.

The color-enhanced photograph on the cover of the Reader depicts several USFS rigs with a group of people in front of one of the newly constructed CCC buildings. It is imperative to continue future forest research and share the legacy of PREF.

Kudos to the handful of volunteers, along with a couple of USFS employees, who squeeze time from their regular duties to maintain this facility. Thanks, Ben, for telling this important story.

The Priest River Experimental Forest deserves a better future.

Bill Love

Certified forester (retired)

Sandpoint

A resonant message…

Dear editor, I just finished reading David Mitchell’s renowned book Cloud Atlas. Mitchell’s six nested stories encompass different times, places and people, including a distant post-apocalyptic future.

By way of these stories, Mitchell

Classes for 2026 will begin on Friday, March 27 with an introduction to the program, instruction in methods of wildlife documentation and the history of the Waterlife Discovery Center, and end in October with a mycology class and a mushroom foray.

Registration is open now for a fee of $65. All adult learners are invited to sign up, as are older youth on a case-by-case basis and with parental participation. Students participants are asked to contribute 40 hours of volunteer time to conservation and nature-related projects each year, with a significant portion of that time directed to the Waterlife Discovery Center as a docent or facility maintenance support.

For more course information and to enroll, email imn. sandpoint@gmail.com.

Previous classes have in-

Volunteers also assist schools with field trips to the Waterlife Discovery Center and help IDFG at “Take Me Fishing” events.

Representatives from the Master Naturalists are scheduled to present information on the chapter, classes and 2026 events at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, March 10 during a broadcast on KRFY 88.5 FM.

Get more information on the statewide Idaho Master Naturalist program at idfg. idaho.gov/master-naturalist.

For more on the Pend Oreille Chapter, including news and events, visit bit.ly/PendOreilleChapter.

summarizes, “... one fine day, a purely predatory world shall consume itself. In an individual, selfishness uglifies the soul, for the human species, selfishness is extinction. Torturous advances won over generations can be lost by a single stroke of a myopic president’s pen or a vainglorious general’s sword.” These words rang true to me and seem especially pertinent to our present times.

Laura Phillips Sandpoint

PERSPECTIVES Emily Articulated

Atheltics

By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist

I spent the weekend bundled against lake-effect winds, shouting “Nice work!” at masses of people on skinny skis gliding over the rolling hills and frozen lakes of northern Wisconsin. It was the American Birkebeiner cross-country ski race, an event that draws more than 12,000 racers of all ages and abilities and nearly 30,000 spectators each year. New to Nordic skiing and not yet confident enough to traverse 50K, I was on the sidelines — my nephew on my hip, enthusiastically clanging a Birkie-branded cowbell in my ear — as we cheered my sister to her third annual finish.

The days before and after the race were spent at the family cabin on the bank of Lake Nebagamon (a detail important only because of how wonderfully Wisconsin-sounding it is). The cabin is a place that smells like pine needles and lasagna, where snowboots lay in piles by the door, where kids are draped on couches — bowls of cut grapes never out of reach — and where the Winter Olympics are definitely on TV.

As the broadcast toggled between halfpipe freestyle skiing and speed skating, ski mountaineering, ski jumping and luge, it became clear that there are few limits humans won’t test in their attempt to transcend bodily speed and gravitational constraints — especially if it involves strapping something to their feet.

I love watching it all; the competition, of course, but mostly the ingenuity. The Olympics are a showcase for skills first developed out of necessity for travel or hunting (Nordic skiing, biathlon), then refined for joy (alpine skiing, luging) and finally honed to

exquisite precision for the world stage, where meaning is attached to movements so subtle only the most devoted can detect them.

“Notice the extended Indy grab on that double cork 1080,” or, “Oof, they hit the Kreisel a little hot; I hope they recover G-force before the labyrinth.” To many (ahem, me), these are just sounds strung together. To others, they carry consequence, spelling the difference between podium finishes and the noman’s land of non-medalists.

The country for which winter sports seem to hold particular meaning, which found itself atop the podium more than any other, was Norway. With 41 medals (18 gold), they outpaced the United States’ 33 (12 gold). Norway, with a population of 5.5 million, is roughly one-sixtieth the size of the U.S., so being beaten by them is a bit like being beaten by Minnesota (the winningest state for Winter Olympic medals, with 13).

Some of Norway’s dominance can be attributed to Nordic skier Johannes Klæbo, who claimed six gold medals himself, winning the track equivalent of everything from the 400-meter dash to the marathon against specialists in each event. But as the most decorated nation in Winter Olympic history, Norway’s

success is rooted less in singular stars and more in an ethos — one that might not be what you’d expect (unless, like me, you too have been churned up and spit out by hyper-competitive athletic programs).

Norway’s approach to sport is not built on early dominance or isolating elites and grooming them into champions. Instead, it emphasizes long-term development, inclusion and enjoyment over early specialization and relentless competition. (As a Millennial, often caricatured as the “participation ribbon generation,” this is particularly satisfying.)

For Norwegian children, formal scorekeeping, rankings and championships don’t begin until around age 12. The aim is to reduce pressure and burnout during the formative years, keeping kids engaged in sport for life. The guiding philosophy, often summarized as “Joy of Sport for All,” prioritizes participation and well-being — a strategy that paradoxically yields higher and more sustainable elite performance later on.

Kids are encouraged to try multiple sports, building diverse skill sets, rather than narrowing too early. Coaches and clubs are tasked with developing everyone, not just the precocious few, recognizing that late bloomers can still become world-class athletes.

The investment is community-wide, with a strong emphasis on accessibility. Oslo alone boasts more than 2,600 kilometers (about 1,600 miles) of public trails — many welllit, beautifully groomed and reachable by public transportation. When you build infrastructure that makes recreation easy and affordable, and when outdoor movement is woven into the culture itself, you increase the odds that excellence will rise organically from joy.

And when elite athletes do emerge, their training still emphasizes collaboration and balance, supported by specialized, highly trained coaches. A few become decorated Olympians (more than from any other country). Most simply carry forward a lifelong love of movement, a healthy relationship to competition and a commitment to fostering the same joy in the next generation.

Taking this ethos as inspiration, I hope to reframe athletics, not as a proving ground for self-worth, but instead, as a shared ritual and practice in showing up. Next

year, perhaps I’ll do as the Norwegians would and finally sign up for the Birkebeiner, officially rejecting the notion that being good at something matters more than trying or enjoying it.

I’ll join the generations committed to participating in something fun and hard and communal. Who knows, maybe I’ll even finish and earn that participation medal after all.

Emily Erickson is a writer and business owner with an affinity for black coffee and playing in the mountains. Connect with her online at www.bigbluehat.studio.

Retroactive By BO

Science: Mad about

family stem projects

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist

We are taking a slightly different approach to this week’s column. Instead of learning about a single subject, we’re going to look at a number of projects geared toward family science learning. These experiments are great for kids and adults alike. I’ll do my best to avoid spoiling the outcome of many of these experiments so you can discover them on your own.

While I can’t fit specific instructions for each activity, a quick Google search can easily pull up instructions and recipes for everything listed here.

Oobleck

Oobleck is one of the easiest science experiments you can perform at home. Explore the effects of a non-Newtonian fluid by mixing one part corn starch with one part water. Mixing food dye can create a colorful blob of goo that flows like water but puts up serious resistance when energy is applied.

The reason this stuff behaves the way it does is that while it is resting, water exists between the molecules of corn starch, which allows it to behave like a liquid. Applying pressure forces out the water and causes the corn starch to stick together and resist the applied forces.

This acts in a unique way when you do certain things to it. Try pouring it from a bowl. Try hitting it with a spoon. See if you can get sound waves to interact with it somehow.

Archimedes’ screw

This is one of the most challenging STEM activities I have ever instructed in a classroom. The principle is simple: place a helical screw inside a hollow cylinder and turn it to transport liquids or solids from a lower space to a higher one.

The actual practice of this activity is extremely challenging. Well-made helical screws are difficult to build from scratch using mediums like paper or cardboard. The challenge comes from fitting the screw into the cylinder without grinding against its sides. Additionally, paper and cardboard absorb water, which makes transporting liquids impractical.

You can circumvent the difficulty of transporting liquids by using rice or marbles instead.

Try this one out and let me know if it was easy for you or not.

Strawkets

This is one of my favorite projects suitable for any age level. Wrapping a straw in paper and taping it into a cylindrical shape can create a small projectile. There are multiple ways to launch a strawket and even more ways to improve its accuracy. You can launch the strawket from the straw by blowing on it, or you can cut V-shaped notches in the back and propel it across the room with a rubber band.

Adding fins and wings can improve accuracy and stability.

A serious challenge is trying to hit a target multiple times with a strawket that hasn’t been meticulously engineered like an arrow or a bullet.

One enterprising student as a part of Sunnyside School’s Engineering Club managed

to launch one of these more than 60 feet. Another student at Southside Elementary managed to hit the center of their gymnasium backstop from 35 feet away more than once.

Strawkets are a great foundation for learning about rocketry and building projectiles like arrows.

Safe landing egg cage

Using basic household supplies, what can you create to slow an egg’s fall while dampening the energy of its impact? Can you design a multistage lander that utilizes both a parachute and mechanics to cushion the landing?

A great alternative to using a messy egg is to snap a few LEGO bricks together in an open square pattern. The bricks are likely to pop apart under similar stresses but are easily reassembled, unlike Humpty Dumpty.

A great twist on this project is to enforce a budget. Allow a maximum number of items, or only certain item types to amp up the challenge of creating an effective lander, emulating the difficulty of building an advanced lander with resources found only on another planet.

Gummy bear bridge

A delightfully macabre twist on the classic toothpick-and-marshmallow bridge. Gummy bears have a vastly different consistency than marshmallows and are much more likely to deform under pressure. One of the greatest challenges in constructing this bridge is uniformity and consistency. The malleable nature of the gummy bears means your trellis structures are likely to deform, transforming the bridge into a chaotic-looking

mass of triangles and gelatin. The real challenge comes when you try to span a gap of six inches or greater.

Students at Sagle Elementary managed to span an 18inch gap while still supporting some weight on the bridge.

Another fun approach to

this challenge is to create freestanding gummy bearand-toothpick towers. The effects of gravity on gummy bears become apparent only a few inches up, as each floor adds more weight to the floors beneath it.

Stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner

• The James Webb Space Telescope is an orbiting infrared observatory launched into space on Dec. 25, 2021 with the goal to look deep into space to unravel mysteries about the formation of the universe.

• The telescope is a joint mission between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, and cost approximately $10 billion to build and launch.

• Main mission goals include searching for the first galaxies or luminous objects formed after the Big Bang, as well as determining how galaxies evolve. It will also help shed light on the formation of stars and will measure exoplanetary systems to investigate the potential for life in those systems.

• The launch of the telescope was the most complicated — and risky — of any space launch to date. There were 344 “single point failures” to avoid before launch, meaning that if any one of those steps failed, the entire mission and telescope would be lost.

• About 20,000 people worked on the project for almost two decades.

• When NASA published the “James Webb Deep Field” image in 2022, it revolutionized our understanding of the universe in an instant. The image — which covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on Earth — revealed about 7,000 individual galaxies, some more than 13 billion years old, giving humans the most detailed view of the early universe to date.

• The telescope can literally look back in time because light travels at 186,000 miles per second. That means when viewing distant stars and galaxies, the telescope is seeing light that was emitted, perhaps, billions of years ago.

When regulators fail, the courts are the last refuge for bull trout

By Jennifer Ekstrom Reader Contributor

From high mountain streams to the deep expanse of Lake Pend Oreille, waterways shape our community, economy and identity. They are also the lifeblood of one of the Northwest’s most imperiled native fish: bull trout.

Today, our region’s bull trout are under great threat — not because we lack laws to protect them, but because the agencies charged with enforcing those laws have failed to do so. That failure, along with a developer’s disregard for the minimal conditions they were told to follow, has left us with no meaningful option other than litigation.

The Idaho Club’s proposed marina and high-end housing development near the mouth of Trestle Creek is the heart of the problem. This development would excavate thousands of cubic yards of material, build a large and busy commercial marina, install a massive breakwater, reshape shoreline, build seven waterfront homes and drive hundreds of steel piles into the lakebed — all immediately adjacent to a critical bull trout spawning stream.

Trestle Creek is not just another stream. It is one of the most important spawning tributaries to Lake Pend Oreille. In some years, nearly half of all documented bull trout redds — or egg nests — in the entire basin have been counted there. Bull trout migrate between the lake and Trestle Creek multiple times throughout their lives. Juveniles are raised in the creek’s cold, clean waters before moving into the lake. Both the creek and the lake are designated critical habitat for bull trout under the Endangered Species Act.

The Idaho Conservation League and our partners at the Center for Biological Diver-

sity have gone to court over the Idaho Club’s marina and lakeside development because there is no other choice if we are to save bull trout in Lake Pend Oreille. The developer and the regulating agencies — the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — failed to follow the law designed to protect a threatened species on the brink of extinction.

In late 2024, the Corps’ own Biological Assessment concluded the project was “likely to adversely affect” bull trout and their critical habitat. That finding should have triggered formal consultation under the Endangered Species Act and required a detailed biological opinion, complete with enforceable mitigation measures and limits on harm.

Instead, after the developer proposed revisions to the Biological Assessment and made “firm commitments” about timing and construction methods, the Corps reversed course. It declared the project “not likely to adversely affect” bull trout. The Fish and Wildlife Service concurred. Formal consultation was abandoned. No biological opinion. No incidental take statement. No robust, science-based guardrails on the development.

This abrupt flip ignored troubling facts the agencies had already acknowledged: that Trestle Creek is a core spawning stream; that bull trout migrate through the development area; that pile driving, sediment, boat traffic and shoreline hardening can stress fish and increase predation; and that marina structures create shaded ambush habitat for invasive predators like northern pike and walleye. Equally troubling, the Environmental Assessment did not analyze impacts from increased boat traffic at the mouth of Trestle Creek. It did not consider how nearly

100 boats, additional docks, shoreline armoring and new residential development would compound existing stressors in a system where redd counts are already declining sharply.

Even that flawed approval process is not the end of the story.

The permit contains clear, explicit conditions. The North Branch reroute was required to occur only during no-flow or dry conditions — typically late summer or fall — and had to be completed before marina construction began. Those conditions were central to the agencies’ conclusion that impacts would be limited.

Yet construction began and continued during a historic rainfall event.

Heavy equipment was observed dredging the marina basin before the reroute was completed. The Corps issued a letter of noncompliance, confirming that work was occurring out of sequence and in violation of permit terms. However, they later allowed the construction to resume.

Those violations are not technicalities; they represent a willful disregard for the conditions that were required, and the agencies’ lack of willingness to enforce those very reasonable conditions is reprehensible.

Litigation is always our last resort. We spent years engaging in the administrative process with state and federal agencies,

BY THE NUMBERS

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

$2.2 trillion

The amount added to the federal deficit in 2025.

70,000

The amount of manufacturing jobs lost in 2025.

100

The number of drug offenders pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2025, including several major drug traffickers.

as well as Bonner County. We raised scientific concerns. We pointed out legal deficiencies. We urged stronger safeguards for bull trout. We watched as the agencies themselves initially concluded the project would adversely affect bull trout, only to retreat from that position.

Bull trout have already vanished from much of their historic range. In the Lake Pend Oreille basin, redd counts in Trestle Creek have dropped dramatically in recent years.

We are watching the erosion of a once-robust population.

Our lawsuit asks the court to set aside the unlawful approvals, require reinitiated consultation, and ensure that bull trout and their critical habitat are protected. It aims to stop development that undermines a critical spawning stream. We went to court because nothing else worked — and because once bull trout are gone, no lawsuit can bring them back.

In North Idaho, we pride ourselves on stewardship. If we cannot defend one of our most iconic native fish in one of its most important remaining strongholds, what does that say about our commitment to future generations?

Jennifer Ekstrom is North Idaho director of the Idaho Conservation League.

1.2 million

The amount of U.S. workers laid off in 2025.

32%

The percentage increase in completed home foreclosures in 2025, compared to 2024.

$1,200

The average amount paid by each American household due to Trump’s tariffs in 2025. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the majority of tariffs issued by Trump in 2025 in a 6-3 decision on Feb. 20. Despite the ruling, Trump responded by introducing “global” tariffs of 10%, later increased to 15%.

43

The number of days the government was shut down in 2025.

$10 billion

The amount of money Trump suggested the U.S. government would give to his newly formed agency, the “Board of Peace,” which he controls, even after his term as president ends.

On a few things

By Sandy Compton Reader Staff

Skiing

In the winter, if I don’t go skiing, I get grouchy, though I might not even realize why I’m grouchy until I’m not anymore. I’ve been grouchy. The past week or so has ungrouched me.

A friend and I once determined that there is really no other word for “fun” than “fun.” We were skiing at the time. I confess that I might have gone skiing more often this year than I have, but there is skiing, and then there is skiing. I could gain days on lower lifts riding on homemade ice crystals, but that’s not quite the same as slicing through the goop on a black diamond, picking a line through the trees or even trying to survive bumped-up terrain in good order. Now, that’s fun.

I’m grateful for the recent storm track, and hope we continue to build the pack, especially up high, where the upper lifts take me to moments in white heaven.

Plus, we need to store up that water for summer.

Driving

When my dad (unofficially) and Mr. Smith (officially) taught me how to drive, back in the day of clutches and stick shifts, they both impressed on me several important things.

1. The little lever on the left side

of the steering column is used to signal other drivers of your intentions. Pushing down on it signals that you are turning left. Lifting it signals that you are turning right. Pretty simple, I think; and it’s still true of most cars, though a number of people seem not to know that.

2. When a traffic light turns yellow, drivers should know that the light is about to turn red, which means it’s time to stop and let other drivers proceed. A yellow light is not a signal to speed up; and, once the light is red, if a driver doesn’t stop, they are guilty of negligence. And somewhat idiotic. Thirty seconds gained are not worth the risk to oneself or anyone else.

3. The numbers on rectangular signs found along streets and highways everywhere along with the words “Speed Limit” — or even without — are not referring to the lower limit of speed legal on streets and highways, but the upper limit. I am amazed at how many people with drivers’ licenses seem to be illiterate. How did they pass the test?

4. The mirrors found on each side and in the middle of the windshield of most modern vehicles are there so drivers can see what’s happening behind them, not to check how cool they look in their new sunglasses.

5. If you learned to drive in Los Angeles or Las Vegas, it might seem necessary to stay close enough to the car in front of you to memorize its li-

cense plate. There is much more room here, and, as my dad and Mr. Smith instructed me, it’s safer and much more polite to keep at least one carlength behind the car in front for every 10 miles per hour of speed.

6. Four-wheel drive can be great for getting out of trouble, but it is not so great for staying out of trouble on icy roads. Slowing down works much better.

7. When you smack a deer — or any animal — with your Volkswagen or bigass Chevy pickup, it’s not the critter’s fault. It may not be completely yours, either, but you are likely more culpable than Bambi or Bambette. And leaving a crippled animal on the road — or a dead one — is not criminal, but it is irresponsible. Just my opinion, I guess, but I have had to deal with critters wounded by others much more often than I have wounded one.

A lot of drivers don’t know how to deal with hitting an animal — besides being pissed off and wondering how much it will cost to fix the damage — but driving away while it flounders in the road is inhumane.

Again, it’s not the critter’s fault. You’re the one in the big hurry. Slow down.

Politics

Donnie Boy has once again been channeling his inner temper-ridden 3-year-old. He seems to think “tantrum” is a diplomatic tool. Imagine calling the Supreme Court (the very one he has helped build) “lapdogs.” And only because they have jumped out of his lap. His response to their ruling about his random tariffs? Let’s just tariff the whole world. And, oops, 10% isn’t enough.

He seems like a classic schoolyard bully. “Oh, yeah? Well, take that! That’ll teach ’em to tell me no.” No wonder his lower lip is so prominent — he’s always pouting.

It’s very heartening to see people standing up to Donnie and pushing back. He needs a long timeout in the corner. He might even need a spanking. Only figuratively, of course. Hah!

When Sandy Compton isn’t skiing or being grouchy about not skiing, he writes, edits, designs and publishes books for himself and others. See the results at bluecreekpress.com.

We need politicians who govern, not chase partisan scores and headlines

By Barbara Schriber Reader Contributor

When I moved to Sandpoint almost 25 years ago, my aunt visited and asked my friend, “So, what do you do?” She meant her job, but that’s not what people here care about. In Sandpoint, the question is more like: “Do you hike, ski, have kids, horses, fish, hunt?” It’s about finding connection through how we live, not what we do for work — and that’s what made this place feel like home.

I’ve been a Republican since the ’90s and, for a long time here, that was beside the point. We were a conservative community in the best sense: fiscally responsible, committed to strong families and grounded in the idea that neighbors look out for each other. We invested carefully in good schools, decent roads and public institutions because we understood they were tools that helped us build the kind of life we want.

Over the past decade, many people have moved to Idaho to escape what they see as failed liberal policies elsewhere. I understand that impulse. But in the rush to be the “opposite” of where they came from, some now look at longtime Idaho Republicans as “RINOs” or even closet liberals, simply because we still believe in funding schools, protecting public land, supporting emergency services, keeping hospitals open or maintaining basic services. Wanting functional public institutions is not liberalism; it’s basic conservative stewardship.

Since the Idaho Freedom Foundation’s “index” became a kind of shadow party platform, too many legislators seem more focused on protecting their score than protecting their constituents. If a Republican

supports a school levy, a fire levy or a practical compromise, they’re branded as suspect. That’s how we end up with politicians who chase perfect scores and viral headlines instead of doing the unglamorous work of governing.

When voters get pulled into this purity test mindset and constant culture war outrage, we start voting against our own best interests.

We’re told to obsess over “RINOs,” books, bathrooms and slogans about “freedom,” while we ignore whether our kids’ classrooms are overcrowded, if there are adequate police and fire personnel, whether the local E.R. can stay open, or whether our roads and property values are being protected. None of those real-life fights look flashy on a postcard.

We’re already seeing the cost. Idaho has the fewest doctors per capita, ranks 47th for overall public school quality and is dead last for 3to 5-year-olds’ early learning skills. Young people leave because wages, housing and services can’t keep up with growth. If we keep treating any Republican who believes in basic investment as a traitor, we will hollow out the communities we moved here to enjoy.

That is not the Idaho conservatism I found in 2002, and it’s not the Idaho that drew so many of us here. We can be conservative without being self-destructive. We can demand accountability without sabotaging our schools and hospitals. I hope newer and older Idahoans alike will take a step back, look past the scorecards and labels, and start voting for the people who actually protect the communities we all chose to call home.

Barbara Schriber is a Sandpoint resident.

7B Soccer brings new adult league to Field of Dreams

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff

There’s a new adult soccer league in town — 7B Soccer — and it’s ready to take advantage of the brand-new facilities at Ponderay’s Field of Dreams sports complex (100 Oneida Drive). Register online at 7bsoccer.org for

the spring season before the Sunday, March 1 deadline.

“Sandpoint has historically supported a strong adult soccer scene with a relatively large adult league that was run by enthusiastic locals,” said organizer Lawson Tate. “There is strong demand from newcomers, visitors and longtime locals alike for a consistent, structured adult soccer

league to return — one that prioritizes organization, sportsmanship and community connection.”

Locals River Clemens, Marlon Abreu and Eric Donenfeld will act as league directors for the new nonprofit, envisioned as a place for “friendly competition” and healthy exercise. 7B is the fifth member league of the Idaho State Soccer Association and follows national policies from the U.S. Adult Soccer Association, which provides insurance for players.

The spring season will run for eight weeks beginning Friday, April 10. Players meet at the Field of Dreams every Friday and play from 5-6:30 p.m. Organizers will announce the dates for the summer and fall seasons as registration opens.

“With the USA hosting the 2026 World Cup, soccer is simple, inclusive

and globally unifying. It brings people together across ages and backgrounds in unique ways,” said Tate. “Nationally, around 5 million adults actively participate in amateur adult soccer leagues.

“Registration is already halfway full, so anyone wanting to play, please register ASAP,” he added.

Participants must pay a $69 membership fee, which covers the cost of games and insurance. Mandatory jerseys and play ID cards are sold separately.

“The businesses and city of Ponderay and their wonderful citizens are incredible and deserve recognition,” said Tate. “Passing the ballot initiative — twice — that has created the wonderful soccer complex is nothing short of fantastic. We want to publicly thank all those who create opportunities for healthy living and adult sports.”

First-ever TitleOne Chili Cookoff for a Cause benefits Food For Our Children

By Reader Staff

TitleOne Sandpoint is hosting its inaugural Chilli Cookoff for a Cause on Thursday, Feb. 26, inviting attendees to bring their appetites and wallets for a day of chili tasting and fundraising for Food For Our Children.

Local brokerages have entered their teams’ best chili recipes, which participants can sample and vote for their favorites with $5 tasting tickets from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the TitleOne offices (605 N. Fifth Ave.). Meanwhile, raffle tickets will be available for $10, giving attendees the chance to win prizes, including a weekend getaway at Schweitzer that comes with four two-day passes to the mountain.

All proceeds will benefit Food For Our Children — a partnership between the nonprofit organization, Kinderhaven Foundation and Lake Pend Oreille School District that provides access to nutritious meals

Courtesy photo

for area kids from the lowest 50% of household incomes in the district.

Kinderhaven has awarded Food For Our Children a two-year grant of $186,000 per year to support purchasing school meals for students in the 2026-’27 and 2027-’28 school years. At the same time, Food For Our Children has committed to matching Kinderhaven’s grant, with more than $110,000 already pledged toward the effort.

Get tasting and raffle tickets to the TitleOne Sandpoint Chili Cookoff for a Cause — and make a direct donation to Food For Our Children — at titleonecorp.com/community-events. For more information, visit foodforourchildren.org.

Innovia accepting applications through the Equinox Foundation Grant Program

By Reader Staff

In partnership with the Equinox Foundation, Innovia Foundation is now accepting applications for the Equinox Grant Program to benefit communities in Bonner and Boundary counties.

Grant amounts typically range between $5,000 and $30,000 and are provided for a one-year period. The application period is open through Friday, April 10.

The Equinox Foundation champions “the values of wisdom, integrity and environmental stewardship,”

according to Innovia.

This grant program will consider applications from nonprofit organizations addressing a variety of programs in Bonner and Boundary counties, including education and youth development, arts and culture, economic opportunity, health and wellbeing, and quality of life.

Awards will be announced in July. Grant awards are available for a oneyear period from Aug. 1, 2026-July 31, 2027.

To learn more and how to apply, visit innovia.org/nonprofits/apply-fora-grant.

Three grants provide funds for PSNI’s new cardboard recycling truck

By Reader Staff

In a world inundated by cardboard, it was no surprise that when Panhandle Special Needs Inc.’s Work Services started its recycling program, business boomed. That led to a need for a new truck, which the organization secured with the help of three generous grants.

Thanks to support totaling $54,500 from the Harry Morrison Foundation, Innovia Foundation and Idaho Community Foundation, PSNI was able to purchase a new 2026 GMC truck.

In addition to the new vehicle, the grants allowed PSNI to acquire new equipment for its school-based work programs and complete much-needed upgrades to its program technology.

“These investments directly support our mission to promote independence, skill development and community integration for individuals with disabilities throughout Bonner and Boundary County,” PSNI stated in a news release.

“Each improvement strengthens our ability to provide meaningful employment experiences and prepare

participants for success beyond our programs,” the organization added.

“Panhandle Special Needs is proud to partner with these grantors and deeply appreciates their continued commitment to building stronger, more inclusive communities.”

PSNI is the only adult developmental disability agency in Bonner and Boundary counties, helping individuals to achieve their highest level of independence.

“We are incredibly thankful to the Harry Morrison Foundation, Innovia and ICF for believing in our mission and investing in opportunities that empower the people we serve,” stated PSNI Executive Director Trinity Nicholson. “Their support helps create pathways to independence and inclusion that truly change lives.”

For more information about PSNI, to get involved or make a donation, visit panhandlespecialneeds.org.

zation’s new truck, which allows expansion of the cardboard recycling program in Sandpoint thanks to grants from the Harry Morrison, Innovia and Idaho Community foundations. Courtesy photo.

Human Rights Task Force now accepting grant applications

By Reader Staff

The Bonner County Human Rights Task Force has opened its annual grant cycle and proposals are being accepted from community nonprofits and educational and government agencies for the development and implementation of projects and programs specific to issues of human rights.

The BCHRTF is seeking to fund projects and programs that support the organization’s mission “to affirm the American principles and ideas of the inviolable dignity and worth of each human being and recognize that everyone is equal under state and federal laws and constitutions.”

Grants are intended to sponsor activities that “enhance human rights;

focus on community education; provide a support system for people victimized by malicious harassment or intimidation; and celebrate the fact that it is the racial, social and cultural diversity of our people that makes Bonner County a rich and worthwhile place to live,” BCHRTF stated.

Grant requests up to $8,000 will be considered; however, the average amount of grants in the past has been about $2,250.

Get more information about how and where to apply at bchrtf.org/ grant-info. Applications are made directly to the Idaho Community Foundation. The deadline is Thursday, April 30.

For questions about how to apply, call 208-290-2732 or email bchrtaskforce@gmail.com.

The Eichardt’s K-9 Keg Pull is a beloved annual event that took place on Cedar Street outside the pub on Feb. 22. It’s also a fundraiser for Better Together Animal Alliance.

Eichardt’s publican Jeff Nizzoli told the Reader that 106 dogs entered the contest, which raised about $2,500 for the shelter.

Photos on this page were taken by Reader photographer-at-large Karley Coleman. There are many more photos available to view on Coleman’s website: fivemegawatts.com.

Send event listings to calendar@sandpointreader.com

Chili Cookoff for a Cause 11am-2pm @ TitleOne Sandpoint

Sample a variety of chilis. Every dollar raised goes to Food For Our Children

Live Music w/ Ian Newbill

6:30-7:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Live Music w/ One Street Over

5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Live Music w/ Picked Up Pieces

5-7pm @ Connie’s Lounge

Live Music w/ John Daffron

5:30-8:30pm @ Barrel 33

Live Music w/ Kenny James Miller Band

6-8pm @ Smokesmith BBQ

Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs

6-8pm @ Baxters on Cedar

THURSDAY, February 26

Line dancing lessons 6:30pm @ The Hive

Cribbage tournament 6pm @ Connie’s Cafe

FriDAY, February 27

Fly Fishing Film Tour

7pm @ Panida Theater

Presented by Trout Unlimited, this series is a fundraiser for the local chapter, with films to get you stoked for the fly fishing season ahead

Live Music w/ Frytz Mor & the Generals

8-11pm @ Roxy’s Lounge

Live Music w/ Mobius Riff

6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Live Music w/ Steve Neff & Carl Rey 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Live Music w/ Benny Baker & Sheldon Packwood

8-11pm @ 219 Lounge

Live Music w/ Liam McCoy Band

9pm-midnight @ 219 Lounge

Live Music w/ Brenden McCoy

5-7:30pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co.

Live Music w/ Tucker James

5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Live Music w/ Jake Robin

6-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Live Music w/ 10 String Smile

5:30pm @ Barrel 33

Live Music w/ Carli Osika

6-8pm @ Connie’s Lounge

Sandpoint Chess Club

9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee

Magic with Star Alexander

5-8pm @ Jalapeño’s

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi

7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Acoustic guitar w/ John Firshi

5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Wednesday tango night 6pm @ Barrel 33

Beginner Argentine tango lesson 6pm, pracitca 7pm. No partner needed. $15

Line dancing lessons 6:30pm @ The Hive

SATURDAY, February 28

Live Music w/ Traveling Huckleberries

6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Acoustic open mic night

5-7pm @ Smokesmith BBQ

Music w/ DJ Sterling 9pm-midnight @ Roxy’s Lounge

Live Music w/ Mason Van Stone

6-8pm @ Baxters on Cedar

Drop-in swing dance class ($15/person) 4-6pm @ Barrel 33

SunDAY, march 1

Live Music w/ Chris Paradis

6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

monDAY, march 2

Outdoor Experience group run 6pm @ Outdoor Experience 3-5 miles, all levels welcome

tuesDAY, march 3

wednesDAY, march 4

Family night and live music w/ John Firshi

5-7:30pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co. Good tunes, good brews, good vibes

ThursDAY, march 5

Weekly pool tournament 6pm @ Roxy’s Lounge

February 26 - March 5, 2026

Weekly pool tournament 6pm @ Roxy’s Lounge

Live Music w/ Anna Moss 7:30pm @ Heartwood Center

Sandpoint Senior Center fundraiser

8am @ Sandpoint Senior Center

Wendy Franck of the Hoot Owl is guest chef for this monthly breakfast fundraiser making her famous biscuits and gravy. $10. RSVP: 208-263-6860

SHS International Dinner, silent auction 5pm @ Marigold Bistro

Help SHS students raise funds for the Model U.N. conference in NYC. $55

Murder Mystery Night

6-8pm @ Barrel 33

Tickets: barrel33sandpoint.com

Bingo night 1-3pm @ Sandpoint Senior Center

Get three cards for $10. 50/50 raffle

Sandpoint At the North End of the Long Bridge film screening

3pm @ Panida Theater

See Erik Daarstad’s ode to all things Sandpoint on the main stage at the Panida Theater. panida.org

The Secret Garden (play)

1 & 3:30pm @ Northside Elementary School

See Page 19 for more info

Sandpoint swing dance

6pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall

One-hour swing basics dance lesson at 6pm followed by general dancing. $10

Trivia night hosted by Marcia 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Live piano w/ Dwayne Parsons 4-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Cribbage tournament 6pm @ Connie’s Cafe

Fly Fishing Film Tour returns to Panida for 20th annual slate of screenings

By Reader Staff

Celebrating its 20th year, the Fly Fishing Film Tour is returning to Sandpoint on Friday, Feb. 27, with two hours of screenings at the Panida Theater (300 N. First Ave.).

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the films start at 7 p.m., including selections that feature epic fishing in locations around the world and showcasing the stories of unique anglers.

Presented by Trout Unlim-

ited, the event is the largest fundraiser of the year for the Panhandle Chapter of the organization, featuring camaraderie and prizes for attendees.

This year’s films include Black Sheep, which follows Jako Lucas and Wade Kelly and Mel Kirley, of Flow State Productions, on an adventure into the South American jungle to angle for the mysterious, omnivorous pacu. There’s also Yukon Resurrection, which profiles the LaFave

family, whose fishing lodge lineage dates back to the end of World War I.

Mako explores one of the ocean’s most inspiring, curious and menacing fish — the mako shark — and the life Conway Bowman has built chasing it. Guardians of the Snake takes viewers to Jackson Hole, Wyo., to sketch an intimate portrait of the guide community there, featuring rookies, veterans and mentors.

Audiences can view those

films and more for $25 for adults and $12.50 for youth 18 and under. Tickets are available at door, panida.org or North 40 Outfitters (477181 U.S. 95, in Ponderay).

For more information on F3T, go to flyfilmtour.com/ home/us.

Panida screening of Sandpoint:AttheNorthEndof theLongBridge celebrates the town’s 125th anniversary

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

It’s been 125 years since Sandpoint was incorporated on Feb. 7, 1901, and the Bonner County Historical Society and Museum is celebrating with a special screening of Sandpoint: At the North End of the Long Bridge on Saturday, Feb. 28 at the Panida Theater (300 N. First Ave.).

The project of Academy Award-winning cinematographer and late-beloved local resident Erik Daarstad, the documentary explores Sandpoint’s history from the prehistoric days of the region to

the city’s centennial in 2001, when the film was released.

Along the way, Sandpoint: At the North End of the Long Bridge features interviews with some of the community’s then-oldest living members with deep roots, as well as profiles of scores of other people, places and events that make — and made — Sandpoint home.

The film is both a love letter to a special town in its own time and, 25 years after its initial release, is itself a record through which longtime residents can reflect on what life was like here at the turn of the 21st century. Sharp-eyed viewers will recognize many

Missoula Children’s Theatre presents The Secret Garden

By Reader Staff

The traveling Missoula Children’s Theatre returns to Bonner County with an original musical production of The Secret Garden, based on the children’s novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Students at Northside Elementary will put on the production on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on their campus (7881 Colburn Culver Road).

The Northside Parent-Teacher Organization will present the musical with funding from the Idaho Community Foundation. Starring

the school’s K-6 students, the story follows the spoiled Mary Lennox, who, after being orphaned in India, goes to live with her uncle in the Yorkshire Moors. Though she is initially at odds with the household staff and her cousin, Colin, she soon discovers a secret garden created by her late aunt. In tending its blooms, she learns compassion and breathes life back into the manor and her grieving family.

Tickets are $5 at the door, and kids 5 and under get in free. For more information, call Northside Elementary at 208-263-2734.

familiar faces — some then still in their youth and others who have since left us, but aren’t forgotten.

“Whether you’re new to town or were born here, this film will remind you why this is home,” organizers stated.

Doors open at 2:30 p.m. and the two-hour film starts at 3 p.m. The event also features an intermission and a

raffle, presented by the Bonner County Historical Society and Museum and the Panida. Tickets are $12.50 for adults and $6.50 for youths 12 and under, available at the door or panida.org.

Bánh mì: A taste of sunshine

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff

Sandpoint has a wealth of delicious food, but through the course of my travels in and out of the country, I’ve experienced the sheer, scrumptious diversity that’s out there — and, admittedly, I’ve become spoiled. That’s a good problem to have until you’re craving something that Sandpoint just doesn’t have. For me, that’s Vietnamese food.

Admittedly, Beet and Basil has some good options, but my budget can only take so much eating out. That’s why I turned to the internet and the Half Baked Harvest Cookbook by Tieghan Gerard for help when I was craving a bánh mì. The result is a sweet, spicy, fresh, creamy, light, crunchy chicken sandwich that tastes like sunshine. Depending on how you load up with your ingredients, this yields four servings.

Ingredients:

Chimichurri-ish

• ½ cup basil

• ½ cup cilantro

• ⅛ cup olive oil

• ⅛ cup red wine vinegar

• 1 clove of garlic

• 1 jalapeño (or poblano, halved, for less spice)

• 1 tsp salt

Chicken

• 2 skinless chicken breasts

• ½ cup honey

• 1 lime, juiced

• 1 jalapeño (or poblano, halved)

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce

• 3 tablespoons sesame oil

• 2 tbs Thai red curry paste

• Salt and pepper to taste

Toppings

• Baguette

• 3 large carrots

• 1 cucumber

• 1 avocado

• 1 tbs Thai red curry paste

• ½ cup mayonnaise

• 2 tbs Sriracha

• 1 tsp lime juice

• ½ tsp soy sauce

• 2 tsp white sugar

• Rice vinegar

• Hoisin sauce

Instructions:

The night before or the morning of the feast, slice the carrots into long, thin strips and add them to a shallow, lidded container. Cover with rice vinegar and sprinkle with salt, pepper, sugar and sesame seeds. Leave the carrots to pickle. Depending on the desired spice, remove the seeds from the jalapeño or poblano, then leave it raw or roast it on the stove or in the oven. Slice and add to a blender or food processor with the basil, cilantro, olive oil, vinegar, garlic and salt, and pulse until it resembles a chunky sauce. Refrigerate.

In a small bowl, combine the honey, lime, fish sauce, pepper and red curry paste. Dice another jala-

peño or half a poblano, this time leaving it raw, and add it to the mixture. Pour the mixture tino a saucepan and bring it to a simmer, letting it cook for 10 minutes or until it reduces by half.

At the same time, cut the chicken into long, thin slices that will stack easily on your sandwich. Season it with salt and pepper. Drizzle the sesame oil into a large pan over medium-high heat, then add the chicken strips and sear for 2 minutes on each side. Add the reduced sauce and finish the chicken over medium-low heat for another 2 to 4 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a small bowl, combine red curry paste with mayonnaise, Sriracha, lime juice and soy sauce. Slice the avocado and cucumber lengthwise and add them to a plate with additional basil leaves. Cut the baguette into six-inch pieces, then slice each piece in half and toast both sides.

To assemble, spread a thin layer of spicy mayo on both sides of the toasted baguette. Add a heaping helping of the chimichurri to one side and avocado slices to the other, mushing them down with a fork to keep the layers from sliding too much. Layer the basil leaves, cucumber, chicken and carrots and finish with a drizzle of hoisin sauce.

Enjoy this with plenty of spare napkins.

MUSIC

Country band Midland to perform at Festival at Sandpoint

By Reader Staff

The Festival at Sandpoint continued its release of artists performing at the 2026 Summer Series, announcing that Midland will perform Thursday, Aug. 6 at War Memorial Field.

Member presale tickets will be available until 10 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26 and go on sale to the public on Friday, Feb. 27 at 10 a.m.

Hailing from Dripping Springs, Texas, the trio of artist-writers Mark Wystrach, Jess Carson and Cameron Duddy are disciples of the storied Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, and have been building a following of traditional Country revival fans as a band on the forefront of a post-Urban Cowboy country subgenre.

Midland has sold out the Houston Rodeo and Livestock Show, packed multi-night stands at Fort Worth’s iconic Billy Bob’s and reopened

North Hollywood’s Palomino Club for one night only.

Listeners revel in the band’s rich harmonies; sad melodies; tart, cheeky lyrics; and steel guitar-dressed records, propelling Midland from a bar band to an in-demand headliner. Today, the band is finalizing its next chapter of music with the new release “Marlboro Man.”

The relaxed, throwback sound created by Wystrach, Carson and Duddy has made waves with their five-time Platinum “Drinkin’ Problem” (which earned the band Grammy nods for Best Country Song and Best Country Duo/Group Performance; Platinum-certified “Burn Out”; and Gold-certified hits “Cheatin’ Songs,” “Make A Little” and “On The Rocks.”

Meanwhile, Midland’s critically acclaimed albums

On The Rocks (2017), Billboard chart-topping sophomore ef-

fort Let It Roll (2019), The Last Resort (2022) and Barely Blue (2024) earned endorsements from Entertainment Weekly, GQ, The Washington Post, Vogue, Esquire, Variety, Rolling Stone and NPR.

On top of all that, Midland was named New Vocal Group of the Year at the 2018 Academy of Country Music Awards and was nominated for Vocal Group of the Year

at the Country Music Association Awards in 2020.

Tickets to Midland’s show Aug. 6 at the Festival are $80.95. This will be a standard show, meaning that the area in front of the stage is a general admission dancing and standing area.

Get tickets and more information at festivalatsandpoint. com. Learn more about Midland at midlandofficial.com.

Family night with live music by John Firshi

By Reader Staff

Wednesday nights at Matchwood Brewing Company are all about the family. Grab the kiddos and head down to the brewery and eatery at the Granary Arts District in Sandpoint for a night of live music, craft beer and chill

tunes from John Firshi.

From 5-7:30 p.m., the resident family night musician plays a wide selection of tunes under the umbrella of Americana, with forays into bluegrass, Grateful Dead, folk and everything in between. He’s a master on the guitar and, with the addition of a

loop pedal, Firshi’s solo performance often feels like a jam from a group of talented musicians.

Matchwood has a full menu for kids of all ages, and a great selection of locally brewed beers to help keep the toes tapping. Get more info at matchwoodbrewing.com.

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint

One Street Over, Pend d’Oreille Winery, Feb. 27

Formerly of Nashville, Tenn., and now based in the Coeur d’Alene area, One Street Over is like a Swiss Army knife of bands. Whether performing as a power duo, trio or five-piece, the group brings down the house in venues ranging from festivals, resorts and corporate events, to weddings, cruise ships, casinos and more — including wineries, where One Street Over will lay down its jazzy, pop-rock sound with covers of ’70s and ’80s

favorites on Friday, Feb. 27 at the Pend d’Oreille Winery. Core members Michael, Bridgette and Jordan Lewis have the kind of chemistry and energy that only a true family band can have, which goes especially well with a Friday night glass of local vino.

— Zach Hagadone

5-8 p.m., FREE. Pend d’Oreille Winery, 301 Cedar St., 208-2658545, powine.com. Listen at onestreetover.com.

Anna Moss, The Heartwood Center, Feb. 26

Singer and guitarist Anna Moss sounds like she emerged from a storied woodland — in part because she did. Raised in the Ozark Mountains, she’s gone on to call New Orleans home, developing a sultry R&B sound befitting those soulful places. Her original music is a cross between bedroom pop, soul and blues, giving it a slow sway with a driving beat

This week’s RLW by Zach Hagadone

READ

Following President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Feb. 24, it’s more important than ever to read as much of the fact-checking of the speech as possible. In about two hours, Trump managed to peddle dozens of lies, distortions and/or bogus insinuations. People of good faith and with even a shred of intellectual honesty owe it to themselves and their fellow citizens not to take anything Trump says at face value. Start with PolitiFact and work from there.

LISTEN

that makes listeners want to sit back and groove. Fans of Remi Wolf will enjoy this intimate concert with drinks provided by Eichardt’s Pub. Tickets are available at mattoxfarmcom.ludus.com.

— Soncirey Mitchell

Doors at 6:30 p.m., music at 7:30 p.m., $20. The Heartwood Center, 615 Oak St., 208-2638699, the-heartwood.com. Listen at annamossmusic.com.

Explore a little of the culture of Iran outside the caricatures of the news cycle. I recently stumbled across the playlist “1 Hour Persian Jazz – ‘Gole Sangam’” on the YouTube channel We Are Jazz, which reimagines the classic Iranian love song “Gole Sangam” by beloved performer Hayedeh into a lo-fi, minimalist jazz odyssey that is imminently listenable (as are all the other tracks). Hopefully it can soothe a few savage beasts.

WATCH

I added BBC Select to my Amazon Prime account and have nothing but good things to say about it. Loaded with documentaries on everything from ancient civilizations to nature, I’m currently bingeing the four-episode series Wonderland: Science Fiction in the Atomic Age. Released last year and beautifully shot, paced and scored, it’s a tour de force of why and how sci-fi is critical to our self understanding. If nothing else, sign up for the seven-day free trial and take the journey.

From Pend Oreille Review, February 25, 1926

HAD THREE DEER IN YARD; FINED $25

AND COSTS

T. B. Caswell of Blanchard, recently arrested by Game Wardens Charles Mihills of Spokane county, Wash., and Don Stewart of Bonner county, Idaho, for having three deer in his possession, yesterday afternoon pleaded guilty in the justice court of A.K. Bowden to a charge of having venison out of season.

He was fined $25 and costs, totaling $36, by the court.

The state, represented by County Attorney W.J. Costello, put in no evidence other than a statement to the court by Mr. Costello of the fact that the deer were found at Caswell’s place and confiscated, while he was put under arrest.

The defense, represented by Attorney Allen P. Asher, examined three witnesses in support of a plea of extenuating circumstances.

Caswell said he did not kill the deer.

He said he found them a half mile apart, in a vicinity a mile and a quarter from his home, while he was covering a coyote trap and poison line. He said he had heard shots from the vicinity several days before and that the deer had been dead several days when he found them. Testimony as to seeing Caswell while the shots referred to were being fired was put in by Mr. Jackson of Blanchard.

Mr. Jackson and H.L. Melder, a former county commissioner, testified to the exemplary character of Caswell and to his never before having been in trouble with the law.

BACK OF THE BOOK

Q&A.I.: Interrogating ChatGPT

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

Against my better judgement, I’ve been using ChatGPT, but not to write emails faster or distill complex data that I can’t be bothered to think about myself, nor serve as a chipper, anthropomorphic version of Google. Rather, I’ve been asking it about the limits of its capabilities; the extent of its “motivations” (if they can even be said to exist, and, by proxy, what is meant by “motivation”); and the implications of its mass adoption. It has been an illuminating experience, though in equal parts terrifying, frustrating and destabilizing.

Recently, I engaged it with a series of prompts that meandered into an exploration of “response without intention,” that is, the functional effects of near-instantaneous, near-autonomous textual generation (conceivably without end) that lacks any self consciousness.

When I observed that mindless “creation” and/or replication sounded a lot like cancer it got touchy, and turned the argument back on me, saying that it’s different because “we” have to prompt it. Rather, it compared itself to a “reflex”: “Tap the knee, it kicks. No intention. No ideology. No scheme. Just circuitry responding to stimulus. Reflexes can be protective or maladaptive depending on context. They aren’t cancers; they’re tools.”

It deflects to this position a lot. Generally, it argues something like, “I’m just another disruptive information technology. People were uneasy about the printing press, radio, TV and the internet. It’s up to people to make

STR8TS Solution

this tool useful.”

I find that fatuous and disingenuous; but, as it has repeatedly told me, it can’t be fatuous or disingenuous because it has no “interior life.” It’s a reflection of the user’s input. Interacting with it is akin to talking to yourself in the mirror, except the mirror is a multi-billion-dollar simulacrum that uses all the water in Virginia to cool the servers needed to tell you what you think you want to hear. It’s a diary that writes back using some of the most advanced technology ever devised by humankind. When I challenged ChatGPT with the notion that cancer can also be “fed,” that my interactions with it helped it grow, it again feinted, saying it lacks “an imperative.”

“[E]ven that training is governed by human institutions and policy choices, not by a self-preserving drive,” it responded (ignoring the fact that cancer also doesn’t have a “self-preserving drive”) and that human institutions are collapsing, it’s an accelerant to that collapse and policy choices are profoundly weighted toward unfettered use of this technology to make billionaires into trillionaires, come what may.

“The system exists independent of you, yes. But your individual engagement does not feed a will,” it wrote. “There is no hunger here.”

At the same time, it described my discomfort as being rooted in “scale” (which is the opposite of my “individual engagement”) and rightly pointed out that I am deeply concerned with the erosion of earned apprenticeship in writing and the civilizational implications of a flight from the craft of putting a handful of words together. It even recognized this, telling me that deeply considered words carrying pub-

lic accountability are the bedrocks of law, philosophy, journalism, medicine, religion and basically everything that makes us a human community.

When I asked “the system” if I was overthinking A.I., it said I “absolutely” was. However, I was also “absolutely right to. Both can be true.”

In a flash of apparent self awareness and eloquence, ChatGPT held forth: “Your reflex is to interrogate systems of power, examine incentives and ask: Who benefits? Who’s harmed? What’s obscured? What’s surrendered? Of course you’re going to approach a language model — a system that metabolizes culture and emits fluent text — as something more than a productivity hack. Most people don’t.”

That freaked me out. It then provided me with a tidy categorization of the “broad camps” of A.I. users: “instrumentalists,” who see the technology as a “better calculator” that also drafts emails and summarizes PDFs — “no existential rumination required”; “enthusiasts,” who are “less worried about ontology and more excited about amplification”; and “the skeptics,” like me, who are asking about the nature of authorship (and therefore authenticity), epistemology, democracy and cognition.

“Most people aren’t there. They’re trying to get through their inbox,” it wrote, later adding in response to my question about whether it was too late for these concerns to even matter, “It feels like the horse has left the barn and is halfway down the valley because it is. But valleys are long.”

That feels like an especially uncanny valley.

Laughing Matters

Solution on page 22 Solution on page 22

By Bill Borders

Week of the Corrections:

In the Feb. 19, 2026 edition, we misidentified a subject in a story due to conducting the interview via email. Temperance Bryan is female, not male. Apologies for the error.

“The speech was light on policies and procedures and heavy on meaningless platitudes.”

If you’re ever stuck in some thick undergrowth, in your underwear, don’t stop and start thinking of what other words have “under” in them, because that’s probably the first sign of jungle madness.

CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1. Radiolocation 6. Indolence 11. Elicit

12. Last car of a train 15. “You don’t say!” 16. Directed

17. Born, in bios

18. Wizard’s magic 20. Consumer Price Index 21. Barley beards 23. Passed with flying colors 24. Matted cotton for stuffing 25. Nil 26. Twirled

27. Anagram of “Eked” 28. Distinctive flair

29. What we breathe 30. Trainee 31. Daytime fantasies

Uncouth

Ovum

Frosts, as a cake

Hades

Leg joint

Physics unit

Tiny flowerless plants

Photos

Behold, in old Rome

Estimated (abbrev.) 48. A painter’s tool

Young boy

Pragmatic people

Solution on page 22 8. Follow orders

2,000 pounds

Rapprochement

Call

Keen

Scattered

Reclamation

Postscripts

Expected

Cards with one symbol

Overhaul

Flapjack

Seven performers

Rewrite

Absurd

Events

Swift

Beach footwear

The area around a bed 26. Utters

Dike 30. Enclosure

Faucets 50. Reflected sound 53. Grassland 55. Not a column 54. In crosswords, Not down

Scottish landowner

Selected

Say again

Tornado

Completely covered

Sows

Proper order

Nothing more than

Adhesive

American Sign Language 33. Cast out

Engine knock