In this Past as Prologue essay, WSU Professor Karen Phoenix explains the history of the shipping container and its Spokane ties. Continue Reading Past As Prologue: The Non-Coastal Inland Northwest’s Big Ties To Read More
Washington public schools with Native American-themed team names or mascots have a decision to make now that Gov. Jay Inslee has signed into law a ban on such symbols. The schools have until year's end to find a new mascot or try to win the blessing of a nearby tribe for continued use under an exception. Read More
Washington state plans to roll out mass doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at regional hubs starting Monday, Jan. 25. But some local officials say they received little notice and that they’re far from ready. Continue Reading Read More
This week marks 10 years since a white supremacist attempted to bomb the Martin Luther King Junior Day parade through downtown Spokane. The bomb was discovered and defused just in the nick of time. But the effects of extremist ideologies in the region lived on. Journalist Leah Sottile examined that in the podcast Bundyville, from Oregon Public Broadcasting. Leah spoke with Read More
A powerful wind storm rolled through the Pacific Northwest Tuesday night through Wednesday afternoon, causing the deaths of at least two person and leaving a trail of damage -- including a highway shut down after a landslide and a tractor-trailer that was nearly blown off a bridge. More than 500,000 people lost power. Read More
Emily McCarty is a Yakima-based reporter for Crosscut/KCTS. Her mom, Mary, died in a Spokane hospital in November, four days after being diagnosed with COVID-19. McCarty wrote about her mom and her family’s personal experience in an essay titled “I lost my mom to COVID-19. Don’t let the holidays steal yours.” Read More
The Spokane County health board has fired Health Officer Bob Lutz, the man who has been the face of the county’s battle against the coronavirus since March. The eight-to-four vote came after a four-hour proceeding, during which Adminstrative Officer Amelia Clark listed a detailed list of actions that she says warranted Lutz’s removal. Read More
The Spokesman-Review newspaper recently caused a splash when it endorsed Donald Trump for president after calling him a bully and a bigot. The paper also endorsed Democrat Jay Inslee for a third term as Washington governor. After backlash, the Spokesman-Review’s editor-in-chief said the paper would no longer endorse candidates or run unsigned editorials. Read More
Jess Walter's new novel an adventure tale based on actual events in the early days of the last century's labor movement — which was much wilder and bloodier than most people remember. Continue Reading Echoes Of Today’s Read More
Water fluoridation has been proposed – and rejected – before by Spokane residents. Supporters such as Dr. Elisabeth Warder believe it’s time to consider it again. The city council is considering a request by dentists to fluoridate the city’s water supply. Read More
The debate over whether a Spokane religious group can hold services in front of a Planned Parenthood facility is getting so loud and heated that it is headed toward a courtroom, where noise ordinances, the right to health care and the First Amendment are all likely to be debated. Read More
Spokane Superintendent Adam Swinyard says parents in his district can choose full-year distance learning or an option that allows for a transition to classroom learning, if that becomes possible later. Both would involve live instruction with teachers. For other districts, like Pullman, there's still an open question about what the fall term will look like, at least in the Read More
In 1918 Walla Walla, the chief of police, refused to enforce a state mask mandate. He pointed out that he was going to meet heavy resistance and, anyway, that he had no authority to carry out a state directive, only city ordinances. Still, he also openly defied the instructions of the city’s health officer, J.E. Vanderpool, to follow the state health officer’s guidance. Read More
On June 29, the Spokane City Council will vote on a contract for the union representing the city’s 300 police officers, which will retroactively cover 2016 through the end of 2020. Like the police guild’s most recent contract, it limits the independence of the ombudsman. Read More
At least one person was injured Sunday as a car drove into a crowd during a peaceful protest in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. The Seattle Fire Department said the victim was a 27-year-old male who was shot and taken to a hospital in stable condition. Read More
Organizers for this Sunday’s rally say they are waiting to announce a location because of threats. Continue Reading Spokane Prepares For Another Rally, With Shadow Looming Of Last Sunday’s Downtown ClashesRead More
Spokane joined a list of cities across the Northwest and the nation on Sunday, with thousands of marchers protesting police treatment of black people and other groups, sparked most recently by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Read More
As the coronavirus pandemic continues across the world, local health officials in Washington are beginning to employ a power given to them by state law that allows to keep contagious people in quarantine. Continue Read More
“I couldn’t be happier with the timing of all of this," Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward said Friday morning during a news conference. "Spokane County is the biggest community in the state to now move forward. So thank you for being Inland Strong." Read More
Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday said that 10 additional counties are eligible to apply to loosen some social distancing restrictions in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Continue Reading 10 More Washington Read More
Protesters took to the streets and parks in Spokane Wednesday in two events to push back against statewide stay-home measures. One was largely a Tim Eyman campaign event. The other focused on people wanting to be allowed to fish. Continue Read More
The first bus rapid transit system in Washington east of the Cascades moved further down the line this week, as the Spokane Transit Authority bought 10, 60-foot fully electric buses to service the route. Continue Read More
The year was 1918 – the last time a pandemic reached Spokane. A century has passed, and the Inland Northwest and the world are once again contending with quarantine and the powerful role public health officials can play in times of outbreak. Continue Read More
The patients were transferred from Travis Air Force Base in California and are part of repatriation efforts, meaning they contracted the virus outside of the country. Bob Lutz, health officer for the Spokane Regional Health District, says their arrival shouldn’t worry the city’s residents. Read More
There's a growing consensus that a more punitive approach hasn't worked for Spokane. Nationwide, the homeless population is rising. In many communities, it can feel like an intractable problem. Yet cities like Spokane are starting to show some incremental progress with some prevention programs. Read More
A Spokane-based mobile health clinic began its trial run in eastern Washington to reduce health disparities in rural areas where healthcare is not available. Continue Reading Mobile Clinic Addresses Needs In rural CommunitiesRead More
Prominent Inland Northwest architect and developer Ron Wells was sentenced in federal court Wednesday for his role in staging a car crash to defraud insurance companies. He was sentenced to a year of home confinement and must pay $240,000. Read More
Former NFL player Steve Gleason has received the Congressional Gold Medal — the highest civilan honor bestowed by Congress — for his work as an advocate for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Read More
It's billed as one of the most livable places in the country with its good schools, leafy streets and safe neighborhoods. That's what makes Boise, Idaho, an odd backdrop for a heated legal fight around homelessness that is reverberating across the western United States. Read More
The Medicaid fraud division of the Washington Attorney General’s office is conducting a criminal investigation into the death of a developmentally disabled woman who died last February in Spokane. The existence of the state’s investigation, which began in August, has not been previously reported. Read More
Hospitals are costly places to get healthcare and not therapeutic environments. So why does Washington have hundreds of people in hospital beds with no need to be there? Because there’s a lack of community beds for people with behavioral challenges. Read More
A 17-year-old male accused of shooting and killing a fellow classmate at Freeman High School south of Spokane in September 2017 will stand trial as an adult. Continue Reading Judge Rules 2017 Freeman High School Shooter Can Be Tried As Read More
Bringing KWSU-TV to Spokane with a new translator. Continue Reading More Public Television Coming To Spokane: KWSU-TV Translator Expands ServiceRead More
Crosby set the mold for the multimedia star: on radio, on the big screen and on record. The 1940s was the period when his star shone brightest and 'Swinging on a Star' by Gary Giddins tells that story. Continue Reading Read More
Policymakers, academics and regional industry leaders from the U.S. and western Canada are getting together in Spokane on Monday, July 23 to get an update on ongoing talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. So far, top U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials have missed numerous self-imposed deadlines to reach a deal. Read More
Back in 2015, Rachel Dolezal became a walking Rorschach test for America's racial dysfunction. She was the president of the Spokane NAACP chapter, and she was outed as white after spending years claiming she was black. Continue Reading Rachel Dolezal Read More
The “Mobile Mouth," a 42-foot long mobile dentist’s office, will stop in Portland and Spokane this week as part of a nationwide tour to provide free dental care to veterans. Continue Reading Free Dental Work For Veterans In Spokane And Portland Read More
In 1889, three massive - and mysterious - fires engulfed Washington cities. Continue Reading How Three Major Fires Reshaped Washington’s CitiesRead More
What’s the best way to learn a language? Salish teachers are using music and song to introduce their Native American language to new speakers. It’s a language spoken by many tribes across the Northwest. And it's considered ‘critically endangered’ by UNESCO — the cultural arm of the United Nations. Read More
Native speakers from across the Northwest and Canada are in Spokane this week to speak Salish and learn from those who teach it. Continue Reading Salish Speakers, Teachers Gather In Spokane To Celebrate Their Native LanguageRead More
The ordinance would not ban reality TV shows from shooting footage of police officers and arrests in Spokane, but it would require companies that film within the city limits to buy a business license. They would have to carry up to a million dollars in liability insurance. And companies would be required to get written consent from the people they film. Read More
There’s all kinds of stuff found in beers these days: cucumbers, pumpkins—-and plums A small brewery in Spokane will start selling beer they’ve made from local fruit. Continue Reading Spokane Brewery Makes Beer From Food Waste (And It’s Darn Tasty)Read More
