Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: FAIRFIELD, Idaho (AP) — A couple from Central Oregon is buying an Idaho ski area once owned by actor Bruce Willis. Soldier Mountain Ski Area announced Wednesday that it's being purchased by Matt and Diane McFerran of Bend, Oregon. The Times-News reports (http://bit.ly/1LSBgkT ) that the property in the Sawtooth National Forest was put up for sale last month for $149,000. That's the amount of debt owed by the nonprofit organization which has run it for the past three years. Ski area officials say they received 2,000 inquiries in the first three days and got so overwhelmed that they stopped taking new ones. The ski area was started in 1948 was owned by Willis in the late 1990s. In 2012, he donated it to the nonprofit.

KTVB talked to Matt McFerran today, who told the Boise TV station the couple is ecstatic. “Jaw dropped, we were very excited," he said. "We are running on adrenaline."

McFerran works in pharmaceutical sales research and his wife Diane owns a Pilates studio, KTVB reports. The couple, who are in their late thirties, lives in Bend, but are planning to move to Fairfield this weekend. They both grew up near ski resorts and love to backcountry ski. Owning a ski area has always been a dream for them, he said, and they couldn't pass up this opportunity. “The price on this was definitely appealing and made it seem affordable to a lot of people, and our life situation we are fortunate to be able to jump on this and chase our dream," McFerran said.

You can see KTVB’s full report here; McFerran said the new owners plan to have the mountain open this season and will begin working right away on leasing snowmaking equipment. Their plans for the future include adding mountain bike trails, lodging, backcountry skiing, and better advertising.