“Let's talk about hypothetical situations,” posts KXLY Web producer Nicole Hensley in her Blush Response blog earlier this afternoon. “You're in downtown Coeur d'Alene craving a hot dog. Something you would expect from a baseball stadium. You see a place called Dangerous Dog: Serious Sausage and immediately think, “they must mean serious business.” They do. Erick, from Ecuador, is the owner and he knows his dogs from a global standpoint. Oh, and your typical hot dog with onions, kraut, mustard and ketchup? It's #2, the Classic, out of 22 different dogs from hot dogs, to sausage, to chorizo.” More here (w/more photos). (KXLY photo: Nicole Hensley)

Question: Which do you prefer — hotdogs or hamburgers?

2nd part of Nicole's up-close look at Coeur d'Alene Police Department: Welcome to Kootenai County Public Safety Building. Before entering the building, Officer Petersen removed all the weapons from his person. I never knew they kept weapons there. We then waited outside the metal gate with the cuffed prisoner. The door rolled up and Officer Petersen brought him inside. From here on out, no video or pictures exist due to the nature of the building. No visual documentation is allowed inside the jail. A group of sheriff deputies were waiting for us at the jail entrance. “Spread your feet and put your head on the pad. Have you ever been to jail before?” asked one deputy. The prisoner responded, “Twice. Once in 2007 and again a month ago”/Nicole Hensley, Blush Response. More here. And: You can see Part 1 of feature here.

Question: Have you ever toured the jail?

Apparently when you drive 80 miles outside of Spokane, you arrive at the center of the universe. In some cultures, they call that Wallace, Idaho. It may be the coolest town on I-90 between Coeur d’Alene and Missoula. In fact, I’m pretty sure it is. It’s home to the Oasis Bordello Museum (a former brothel), the Northern Pacific Depot Railroad Museum and most recently, the Wallace Brewing Company. That was my first stop. I was drawn to the word, “brewery”, like a Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus is to a tree. Ten minutes later, I walked out with contact information and a list of their brewskis, but that’s another story for another time/Blush Response. More here.

DFO: I'm posting this blog item to introduce you to new “Friends of Huckleberries” blogger Blush Response and to point out that a street sign in Wallace reads: “Center of the Universe.”

Question: Is there a more appropriate place in the Inland Northwest to be dubbed “the center of the universe” than Wallace, Idaho?