Penticton British Columbia, couple Albert Chretien and wife Rita are shown in this undated Royal Canadian Mounted Police handout photo. The coupe went missing en route to Las Vegas more than a month ago. Rita Chretien has been found alive Friday in a remote part of northeastern Nevada police say. There is no word yet about the whereabouts of her husband. See story link below. (AP Photo/Royal Canadian Mounted Police via The Canadian Press)

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Showers ending today, mild weather on the way/Mike Prager, SR
• Mountain lion on loose in Chubbuck, Idaho/Idaho State Journal
• Canadian woman stranded 48 days in wilderness improving/Twin Falls TN
• Rosdahl: Downtown Coeur d'Alene becomes food central/Coeur d'Alene Press
• Health risk remains in asbestos-plagued Libby, Mont/HuffPost Green
• 4 years after Sigma Nu at WSU lost charter, group returning/Chelsea Bannach, SR
• Andrus on track to win $100 revenue bet w/tight-fisted Otter/Betsy Russell, EOB
• Defense Secretary Gates speaks to largest WSU grad class/Annie Bishop, KXLY
• Clarkston man arrested on federal explosives charge/Melissa Luck, KXLY
• Luna tells school leaders $50M windfall possible/Dan Popkey, Statesman
• Jury finds husband of married bank robbery team guilty/Patrick Orr, Statesman

Question: Do you have skills enough to survive long last in a wilderness?

A group of people in a large canoe head upriver into scores of fishing boats during the Spring Chin Salmon run on the Willamette River in Oregon City, Ore., Wednesday. The peak time for salmon fishing on the Willamette River runs April-May. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

• Cartoon: A typical bunch of next-door neighbors/David Horsey, Seattle P-I
• Suspect arrest in 1992 murder of furniture store owner/Meghann Cuniff, SR
• BSU tried to fix housing issues, created more violations/Brian Murphy, Statesman
• Report: 1 in 10 Idaho drivers are uninsured/Bradley Guire, Twin Falls T-N
• Montana agency wants quota of 220 wolves for fall hunt/Associated Press
• Ronan High robotics team wins world title/Vince Devlin, Missoulian
• Community college incumbents repel conservative challenge/Tristan Scott, Missoulian
• Montanan Robbie Johnson (Butte) hits 1st MLB homer/Corey Brock, MLB.com
• Butte photojournalist Pickett covers Mideast turmoil/Nick Gevock, Standard
• Portland only U.S. city to make world bike-friendly list/Seattle's Big Blog
• Syria confirms it has ex-P-I journalist Dorothy Parvaz/Levin Pulkkinen, P-I
• Orbusmax Special: Charlie Sheen at the top of his @#$%* game in Everett here

The Sisters of Charity of Providence School, which burned to the ground this morning, looked like this in about 1915 — from DeSmet photo postcard, circa 1915. See story below. (SR photo archives, first published in 1974)

• Historic school building burns in Desmet/Spokesman-Review
• Officer in fatal Spokane crash to return to patrol/Meghann Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels
• Idaho city councilman dies in fuel tank explosion/Twin Falls Times-News
• Urban renewal districts draw critics, supporters, ideas/Ben Botkin, TF Times-News
• Montana coffee, Idaho beer take home national awards/Kate Whittle, New West
• Medical marijuana repeal draws 3X foes as backers/Charles Johnson, Gazette
• Wildlife advocates ask court to stop buffalo slaughter/Matthew Brown, AP
• 78YO woman never let robber run off with purse/Eric Schwartz, DIL
• Orbusmax Special: 'Kinky States of America': Seattle women kinkier than men here

Question: Have you ever stopped to visit Coeur d'Alene Tribe HQ or any other tribal sites along Highway 95, exclusing the Coeur d'Alene Casino?

Pecky Cox/As The Lake Churns (& Priest Lake Photos Facebook page) provides another example of her spectacular photography of Priest Lake nature-scapes above.

• Cartoon: Mubarak's future is all wrapped up/David Horsey, Seattle P-I
• Missoula theatre apologizes re: lyric about beheading Sarah Palin/Joe Nickoll, Missoulian
• Bill to give North Idaho tech school faster start dies/Associated Press
• One more night of frigid temperatures/Mike Prager, SR
• Man arrested for allegedly promoting suicide/KHQ
• Idaho town sits on glass goldmine of antique bottles/Emily Katseanes, TF Times-News
• Idaho lawmakers move to close rape law loophole/Ben Botkin, TF Times-News
• Most oppose bill that makes it harder to get marijuana for pain/Charles Johnson, Missoulian
• Ex-Bonner County couple pleads innocent to Montana animal cruelty/Eric Schwartz, DIL
• As megaloads roll, what 2 or 3 plaintiffs learned about foes/Steve Bunk, New West
• Orbusmax Special: Oregon governor on live-in life partner: 'She's certainly my First Lady here

In the hills above Rathdrum & Hauser at the old Brand X Ranch, Jana Tritto photographed these two bull moose trimming an apple tree this morning. In his Outdoors Blog, Rich Landers points out that winter weather is moving moose closer to townto nibble tender landscaping plants. And that Fish & Game officers advise householders and towns people to gave the large animals wide berth. You can read Rich’s post here.

• Cartoon: Wikileaks show truth re: U.S. diplomats/David Horsey, P-I
  
• Flood advisory lifted as storm passes over region/Mike Prager, SR
• Playing cards would feature unsolved cases/Meghann Cuniff, SR
• Montana student allowed to return after gun incident/Tristan Scott, Missoulian
  
• NW Montana soldier critically injured in Afghanistan/Vince Devlin, Missoulian
  
• Murder victim was a street kid with a huge heart/Meghann Cuniff, S&G
• Army: Boise soldier can’t present photo of dead civilian/Associated Press
• USWS: Wolverines warrant protection, but … /Daniel Person, Chronicle
  
• UMontana prez defends perks as part of job/Chelsi Moi, Missoulian
• Orbusmax Special: Time Bomb store’s name leads to airport evacuation in Oregon here
  

Question: Have you seen a moose in town or your yard lately?

Fans hold up signs during a “Celebration of Life” program for Dave Niehaus at Safeco Field Saturday in Seattle. A few thousand fans turned out at Safeco Field on a chilly afternoon to pay tribute to Niehaus, the Hall of Fame Seattle Mariners broadcaster who unexpectedly died of a heart attack on Nov. 10 at the age of 75. Niehause was the narrator for 34 seasons of Mariners baseball, from the first pitch in franchise history in 1977 through the end of the 2010 season. Story here. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Mark Harrison)

• Cartoon: Obama accommodates GOP frat boys/David Horsey, Seattle P-I
  
• Wolves push Congress toward action/Rocky Barker, Statesman
• Ethics committee backs full inquiry on Idaho Rep. Hart/Betsy Russell, SR
  
• Expulsion hearing for girl who brought gun to school moved to hold crowd/DIL
  
• Philanthropist buys $35M in western Montana timberland/Matthew Brown, AP
  
• Police: Murder suspect shoots self on Gonzaga campus/Meghann Cuniff, SR
• Coyotes, bears, mountain lions killing more Montana livestock/Associated Press
• Billings man uses hot chocolate to rob convenience store/Billings Gazette
• Canyon County median income falls to $79,200/Idaho Statesman
  
• Southeast Idaho ski patroller died before falling from lift/KHQ
  
• Feds say wolverines need protection/Matt Volz, Associated Press
• Orbusmax Special: Bronco Nation upset by Moore’s 4th-place Heisman finish here
  

Mark Eliseuson stands in his driveway in Hayden Thursday next to flags and a no tresspassing sign he displays on and inside his garage. Eliseuson removed the head of a snowman in his front yard that had depicted a white hooded figure associated with the Klu Klux Klan after being notified by law-enforcement officers that he could be charged with a crime because the snowman was holding what appeared to be a noose. The story by KXLY’s Tania Dall & Rob Kauder has gone viral, being picked up by The Drudge Report today. And: original Dall/Kauder story plus Hucks Online comments here. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

• Cartoon: Oblivious Obama/David Horsey, Seattle P-I
  
• Wasden files cabin-site rent challenge in District Court/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise
• Idaho unemployment rate increases to 9.4 percent/Idaho Statesman
• Idaho rape-by-fraud law could be changed in 2011 Legislature/Jessie L. Bonner, AP
• Idaho Senate leaders won’t rubber-stamp House conservative ones/Dan Popkey, IS
• Sheriff: Montana trooper died in shootout near Three Forks/Matt Volz, AP
• NTSB releases documents on Butte, Montana, plane crash/Matt Volz, AP
• Admitted Montana cat killer bat in court/Angela Brandt, Helena Independent-Record
• Orbusmax Special: Barbie doll prompts FBI child porn warning here
  

A Coeur d’Alene auctioneer recently became the first woman to win the Annual Northwest Auctioneers Association Championship. Rose Backs began her auctioneer career in 1997 and graduated third in her class from the Reppert School of Auctioneering in Indiana in 2003. She quickly became one of the top female auctioneers in the nation. Spokesman-Review story here. (SR photo: Jesse Tinsley)

• Cartoon: McConnell hears voices/David Horsey, Seattle P-I
  
• BSU keeps No. 4 in poll, loses ground to TCU/KTVB
• 2-fer: Montana, Idaho wait on each other to OK big rigs/Kim Briggeman, Missoulian; & crews work on mega-loads, ITD doesn’t expect movement today/Lewiston Trib
  
• Suspect in deadly party explosion due in court/Meghann Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels
• UI great Kramer to help unveil Horizon Vandal plane/Katy Moeller, Statesman
• Tamarack homeowners close to launching 2010-11 season/Joe Estrella, Statesman
• Legislation would strip feds of wolf authority in Montana/Rob Chaney, Lee
• Orbusmax Special: Alaska’s Murkowski on cusp of write-in win here
  

Question: When did you last bid on something at an auction? What was it?

Starting with the Nov. 12 Sadie Hawkins dance, the high school will enforce new dancing expectations. While Glacier always has had a policy forbidding “lewd conduct” at school, on buses or at school-sponsored events — including dances — the new rules are much more explicit. The new expectations are outlined in a draft Principal Callie Langohr sent out earlier this month. “Vulgar/provocative dancing, such as grinding, will not be allowed, nor any form of dance which is sexually suggestive or mimics sexual acts. Students must be facing one another when dancing and must keep some space between one another, with appropriate hand placements,” the draft says/Kristi Albertson, Daily Inter Lake. More here. (AP/Lionsgate Home Entertainment File Photo: Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze in “Dirty Dancing.)

Question: Do you agree with the move to crack down on dirty dancing by Glacier High in Kalispell, Mont.?

First-grader Mikaela Alles answers questions from her teacher aboutSt. Rose of Lima at All Saints Catholic School on Monday.Many students at the Catholic school researched and dressed as their favorite saints for All Saints Day.(SR Photo: Jesse Tinsley)

• Cartoon: Back to the future/David Horsey, Seattle P-I
• 3 Montana hunters found unconscious in tent, now ‘critical’/Associated Press
  
• NW Montana high school bans lewd dancing/Kristi Albertson, Daily Inter Lake
  
• 120 city jobs on the line as Spokane mayor presents budget/Jonathan Brunt, SR
• Times, places for high school football playoffs in Idaho/Greg Lee, SportsLink
• Did Meridian mayor use public funds for personal crisis?/Nishi Grupta, KTVB
• Best moments in race for Idaho governor/Ben Botkin, Twin Falls Times-News
• Orbusmax Special: Oregon, Washington to increase minimum wages here
  

Naomi Weitz had her pet snake, a 15-year-old Dumeril’s boa, blessed at Temple Beth Shalom on Sunday. It was the temple’s first animal blessing. Story here. (SR photo: Colin Mulvany)

• Cartoon: Mariners can’t get any worse or can they?/Milt Priggee, Seattle P-I
  
• Embattled Rep. Hart logged state land to build home/Betsy Russell, SR
• Author Doig introduces readers to ‘Other Montana’/Daniel Person, Chronicle
  
• Boyfriend arrested after Whitman County baby critically hurt/KXLY
• Spokane man goes to prison for 5 years for lying about HIV/Meghann Cuniff, S&G
• Conservative Union backs Labrador, small biz backs Minnick/Betsy Russell, EOB
• Boise State could be No. 1 when BCS rankings debut/Chadd Cripe, Statesman
• Central Washington investigating date-rape-drug party/KOMO-TV
• Weight Watchers names Butte teen as role model/George Plavin, Standard
  
• Helena woman drops suit over proposed sex-ed program/Associated Press
  
• Orbusmax Special: Bed bug infestations crop up around Spokane here
  

A group of nearly 20 bison run into the corral during the annual roundup at the National Bison Range Tuesday, near Moiese, Mont. Nearly 400 bison were brought in for inspection on Monday and Tuesday. According the Outdoor Recreation Planner for the National Bison Range Complex Pat Jamieson last year 1100 teachers and students came out to view the roundup. Story here. (AP Photo/Daily Inter Lake, Brenda Ahearn)

• Cartoon: Mysterious money men behind attack ads/David Horsey, Seattle P-I
  
• Medicaid program cuts back on Idaho’s dentists/Associated Press
• Top Montana official wants all-mail elections/Daniel Person, Bozeman Chronicle
  
• Otter won’t take stand on 3 proposed constitutional amendments/AP
• Judge overrules contempt finding of Spokane Catholic Diocese/John Stucke, SR
• 2-fer: Twin Falls texting ban starts today/Bradley Guire, TFTN; and: Meridian texting ban may be dead teen’s legacy/Joe Estrella, Statesman
• Labrador wins endorsement of ‘World’s Toughest Sheriff’/Dan Popkey, Statesman
• Pro skateboarder from Twin Falls ranks 10th in nation/Nick Coltrain, TFTN
• Horizon Air will ad Montana, Montana State colors to planes/Associated Press
  
• Orbusmax Special: Oregon high school bans cursing here
  

Angela Gilbert struggles to hold back tears as she stands outside a Hillyard apartment building holding a photo of her sister, Rebecca McCollough and her children Wednesday. Police say McCollough’s 1-year-old son Santiago was beaten to death by her boyfriend Tuesday night. James R. “J.R.” Cooley says he was frustrated by the child’s crying and his lack of marijuana. Meghann Cuniff story here. (SR Photo: Christopher Anderson)

• Cartoon: Picking a fight with governator/David Horsey, Seattle P-I
  
• Judge dismisses gun lawsuit from Idaho, Montana, other states/AP
• Washington potato official going on all-spud diet/Associated Press
• Football success has more students looking at BSU/Jamie Grey, KTVB
• Report: Charity dollars go far in Idaho/Anna Webb, Idaho Statesman
• Study: Hunt would cut Montana wolf population in half/Matthew Brown, AP
  
• Montanan gets probation for bachelor party head-butt/Tristan Scott, Missoulian
  
• Couple publishes paper out of home after Malta fire/Ed Kemmick, Gazette
• Bozeman-made guitar commemorates John Lennon/Daniel Person, Chronicle
  
• Orbusmax Special: ‘No Dicks’ sign offends Washington resident here
  

Debbie Welch, of Caldwell shades in the name of her cousin, Commander Philip A. Murphy-Sweet, who was killed by enemy action in Baghdad in 2007, on the wall of the Idaho Fallen Soldier Memorial on Saturday in Boise. The newly constructed monument was dedicated in a ceremony Saturday with hundreds of supporters in attendance. (AP Photo/ Idaho Press-Tribune, Charlie Litchfield)

• Cartoon: Super Jerry/David Horsey, Seattle P-I
  
• Washington wildlife officials suspect 3rd wolf pack/Rich Landers, SR
• Semi wreck shuts down I-90 west of Spokane, creates hazmat situation/KREM
• Rape charge dismissed vs. ex-Nampa council candidate/Sharon Strauss, IPT
  
• Barker: Nez Perce Tribe ready to dodge Idaho wolf job/Idaho Statesman
• Palin talks faith, family, small government in Missoula/Betsy Cohen, Missoulian
• Dog finds new home after bear mauling/Matt Hagengruber, Billings Gazette
• Buffet Ballmer predict bright future at Montana confab/Matt Gouras, AP
• Orbusmax Special: Washington Supreme Court clears way to vote on red-light cameras here
  

Boise State’s Kellen Moore hi-fives fans after beating Virginia Tech 33-30 at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., on Monday. Now, Moore has been named The O’Brien Quarterback of the Week. See Statesman story here. (AP Photo/Idaho Statesman: Joe Jaszewski)

• Montana Tea Party members want back axed president/Sanjay Talwani, HelenaIR
  
• 3 more Tax Commission workers go on record re: secret deals/Betsy Russell, EOB
• Idaho lawmakers could get taste of own medicine: pay cuts/Dan Popkey, Statesman
• Idaho Democrat Minnick featured in RNC’s anti-Obama video/Idaho Statesman
• UMontana law school recalls 1 or 4 who died in plane crash/Chelsi Moi, Missoulian
• Yellowstone National Park breaks record for summer visitors/Billings Gazette
• Carroll College mourns prof who drowned while rafting/John Harrington, HelenaIR
• UCDavis, Cal Poly join Big Sky, 3rd new team likely/Will C. Holden, Chronicle
• Orbusmax Special: Birthday party being planned for missing Portland boy here
  

Rocco Segadelli, 11 months old, of Boise, is wide-eyed as he checks out the inside of a Mickey Mouse  balloon at the Spirit of Boise  Balloon Classic Night Glow Saturday night at Ann Morrison Park in Boise. (AP Photo/Idaho Press Tribune: Mike Vogt)

Spokane Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick to hold 2 pm press conference to discuss Creach shooting investigation/KXLY.

• Cartoons: Immigrating workers, emigrating jobs/David Horsey, Seattle P-I
  
• Montana Tea Party cans chief for anti-gay remarks/John Doran, HelenaIR
  
• Sheriff had no input into deputy vacay after pastor shooting/Jeff Humphrey, KXLY
• Wyoming tries to maintain routine after player death/AP, Casper Star Tribune
  
• BSU gets 8 1st-place votes in AP poll, jumps to No. 3 in coaches poll/IStatesman
• Wyoming 1st to require disclosure of drilling chemicals/Brad Fruquhar, New West
• Montana highways 2nd best in nation for cost, performance/Associated Press
• Victims of Silver Valley lead pollution still suffering/Nicolas Geranios, AP
• Tragic Montana plane crash revives ‘lap child’ debate/Matt Volz, AP
  
• Orbusmax Special: ‘Extreme Makeover’: Show to help Oregon School for the Deaf here
  

People are shown outside Red’s Bar on a late Friday night in Missoula, Mont., earlier this month.  Montana has long been a state where you could crack open a beer and drive down the interstate just about as fast as you liked. Drinking and  driving  was legal until 2003, when it was changed only under heavy federal duress, and there was no specified speed limit on major highways. But spurred by the high-profile death last year of a highway patrolman at the hands of an intoxicated driver,  Montana’s Old West drinking and  driving culture is in retreat. Story here. (AP Photo/Mike Albans)

• Abuse payments sap diocese fund, putting churches at risk/John Stucke, SR
• Sportsmen want wolves killed to protect elk/Perry Backus, Ravalli Republic
  
• FBI raids in Spokane County linked to suspect w/Aryan ties/Meghann Cuniff, SR
• 3rd person dies in chopper crash in downtown Kamiah/Lewiston Tribune
• 3YO was handling cop’s gun when it discharged/Katy Moeller, Statesman
• Butane burner explosion rocks Boise State student union/KBOI2
• 60% of listeners of Boise station say Obama is Muslim/Dan Popkey, Statesman
• Orbusmax Special: ACLU: Washington schools can’t seize students’ cell phones here
  

Question: Do you miss the days that you could drive as fast as was “reasonable & prudent” in Montana?

Bulls riders leave the arena as steel  beams from the World Trade Center from Sept. 11, 2001, lie on a trailer behind during the  Kitsap County Fair & Stampede in Silverdale, Wash., Sunday. The beams, which were put on display in two or three Kootenai County locations earlier this month (see Kerri Thoreson’s photos here), will become part of a Kitsap County, Wash., memorial. (AP Photo/ Kitsap Sun, Larry Steagall)

• Cartoon: Haunted housing market/David Horsey, Seattle P-I
  
• Suspicious briefcase near Spokane bridge held camcorder/Spokesman-Review
• Charge dismissed against woman who told judge to ‘slow down’/Daily Inter Lake
  
• Wyoming won’t change stance on wolves/Ben Neary, Associated Press
• WAC demands $5M from Fresno State, Nevada/Brian Murphy, Statesman
• Barker: Maybe it’s time to rethink ‘don’t feed the bears’ rule/Idaho Statesman
  
• New Sterling Financial chairman paid $1.5M/Bert Caldwell, Office Hours
• Robb Akey: Vandals as healthy as ever/Josh Wright, SportsLink
• UMontana player faces DUI charge/Kim Briggeman, Missoulian
  
• Accused wife killer says she set him off w/’green card’ comment/Associated Press
• Orbusmax Special: Mayor’s plan for new Portland gun laws could face opposition here
  

Standout lineman Mike Iupati is shown hugging University of Idaho coach Robb Akey in the final moments of the Vandals victory over Bowling Green in the Humanitarian Bowl last Dec. 30. Now, Iupati is not only a San Francisco 49er lineman. But he also was selected by Bleacher Report as No. 4 of 15 NFL rookies this year who are destined for greatness. Click here.

• Cartoon: Where’s that shoe?/Milt Priggee, Seattle P-I
  
• Work to start to fix leaky Dworshak Dam/Associated Press
• Coeur d’Alene fisherman snags record pike in lower Twin/Field & Stream
  
• Spokane airman logs 5000th flight hour over Afghanistan/KREM2
• Prosecutor: Edgar Steele’s card to wife likely violated order/Associated Press
• Military: Reports not true that captured Idahoan is now Muslim/Nishi Gupta, KTVB
• Crapo predicts switch in U.S. House majority/Amy Huddleston, Twin Falls Times-News
• Orbusmax Special: Police use stun guns to arrest naked Oregon State player here
  

Several workmen prepare for transport to a Conoco-Phillips refinery in Billings, Mont., from the Port of Lewiston Monday. Each load will contain half a drum that will be assembled on site. Archives: Billings Gazette story here. (AP Photo/Lewiston Tribune, Barry Kough)

• Cartoon: Obama’s inheritance/David Horsey, Seattle P-I; and: Bye, bye, Uncle Ted/Milt Priggee, Seattle P-I
  
• Spokane Valley chooses new city manager/Nina Culver, SR
• Idahoan, horse killed by lightning at UI research facility/KTVB
• 52YO Montanan gets 20 years for 10th DUI/Associated Press
• Remains of U.S. chopper pilot from Billings found in Vietnam/Jan Falstad, Gazette
  
• Medal of Honor recipient’s widow can’t afford to attend Arlington funeral/KREM
• Thieves steal $25K worth of bronze pots, urns from Spokane cemeteries/KREM
  
• Montana State 2-fer: MSU, ex-football coach settle suit after firing; and MSU prevails in sex discrimination suit/Amy Beth Hanson, Associated Press
• Orbusmax Special: Alaska plane crash survivor watched father die here