In brief: Armed robbery suspect under arrest

A 56-year-old man was arrested Wednesday afternoon on suspicions he robbed a Post Falls bank at gunpoint earlier in the day.

Raymond Matthew Alterton was taken into custody along Interstate 90 after several tipsters called the Post Falls Police Department. The agency had released surveillance photos of the alleged robber in sunglasses and a baby blue hooded sweatshirt pointing a gun. He left the Bank of America branch at 804 N. Henry St. in a blue Buick sedan that also was captured on video.

Alterton has no prior felony history, according to Idaho court records. Post Falls police said tips led to his arrest.

Bill seeks younger workers in logging

Sixteen-year-olds would be allowed to run logging equipment with parental supervision in family-owned operations under legislation introduced Wednesday by Idaho Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo.

The Youth Careers in Logging Act parallels age exemptions that are already in place for family-owned farms, the Republican senators said in a press release.

“By lowering the age that young adults are able to begin helping their parents operate safe and modern machinery, we are helping to bolster the entire logging industry,” Risch said in a statement.

Currently, individuals must be at least 18 to work in logging or forestry.

U.S. Congressman Raul Labrador has introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Logging remains dangerous work, according to federal statistics. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 475 people were killed in 2012 in the job category that includes forestry, agriculture, fishing and hunting.

Body found in Spokane River identified

An autopsy identified the man whose body was found floating in the Spokane River earlier this week as 51-year-old Michael L. McCann.

The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office did not release McCann’s cause of death. His body was discovered near Seven Mile Road on Monday afternoon, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.