Frank Henderson, a former newsman, says being a reporter gave him the confidence to ask important questions. That, he says, has made all the difference in his political career. StateImpact photo: Emilie Ritter Saunders.

Emilie Ritter Saunders/StateImpact offers this following Q-and-A with state Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, who celebrates his 90th birthday today:

StateImpact: First of all, happy birthday! Did you ever think you’d be in public office at 90?
Henderson: Uh no, I didn’t think I’d be in public office at 75 either.  Politics was never one of the subjects in my list of ambition.  My ambition was to be a newsman; I did that, left it, and then did industrial marketing.  I purchased a newspaper and I thought I’d retired.  Until, one day the person who was retiring as the mayor of Post Falls came to me and said the business community had talked about the next mayor and they wanted me.  I thought about it, I ran, and I was elected – that’s how it started. Complete Q-and-A here.

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Question: Frank Henderson's ability to continue going strongly at age 90 inspires me. How about you?

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