Despite an incident at a Grocery Outlet store in Spokane Valley earlier this month, representatives of local stores and the union representing many grocery workers said compliance with mask mandates due to COVID-19 has been generally good throughout the Inland Northwest. 

Washington Territory first authorized a militia in 1855, before the region became a U.S. state. Since then, members of the national guard have been called up to fight in several conflicts, including both World Wars. 

Four hundred spectators arrived at the Spokane County Courthouse in the afternoon expecting to hear a verdict in the W.J. Van Skike manslaughter case.

A total of 32,902 people in Spokane County have contracted COVID-19 and 472 people have died since the pandemic began, according to the health district. 

January snowfall totals are well below normal in Spokane, and the light flurries that will last through the night aren't expected to change that much, according to the National Weather Service.

Christine Harbison and Mike Sandblom had just purchased a home together in Mead when Sandblom, an adult caregiver, started showing symptoms of coronavirus in November. Harbison followed in late December, her infection perhaps delayed by drugs she's taking to treat her multiple sclerosis. As the couple emerges from intensive care, they count themselves lucky, but know a long path to recovery is ahead.

Ralph Bye and his wife, Debra, took all precautions they could in their Post Falls home after the pandemic started, despite their initial skepticism about its severity. In December, 73-year-old Vietnam veteran Ralph Bye became one of hundreds of local residents treated in the ICU at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. Then he became one of the region's 450-plus residents who've died.

On the morning of Jan. 6, Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman was texting with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

Gov. Brad Little took aim at the Idaho Legislature on Friday, criticizing lawmakers for attempting to end a state of emergency, a decision that could put in jeopardy tens of millions in federal aid to Idaho.

Like a Arnold Schwarzenegger in a Terminator movie, the proposal to split Washington at the Cascade Crest and create a new state out of the eastern half has returned to the Legislature.

A semi carrying a propane tank crashed south of Loon Lake on Saturday morning, requiring several nearby residents nearby to shelter in place in case of an explosion.

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich has filed a complaint against a state commission for rejecting his proposal to run a new law enforcement training academy.

Fresh, restaurant-cooked meals made their way to the Women & Children’s Free Restaurant and Community Kitchen as the “Extend the Love” initiative started by Spokane native and actress Sydney Sweeney began last week.

House and Senate Democrats released a $2.2 billion proposal that would provide business assistance grants, school assistance, rental assistance as well as fund vaccine administration, COVID testing, business and operation tax relief to businesses who received a Paycheck Protection Program loan. Most of that comes from federal stimulus funds that the state has received.

Suzi LeVine, commissioner of Washington state’s Employment Security Department (ESD), is stepping down to take a job in the Biden administration, the agency announced Friday.

The Woodland Park Zoo’s newest tiger, Azul, has a dubious claim to fame: She was one of the first animals in the world to be diagnosed with COVID-19 last spring while living at New York’s Bronx Zoo.