Mon., Dec. 31, 2018

Days after the Freeman High School shooting, Barb Wharton sat in a circle with about 15 teachers who had locked down their classrooms that day to keep the gunman out.

UPDATED: Fri., Dec. 28, 2018

As entrepreneur program manager for StartUp Spokane, Megan Hulsey helps people turn their business ideas into reality.

Fri., Dec. 28, 2018

Karen Mobley isn’t that well known to the general public, even though she was a longtime city department head. Her work remains on display all over town, even if it …

Sat., Dec. 29, 2018

As a former model and long-time owner of downtown Spokane’s The Makeup Studio, Julie Farley knows a thing or two about putting your best face forward. But it’s not just …

Sun., Dec. 30, 2018

For the past three decades, Lynn Everson has greeted society’s outcasts with a cookie, a clean needle and a welcome ear.

UPDATED: Tue., Dec. 25, 2018

Gowdy didn’t think volunteering project would catch on. But in the past year, he’s won accolades for his work and spoken at dozens of local schools. He still tries to …

Mon., Dec. 24, 2018

It probably won’t be a bestseller, but Mark Anderson and Rick Romero just wrote the book on local intergovernmental cooperation.

Sun., Dec. 23, 2018

About 17,000 acres has been preserved as open spaces through the efforts of the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy – most of it under Chris DeForest’s leadership.

Sat., Dec. 22, 2018

Dana Rowan wasn’t sure about sophomore Sydney Lyman’s pitch a few years ago to create a community service club at Mead High School. Then the teenager sent her a fully …

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 2, 2018

Under Mark Finney’s leadership, World Relief has been more public, hosting celebrations and welcoming Spokane’s 10,000th refugee.

Sat., Dec. 30, 2017

In the past four decades, Ron Wells has saved dozens of buildings from the wrecking ball, and rehabilitated them for every purpose: living, dining, playing and working.

Fri., Dec. 29, 2017

If you’ve admired Ginelle Hustrulid’s soundwave, made from more than 1,200 paint samples located on First Avenue, thank Window Dressing.

Thu., Dec. 28, 2017

Officer Chris Kirn was working patrol when the call came in: There’s a man on top of the Maple Street Bridge and he’s threatening to jump. It was about 9:15 …

Wed., Dec. 27, 2017

No one can say what motivated Sam Strahan to face the shooter, rather than flee into a classroom as bullets whizzed down the hallway. While the carnage still is hard …

Tue., Dec. 26, 2017

On any given day, 27-year-old Emma Moon is a counselor, confidante or cheerleader for more than 300 student-athletes. She’s paying it forward every day.

Mon., Dec. 25, 2017

Starting in 1989, Stan Malnar ran the maternity clinic at Sacred Heart serving low-income women, worked at Hospice of Spokane helping families say goodbye to loved ones, and spent his …

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 3, 2018

Under Antony Chiang’s leadership, Empire Health Foundation has developed a reputation for big-picture thinking. The foundation is tackling issues such as childhood obesity and access to health care.

UPDATED: Fri., Dec. 22, 2017

The first semester had just ended last year and Rogers High School Principal Lori Wyborney was walking with a 20-year veteran teacher, who turned, looked back at still-new structure and …

Fri., Dec. 22, 2017

You learn a lot about people when you stand outside on a cold day, ringing a bell in front of a red kettle.

Sat., Dec. 31, 2016

The Fallen Heroes Project, which has about a dozen leading members, helped spearhead the installation of a 24-foot monument at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena last year. And since the …

Fri., Dec. 30, 2016

Spokane civic leaders had been working for years to expand medical education in the region by the time Elson Floyd was named president of Washington State University. The strategy at …

Thu., Dec. 29, 2016

As she cruises through Spokane’s West Central neighborhood in her patrol car, Traci Ponto doesn’t wave at children. Instead, Ponto, the neighborhood’s police resource officer, smiles and flashes a peace …

Wed., Dec. 28, 2016

Phil Tyler, the Spokane NAACP president, is finding ways to collaborate and find solutions to help people of color as racial tensions flare across the country.

Tue., Dec. 27, 2016

Dr. Matt Laytons is an early adopter of new and successful ideas to treat drug addicts.

Mon., Dec. 26, 2016

When high school senior Ava Sharifi gave a speech about tolerance and acceptance, she struck a nerve. Thousands watched her impassioned talk to fellow Lewis and Clark students on YouTube …

Sun., Dec. 25, 2016

John Padula was doing his best to hold it together and display courage in the face of an unthinkable act of violence. The man he considered a mentor, father figure …

Sat., Dec. 24, 2016

Moments after a crushing last-second defeat that ended his storied Eastern Washington University college football career, Cooper Kupp kept his poise and perspective.

Fri., Dec. 23, 2016

Every time a bell rings – at least in the hallways at Catholic Charities – a homeless person gets a place to live. This year, that’s been 73 vigorous peals. …

Thu., Dec. 22, 2016

It may have been cold last Saturday, but that didn’t matter to 500 people who formed a line curling beneath the Interstate 90 bridge waiting for a prime rib dinner …