Becky Kramer

All Stories

News >  Spokane

With at least 2,000 new jobs on the horizon, West Plains poised for rapid growth

Sun., March 10, 2019

After decades as Spokane’s low-profile neighbor, the West Plains is suddenly in the spotlight for employment, population growth and commercial development. Rapid development, bringing at least 2,000 new jobs, will transform the area in the next 24 months.

News >  Business

The Dirt: Former automotive shop to become brewery, restaurant

Sun., March 10, 2019

The Watts Project will transform the former Watts Automotive shop, 1312 W. First Ave., into a 6,600-square-foot brewery production facility and tap room called Brick West Brewing.

News >  Spokane

Newmont Mining asks to relax radiation cleanup standards at Midnite Mine on Spokane Indian Reservation

UPDATED: Mon., March 11, 2019

The company responsible for cleaning up the Midnite Mine on the Spokane Indian Reservation has asked the federal government to relax cleanup standards for radiation at the defunct uranium mine.

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News >  Spokane

Average sales price for Spokane-area homes hits $260K in February

UPDATED: Wed., March 6, 2019

Housing markets have cooled off in parts of the West Coast, but home prices continue to rise in Spokane County, where inventory remains tight.

News >  Spokane

Dennis Wheeler, former Coeur d’Alene Mines chairman, dies at 76

UPDATED: Fri., March 1, 2019

Dennis E. Wheeler, former chairman of Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp., died Tuesday at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston where he had been receiving treatment for leukemia. He was 76.

News >  Spokane

Avista starts $165 million smart-meter rollout in Spokane

Thu., Feb. 28, 2019

Avista begins a $165 million smart-meter rollout in Spokane on Friday. More than 400,000 electric and natural gas customers in Washington will receive the smart meters over the next 20 months.

News >  Business

Fred’s Appliance to pay taxes, penalties on service contracts it has sold

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 25, 2019

Fred’s Appliance Inc. has agreed to pay nearly $449,000 in taxes, penalties and interest for selling service contracts without being registered by the state of Washington.

News >  Business

Building confidence, managing success: How Jo Ann Kauffman built a nationally known management consulting firm

Sun., Feb. 24, 2019

Despite early business challenges, Jo Ann Kauffman went on to build a company with a national reputation. Spokane-based Kauffman & Associates works with tribal and undeserved communities, foundations and nonprofits, providing an array of management consulting services.

News >  Spokane

Incubator will help Native-owned companies grow

Sun., Feb. 24, 2019

Kauffman & Associates is launching an incubator to help American Indian business owners expand their companies.

News >  Spokane

First robin of spring? That’s something of an avian myth

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 20, 2019

Although the “first robin of spring” is a phrase enshrined in folklore and literature, it’s something of an avian myth. Robins move around in search of food, but they can be spotted year-round in the Inland Northwest.

News >  Business

On the rise: Local factories part of tall wood-building movement

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 20, 2019

A Spokane Valley factory could help transform the U.S. building industry, bringing tall, wooden structures into the mainstream.

News >  Spokane

Honest in Ivory sells designer wedding gowns in warehouse space

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 13, 2019

Cassie David named her bridal boutique Honest in Ivory. She thought something “a little cheeky” would be appropriate.

News >  Business

Spokane-area home prices rise in January, inventory dips

Tue., Feb. 12, 2019

The average price for a Spokane-area home rose to $256,000 in January, as low numbers of homes for sale continued to put pressure on prices.

News >  Business

Avista will seek customer rate increases in 2020

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 8, 2019

Avista will ask regulators in Washington, Idaho and Oregon to approve higher rates for electricity and natural gas that would take effect in early 2020.

News >  Business

Spokesman-Review’s printing operations to move to Spokane Valley to expand commercial press business

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 8, 2019

For more than a century, The Spokesman-Review has been printed in downtown Spokane. That will change in late 2019 or early 2020, when the newspaper’s print publishing operations move to a Spokane Valley industrial park.

News >  Business

Shopko to close North Spokane, Spokane Valley and Pullman stores

UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 7, 2019

Shopko will close two additional stores in the Spokane area as the Wisconsin-based retailer seeks to reorganize and emerge from bankruptcy.

News >  Business

Mild spring will give way to hotter, drier summer in Inland Northwest, says ag weatherman

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 5, 2019

In Eastern Washington, a cold February will give way to milder temperatures in March and April, said Art Douglas, a weatherman for farmers. July and August will bring “some heat” and drier than normal conditions.

News >  Spokane

Priest Lake property owners win tax appeal

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 4, 2019

Priest Lake landowners who challenged the assessed value of their waterfront parcels for tax purposes prevailed Monday in a lawsuit against Bonner County.

News >  Business

The Dirt: Exotic Metals submits plans for Airway Heights expansion

Sun., Feb. 3, 2019

Exotic Metals Forming LLC has submitted development plans for future expansion on the West Plains.

News >  Business

Exotic Metals submits plans for Airway Heights expansion

Sat., Feb. 2, 2019

Exotic Metals Forming LLC has submitted development plans for future expansion on the West Plains.

News >  Business

Request for controversial rezoning on Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation withdrawn

Sat., Feb. 2, 2019

A controversial request to rezone 84 acres of agricultural land on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation has been withdrawn by the property owner.

News >  Spokane

Spokane market bucks national trend with rising housing prices

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 29, 2019

Realtor.com recently released a list of 10 metro areas that experienced double-digit growth in housing prices last year. The price growth in the Spokane area and the other markets came as 70 percent of the U.S.’s 200 largest housing markets experienced a slow down.

News >  Spokane

State grants totaling $2 million support rural development in Spokane and Stevens counties

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 31, 2019

Spokane and Stevens counties will use $2 million in state grants to accommodate rural housing growth while keeping water in streams for fish and other wildlife.

News >  Spokane

Former Fasteners executive pleads guilty to tax evasion

UPDATED: Mon., Jan. 28, 2019

A former executive of Fasteners Inc. pleaded guilty last week to income tax evasion for not reporting $244,000 in income to the Internal Revenue Service over a four-year span.

News >  Business

Realtors forecast another year of competitive conditions in Spokane-area housing market

Sun., Jan. 27, 2019

As Realtors look ahead to 2019, they continue to see a hot sellers’ market, with demand for homes in Spokane County outpacing supply.