Becky Kramer

All Stories

News >  Idaho

Avista agrees to lower electric rate hike for Idaho customers

Mon., Oct. 24, 2016

Avista Utilities would accept an Idaho electric hike that is nearly 60 percent lower than its initial request in May under a settlement announced Monday.

News >  Spokane

Lower Snake River dams have a long history of controversy

Mon., Oct. 24, 2016

The Lower Snake dams have always been controversial, wrote Idaho historian Keith Petersen in his 1995 book about the dams, “River of Life, Channel of Death.”

News >  Spokane

Pressure mounts on Lower Snake dams as fish runs sag

Mon., Oct. 24, 2016

A federal judge wants a new plan for restoring fish runs on the Lower Snake River prepared by 2018, and has suggested that breaching four dams on that stretch of the river should be at least considered. Public meetings about the dams begin on Monday.

News >  Business

Big companies push NW utilities to produce clean sources for electricity

Thu., Oct. 20, 2016

Demand for carbon-free energy is starting to influence how electricity is produced in Washington state.

News >  Spokane

Spokane Teaching Health Clinic trains a new generation of health-care workers

Fri., Oct. 14, 2016

A new building for the Spokane Teaching Health Clinic opened in August at WSU-Spokane’s campus. The clinic will train the region’s next generation of health care workers while expanding care to low-income residents.

News >  Spokane

Coeur d’Alene Tribe opens Northwest’s first tribal eagle aviary

Wed., Oct. 12, 2016

The first tribal eagle aviary in the Northwest is opening on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation, which will allow the tribe to keep captive bald and golden eagles and collect their feathers for ceremonial and religious use.

News >  Idaho

University of Idaho ‘lake lab’ to study ecology, economy of local lakes

Tue., Oct. 11, 2016

A $100,000 laboratory at the University of Idaho-Coeur d’Alene will track the ecology of North Idaho lakes and their role in the regional economy.

News >  Spokane

Study: Climate change doubles acreage burned in western fires

Mon., Oct. 10, 2016

Human-caused climate change has increased the acres burned in western forest, but it isn’t solely responsible for the incendiary wildfires of recent years, a new study says. Natural climate trends are also responsible.

News >  Idaho

Heavier loads proposed for U.S. Highway 95 from Canadian border to Coeur d’Alene

Tue., Oct. 4, 2016

Bigger trucks with heavier loads are proposed for U.S. Highway 95 and several other highways in North Idaho.

News >  Idaho

National immunization advocates to speak Thursday in Coeur d’Alene

Mon., Oct. 3, 2016

Two nationally known advocates for childhood immunizations will give a free talk in Coeur d’Alene on Thursday.

News >  Spokane

Nation’s first carbon tax on the ballot in Washington

Mon., Oct. 3, 2016

Washington voters will decide whether to approve the nation’s first carbon tax in November. Initiative 732 has divided environmentalists and is opposed by business and labor groups.

News >  Spokane

Feds asking public to weigh in on breaching Snake River dams

Fri., Sept. 30, 2016

People will across the region will have a chance to weigh in on a controverisal proposal to remove the four Lower Snake River dams this fall as three federal agencies hold public hearings to discuss the creation of a new plan for saving endangered Northwest salmon.

News >  Spokane

WSU scientists say man-made reservoirs may be a contributor to global warming

Wed., Sept. 28, 2016

Reservoirs behind dams release significant amounts of greenhouse gases, and their output should be counted in future emissions reporting, says a new study from Washington State University.

News >  Spokane

Sawmill is part of the Colville Tribes’ strategy for a warming climate

Sun., Sept. 25, 2016

As the Confederated Colville Tribes prepare for a hotter, drier future, with more wildfires, they’re planning to reopen a sawmill that will process ponderosa pine.

News >  Spokane

Five years in the making, new survey catalogs nearly 200 species across the Idaho Panhandle

Fri., Sept. 23, 2016

After five years of work, an Idaho Department of Fish and Game biologist recently finished one of the most comprehensive records ever compiled about what lives in the Idaho Panhandle’s forests, fields and wetlands. Michael Lucid and collaborators found nearly 200 species at 2,300 survey sites across millions of acres of public and private lands.

News >  Spokane

WSU researchers taming the wild huckleberry

Wed., Sept. 21, 2016

Washington State University researchers are setting their sights on domesticating the wild huckleberry, a goal that has eluded plant scientists for decades. “We want a huckleberry plant that produces like a blueberry without sacrificing the fruit’s flavor,” said Amit Dhingra, an associate professor in WSU’s College of Agriculture.

News >  Spokane

Felix Aripa, beloved elder of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, dies at 93

Fri., Sept. 16, 2016

Felix Aripa, a beloved elder of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and one of the tribe’s last native speakers, died Friday. He was 93.

Sports >  Outdoors

After disastrous 2015, more Idaho sockeye return to spawning grounds this year

Wed., Sept. 14, 2016

More sockeye salmon returned to Idaho’s Snake River basin this year, thanks to cooler weather in July and strategic water releases to help the endangered fish.

News >  Spokane

Nine Mile upgrade part of Avista’s plan to keep dams humming

Tue., Sept. 6, 2016

Avista just spent $77 million on new generating units for Nine Mile Dam. Big capital projects are driving the utility’s request for higher rates next year, Avista officials said.

News >  Spokane

Railroads keep most bridge inspection data secret

Sun., Sept. 4, 2016

With railroad bridges carrying oil, coal and hazardous cargo through cities and towns, local officials are asking whether the structures are safe, but can’t get much information.

News >  Idaho

Business use of drones takes off as new rules kick in

Wed., Aug. 24, 2016

Unmanned aircraft are transforming natural resource management in the West. Industry officials expect the use of drones to accelerate after the Federal Aviation Administration relaxes the rules for who can operate small drones for commercial purposes.

News >  Spokane

Weather pattern often associated with wildfires, including the Big Burn

Mon., Aug. 22, 2016

The weather system that whipped up Sunday’s fires is often associated with August wildfires, including the Big Burn of 1910.

News >  Spokane

About 35 percent of Snake River sockeye presumed dead

Thu., Aug. 18, 2016

About 35 percent of this year’s Snake River sockeye salmon run hasn’t shown up at Lower Granite Dam, and the fish are probably dead, the Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday.

News >  Spokane

Local impact unknown in Community Health Systems downsizing

Thu., Aug. 18, 2016

The company that owns Deaconess and Valley hospitals and Rockwood Clinic plans to sell off 12 medical centers following a rocky financial performance over the past year.

News >  Spokane

Hot water poses ongoing threat to Columbia River salmon, groups say

Mon., Aug. 15, 2016

Hot water is killing salmon in the reservoirs behind Columbia and Snake river dams, and the federal government must take action to prevent future die-offs of the Northwest’s iconic fish, environmental groups say.