Becky Kramer

Idaho's unemployment rate sunk to a record low of 2.8 percent in February, and the Kootenai County jobless rate was close behind at 3.2 percent. The figures underscore what local employers have known for months: Competition for workers is getting tougher.

An aging and affluent population has created a national market for GarageTown USA. Three years after the Coeur d'Alene company opened its first condominium storage project in North Idaho, the firm has expanded to five other states.

Through a savvy marketing plan, Idaho companies grossed about $100 million from the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Regional tourism entities are hoping for a repeat performance in 2010, when the Winter Olympics come to Vancouver, B.C.

There will be no more free rides from the Potlatch Corp. Starting April 1, Idaho's largest timberland owner will start charging for recreational access to more than 600,000 acres of company-owned property in the St. Joe and Clearwater regions, including thousands of miles of trails and roads used by hunters, ATV riders and others.

Kootenai County will need about 25,000 new single family homes by 2015 to keep up with population growth. The forecast, made last year by Avista's Chief Economist Randy Barcus, was the focus of a talk Thursday at the 2007 Real Estate Market Forum.

Higher silver prices are breathing new life into the 60-year-old Lucky Friday Mine. On Wednesday, officials at Hecla Mining Co. said they were considering a $150 million to $200 million capital outlay at the mine in Mullan, Idaho, which could boost its silver production by 70 percent.

U.S. Silver Corp. will spend $1.5 million this year to restart the Coeur Mill and explore for silver-lead ore in the adjoining Coeur Mine. The mill should be running by August, said Mark Hartmann, company president. Activity in the mill and the mine, which has been closed since 1997, will result in about 15 new hires, he said.

A ban on field burning will speed up Rathdrum Prairie's transition from agricultural fields to tract homes, a grass seed grower predicted Friday. "This is the beginning of the end of the open space on the Rathdrum Prairie as we know it," said Wayne Meyer, a former state legislator.

Shoshone County is considering calling a timeout on growth by putting a temporary halt on the creation of new lots in the county's unincorporated areas. "We know it's not going to be popular," county Commissioner Jon Cantamessa said Wednesday afternoon, shortly before a public meeting on the proposed moratorium. About 25 people showed up for the meeting, requiring the commissioner to move it to a larger room.

Getting an injured snowmobiler to safety Friday night involved a grueling 13 ½-hour rescue in waist-deep snow and heavy fog on a ridge near Big Creek, Idaho. When David Ross Schlotthauer's snowmobile jumped a 25-foot cliff about 2 p.m. Friday afternoon, the 30-year-old Post Falls man was seriously injured and in shock. He had a possible broken leg, fractured pelvis and internal injuries, according to law enforcement. Two of his friends called 911.

For more than two years, Travis Woods encountered racial graffiti and slurs at work, according to an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit filed against the Lewiston Wal-Mart store. Racial epithets appeared on bathroom walls and in and near the closet where Woods – a night maintenance supervisor who is black – kept equipment, according to the suit.

With a series of high profile events on Spokane's civic calendar, tourism officials are banking on 2007 as the year that will launch the city's reputation as a travel destination. Last month, Spokane was on display to an international audience when the State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships came to town.

If 2007 lives up to expectations as a year of political unrest and world strife, prices for gold and silver could rise substantially – boosting the paychecks of Silver Valley miners and benefiting local mining companies. "There are a tremendous number of problems that could scare investors into gold and silver," said Jeffrey Christian, managing director of the New York-based CPM Group. Investors tend to flock to gold and silver during times of uncertainty, seeking a storehouse of value for their wealth. Increased investor interest pushes prices up.

Last year, Kellogg School Superintendent Sandra Pommerening couldn't hire some of her top choices for new teachers. After looking at housing options in Idaho's Silver Valley, the teachers declined to accept the district's job offers. Nothing they liked matched their price range.

The Coeur d'Alene Resort and Lakeland School District are launching a two-year hospitality class that will introduce students to careers in Idaho's third largest industry. Between 15 and 20 juniors and seniors will be accepted into the program, which begins next fall. Students will spend two class periods per day, five days per week, at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. They'll follow a curriculum put out by the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute, meet regularly with resort managers, and take field trips to other tourism businesses.

Coeur d'Alene is home to three community banks. Sandpoint has one, and Post Falls could be next. Longtime local banker David Bobbitt is heading up efforts to open Community 1st Bank in Post Falls. A group of investors has purchased an old post office building at 707 N. Post, across the street from branches of U.S. Bank and Bank of America. Pending regulatory approval, Community 1st Bank could open for business in April or May.

If the laws of supply and demand govern residential real estate prices, homes in Spokane and Kootenai counties should be getting cheaper. Instead, the real estate markets, fed by home buyers from Southern California and Western Washington, wrapped up 2006 with more double-digit price increases.