Stories by Emma Epperly for the Spokesman-Review

News > Idaho

With Kootenai County move into the Red, school districts plan meetings to discuss next moves

UPDATED: Fri., Oct. 23, 2020

Now that the Panhandle Health District has moved Kootenai County into the highest-risk Red category for coronavirus transmission and eliminated its mask mandate, school boards for the county’s largest districts will meet Friday to plan next steps.

News > Crime/Public Safety

‘I could have gotten you’: Man arrested on suspicion of attempted kidnapping at Valley Fred Meyer

UPDATED: Thu., Oct. 22, 2020

Ever since a woman reported a man had tried to kidnap her and her son at Fred Meyer last week, Spokane Valley Detectives have sought for the perpetrator, who was arrested Wednesday evening in Liberty Lake.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Protest, originally scheduled to coincide with controversial ‘Killology’ course, still set for Tuesday

UPDATED: Fri., Oct. 23, 2020

Protesters are planning to demonstrate at a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office training session Tuesday that’s been under scrutiny for months.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Clarkston business owner accused of bribing federal official to win construction contract

UPDATED: Fri., Oct. 23, 2020

A Clarkston business owner has been indicted on federal charges of bribing a Bureau of Indian Affairs official to gain access to confidential information that gave him an unfair advantage when bidding for government contracts.

News > Pacific NW

Panhandle Health Board rescinds mask mandate in Kootenai County

UPDATED: Fri., Oct. 23, 2020

Two north Idaho counties, Kootenai and Boundary, moved to the substantial COVID-19 risk category, or Red, due to increasing test positivity rates and worrisome limited hospital capacity, Panhandle Health District announced Thursday.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Teens suspected of shooting over illegal vape pen identified; 19-year-old victim remains hospitalized

UPDATED: Wed., Oct. 21, 2020

Three teens met Sunday for the oldest boy to sell the younger two a Puff Bar vape pen, but the transaction suddenly went bad – leaving the 19-year-old seller hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the chest, court documents say.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Police: Wanted man escapes by cutting hole through hotel wall

UPDATED: Tue., Oct. 20, 2020

After law enforcement officers spotted a wanted man outside a hotel on Sunset Hill, police say he cut a hole in his hotel room wall to escape.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Multiple people stabbed, including 4-year-old; suspect leads police on car chase

UPDATED: Tue., Oct. 20, 2020

Multiple people, including a 4-year-old-child, were stabbed by a house guest Sunday morning. The suspect then led police on a car chase before eventually being arrested.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Burglars find body after breaking into garage

UPDATED: Tue., Oct. 20, 2020

An inmate in Whitman County Jail told police earlier this month she found a body in a garage in Valleyford, just south of Spokane.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Recreational burn bans in Spokane metro area to be lifted Tuesday

UPDATED: Mon., Oct. 19, 2020

After wildfires spread through Washington in late summer, restrictions for outdoor recreational fires are set to be lifted Tuesday morning. Burn bans have been in effect since July 20.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Two teens suspected in shooting on South Hill on Sunday

UPDATED: Mon., Oct. 19, 2020

Two young suspects were arrested Sunday in connection to a shooting on Spokane’s South Hill that left a 19-year-old man in serious condition.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Patient in critical condition after South Hill shooting Sunday

UPDATED: Sun., Oct. 18, 2020

One person was taken to Providence Sacred Heart in critical condition Sunday afternoon with a gunshot wound after a shooting on Spokane's South Hill, according to public safety officials.

News > Pacific NW

Snow stuck in Montana on Sunday – when will it reach the Inland Northwest?

UPDATED: Sun., Oct. 18, 2020

Spokane will likely see snowfall later this week, but don't expect it to stick around, forecasters say. Spokane usually sees its first flakes in the air in late October, according to historical averages.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Man who died in South Hill crash at Regal and Thurston identified; friend recalls ‘good neighbor’

UPDATED: Thu., Oct. 15, 2020

The man who died Tuesday night in a crash at Regal Street and Thurston Avenue has been identified as 20-year-old Hasan Marzoog.

News > Crime/Public Safety

L&I accuses former Coulee City police chief of saying she couldn’t work because of accident with corpse, then posing as pinup

UPDATED: Thu., Oct. 15, 2020

After a corpse fell on the former Coulee City Police Chief’s head in 2012, she claimed workers’ compensation. But an investigation by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries alleges she was really working as a pinup model during that time.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Residents and pets escape early morning house fire in Spokane Valley

UPDATED: Thu., Oct. 15, 2020

Residents of a home near North Sargent Road and East Valleyway Avenue called 911 after waking up to the smell of smoke on Thursday morning.

News > Education

EWU to continue with most classes online for winter quarter

UPDATED: Wed., Oct. 14, 2020

Eastern Washington University announced Wednesday that most courses will be online for the winter 2021 quarter.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Man dies, three injured in South Hill crash at Regal and Thurston

UPDATED: Wed., Oct. 14, 2020

A man died Tuesday night after driving through a stop sign and crashing into a car, fire hydrant, power pole and fence. The driver’s young passenger and people in the other vehicle sustained non-life threatening injuries.

News > Crime/Public Safety

A fight in the street blocked traffic in Spokane Valley Tuesday

UPDATED: Wed., Oct. 14, 2020

Spokane Valley Deputies received multiple reports of a street fight and disruptive man blocking traffic on Pines Road on Tuesday afternoon.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Two people injured in shooting at Havana and 8th

UPDATED: Wed., Oct. 14, 2020

Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies investigated an early morning shooting Wednesday near East Eighth Avenue and Havana Street in Spokane Valley.

News > Pacific NW

Thousands lose power in Spokane area as winds snap lines

UPDATED: Wed., Oct. 14, 2020

When a power line snaps, it sounds like a gunshot.

News > Crime/Public Safety

After protests, Spokane Police Department trains new officers for Bicycle Rapid Response Team

Tue., Oct. 13, 2020

After a Spokane protest devolved into a riot in May, Spokane Police Department tactical team leader Lt. Dave Overhoff knew it was time to get his planned Bicycle Rapid Response Team ready to work.