James Hanlon

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News >  Transportation

Getting There: Highway 53 interchange near Hauser will bypass rail crossings

Mon., March 31, 2025

Construction on state Highway 53 is leading to traffic backups for a detour route on the north end of Rathdrum Prairie near the Washington state line.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Chewelah police chief recovering from heart surgery complications

Sat., March 29, 2025

Chewelah Police Chief Keith Cochran is still in the hospital after suffering complications from open heart surgery in January and faces a long road to recovery. Police Captain Alex Lever is the acting chief in his absence.

News >  WA Government

Gov. Ferguson visits Spokane Veterans Home as state plans replacement project

UPDATED: Sat., March 29, 2025

Gov. Bob Ferguson hopes to build a new state veterans home near the federal VA hospital in northwest Spokane if funding can be secured.

News >  Local Government

Jonathan Bingle will run for re-election to Spokane City Council

UPDATED: Fri., March 28, 2025

Spokane City Councilman Jonathan Bingle announced Friday he will seek a second term in November.

News >  Local business

Numerica to lay off about 25 employees as part of restructuring

UPDATED: Tue., March 25, 2025

Numerica Credit Union will lay off about 3.5% of its workforce as it restructures “in response to the evolving economic landscape and the changing needs of its members,” a news release said Tuesday.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Stevens County deputies kill suspect in standoff near Northport

UPDATED: Mon., March 24, 2025

Stevens County sheriff deputies shot and killed a man while attempting to carry out a felony arrest warrant Sunday in the 3300 block of state Route 25 south of Northport, Washington.

News >  Washington

‘Are we just left to die?’: Spokane health care providers, patients consider Medicaid cuts in roundtable

Mon., March 24, 2025

As an older Spokane resident, Gail Halverson relies on Medicare and Medicaid to live. Right now, she is afraid she could lose that coverage.

News >  Pacific NW

Elon Musk’s DOGE puts government agencies in Spokane Valley, Lapwai, Pomeroy on notice for building lease terminations

UPDATED: Tue., March 25, 2025

Several federal agencies in Washington and Idaho are on notice that their office leases in local buildings will be terminated as the Trump administration searches for ways to cut costs.

News >  Higher education

NIC settles lawsuit with former communications director who alleged ‘toxic’ work environment

UPDATED: Fri., March 21, 2025

North Idaho College will pay its former communications director Laura Rumpler $20,000 to settle a federal lawsuit.

News >  Pacific NW

Tribes call on Pentagon to restore websites honoring Native American military service

Thu., March 20, 2025

Inland Northwest tribes joined Indigenous groups across the country in asking the Defense Department to reinstate web pages highlighting Native American war heroes and veterans that were recently removed as part of the federal government's purge on diversity, equity and inclusion.

News >  WA Government

Rep. Baumgartner responds to questions on Musk, immigration and other policies at Ritzville town hall

UPDATED: Tue., March 25, 2025

U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner faced a mix of about 100 displeased constituents and supporters during the first of his town-hall doubleheader Monday morning about an hour's drive southwest of Spokane, where he will face a much larger crowd Monday night at Whitworth University. 

News >  Transportation

Getting There: I-90 construction projects ahead in Idaho, Washington

UPDATED: Fri., March 21, 2025

Idaho travelers can expect delays through Interstate 90 this summer. The Idaho Transportation Department is starting or resuming four construction projects beginning this month between Post Falls and Cataldo, according to several news releases and information from project web pages.

A&E >  Music

Spokane Symphony concertmaster composes violin solo for astronaut Anne McClain as she launches somewhere ‘Over the Rainbow’

UPDATED: Sun., March 16, 2025

Spokane astronaut Anne McClain has a theme song to listen to as she returns to space.

News >  Weather

Sen. Murray, former NOAA administrator warn about danger of mass National Weather Service layoffs for farmers, fire season

UPDATED: Thu., March 13, 2025

During fire season, the National Weather Service deploys meteorologists to major wildfires to keep firefighters updated on changing wind conditions and to predict where the fire will spread.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Man pleads guilty to stealing moccasins from Northern Quest casino, Kalispel Tribe still offering $25,000 reward

UPDATED: Wed., March 12, 2025

Five baby moccasins and a beaded leather glove are still missing, even after a Yakima man pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing them from Northern Quest Resort & Casino over four years ago.

News >  Sci/Tech

Wind and solar projects gain traction in Garfield County as moratorium expires

UPDATED: Mon., March 10, 2025

Several renewable energy projects are on the horizon after Garfield County’s moratorium on wind farms lifted last month, while neighboring Whitman County continues to hold off on such projects as it drafts new rules for them following local opposition.

News >  Local business

Local contractors build little free libraries to donate for Women in Construction Week

Fri., March 7, 2025

Not all construction jobs involve a saw or a hammer. Some are project managers, engineers or architects who do much of their work in an office.

News >  Spokane

More DOGE layoffs: Workers fired from CDC’s mining safety lab in Spokane

Fri., March 7, 2025

Jessica Perkins thought she was safe from being fired because she was no longer considered a probationary employee.

News >  Military

Air Force veteran gifted keys to new home: ‘This is more than walls and a roof’

UPDATED: Tue., March 4, 2025

Less than six months after he was surprised with a new home site in northwest Spokane, a U.S. Air Force veteran and his family are finally home.

News >  Washington

Sen. Shelly Short pulls support for Republic library expansion after Pride flag controversy

UPDATED: Mon., March 3, 2025

The public library in Republic, Washington, missed out on a funding opportunity after a group of residents complained about a pride flag and the library board declined to remove it.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Two men sentenced to life in prison for double homicide on the Colville Reservation

UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 27, 2025

Zachary Holt and Tezmonique Tenzsley were sentenced to life in federal prison Wednesday for murdering siblings Gale Neal and Jeremy Neal in Ferry County in October 2022.

News >  Washington

Despite strong performance reviews, Grand Coulee Dam workers fired in DOGE cuts told they ‘failed to demonstrate fitness or qualifications’

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 26, 2025

When Stephanie Duclos reported to work at the Bureau of Reclamation’s Grand Coulee Dam office the Tuesday morning after Presidents Day Weekend, she was called in to her supervisors’ office. Then she was fired.

News >  Idaho

KCRCC to settle defamation suit against Committeeman Dan Gookin

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 26, 2025

The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee has reached a settlement agreement in a defamation lawsuit against one of its precinct committeemen, Chairman Brent Regan announced at the party’s monthly meeting Tuesday night.

News >  Idaho

Kootenai County Republicans formally meet after Saturday’s disruptive town hall as chairman maintains it was ‘private event’

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 25, 2025

The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee convened an orderly meeting Tuesday in contrast to a legislative town hall the party hosted over the weekend where private security guards were filmed dragging a woman out of the auditorium at Coeur d’Alene High School.

News >  Sci/Tech

Gonzaga climate institute guest lecturer explores relationship between economy, ecology and justice

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 24, 2025

Economies, ecosystems and people are inextricably intertwined.