Ken Olsen

Indigent care. Ray Hutchinson, who has known he is HIV-politive for nine years, can't afford the $2,000 in medicines per month that keep him alive. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Day-care providers face more rigorous rules before being licensed in Coeur d'Alene. The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to expand the scope of criminal background checks potential providers undergo. The council also added indecent exposure to the list of convictions that make people ineligible for day-care licenses in the city limits.

People who want to run day-care centers in the Lake City soon may have to undergo more rigorous background checks. The Coeur d'Alene City Council is expected to approve the more stringent day-care licensing ordinances at its regular meeting Tuesday. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

The body of a Hispanic male, victim of a possible homicide, was dug out of a snow drift near Diagonal Road by Kootenai County sheriff's deputies Wednesday.

Former KXLY television news reporter Bret Bowers is the new executive director of North Idaho's most powerful business lobby. Bowers, 33, went to work for Concerned Businesses of North Idaho on Dec. 22. He was selected from a field of about 18 candidates.

The shooting death of a 43-year-old Coeur d'Alene man during a Thanksgiving hunting confrontation was justifiable homicide, the Latah County prosecutor announced Monday. After reviewing investigation reports, interviewing everyone at the shooting and considering other information, Prosecutor Bill Thompson decided not to file charges in the death of Michael K. McQueen. McQueen was shot by Corey D. Cooper, 22, of rural Latah County during a confrontation in the Tamarack Ridge area of southeastern Latah County. Cooper and his father, Donald, had encountered McQueen and his brother Patrick earlier in the day.

Developers want the Lake City's Urban Renewal Agency to pay for a proposed $2.5 million parking garage by March. It will be difficult to maintain options to buy the land for the project for longer than two months, Jim Frank, president of Greenstone-Kootenai Corp., said during a presentation to the urban renewal group Friday.

A 52-year-old Princeton man died Thursday after being struck by a tree he was felling. Lloyd D. French was cutting a fairly large Douglas fir on his O'Reilly Road farm, according to the Latah County Sheriff's Office. As the Douglas fir fell, it struck another tree and shattered.

Schools and county road departments throughout Idaho will get significantly less money from the national forests this year because of accounting errors, falling timber prices and falling harvest. Shoshone County will suffer the greatest loss - nearly $1 million. Kootenai County is losing nearly $300,000. The U.S. Forest Service gave Idaho $400,000 too much last year and is making the adjustment by cutting this year's allotment, according to the State Treasurer's office. That mistake won't cost North Idaho.

A tower that houses retail businesses, a bank and residences could generate enough tax revenue to pay for most of a new library building and parking garage, developers say. That wouldn't include the costs of finishing the inside of the library. Still, it's a low-cost way to bring a library downtown, say library supporters and officials from Greenstone-Kootenai Corp.

1. Danger in the backcountry. Snowmobiler Deb Hubik heads out from the Fernan Saddle to Cascade Lodge, a popular spot for backcountry travelers. The danger of avalanches increases above 5,000 feet. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review 2. Kasun

Idaho must deal with crowded prisons. File/The Spokesman-Review

Financial losses at the U.S. Forest Service were significantly worse in fiscal year 1997 than the record-setting losses of 1996, according to preliminary figures released this week. Numbers crunchers outside of the Forest Service predict that the bottom line will show the agency lost half a billion dollars, once payments to counties and Congressional appropriations are tallied.

People may see snow in the hills and holidays on their calendars, but Christmas weekend won't be great for a backcountry romp. Avalanche danger is moderate to extreme in northeastern Washington and North Idaho, U.S. Forest Service and backcountry outfitters say.

The federal government is giving people more time to comment on a regional ecosystem management effort while it studies how the project will affect communities in several states. Congress ordered the additional study in the 1998 Interior Appropriations bill, prompting the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to extend the public comment period from Feb. 6 until April 6. It is the second time the comment period has been extended for the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project.

1. The kiddie company. Darla Free inspects one of the many Beanie Babies that are a hot item this Christmas season. Free said, "I'm college-educated, and I'm standing here getting Beanies." Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review 2. Holiday shoppers flock to the Silve Lake Mall on Saturday during the final weekend of shopping before Christmas. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Dog owners now can license Fido for up to three years. By early next year, the city of Coeur d'Alene also should have agreements that mean those licenses can be obtained everywhere from veterinarians to pet shops.

Three of the 10 fastest growing cities in Idaho are in Kootenai County, according to the latest census data. Post Falls is the third fastest growing community in the state, nearly doubling its population from 1990 to 1996 and now bragging 14,303 people.

Traffic is getting heavy in Hayden, which is the sixth-fastest growing city in Idaho, according to the latest census data. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Assuring people that there will be no buildings spoiling McEuen Field's green space, a unanimous Coeur d'Alene City Council is pressing ahead with a controversial urban renewal plan. And throughout a four-hour meeting late Tuesday, city officials emphasized that there is no mandate in the plan that dictates anything will change with the part of McEuen Field where adults and children play.

At least a few baseball and boating advocates want the Coeur d'Alene City Council to adopt a controversial urban renewal plan that considers changes to McEuen Field and the Third Street boat launching area. "As one of the main users of McEuen Field, we want to go on record in support of the urban renewal plan," said Ron Keefer at a spirited public hearing Tuesday evening. "The location of the (baseball) field is not critical to us."

A downtown redevelopment plan, that may include revamping McEuen Field, received the blessing of the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce Monday. The chamber's board of directors voted unanimously to urge the Coeur d'Alene City Council to adopt an urban renewal plan tonight.

Seven environmental groups on Monday sued the U.S. Forest Service, saying mismanagement of the Clearwater National Forest threatens waterways. Calling itself the Wild Clearwater Coalition, the consortium is reopening a dispute that seemingly was settled in 1993. Key elements of the suit pit environmental groups against each other, raising the possibility that some will end up defending the Forest Service for two controversial roadless area timber sales.

Downtown redevelopment and its effect on McEuen Field are topics at a public hearing scheduled before the Coeur d'Alene City Council on Tuesday. The meeting has been moved to the Coeur d'Alene High School Auditorium, 5530 N. Fourth St., because the council anticipates a large crowd. It begins at 7 p.m.