Mike Prager

Highs today of 67 in Spokane and 66 in Coeur d’Alene with mostly sunny skies will put the spring back in April after a snowy start to the month last week.

A fourth suspect wanted in connection with an ice-pick slaying of a pregnant woman near Tonasket turned himself in to Spokane police Sunday night, authorities said Monday. David E. Richards, 33, was being held Monday in Spokane County Jail for Okanogan County sheriff’s deputies, who have taken into custody three other persons in the beating and stabbing of Michelle L. Kitterman, 25, of Tonasket.

Temperatures in the Spokane region should crack the 60-degree mark today as the first round of warm weather this spring draws sharp contrast to last week’s record-setting snowfall events.

As road construction gets going for the 2009 season, officials in Spokane Valley want motorists to know that one of the largest street projects in the area is occurring along the heart of commercial Sprague Avenue.

Winter refuses to release its grip over the Inland Northwest. A winter weather advisory was posted this afternoon by the National Weather Service for snow in the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene areas from 11 tonight to 11 a.m. Thursday.

2 Face Kidnapping, Other Charges

A wind advisory and hazardous weather outlook for snow are in effect for the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene areas today, and a winter weather advisory for snow has been posted for the mountain areas south and east of Coeur d'Alene this evening.

A resident trying to protect himself during a home invasion shot and seriously wounded one of two invaders early Monday. Spokane police said the intruder underwent surgery at a Spokane hospital for two gunshot wounds to his abdomen; the other man remained at large Monday afternoon.

Spokane may have set two new records for snowfall on Sunday and early Monday, but Washington transportation officials are holding firm on their decision to require studded snow tires to be removed by Wednesday. Shops across the region had wait times of up to two hours for customers needing to switch their tires before the state’s April 1 deadline.

How much difference does a tenth of an inch make? Enough to set the record for snowiest winter season ever.

Spokane Police this morning reported that a home invasion about 2 a.m. led to the shooting of one of two invaders by a resident trying to protect himself.

If you think you have trouble seeing pavement lines in March in the Inland Northwest, consider the problem it presents for police trying to determine if someone blew a red light under Spokane’s new red light photo enforcement program. Without a clear stop line showing the demarcation of an intersection, it’s more difficult to prove that a driver entered the intersection after the light turned red. Studded tires and road sand essentially erase many of the city’s painted traffic lines over the course of the winter. At Division Street and Francis Avenue, where the photo-red system has been in place since last fall, the stop lines disappeared.

Rain has been turning to snow in some parts of the Inland Northwest, and forecaster said the switch to frozen precipitation should continue through this evening to become all snow after 11 p.m.

A large child care center in Spokane Valley was shut down by the state on Thursday after the owner and a parent allegedly got into a fight, which was witnessed by a child, state records show. Many parents are rallying in support of the owner.

An online threat that prompted Whitworth University officials to increase campus security this morning was determined to be a hoax that started in Uruguay, Spokane County sheriff's deputies said this afternoon.

Cloudy weather with light wind today is going to give way to the possibility of rain and strong winds Saturday, forecasters said this morning.

A Spokane woman was arrested early Thursday in connection with the slaying of a pregnant Okanogan County woman earlier this month, and a Spokane man with an extensive criminal record is being sought as a suspect, authorities said. Tansy Fae Mathis, 29, was arrested in Spokane in connection with the killing of Michelle L. Kitterman, 25, of Tonasket, whose body was found along a driveway on Stalder Road near Tonasket on March 1, according to the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office.