Scott Maben

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a $3.2 million judgment against the city of Coeur d’Alene for firing a police lieutenant without cause.

Two critics of Idaho’s urban renewal tax district system – a state lawmaker and a Coeur d’Alene Realtor – are spreading false information about how Post Falls handles urban renewal dollars, the mayor and other city officials said Thursday. “It is unfortunate when, during a political season, incorrect information such as this is mass produced and distributed,” Mayor Clay Larkin said in a statement.

A North Idaho family detained by police at gunpoint after their loaner car from a Spokane BMW dealership was mistakenly reported stolen is suing Lithia Motors and Camp Automotive. Casey and Sheree Bryntesen describe a harrowing experience they say left them and their two children traumatized, and they are seeking more than $2.2 million plus punitive damages.

An Idaho State Trooper was justified in shooting a Montana motorist who grabbed a gun during a police check along Interstate 90 at Lookout Pass in June, Shoshone County Prosecuting Attorney Keisha Oxendine said Tuesday. Alexander L. Mandarino, 26, of Whitefish, Mont., died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

A Spokane man was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison for selling high-quality methamphetamine to an undercover officer and leading police on a car chase near the Coeur d’Alene Casino in January. Charles Edward Gibson, 43, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Coeur d’Alene for conspiracy to distribute at least 50 grams of meth between Dec. 4, 2012, and Jan. 8. U.S. District Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson of the Eastern District of Washington also ordered Gibson to spend 10 years on supervised release after he’s out of jail and forfeit $35,000 – the estimated street value of the meth, U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson said.

An Idaho State Trooper was justified in shooting a Montana motorist who grabbed a gun during a police check along Interstate 90 at Lookout Pass in June, Shoshone County Prosecuting Attorney Keisha Oxendine said today.

After a bomb threat scrawled in a boys’ bathroom prompted evacuation of the high school last week, Bonners Ferry officials hope they are not in for a repeat of last year’s wave of disruptive threats. The message found in a toilet stall last Thursday was similar to those left by students last year at Bonners Ferry High School. It’s the 11th bomb threat – all of them hoaxes – the school district has received over the past year.

SANDPOINT – A proposal to arm school employees in this North Idaho resort community brought about 300 residents before the school board Tuesday night. And after 90 minutes of public testimony, it was clear the debate here is just beginning.

Floating Sponges May Clear Up Hayden Lake

Fort Grounds Reacts to Condo Project

An international expert on countering discrimination and bullying will work with the Coeur d’Alene School District this year to assess the student bullying problem and help develop measures to end it. Steve Wessler, a Maine lawyer and college instructor who wrote “The Respectful School: How Educators and Students Can Conquer Hate and Harassment,” will visit Coeur d’Alene schools and meet with student groups in October and January.

It would take a mighty flood for Lake Coeur d’Alene to spill over the seawall at City Beach – not something the city expects to happen. But officials must prepare for the worst, and to that end, city crews will erect a temporary wall on top of the seawall next week. The purpose is to demonstrate to federal authorities that a higher structure can be thrown up in a hurry to keep rising water from spilling over into City Park, the Fort Grounds neighborhood, the North Idaho College campus and the city’s wastewater treatment plant to the north.

An international expert on combating discrimination and bullying will work with the Coeur d’Alene School District this year to measure the extent of bullying among students and help develop measures to end it.

New mayors will pick up the gavels of North Idaho’s two largest cities early next year, while the Coeur d’Alene City Council could shift sharply to the right with a new conservative majority. The November election holds the potential for big changes in leadership for the Lake City and Post Falls next door, with a packed field of 22 candidates running for eight seats. Candidate filing ended last week and now comes the campaigning.