Taryn Hecker

William Brinnon told investigators his wife was "picking and picking at him and he lost control," so he grabbed her by the throat Monday evening and "squeezed her until she was dead," according to court documents. Among the points of contention between the couple that night, police said: his wife's threats to expose him as a drug-dealing molester.

Old Man Winter has pulled an April Fool on the Inland Northwest, prompting Washington to extend its deadline for studded tire removal. Washington drivers have five extra days this year – through Saturday – to remove studded snow tires.

Silverwood Theme Park's newest roller coaster will be named Aftershock. The name was suggested 10 times out of 6,136 entries submitted during the park's recent coaster naming contest.

RATHDRUM – Lakeland School District voters have been so consistent in supporting tax measures that school officials have a hard time remembering when one last failed. Once again, voters came through for the district, which serves about 4,500 students in northern Kootenai County.

The former owners of a Priest River diner have pleaded guilty to laundering as much as $900,000 from an international drug ring spanning three decades and involving trafficking of 100 tons of marijuana. John "Phillip" Keyser and Texanna Keyser face up to five years in federal prison for their roles in laundering money from the drug ring.

A Kootenai County official will hold a public hearing Monday to determine whether the new mayor of Huetter, a new councilwoman and two other voters from November's city election even lived in the tiny city sandwiched between Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls. The county removed Mayor Brad Keene and Councilwoman Jennifer Brown, both elected in November, from the voter rolls after the two failed to respond to challenges that they were ineligible to vote.

Kootenai County didn't collect enough taxes from property owners last year due to a glitch in the county's software. As a result, the county didn't have enough to pay its taxing entities the full amounts they were due. Hardest hit were the cities of Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls and local school districts.

Deep snow is forcing deer, elk and moose – and the wolves that prey on them – down from the mountains and into the small communities flanking the St. Joe River in North Idaho. Officials with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game say the wolves' increased presence isn't a threat to people, but residents aren't reassured.

It will make other roller coasters at Silverwood Theme Park look like Tinker Toys. That's the report the North Idaho theme park's maintenance workers called in via cell phone as they hung suspended at the top of the 191-foot coaster at Six Flags Great America in Illinois.