Winda Benedetti

An Orofino, Idaho, man filed suit against Kootenai Medical Center and a Coeur d'Alene surgeon this week, claiming his son died because of their poor care. James M. Crutcher Jr. was 41 years old when he died after undergoing an operation at KMC by Dr. Stephen Atkinson.

Emergency personnel attend to a victim at the accident scene. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Bob Brown

A Coeur d'Alene nursing home with a history of health care problems is being sued by the daughter of a former patient. Barbara Lingle-Keuter filed suit Tuesday against Sunset Terrace Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and its parent company, Unicare Homes Inc.

1. Clegg 2. Telebar 3. Dickson

Coeur d'Alene police officer Greg Smith takes evidence photos of a pipe bomb. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

The Idaho Supreme Court has ordered a new trial in a sexual harassment lawsuit against the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department. In 1994, an 11-woman, one-man jury decided that Randia Fowler had not been the victim of sexual harassment when she was a sheriff's deputy.

Kootenai County Sheriff's Department computer guru Tom Stoddard displays the latest version of the KCSD's home page on his laptop for Capt. Ben Wolfinger. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

The teenage son of Ron and Luella Bingham filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the man convicted of gunning down his parents. Joshua Bingham, 17, wants Ken Arrasmith to pay for the deaths of his parents.

Police arrested a Post Falls man Saturday night after he sped through Coeur d'Alene at more than 100 mph and crashed into a sheriff deputy's home. Robert R. Valentine, 22, was charged with drug possession, drunken driving, eluding a police officer, reckless driving and driving without a license.

Anton

A Kootenai County sheriff's deputy was taken to the hospital Tuesday night after a driver crashed into his patrol car during an apparent suicide attempt. Deputy Barry Alleman was treated for head and facial injuries after Jerry E. Wilson repeatedly rammed his pickup truck into the officer's car, according to police reports.

Gerald Barcella

It's a kid's dream come true - a veritable granddaddy of playgrounds. The Fort Sherman Playground will span almost a half acre, include a mirror maze, wooden boats, a suspension bridge and a castle - and that's barely the beginning.

After six months in office, the Kootenai County chief public defender announced Friday he is resigning. Ron Coulter said Friday the Idaho attorney general's office offered him a job. Coulter said he will be a deputy attorney general for the Idaho Department of Law Enforcement.

Imagine getting stopped by a police officer for speeding or running a stop sign. But instead of pulling out the ticket book, the officer pulls out a computer.

A man who shot at his son and his ex-wife's friend could spend up to 20 years in prison for the crime, a judge ordered Thursday. But Christopher Tucker, 48, of Coeur d'Alene will be eligible for parole after five years in prison, according to the sentence handed down by Judge James Judd.

John Zichko

Andy Moore first lost his legs and then his hands to the meningitis. And on Sunday, the 15-year-old Idaho boy lost his life to the disease. A local pastor told of the family's last minutes with their son. "They talked with Andy and they told him they knew he was tired and they knew he was hurt and if he just wanted to go to sleep and quit fighting then that was OK with them, that he had their blessing, that they loved him and he could go," said Rev. Don Blain, of the Weippe Wesleyan Church.

Lawsuits: They clog the court system, they take years to resolve and they can be extremely costly - in terms of money and emotions. So imagine a lawsuit in which both sides come out the winner.

Police arrested a 31-year-old mother Sunday after witnesses said they had seen her abuse her 2-year-old son. Mishel Diaz of Coeur d'Alene was charged Monday with cruelty to a child.

Some of the country's biggest alternative bands are helping an Idaho tribe keep historical artifacts on its reservation. Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Presidents of the United States of America and Pete Droge have donated money to help the Nez Perce tribe buy back 20 handmade objects created by tribal ancestors.

Dan DeArmonek examines a striped Triumph frame at the motorcycle swap meet and ride-in bike show held at Bodine's Bar in Cataldo. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

After spending most of his life in North Idaho, 86-year-old Mr. Johnson is the kind of man who takes people at their word. Investigators believe scam artists took advantage of that trust by charging him more than $13,000 for bug spraying they never did.