Collision with dead moose injures two

Two North Idaho men were injured early Sunday morning after their vehicle crashed into a moose lying dead along the highway near Bonners Ferry, according to a crash report from the Idaho State Police.

Bonners Ferry resident Colin Mangus, 20, was northbound on U.S. Highway 95 at about 1 a.m. when he crossed the center line in his 1985 Chevrolet Camaro and struck the deceased moose, which was lying on the opposite side of the highway. According to the Idaho State Police report, the moose was lying not in the main path of traffic, but on the side of the highway.

After hitting the moose, Mangus lost control of the vehicle, which then flipped. Both Mangus and a passenger, Ethan Wheeler, were taken to Bonner General Hospital in Sandpoint and later transferred by helicopter ambulance to Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene, according to the ISP.

The men were in fair condition Sunday, but have since been treated and released from the hospital, according to a nursing supervisor at the hospital.

The crash remains under investigation, including whether the two men were wearing seatbelts. An ISP dispatcher said no further information was available about the cause of the crash.

Bonner County to hold land-use plan meetings

Sandpoint The Bonner County Planning and Zoning Commission is inviting public input into an update of the county’s comprehensive plan map at three public hearings in the next 10 days.

The commission will present the revised land-use map, land-use component and update goals and objectives at 7 p.m. hearings Wednesday at Northside Elementary, Thursday at Sagle Elementary and June 1 at Priest River Junior High. At the Priest River hearing, commissioners also will consider a petition by area landowners to revise the map to include a future golf course and residential development – The Settlement – proposed east of Priest River.

Adopting a revised land-use map is one of the final stages in updating the county’s comprehensive plan. People may comment at the meetings or submit comments via e-mail to planning@co.bonner.id.us or mail them to the Bonner County Planning Department, 127 S. First Ave., Sandpoint, ID, 83864. For more information, call 265-1458.

Police seek suspect in Post Falls robbery

Post Falls police are looking for a woman involved in a violent robbery last week in which a Post Falls man was beaten, bound with tape and zip ties, and threatened with a shotgun.

The Post Falls man, who was not identified by police, had caught a ride home with the suspect from the Spokane Valley following a night out that started at a Stateline bar. Two men followed them to the man’s Post Falls home, and when they arrived, they beat him until he lost consciousness, according to Post Falls police.

The victim told police that when he came around, he was bound with tape and zip ties, and one of the men was pointing a shotgun at him. The two men and woman ransacked the home, taking his wallet, money and credit cards, and the victim was forced at gunpoint to divulge his bank account information, according to police.

The female suspect then left and withdrew money from the victim’s bank account, according to police.

Two male suspects were later arrested by Spokane County sheriff’s deputies and identified as Donald W. Brown, 26, and Steven L. Murphy, 25, both of Spokane.

The woman is still at large and is described as a white female, 28 to 32 years old, with dark, shoulder-length hair and a medium build. She may have a first name of Debra and goes by the street name of Angel.

The Post Falls police ask that anyone with information contact the department at (208) 773-3517 or leave an anonymous tip at www.postfallspolice.com by following a link from the “detective” page.

Atomic power exhibit opens today

Idaho Falls Officials at the Museum of Idaho have spent more than a year developing a new exhibit highlighting the region’s role in the birth of nuclear power.

“Race for Atomic Power” is set to open this evening at the museum, along with a companion exhibit at the Department of Energy’s Experimental Breeder Reactor-1, located at the Idaho National Laboratory in the desert northwest of the city.

A documentary of the same name also will premiere today at the museum.

On Dec. 20, 1951, scientists at the INL site powered up a small nuclear reactor attached to four light bulbs. That experiment helped clear the way for development of peacetime nuclear power plants.

“People do not realize the earthshaking events that happened in their back yard, by the people who lived next door,” said David Pennock, the museum’s executive director.

The museum exhibit includes a model of a life-size reactor containment vessel, a building that envelops a nuclear reactor. As people walk through, a projector screen will show some history and details of how the vessel functions.

Outside the vessel, five kiosks will feature oral histories from people who played a role in the experiments 30 to 50 years ago.