Al Hail Great State of Columbia

Spudbob emails: “Somewhere in the Spokesman Review vault there is a Sunday insert that was published a long time ago.  Early 80’s maybe even the late 70’s.  It may be even before your time (if such is possible).  The insert spoke of the 51st state.  It was called “Columbia” and included Western Montana, Eastern Washington, North Idaho, and a small portion of Northeastern Oregon.  The insert treated it as if it was a real state and included a map and the typical statistics (population, major cities, products, number of parks and so on) one might expect.”

DFO: I remember the Idaho Handle issue. It was fun. Spokane, I believe, was to be the state capitol of Columbia. Coeur d’Alene and North Idaho, of course, would be the recreation area.

Question: Would you prefer to live in the state of Columbia rather than your current state of Idaho or Washington?