Sandpoint: A city divided

Wilson Criscione of The Inlander provides an overview of the recent controversy in Sandpoint, involving new Mayor Shelby Rognstad’s attempt to pass a resolution in support of Syrian refugees:

Yet people outside the Inland Northwest have a different picture of Sandpoint, one possibly belying that of the typical small city of its kind. It’s the birthplace of Sarah Palin. It’s the retirement destination for Mark Fuhrman, the former Los Angeles police officer convicted of perjury for lying about using racial slurs as a witness in the O.J. Simpson criminal trial. It’s roughly 35 miles north of the former Aryan Nations headquarters, the white supremacist group founded by Richard Butler. All of that has created a perception of Sandpoint that many locals reject. Rather, Rognstad calls Sandpoint a blue dot in the middle of one of the country’s reddest states. More here.

Question: What is your perception of Sandpoint?