Reader_April13_2023

The week in random review

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

compassionate marketing

While cleaning the promotional emails out of my inbox, I came across one from the e-commerce website Etsy about Mother’s Day — but not in the way I expected. It read: “We understand that this time can be difficult. If you’d prefer not to receive Mother’s Day emails, you can opt out by simply clicking below. We’ll continue to send you unique ideas and crafted finds from imaginative sellers. Take care, Your Etsy friends.” In this world of constant, capitalism-driven bombardment, the fact that a company would make this option available is awesome. Props to you, Etsy.

unemployed wood stove babysitter

Working largely from home, I take on extra employment from about October-April as the household’s designated wood stove manager. It’s not a hard job once you learn the finer points of damper position; wood shape, size and species selection; and the impacts of the fan on burning efficiency. I take great pride in keeping a warm home; plus, there’s a certain satisfaction in the rhythm it provides my days — open damper, select wood, rake embers, add wood, close damper, wait a few hours, repeat. Now that we’ve quit having a consistent fire (only occasionally starting one to take the chill off the house at night), I have the constant feeling that I’m forgetting something, and I’m having a hard time finding a spring-appropriate replacement.

Lifespan of a robin

My sister Leslie and I recently observed a robin perched on a fence, seemingly without a care in the world. It was large, by our estimate, and a little puffed up. While we watched the bird, it let out a massive dropping, which made its way down the fence in a white trail. Leslie remarked that it must be an old bird, which got us thinking: How old is an old robin? I’m sad to report that most reputable authorities estimate the average lifespan of a wild robin to be around two years, though the National Wildlife Federation apparently has a record of a 14-year-old wild robin. As for the robin Leslie and I saw — may he have a long, happy spring, pooping all over the fences of Hope, Idaho.

haiku for kombucha

Tangy, sweet delight

Funk in a can with a cause

Relieve this heartburn

DEAR READERS,

This week’s cover features artwork from Kai Reese, looking south from the Sky House at Schweitzer’s summit toward South Bowl. We thought it was appropriate to put our ski hill on the cover one more time, since the season ended April 9 (check out Page 13 for some fun photos I took on closing day).

Early spring is a wonderful time of year in North Idaho. The snow banks are gently receding and spring flowers like tulips and irises are beginning to poke out of the soil to grace us with their colorful displays.

We have at least a half dozen weeks before our town is overrun with the usual summer tourist crowds, so take advantage of this glorious shoulder season while you can and get outside. The trails at Pine Street Woods are drying out and ready for our mountain bikes. The roads leading to the mountains might still be muddy, but they provide access to the high country if you’ve got an adventurous spirit (and a high-clearance vehicle).

Here’s to spring. Go get some.

–Ben Olson, publisher

READER

111 Cedar Street, Suite 9 Sandpoint, ID 83864 (208) 946-4368

www.sandpointreader.com

Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com

Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com

Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey (News Editor) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com

Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus)

Advertising: Kelsey Kizer kelsey@sandpointreader.com

Contributing Artists: Kai Reese (cover), Ben Olson, Dan and Cindy Buehn, Lyndsie KiebertCarey, Mark Perigen, Elissa Rookey, Michelle Mancuso, Bill Borders, Otto Kitsinger

Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, Lorraine H.Marie, Brenden Bobby, Clark Corbin, Emily Erickson, Rep. Mark Sauter, Sandy Compton

Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com

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The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho. We hope to provide a quality alternative by offering honest, in-depth reporting that reflects the intelligence and interests of our diverse and growing community.

The Reader is printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink. Leftover copies are collected and recycled weekly, or burned in massive bonfires to appease the gods of journalism. Free to all, limit two copies per person

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About the Cover

This week’s cover artwork is by Kai Reese, depicting the view looking south from the Sky House at Schweitzer’s summit.

IDPR grant officials share ‘serious concerns’ about BoCo RV park debacle

Ongoing conflict evident as law enforcement presence becomes standard at Fair Board meetings

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation has now weighed in on the continuing debate about the future location of an RV park expansion at the Bonner County Fairgrounds, sending an email to Bonner County commissioners to share “serious concerns” about the likelihood of the granting agency allowing for a deadline extension amid the infighting between commissioners, the sheriff and Fair Board.

The RV park’s location has been a point of contention for Sheriff Daryl Wheeler since the Board of County Commissioners accepted the expansion grant from IDPR in 2022. Wheeler argues that the land slated for the campground would be best used for future construction of a justice facility.

Recent attempts to complete a boundary line adjustment — led by Commissioner Luke Omodt — would designate the contested land as fairgrounds, and has drawn renewed pushback from Wheeler, Commissioner Asia Williams, the Fair Board and several vocal members of the public who believe the campground should be moved to established fairgrounds land.

At the BOCC regular business meeting April 4, Williams and Chairman Steve Bradshaw voted to request a grant extension from IDPR to allow time for the Fair Board to determine its own preferred location for the campground.

At the board’s meeting April 11, Omodt read from an email sent to the BOCC office by IDPR North Region Grants Specialist Tiffany Brunson — an email prompted by several

inquiries IDPR received about the Bonner County grant, which carries a June 2023 deadline.

“At this point, we have concerns about the timeline and costs of this proposed project,” Brunson wrote. “A grant extension is not guaranteed, but subject to the state’s assessment of the ability of the applicants to comply with the rules and regulations and the likelihood that the proposed project will complete within the timeline and budget.”

The project’s budget is $498,315, including $473,315 in IDPR grant funds and $25,000 in matched funds from the Bonner County Fair.

“IDPR has serious concerns that the work committed to can be accomplished within budget and within the project timeline, even with a one-year extension, given the current lack of movement on the project,” Brunson wrote. “If the project has not been put out to bid and estimated costs received by Bonner County by June, 2023, IDPR is concerned that the project will not complete within the necessary time frame and within the original budget.

“We are extremely hesitant to approve an extension request under the current circumstances,” she added.

Omodt said April 11 that there will be a meeting in the coming weeks between the BOCC and Fair Board to discuss the RV park placement issue, as well as “determining what the path forward is between these bodies.” That meeting’s date and time was yet to be determined as of press time.

“I believe this is an important conversation for the future of Bonner County that needs to be had,” Omodt said.

The relationship between the

Fair Board and BOCC has undergone considerable change in recent weeks, made evident by a March 29 email to commissioners from Fair Board Chairman Eddie Gordon, which stated that the Fair Board would “no longer be utilizing a [BOCC] liaison” during its business meetings, “nor will a commissioner liaison be utilized in our official dealings with the BOCC.”

“If a county commissioner attends the open part of our business meetings, they should expect to be included only as a member of the general public,” Gordon continued in the email. He did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

“Consequently, no special rights to speak as a county commissioner will be afforded in our business meetings,” Gordon added in the email. “The Fair board has an MOU relationship with the prosecutor’s office. They will assist us on all legal matters when required and provide any necessary training in any matters pertaining to the lawful conduct of our business meetings.”

That email arrived on the morning of March 29 — the same day the Fair Board was

slated to hold a special meeting in the evening. Records show Omodt replied to Gordon’s email in the afternoon prior to that meeting, stating he intended to be at the meeting in his liaison capacity and that it was “not the decision of the Fair Board to dictate policy to the Bonner County Board of Commissioners.”

Bonner County Sheriff’s Office personnel were present at the meeting at the request of the Fair Board, according to Wheeler. Omodt shared at the BOCC meeting April 4 that there were three law enforcement officers on hand, apparently to quell an anticipated disruption by the District 3 commissioner.

In an audio recording Omodt shared with the Reader, he can be heard speaking with BCSO Sgt. Aaron Flynn, who told Omodt that he was there to “remove” the commissioner should he attempt to stay after the Fair Board’s public session and into executive business. When Omodt asked the officer where he got the information about his alleged intent to stay for the executive session, Flynn would not say.

Omodt told the Reader that his conversation with Flynn

prior to the meeting was his only interaction with BCSO officials that evening, as he “left when the open meeting ended.”

In his recollection of the interaction shared at the April 4 BOCC meeting, Omodt listed several instances of what he saw as legitimate public safety concerns, and then said, “Sending three deputies to protect the Bonner County Fair Board from a Bonner County commissioner is an interesting use of resources.”

Omodt’s remarks prompted others to speak on the issue at the April 4 BOCC meeting, including Wheeler, who read aloud from an email he received March 30 from Bonner County Human Resources Director Cindy Binkerd accusing Omodt of being a “bully.”

According to Binkerd’s email, “the Fair Board members were truly appreciative of the sheriff providing law enforcement for the meeting and said they were so relieved” due to the anticipated confrontation with Omodt, who Binkerd said displays “behaviors” such as “arrogance, staring, talking over others, body posture that portrays dominance and smirking” as a means to “intimidate” them.

“The behaviors of Commissioner Omodt need to stop and until so, it would be prudent to ensure law enforcement coverage at future Fair Board meetings,” Binkerd wrote. “Ideally it would be [in the] best interest of the Fair Board for Mr. Omodt to refrain from attending at all.”

Wheeler confirmed with the Reader that one BCSO deputy was present at the Fair Board’s April 10 meeting, as did Omodt, who attended and said he shared copies of the IDPR email with Fair Board members.

Bonner County Commissioners Luke Omodt, left; Asia Williams, center; and Steve Bradshaw, right. Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey.

Stage 2 waterfront design contest teams present to public at City Hall

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

The city of Sandpoint hosted a public meet-and-greet April 12 of the three teams selected to advance into Stage 2 of its downtown waterfront design competition, featuring presentations from three of eight groups who answered the contest solicitation, issued Feb. 21.

“Literally people from all over the world … wanted to be a part of this competition,” said City Council President Kate McAlister, in her introductory remarks. “We are really excited. We can’t wait.”

The three teams selected for Stage 2 included First Forty Feet, with Greenworks, Fehr & Peers, Century West Engineering and North Root Architecture; GGLO +Bernardo Wills, with Welch Comer, Greg Moller, Erin Blue and Sarah Thompson Moore; and Skylab, with PLACE, KPFF, PAE & LUMA, Brightworks and ECONorthwest.

McAlister noted that all three teams include either locally based firms and individuals, or companies that currently or have previously worked on design and development in the Sandpoint area.

“[It] really makes it have a local flavor for us,” she said.

City Hall contracted with Portland-based architect and master planner Don Stastny to manage the competition, who was on hand in person to preside over the presentations April 12 and speak with members of the public.

He framed the contest — one of more than 70 he’s managed

around the globe — as an effort to “see the potential of how this community could physically develop to support the culture, arts and community that is here.”

“What we bring to this is an understanding of how you build cities, how you build communities, how you build processes that are transparent,” he said, including public participation and observation.

Of the eight firms that answered the initial submittal solicitation, “there wasn’t a loser among the bunch,” Stastny said, adding, “it was finding the best of the best.”

First up was William Grimm, principal with Portland, Ore.based First Forty Feet — whose name keys into the notion that “the most important space of any city, of any town, is the first 40 feet up from a building and first 40 feet out in space into the street,” Grimm said.

He emphasized that First Forty Feet is centered on “people and public life,” noting that the team includes historians, anthropologists, landscape architects and other designers, including a special interest in transportation.

Members of the team include GreenWorks — which has done streetscape design work for the city in the past — as well as Spokane-based Century West Engineering (whose Sandpoint office is led by Ryan Luttmann); Fehr & Peers, which is currently working with the city on the “East-West Connection” concept for U.S. Highway 2; and North Root Architecture, led by local Sandpoint architect Reid Weber.

Concepts due for review by end of May

The firm has worked on projects focused on connecting communities to their waterfront in Lewiston; Sedona, Alaska; Vancouver, Wash.; and Lake Stevens, Wash., among others.

With the tagline “enlist the people,” Grimm said, “We look forward to enlisting you in this project.”

GGLO + Bernardo Wills, the latter which contracted with the city on the Parks and Rec. Master Plan, leads the second team in Stage 2. The Seattle-based landscape architect firm GGLO, represented by Principal Mark Sindell, framed its presentation as representing the “realm of where cities and nature meet, which we think can be accomplished poetically, rather than as a collision, as often happens.”

If selected, its Boise office would be working closely on the Sandpoint waterfront project.

“We see each project as an opportunity to transform an environment in ways that enhance its beauty and support the well-being of people and the planet,” Sindell said, later adding with respect to nature, “let’s respect it, let’s protect it and let’s restore it.”

The company has worked in various capacities on projects in Caldwell, Idaho; Coeur d’Alene; Spokane; and other locations, specifically geared toward reclaiming waterfronts from past industrial uses and reconnecting communities to — at least in the case of Sandpoint — what Sindell described as their “lakefront living room.”

Finally, Portland-based Skylab Architecture Principal Jeff Kovel

presented his firm’s philosophy — supported by an interdisciplinary team of product designers, landscape architects and construction experts — as “ultimately, we’re futurists,” seeking solutions for tomorrow.

“We reveal the unseen for those willing to seek it,” he said, explaining that process as finding hidden attributes in a place identifying opportunities to reveal them through “an act of design.”

In Sandpoint, Kovel said, a “knotted ball of yarn has been created over time here.” His firm’s task would be to “untangle” it.

Past experience for Kovel includes working on redevelopment at Schweitzer Mountain over the past eight years, while Skylab has been involved in projects including the Hood River, Ore. waterfront master plan; a waterfront redevelopment in Bellingham, Wash.; and the Zidell Yards, Luuwit View Park and Columbia Wastewater Treatment Plant in Portland, Ore.

Skylab Brand Designer Reiko Igarashi said that the goal of untangling the “knitted ball of yarn” in Sandpoint is intended to “make beautiful things out of that”; and, in particular, easing a tension be-

tween infrastructure and access.

“History can be in tension with the present and cloud what we see now and what we might see in the future,” she said.

Teams broke out into discussion with members of the public following the April 12 presentation, and Thursday, April 13, would spend the day touring the downtown waterfront site between Bridge Street and the Panida Theater, getting to know one another and the community.

Next steps in the design competition include a mid-course review in about three weeks with members of the technical advisory group — which includes city staff members — then design concepts due at the end of May. A series of evaluations will follow, which will include public exhibits and presentations.

“There’s multiple times when you all will be invited to look at this thing,” Stastny said, stating earlier in the presentation, “I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to do so far.”

ID House fails to override Gov. Little’s veto of library materials bill, adjourns for the year

Governor tells legislators that bill’s ambiguity would lead to unintended consequences for libraries

By Clark Corbin Idaho Capital Sun

On the final day of the 2023 session April 6, the Idaho House of Representatives narrowly failed to override Gov. Brad Little’s veto of a controversial bill that would have prohibited libraries from providing

“harmful materials” to minors.

Little vetoed House Bill 314 on April 5, writing in a letter to legislators that the bill’s ambiguity would lead to unintended consequences for libraries and their patrons. Little also called out a section of the bill that would have allowed minors, their parents or

guardians to sue for $2,500 for a violation of the bill.

“Allowing any parent, regardless of intention, to collect $2,500 in automatic fines creates a library bounty system that will only increase the costs local libraries incur, particularly rural libraries,” Little wrote. “These costs will be

and

patrons

forced onto property taxpayers of Idaho or cause libraries to close to minors altogether.”

The Idaho House voted 40-30 to pass House Bill 314 on March 31, before going at recess to see if Little would veto any late-session bills.

Idaho Legislature adjourns on 88th day of 2023 session

When legislators reconvened April 6 at the Idaho Capitol in Boise, the House voted 46-24 — without any debate — to override Little’s veto. It would have taken

Gunning’s Alley in Sandpoint, which has been renamed Farmin’s Landing by the city of Sandpoint. Photo by Ben Olson.

City to host open house on Comp Plan, Multimodal Transportation Master Plan

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

Residents who want to put in their two cents regarding the city’s ongoing update to its Comprehensive Plan will have their chance Thursday, April 27 at an open house hosted from 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. in Meeting Room B of the East Bonner County Library’s Sandpoint branch (1407 Cedar St.).

The full draft Comp Plan can be reviewed and commented upon digitally at plan.konveio.com/sandpoint-draft-comprehensive-plan, and is open for public comment through Sunday, May 7. In-person attendees are invited to drop in to the open house at any time during the April 27 event.

The 132-page draft document is intended to serve as “our community’s plan for the physical development of Sandpoint” and “guide Sandpoint’s development and growth patterns for the next 20 years,” according to the introduction.

Sandpoint last updated its Comp Plan in 2009 and amended it in 2019. The update had been underway in 2019, but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. As conditions have gradually stabilized following the easing and eventual end of virus-related restrictions, the city has completed and refined a wide range of studies and master plans intended to inform the larger Comp Plan effort, which establishes goals and objectives guiding land use regulations — including zoning — strategic plans and the city budget.

In addition to providing a roadmap for Sandpoint’s growth and development, the Comp Plan also covers the area of city impact, which encompasses approximately 12 square miles southwest to Dover, west to base of the Selkirk Mountains and northeast to the Ponderay city limits. The ACI designates land outside the city limits that may be annexed in the future, and therefore should be considered in the long-range Comp Plan.

Also at the April 27 open house, the city will feature the Multimodal Transportation Master Plan, including a proposed amendment to the long-term “East-West Connection” concept, which envisions

Bits ’n’ Pieces

From east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

a number of potential roadway realignments, intersection and signal changes, and altered drive lane directions on U.S. Highway 2, North Ella Avenue, North and South Boyer avenues, Fifth Avenue and Cedar Street, Pine Street, First Avenue and Superior Street.

Specifically, the City Council will consider amending the concept at its regular Wednesday, May 3 meeting to include an access point off U.S. 2 to South Boyer Avenue in order to provide a north-south connection across the highway. However, that route would run directly through the property occupied by Dub’s DriveIn, which the city voted to acquire for $380,000 in February.

In the meantime, current owners Marty and Jeralyn Mire are leasing the property back from the city and subleasing it to new owners, who will operate the business at its present location until such time as the city needs to use the property.

The East-West Connection concept is sometimes referred to as “the Couplet,” because it includes a new highway alignment connecting U.S. 2 directly to the intersection of Fifth and Cedar via two one-way southbound lanes traveling along the Sandpoint-Dover pathway and funneling into a new intersection east of North Boyer and Pine.

That part of the concept has riled many community members, resulting in months of sometimes heated debate about the scale — or even necessity — of many of the potential changes.

Only the amendment related to U.S. 2 access on South Boyer Avenue will be under consideration May 3 by the City Council, though the full Multimodal Transportation Master Plan — which was adopted in May 2021 — can be viewed at sandpointidaho.gov by clicking on the “Master Plans” button on the left side of the webpage.

To view a map of the area subject to the proposed amendment (identified as Fig. 23), as well as other figures representing the East-West Connection concept, look under Appendix A “Networks, Corridors and Improvement Concepts” of the master plan, directly accessible at bit. ly/3ZYzMA4.

Meanwhile, email comments to multimodal@sandpointidaho.gov.

Due to tax loopholes, the nation’s richest 0.5% could transfer $21 trillion to heirs over the next two decades — virtually tax free, according to Americans for Tax Fairness, representing an historic level of untaxed wealth. The loopholes amount to as much as $8.4 trillion in lost tax revenue that could otherwise reduce the deficit. Sen. Bernie Sanders fronted the For the 99.5% Act, which would raise $430 billion over 10 years by lowering the estate tax exemption rate from $12 million to $3.5 million. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s plan would raise $218 billion from taxes on large estates.

According to an AP-NORC poll, 60% of Americans feel the federal government spends too much. However, they want more spending for education, health care, Social Security, Medicare, border security and the military.

House Republicans’ refusal to raise the debt ceiling could trigger Americans losing $20,000 of their retirement savings, according to a report from the congressional Joint Economic Committee. The JEC based its findings on a study of debt limit negotiations from 2011. The nation is currently using “extraordinary measures” to pay incurred debts, but that is expected to end in July.

Fox News settled a defamation lawsuit filed by a Venezuelan businessman, who said Fox made false claims about him and the 2020 election, according to CNN. Fox still faces other similar lawsuits.

After months of family separation, 31 Ukrainian children taken to Russia were recently reunited with family, CNN reported. Ukraine estimates 20,000 of their children have been taken by Russians. A February report from Ukraine alleges children taken to Russia have endured “political re-education,” and even military training. Russia denies wrongdoing, claiming it removed Ukrainian children to safety.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been accepting luxury gifts for 20 years from a real estate billionaire, ProPublica reported. The extent of the largesse has no known precedent in the Supreme Court’s modern history. People “shouldn’t have to wonder whether their judge — or a Supreme Court justice — is looking out for wealthy donors instead of rule of law,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren stated.

Warren has proposed the Judicial Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act. If approved, the act would include a ban on federal judges

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

owning individual stocks, strengthen gift restrictions, extend the Code of Conduct to cover the Supreme Court, stop the sealing of court records urged by corporations (which may hide injuries to citizens), and close loopholes that let judges retire to escape accountability

In response to the possibility that a Texas judge might rule that the FDA should remove mifepristone — an abortion medication with additional uses — Washington state recently purchased a three-year supply.

According to a news release from Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, the use of mifepristone has had fewer serious side effects and deaths as compared to common drugs like Tylenol and Viagra. Shortly after the purchase, the Texas judge did overrule the FDA’s decades-old approval of mifepristone. On the heels of that, a Washington judge issued a decision to protect the availability of mifepristone. The drug is also used to aid the safe evacuation of miscarriages, thus avoiding potentially lethal infections.

Republican lawmakers in Tennessee voted to expel two Black Democrat lawmakers after they used a bullhorn to participate in a gun reform rally inside the state capitol. The rally drew thousands of students in response to the recent Nashville private school shooting that killed six.

Republicans claimed the expelled legislators were trying to incite a riot, and said what occurred was “maybe worse” than the insurrection at the nation’s capitol. Media noted that banishing lawmakers is usually reserved for “serious misconduct,” not for breaking House rules, and that the ousted men were not accused of criminal wrongdoing. A third lawmaker — a white former teacher — was not expelled.

According to Axios, the Nashville Metro Council voted unanimously to reinstate one lawmaker, who was quickly re-sworn in, and a vote on the second lawmaker will occur this week.

Pew Research reported that children and teen deaths from guns rose 50% between 2019 and 2021, going from 1,732 deaths to 2,590.

Blast from the past: In 1873, Connecticut sisters Julia and Abby Smith — both in their 70s — took to heart the phrase “no taxation without representation.” Since being female gave them no right to vote, they did not pay their taxes. The town of Glastonbury took away their cows. After the press followed the story, the sisters were sent enough money to start an equal-suffrage fund.

< IDLEG, con’t from Page 5 >

47 votes, or two-thirds of the members present, to override the veto.

With the failed override behind them, legislators had little left to act on, and the Idaho House and Idaho Senate voted to adjourn for the year “sine die” a few moments later.

“There have been several votes on that [library materials] issue and everybody knew where they were at, and it was just time to be done and go home,” House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, told the Idaho Capital Sun.

Legislators had finished passing the state budget and wrapped up most of the year’s business March 31 before going into recess. April 6 marked the 88th day of the 2023 legislative session, which gaveled in on Jan. 9 with Little’s State of the State address.

After the gavel fell, Moyle described it as a productive session where the Republican supermajority delivered on many of its biggest issues.

“We did some great things, from property tax relief, to awesome spending for education that’s never been heard of, we provided through property tax [legislation] to help build buildings in the future, judicial confirmation and judicial council fixes,” Moyle said. “We have been very blessed and had a great year. It’s been a lot of good stuff that’s getting done.”

Idaho Democrats say session was overshadowed by culture war issues

However, in an afternoon press conference on April 6, Democratic leaders blasted their Republican colleagues, saying the session’s votes to reduce property taxes and increase education funding and teacher pay were often overshadowed by GOP-fueled culture wars and attacks on women, the LGBTQ+ community, elections and voting.

“As with many sessions recently, this session felt like a real tug of war,” House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, told reporters. “On the one side we have bipartisan efforts that were led by Democrats and many governance-oriented Republicans to deliver on bread-and-butter issues, such as education funding and infrastructure repair, property tax relief, child care and criminal

justice reform. But unfortunately, constantly tugging against those efforts was an ever more powerful pull from the far right to bog us down in damaging and divisive social warfare.”

In response, Rubel said the Idaho Legislature’s 18 Democrats were often forced to play defense against the 87 Republicans.

“This was a terrible session in terms of other assaults on civil liberties — attacks on freedom of speech, freedom of expression and parental rights,” Rubel added. “There was a never-ending onslaught of bills placing bounties on librarians, schools, museums, the performing arts that would have effectively prevented high school students from being able to put on dance performances or read Judy Blume books.

“There are many, it seems like, across the aisle who want the state to form a kind of morality police reminiscent of Iran, enforcing certain legislators’ notions of what ideas, what books, what clothing, what health care and what forms of entertainment are acceptable.”

What passed during Idaho’s 2023 legislative session

Since the session began Jan. 9, legislators:

•Increased state funding for public schools by $378.5 million, following through on the Sept. 1 special session law that committed to increase education funding by $330 million.

• Approved sending enough state funding out to pay for raises of $6,359 for all teachers across the state. (Individual teacher’s raises may vary because teacher pay is negotiated at the local school district level each year. But the state is sending districts and charters $145 million to increase teacher pay, enough for a $6,359 increase for every teacher.)

•Passing property tax reductions by overriding Little’s veto to provide $355 million in property tax reductions in its first year. House Bill 292 also provides $100 million for schools to pay down their bonds and levies and eliminates the March election date that schools use.

•Criminalized gender-affirming care for transgender youth by passing House Bill 71a. Little signed the bill into law on April 4, and it goes into effect Jan. 1, 2024.

•Passed the first law in the nation to make it a crime to take a minor out of state to receive abortion care.

•Passed a law attempting to clarify language in Idaho’s existing criminal abortion ban.

•Removed student IDs as an acceptable form of identification for voting in Idaho. Several organizations that represent students and young people, including Babe Vote and March for Our Lives Idaho, filed suit challenging the new law.

•Moved Idaho’s presidential primary election back from March to May, beginning with the upcoming 2024 presidential primary election.

• Added the firing squad as an alternative method of execution when the state cannot obtain chemicals to carry out a lethal injection. Idaho officials are currently unable to obtain lethal injection chemicals and have been unable to carry out the planned execution of Gerald Pizzuto Jr. multiple times. The new firing squad law takes effect July 1.

•Passed the bipartisan Idaho Clean Slate Act, House Bill 149, which allows Idahoans with convictions for minor nonviolent, nonsexual criminal offsense to petition for their records to be sealed.

What didn’t pass during Idaho’s 2023 legislative session

With the House failing to override the library materials bill, House Bill 314 is dead for the year, and the Idaho Senate never got the chance to attempt an override.

Several other bills failed this year, including:

•The Idaho Senate killed Senate Bill 1308, legislation that would have provided education savings accounts of $5,950 for stu-

dents outside of the public school system to use toward tuition at private or religious schools, tutoring, textbooks or a host of education expenses.

•The Idaho Senate never took up — and therefore killed — House Bill 265, a bill that would have restricted the public performance of drag shows and other performances that featured socalled “sexual conduct.” The bill would have restricted minors from attending such live performances and prohibited all such live performances from taking place at all city, county or state-owned parks, theaters, venues or performing arts centers.

•The Idaho House narrowly killed House Bill 137 on a 33-36 vote. If enacted, the bill would have repealed a section of state law that allows voters to sign a sworn affidavit under penalty of perjury to verify their identity. Legislators who opposed the bill worried it would have created a new obstacle to voting and may have prevented seniors or other Idahoans who do not have a driver’s license or one of the other forms of accepted identification from voting.

•The Idaho House failed to secure the two-thirds majority to pass Senate Joint Resolution 101a, which would have increased the threshold to qualify a ballot initiative or referendum for the ballot in Idaho. Ballot initiatives and referendums are a form of direct democracy that allow the people of Idaho — independent of the Idaho Legislature — to propose new laws or vote on whether to approve or reject existing laws.

•The Idaho House voted 3040 to kill House Bill 205, which would have outlawed absentee voting for convenience and placed great restrictions on who could vote using an absentee ballot. In November’s general election,

129,210 Idahoans voted by absentee ballot, representing about 21% of all votes cast in the most recent general election.

• A bill that would have created a new restricted driver’s license for any Idahoan 16 and older regardless of their immigration status did not advance out of the Idaho Senate. Supporters of Senate Bill 1081 described a driver’s license as a basic necessity and said the bill’s passage would have led to safer roads and reduced insurance claims by providing a valid path for all adults to obtain a driver’s license and insurance. Supporters also said the bill would have allowed undocumented residents to drive to work or take care of their families without fear of being pulled over and deported. House Bill 313, a bill that would have required schools to provide free feminine hygiene products in sixth through 12th grade failed on a tie vote, 35-35, in the Idaho House.

During the House Republicans press conference on April 6, GOP leaders said they will continue to push for education savings accounts, restrictions on library materials and cuts to Medicaid funding in future legislative sessions.

“They’re not going away,” Moyle told reporters.

The Sun has requested an interview with Little to discuss the 2023 legislative session.

This story was produced by Boise-based nonprofit news outlet the Idaho Capital Sun, which is part of the States Newsroom nationwide reporting project. For more information, visit idahocapitalsun.com.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little gives his State of the State speech in the House chambers of the State Capitol building on Jan. 9, 2023. Photo by Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun.

Bouquets:

•This week’s Bouquet goes out to Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint, as well as all other legislators who voted against overriding Gov. Brad Little’s veto on HB 314a, the so-called Children’s School and Library Protection Act, which would have allowed for a parent to sue a library if their child checks out a book they found inappropriate or obscene. The bill should have never passed in the first place. Gov. Little was right in vetoing it, but I have to say I was more than a little surprised when some of our legislators did the right thing and voted to kill this bill off before it became law. Thank you, Rep. Sauter, for your level-headed representation.

• To all of our amazing readers who have donated to our newspaper recently: Thank you! I am continually blown away at the level of support our community shows us week after week. We really appreciate you all.

Barbs:

• I love that Sandpoint is a dog town. However, in my observations of dog owners, they roughly fall into a couple of different categories. Some keep dogs for their love and companionship. Others might utilize their dogs as protectors of their homes, alerting them when strangers approach. Still others might use their specialized dogs for hunting purposes, or to herd their stock animals. Finally, there are those who seemingly only own dogs because they want something to scream at that won’t yell back. Don’t be the latter, please.

It pains me when I see someone yelling at their dog. These wonderful creatures will stand by our side through thick and thin. They are quite possibly the only animals on this planet who accept us humans and our foibles without ever complaining.

Give ’em a break.

‘No inflation here’...

Dear editor, What is the last thing you paid for that hasn’t gone up in the last five years? Property taxes, eggs, gas? How about the Bonner County library?

The Bonner County Library District has not raised its taxes in five years, and yet they have kept their services to the rural people outside of Sandpoint through the bookmobile. They have amazing public programs, a wonderful facility and a friendly staff. This is due to the great leadership of the Bonner County Library Board and specifically Susan Shea.

As a fiscal conservative — read: tightwad — I really appreciate Susan’s grip on how to stretch a dollar without cutting services. For six years she has helped keep our library open and reaching out to everyone in our community. She doesn’t serve just a select few, but every single person in our county.

I say if it isn’t broken don’t try to fix it. That is why I’m voting for Susan Shea on May 16! Or get an absentee ballot at voteidaho.gov. Susan Shea is the tightwads’ choice.

Sincerely,

Mar y Haley Sandpoint

Standing with Mark Sauter…

Dear editor, Last week, Idaho citizens who were relieved that Gov. Brad Little vetoed the latest horrible bill out of the Legislature, HB314a, and were doubly grateful to legislators like our own Rep. Mark Sauter for voting to sustain his veto.

But, according to an Idaho legislator from a different district, defeat of that terrible bill has left destructive, unjust damage against dutiful, thoughtful representatives in its wake.

Our courageous legislators who stood fast against librarians being fined thousands of dollars if an individual found material not to their liking in a public library — including school libraries — are being harassed and lied about by far-right colleagues.

After I thanked him for his vote, he wrote to me that far-right legislators are spreading lies. He wrote that he and his colleagues with a conscience who voted to sustain the governor’s veto of this bill have been the targets of “terrible hate mail, Facebook and Twitter posts.”

Not only through social media, but also through the far-right legislators’ newsletters.

Freedom of speech is not protected by our Constitution when those writing or speaking willfully slander or harm others.

Legislators doing their jobs on our behalf, including fighting against bills that would become unjust laws, should at least be supported strongly by those of us who agree with them.

I stand with my Idaho Rep. Mike Sauter. Please join me in thanking him for doing the right thing in support of our constitutional right of free speech.

Sincerely,

Clarice M. McKenney Bonners Ferry

How to fight public fraud…

Dear editor,

How do you fight public corruption or organized crime as a citizen? You’re pretty sure there are some sort of kickbacks occurring, but you cannot audit your municipality or elected representatives. You can make all sorts of complaints to the attorney general or the local prosecutor, or file an endless barrage of public records requests, but nothing ever gets done. Maybe you think you need proof or evidence. Well, folks, you do not. A reasonable suspicion or concern is all you need. However, if you have articles or lawsuits, that will lend more credibility to your claim. So, what do you do? You follow the money and money never lies. However, to quote from the Alaska Daily TV series, “Truth is a slow bullet,” so we need to be patient.

You can give the state or the feds a referral on suspected fraud, and citizens can band together — the more the merrier. Fraud investigators work for us, they don’t want to see tax dollars abused, embezzled or laundered.

You can go in person to the Idaho State Tax Commission and file a concern or you can fill out the referral form. The Idaho office is located at 1910 Northwest Blvd., Ste. 100 in Coeur d’Alene.

Kayla Curtiss works for the State of Idaho for us. You will be protected with an anonymous referral. She is a direct contact for the public: Kayla Curtiss, criminal investigator with the Tax Commission, kayla.curtiss@tax.idaho.gov, 208-332-6682.

Same thing with the feds. The rub is, they cannot tell you what they are doing, but they can dig up the dirt legally and then refer it to a prosecutor. If they are successful, we will eventually find out about the crime through legal resources like iCourt, Pacer or the news media.

Joanne Stebbins Coeur d’Alene

Dear editor, Did you notice last week how much less traffic there was in Sandpoint? School was out and families were away. The town was really quiet. If you didn’t notice, maybe you were out of town?

That tells us, as formal studies have pointed out, that the dreaded traffic on Highway 2 is us! Locals! We are using a U.S. highway for short trips. Do we all need cars or pickups for all errands? To get to work or school or to visit a friend? If the city makes walking and cycling safe and attractive, we have plenty of road capacity.

Molly O’Reilly Sandpoint

Support Susan Shea for library board…

Dear editor,

Most of us recognize that the Sandpoint and Clark Fork branches of the East Bonner County Library District are remarkably innovative and vibrant gathering places. The highly functional volunteer board is to be congratulated for making this so — particularly in the contentious environment of the past few years.

Their mission is to provide access to opportunities for discovery, connection, and lifelong learning. They’ve expanded programming while reducing costs to the taxpayers — not an easy task and an unpaid one at that.

It’s a joy to have a library that serves the needs of our entire community through thoughtful curation, a bookmobile that travels throughout East Bonner County three days each week, extensive tutoring programs and opportunities to volunteer.

Susan Shea (as a member of the board) listens to all perspectives from the community, considers the implications and makes good decisions to keep our library func-

tioning to support lifelong learning while keeping costs low. Shea will not ban books.

Susan Shea should be reelected to the board. She’s a longtime resident of the area who brings financial experience and objective decision making.

The current volunteer board is highly functional with a wealth of professional experience spanning library science, education and finance. Let’s learn a lesson from the NIC board and avoid chaos in our local library.

And, if you haven’t visited the library, it’s worth the trip!

Kathy Larson Sagle

Dear editor,

All but two current West Bonner County School D\istrict board members voted to burden taxpayers with a levy before requesting a proper financial review. Thank you Trustees Rutledge and Brown for standing firm on accountability. We can all agree we want a quality education for every WBCSD child. The fact is, WBCSD schools are continuing to perform poorly. According to data from the Idaho State Department of Education for the 2020-’21 school year:

•2021 graduation rates for the five other area schools averages 88%, while WBCSD is 63%.

•2022 Eng lish/language arts ISAT proficiency scores average 58.6%, while WBCSD is 52.3%.

•2022 math ISAT proficiency scores average 45.5%, while WBCSD is 38.1%.

Boundary County School District has similar demographics to WBCSD. Their district spends $10,600 per student per year while WBCSD currently spends $13,300 per student. Cost per student, graduation rates and ISAT data were all obtained from idahoschools.org, an Idaho State Department of Education website.

Throwing more taxpayer money at the problem does not make the education better! An audit revealing how WBCSD is spending their money is a logical first step, rather than proposing a 38% higher levy ($4.7 million). Do not agree to additional taxation until there is transparency and accountability. Vote no levy on May 16.

Kathryn Barlow Spirit Lake

‘In the best interest of children’…

‘“We have met the enemy and he is us” — Pogo’…

By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist

Emily Articulated

A column by and about Millennials

Dystopian

Call me glib, but I’ve been thinking about a dystopian future in which the most extreme members of the Idaho GOP achieve everything they’ve set out to accomplish. They kick their feet up knowing that the decades-long crusade to push their agendas — to push politics so far to the right that we had to come up with a new scale to understand their positions on a political spectrum — finally succeeded.

Long gone are concepts of “left and right” or “progressives and conservatives,” and further gone are “moderates” and “across the aisle” political practices. Now, thankfully, there’s just the Leadership (and perhaps a small group of people still hanging around Boise calling themselves “The Resistance,” but I suppose that’s just what happens when you reach absolute Unity).

In the crumbling remains of what used to be North Idaho College is now a militia training and preparation center. Once we collectively moved past our need for “higher education” (more like liberal brainwashing, amirite?), we decided to put the space to better use.

New recruits filter in every year — to the credit of widely successful and targeted YouTube radicalization campaigns — each receiving a personal assault rifle and a Prepper’s Guide to Surviving the mid2000s upon admission. Classes

include “Canning for Beginners,” “The Federal Government and Other Conspiracies,” and “How to Find Natural Resources after You’ve Destroyed Them All.”

In a few years, with a bit of luck (and more funding from out-of-state interest groups), our forces might be strong enough to finally achieve secession from the United States altogether.

Traveling north, there’s a route we like to call the former “Birthing Corridor” — because, back when births still happened in Idaho hospitals, women had to travel from Sandpoint and beyond to Coeur d’Alene to receive care while in labor. This made the pullouts along Highway 95 very popular spots for welcoming new life into the world.

But now that we’ve done away with the ridiculous notion that births need to be so clinical (it’s the most natural thing a woman can do — perhaps even her purpose on Earth?), we’ve established community birthing tents. These tents include designated fire pits for

midwives to boil their rags, racks of 19th-century labor and delivery tools (because they just don’t make them like they used to), and extra space for prayer circles for when things get… complicated.

On the subject of young life, a few years back we formally addressed the problem of our aging population — which, alarmingly, peaked at a median age of 65. Now, after the introduction of our program, “No Migration Without Representation,” in which new high school graduates need state-sanctioned sponsorships to be able to move across state lines (for their own protection, of course), we’ve successfully managed to keep them from immediately leaving at the first chance they get.

With this initiative, alongside our efforts to eradicate sex education and the evils of contraception, we are proud to say we have a booming next generation of Idahoans.

Regarding contraceptives, they and other illicit materials are now confiscated at our state-of-the-art border facilities — impressive surveillance blockades spanning each of Idaho’s state lines. It is now our policy to collect and destroy contraband (birth control pills, condoms and God-forbid emergency methods like Plan B), replacing them with the customary Bible and complementary package of diapers. Other banned materials include (but are not limited to): drugs and alcohol; secular books, and especially those that accurately recount history or what we’d formerly called

“progressive” points of view; any media by or about Freddie Mercury or anything referencing the old TV series Schitt’s Creek; and certainly any materials explicitly advocating for the safety, acceptance or care of people within the LGBTQ community.

After long days at the office, members of the all-male, allwhite Idaho Legislature return to their homes, loosen their ties and take in the faces of their

obedient — I mean, loving — wives and broods of children. They smell the familiar smell of a hot meal, always ready and waiting on the table for them when they get home, and sigh with contentment. All is well.

Emily Erickson is a writer and business owner with an affinity for black coffee and playing in the mountains. Connect with her online at www. bigbluehat.studio.

Emily Erickson.

Science: Mad about

baby chicks

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist

It’s a bit of an annual tradition this time of year for me to write about baby chicks. If you’re tired of seeing me write about these adorable little dinosaurs, turn the page — you’ve read all of this before.

On the off chance that you emerged this Easter with a cute little fluffy friend that won’t stop peeping and you’re now clueless, you’re in luck. Baby chicks, ducklings and rabbit kits are often sold during the Easter season; and, due to a lack of preparedness by the owner, many are dead by May.

If you aren’t ready to own a full-sized chicken, you may want to begin looking for a new home for your pet immediately. They’re cute now, but they grow into dinosaurs before your eyes.

Caring for baby chicks is a bit more difficult than rearing a kitten or a puppy. Mammals are especially suited for surviving most conditions, whereas birds require very specific care to survive and thrive. Chicks are unable to regulate their body temperature for the first few weeks of their lives, requiring the feathers of a mother hen to keep them warm in the coop. Chicks can survive without a mother hen, but they require an ample heat source to keep from freezing to death. Often this is done with a heat lamp, which is only slightly safer than a space heater.

A heat lamp must be secured so that it cannot fall into the chicks’ enclosure — called a brooder — and it needs to be far enough away from the chicks so as to not burn them, but close enough to ensure they stay a balmy 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

A simple trick for deducing the heat of a brooder without a thermometer is to watch your

chicks. If their beaks are open and they appear to be panting like dogs, or are pushed to the very edges of the enclosure, it’s too hot for them and the lamp needs to be moved away. If they’re all huddled together directly under the lamp, it means they’re too cold and in danger of suffocating each other or freezing. An even spread around the brooder is always a good sign and means your baby chicks enjoy the temperature.

Chicks require special feed from the farm and feed store to thrive. Medicated crumble is balanced just for them, while also protecting them against parasites that commonly afflict chicks. They also enjoy mealworms as a treat, but try to avoid inundating them with snacks until they’re at least a few weeks old. These birds have tender digestive systems that can be easily disrupted and lead to death or disease if the proper balance is not maintained.

Meanwhile, the most common forms of sickness can be identified through how lethargic a bird may be acting, and the consistency of its poop.

They should be dropping little nuggets tinged with white. Runny poop can sometimes mean the bird has just had a lot to drink, or if it’s sustained could mean a host of other medical problems and you may want to isolate that chick in another brooder. Blood in a chick’s stool is never a good sign, and this bird should be isolated immediately.

Poop will often stick to the bird’s butt while they’re young — a condition called pasty butt that can lead to blockages and intestinal woes for the bird down the road. While pasty butt is fairly common, a bird that consistently suffers from it is likely having some kind of health issue and should be monitored or isolated if it seems lethargic.

Gauging a lethargic chick is a difficult feat for a new owner. Chicks are comically narcoleptic and will transition from running around the brooder to falling completely asleep faster than you can snap your fingers. One universal truth is that chickens in general like to move around; whether it’s exploring or scratching or bullying other chickens, you can tell how healthy it is by how much it’s moved over the course of about an hour. A bird that has remained stationary and has slept for 20 minutes or more may be in need of closer inspection.

Unfortunately, when it comes to baby chicks, death is a common occurrence. Birds are a numbers game, and it’s the reason why they lay their eggs in clutches. A mother hen will often lose at least 25% of her brood, and the number for a home brooder can easily exceed a 50% fatality rate — even if the human rearing the birds does everything right.

Identifying causes of death are an important practice for the aspiring chicken parent, and noticing symptoms and trends can mean the difference between losing a couple of birds and burying your whole flock.

Finally, knowing when it’s time to transition your birds to the great outdoors and providing them with adequate shelter are critical parts of raising chickens. Chickens should be fully feathered before they venture outside, and they should be provided with a coop that will give them shelter from the myriad dangers of North Idaho.

Each chicken should have no fewer than two and a half square feet of space per bird, or you may notice aggression begin in your flock. An adequate coop should also be able to insulate the birds from cold winds and rain while also protecting them from predators.

The small, lightweight coops you often find at farm and feed stores this time of year are not adequate shelter for your birds — especially if you own more than two. This wood is frail and designed to rot, and it’s easily picked apart by racoons, skunks and weasels.

I always recommend building your own coop if you can, otherwise many people will convert a garden shed into a chicken coop. Adult birds poop a lot, so account

for that wherever you house them — it should be easy to clean, and it will likely be unusable for any other purpose after your birds have lived in it for any period of time.

Are you looking for more detailed advice on your new feathered friends? Stop by the library and pick up any of the Storey’s Guide to Poultry books, and you’ll be raising show birds in no time.

Stay curious, 7B.

Corner

•The number 11 is a prime number, which is an important mathematical number that can only be divided by itself or the number one.

•The fastest recorded time for eating an 11-pound cheesecake is nine minutes, achieved by Sonya Thomas, a 55-year-old Korean-American competitive eater in Virginia known by some as “The Leader of the Four Horsemen of the Esophagus” and “The Black Widow,” due to her ability to defeat competitors far larger than her five-foot, 105-pound size.

•The most Academy Awards won by any film is 11. There are currently three films that have won this many awards: Ben Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).

•Canada must have a thing for the number 11. Their $1 coin, called the Loonie, has 11 sides. There are also 11 points on the maple leaf that adorns the national flag of Canada. Finally, a number of Canadian banknotes have some form of clock on them and the time, of course, is 11:00.

•There’s a good reason Canada

is obsessed with the number 11. The First World War officially ended on Nov. 11, 1918 at 11 a.m. — it was the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

•A total solar eclipse occurred Aug. 11, 1999, beginning at 8:26 a.m. and finishing at 1:40 p.m. The peak was 11:03 a.m., meaning the sun was almost completely eclipsed at 11:11 a.m.

•Brits have a special meal between breakfast and lunch called “elevenses,” which usually consists of something light like tea and cookies (or biscuits) and happens around 11 a.m.

•Russia is so massive, it has 11 time zones. By comparison, the continental United States has four time zones (or six, if you include Alaska and Hawaii).

•Any musician has either said or heard someone say, “Turn it up to 11,” at least a hundred times in their lives, thanks to Christopher Guest’s seminal mockumentary This is Spinal Tap, which features an amp that goes “all the way to 11.”

Greetings from Boise

By Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint Reader Contributor

The 2023 Legislative Session ended last Thursday, April 6. As a freshman representative, I had few expectations. I had heard there would be lots to learn and many people to meet. Adapting to the procedures at the Capitol wasn’t difficult. However, it wasn’t intuitive. Working with the different legislators and interest groups was challenging and rewarding.

Going into the session, I had expectations of working on the state budget, tax policy, education and infrastructure funding. What I found was a mixed bag of bills to vote on.

Many social bills were presented in the early part of the session. It became apparent that many of these bills had been drafted during the months after the last session and were ready for a “print hearing” in early January. House Bills 71 and 186 were both brought up early. HB 71 dealt with the prohibition of sex-change surgery and certain medical care for children, while HB 186 was the firing squad bill to provide a backup system for Idaho capital punishment.

We heard a few voting bills. HB 124 removed the use of student IDs for voter identification. This bill was supposed to eliminate the variances in the IDs across the state. HB 340 establishes a standardized statewide ID system for everyone without a driver’s license.

Absentee ballot procedures were also the subject of legislation. One bill would have made the distribution of absentee ballot request forms much more difficult; another would have considerably restricted the use of absentee ballots. Both bills failed.

Our county clerks have said our absentee ballot process works very well and is not in need of any changes.

The Senate ran a resolution to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot next year. The amendment, if it had passed with 2/3 voter approval, would have changed the requirements to qualify an initiative for the ballot to 6% of all registered voters from each of the 35 state voting districts. Some have said this action would have made getting an initiative on the ballot nearly impossible. It would have given each voting district a veto option for all initiatives. This resolution failed.

Bills are written in many ways. They may be written by special interest groups or individual legislators. Often the Capitol staff (Legislative Services Office, or LSO) are involved with the actual writing.

Some of my bill writing ideas ended up being included in others’ bills. State staff convinced me another of my ideas was already covered in statute. I did write

one bill on polling place activities that was introduced and earned a committee hearing, but fell one vote short of approval to move it onto the House floor.

The Education Committee heard several bills relative to Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), libraries and school policy. A few of the bills passed through the committee and were heard on the House floor. One of the library bills was heard by another House committee before making it to the House floor. I plan to spend more time learning about education and libraries before the next session.

When the session started, I heard we would not be hearing any abortion bills for two years. All this changed in mid-March. Ultimately, a bill making modest adjustments to the current abortion standards passed through the Senate and the House and was signed by the governor. The bill removed the “affirmative defense” clause in statute, restoring doctors’ “innocent until proven guilty” protections. The bill also clarifies several allowable procedures. Several doctors spoke in favor of the bill at the hearing.

With consideration of the Bonner General Health situation and with health care professionals continuing to leave our state, there is a great possibility we will be back

It’s a wrap — an overview of 2023 Idaho Legislature

in session this summer to further address women’s health and doctors’ rights.

A bill introduced as an abortion trafficking bill gained considerable interest after it passed the House and Senate. The bill makes it illegal for someone to transport a minor — under 18 years old — across state lines for an abortion without their parents’ consent. The attorney general issued an opinion that it was also illegal for a medical professional to give advice or suggest that this type of activity was appropriate. The AG’s opinion has since been pulled back, but not before it sent a chilling message to the medical community.

The Idaho Medicaid budget garnered interest in the House. The initial budget bill was returned to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee for trimming. When it was returned, there were only enough votes to pass it by a slim margin. A bill for the expansion of coverage for mothers and infants was held without a hearing by the House Health and Welfare Committee.

A number of District 1 voters called me and asked that I look into an issue they were having with the state. I was able to help solve some of these problems. I’m still following up on some of the other issues.

Serving our district in Boise was a humbling, interesting and rewarding experience. I received more than 6,000 emails in the three-month period. Most messages encouraged me to vote a certain way. I also received a number of critiques regarding my votes. A few callers even left some choice (unprintable in the Reader) words for me. I’m looking forward to spending the next eight months in North Idaho — see you around town.

Rep. Mark Sauter is a first-term Republican legislator representing District 1A. He serves on the Agricultural Affairs; Education; and Judiciary, Rules and Administration committees. Contact him at msauter@ house.idaho.gov.

Deadline to apply for property tax reduction program is April 18

Bonner and Boundary County residents who have qualified for property tax benefits under the Property Tax Reduction Program (a.k.a., “circuit breaker”) and Veterans Property Tax Benefit are encouraged to apply for these programs before the Tuesday, April 18 deadline.

Due to recent changes in state statute, the income limit for the circuit breaker program has increased from $33,870 to $37,000. In addition, the property tax valuation cap has been increased to $400,000 or 200% of the median assessed value for properties receiving the homeowners exemption in the county.

In recent years, some property owners have been dropped from these programs because of income or assessed value changes. With the recent changes, some residents may find they again qualify for relief. Residents should evaluate their situation and contact their county assessor with questions and to learn more about applying for the programs.

— Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint

Rep. Mark Sauter. File photo.

OBITUARY Matt Hofmann, (March 24, 1977-March 12, 2023)

After a lifetime of making this world a better place, on March 12, 2023, Matt Hofmann sighed a final time and left his earthly body to embark on whatever magnificent journey awaits in the Beyond. His family suspects there will be mountain biking, trampolining and sending love to, well, everyone. Because that’s exactly who he was.

Matt was born to Patricia and Lawrence Hofmann on March 24, 1977, then pursued a childhood of the typical antics: playing every sport possible, taking repeat rides on roller coasters and a brief fixation on parachute pants. In his defense, everyone wore them then.

While at high school in Temperance, Mich., he met the enduring love of his life, Lisha, and they embarked on building a future together. Matt went to culinary school — developing a set of skills that would

make him a favorite at dinner parties — and eventually obtained a degree in Hospitality Management at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids.

The pair made a few poor geographical decisions (Detroit, Cleveland) before making their way via Boulder, Colo. to Sandpoint, Idaho, where they raised their two daughters, Kaiya and Rowan. On their

homestead in the Selle Valley, they adventured in yurt-life, gardening and doing things the hard way (a favorite pastime of Matt’s).

Matt wove himself into the fabric of our community through his kind acts and generous spirit. He rode his bike with friends, got obsessed with volleyball for a good while, danced with his wife at all the best concerts, and played and played and played with his daughters, teaching them the important gifts of time, care and love in all its iterations.

Wherever Matt went, he touched the hearts and lives of those around him — from his years of service as director of Lodging at Schweitzer, to other families at Waldorf, to those he met through his dedicated meditation practice (which he was sure to encourage in others for all random purposes).

Matt lived a life of love and opti-

mism that he willingly dispensed to family, friend or stranger. His steadfast presence, his deep care for the well-being of others and his abundant heart have left their mark on the lives of all those who knew him. He lives on in our memories, in at least one tattoo and in the way he demonstrated how to be a remarkable human. May we live up to his example.

Matt is mourned by his wife Lisha; their daughters Kaiya and Rowan; his parents Pat and Larry; his aunt and uncle, Claudia and Richard; by his in-laws, Jodi and Garry; by his sister-in-law and nephew, Julie and Calem; and by everyone who ever had the good fortune to cross his path.

Services will be held on Sunday, May 21 at Schweitzer Mountain.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Community Cancer Services.

SHS alum on team that wins national cheer competition

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Until this year, it had been more than a decade since Hawaii Pacific University participated in the National Cheerleaders Association national championship. However, the school’s cheer team returned to Dayton Beach, Fla. in a big way April 9, taking home a win for advanced small coed Division II. Among the ranks of that winning team was River Fueling, a Sandpoint High School graduate who began her training right here in North Idaho.

The SHS alum cheered for the Bulldogs for three years before graduating in 2019 and joining HPU’s squad her freshman year.

“Now I’m a senior graduating and this is a great way to end four years,” Fueling told the Reader

She said cheering in college took some getting used to after high school.

“Seeing the talent that’s here in school in Hawaii, it’s a whole different ball game than what you have in high school,” Fueling said. “They cheer with a whole different kind of energy here than they do on the mainland.”

While Fueling’s university boasted a legacy of winning national competitions for cheer, the program was cut in 2012.

River Fueling’s Hawaii Pacific University team places first in Division II

“When I came in as a freshman, they were just trying to rebuild the program again,” she said. “Then, our first time back at nationals in 12 years, we won. It felt incredible. Everyone at the competition was welcoming us back, telling us they were so excited to see our program back on stage. Some alumni were there crying, telling us they thought they’d never see us compete again.”

Fueling’s position on the team is as a flier, which is one of the most notable because of the acrobatics that it requires. Combining skills from gymnastics, tumbling and dancing, cheer at the national level is both highly coordinated and creative — especially from teams like Fueling’s. Video from the competition shows the team’s winning routine as a coordinated, energetic dance in perfect sync, with tumbles, tosses and everything else under the sun coming together to a final crescendo.

“It takes a lot of trust to be a flier,” said Fueling. “You have to trust your bases to catch you. We’re judged on the way we perform, in the air and on the floor.”

Fueling said after her team placed third after Day 1 of the competition, they worked all day and night to make corrections to the routine.

“Then, we came back and

performed Day 2 and made first place,” she said.

The NCA national competition is the biggest cheer competition in the country, made even more famous by popular shows such as Cheer on Netflix, which follows a winning team’s preparation for the annual event.

“I am so proud of River’s dedication and training to her sport so that she could compete and win at the highest level of cheer competition in the nation,” said Andy Fueling, River’s dad, who lives in Sandpoint. “Her commitment and skills paid off with a National Championship win!”

“Cheer has come a long way from when it was first created,” River said. “A lot of people still think it’s just cheering on the sidelines and waving pom poms in the air, but honestly, cheer is one of the most insane sports. You have people flipping and balancing and landing on people’s hands in the air.”

Aside from being part of a

nationally winning cheer team, Fueling is graduating this May from HPU as a political science major with a double emphasis in psychology and environmental science. She is also in final review of being the valedictorian of her class. After they won the competition, Fueling and teammates took part in the tradition of running into the ocean with their cheer outfits and the national trophy.

Right: River Fueling told the Reader it’s a tradition for the winning teams to jump into the ocean in their uniforms to celebrate with the trophy if they win. Courtesy photo.

This page

Top left: Dan and Cindy Buehn from Garfield Bay are currently on vacation scuba diving at Beqa Lagoon Resort in Fiji and brought a Reader along. Photo by the Buehns.

Top right: Why did the wild turkey cross the road? To get his picture in the Reader! Photo by Mark Perigen.

Middle right: Members of the SHS Earth Club and friends gathered on March 26 next to U.S. Highway 2 to protest and bring awareness to ConocoPhillips’ Willow project, a proposal concerning drilling gas in Alaska. Photo courtesy Elissa Rookey.

Bottom: The moon rising over Lake Pend Oreille, seen from the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail. Photo courtesy Michelle Mancuso.

Facing page

Top left: Woods Wheatcroft looks like he stepped right out of the 1980s with his monoski and day-glo attire.

Top right: It was all smiles — and plenty of beers — at the Outback Lodge on closing day at Schweitzer.

Middle left: The Miah Kohal Band played to the crowd of ski bums as the sun poked through the clouds on closing day.

Bottom left: Lawson Tate enjoys a prodigious weiner roast over the fire at the Outback while Eric Brubaker looks on.

Bottom right: If Gandalf was a skier, liked to drink beer and was transported to the 1980s, this would definitely be him.

All facing page photos by Ben Olson.

To submit a photo for a future edition, please send to ben@sandpointreader.com.

KNPS program: ‘The Little Things that Run the World’

Spring into junking

Funky Junk Antique Show returns to the fairgrounds April 15-16

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

Antique hunters, craft lovers and green thumbs now have even more reason to celebrate the arrival of longer, warmer days, as Sandpoint’s long-running and well-loved Funky Junk Antique Show is returning to the Bonner County Fairgrounds for a spring show Saturday, April 15 and Sunday, April 16.

Funky Junk founder Jennifer Wood said the inaugural event took place in the spring of 2007 and, for several years, junkers came out for two shows annually. However, for the past 11 years, Funky Junk has been held only in the fall.

“The spring show was always the most attended,” she said, “and highly anticipated after a long winter.”

This weekend’s Funky Junk will be open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, featuring live music from Bridges Home on Saturday and Dirk Swartz on Sunday. Admission is $8 (good for the whole weekend) and children 12 and under get in free.

Wood said there will be a variety of more

than 100 vendor booths on site, encompassing vintage and crafted items with a homeand-garden spring theme. Also, thanks to the season, there will be plants for sale, including flowers, berries and more.

The upcoming Funky Junk will also see several options for food, as well as bakery booths, coffee and a full bar.

Funky Junk hopes to serve as the perfect excuse to shake off the winter blues and scratch the spring itch — plus, with Mother’s Day right around the corner,

shoppers are sure to find the perfect gift for the cherished matriarch in their life.

“We hope folks enjoy having the show earlier in the year to kick off the junking season and lift our spirits heading into spring,” Wood said.

The Bonner County Fairgrounds are located at 4203 N. Boyer Road in Sandpoint. For updates, giveaways and more, find “Funky Junk Antique Show” on Facebook.

By Reader Staff

The Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society will host a presentation Saturday, April 15 from Kara Carleton — coordinator of the Idaho Master Gardener Program — on how to “cultivate wildness in our daily lives,” with an emphasis on supporting pollinators.

Titled “The Little Things that Run the World: Creating Plant Communities and Habitat for Northern Native Bees,” Carleton’s presentation will take place at 10 a.m. at the Sandpoint branch of the East Bonner County Library (1407 Cedar St.), and cover the characteristics of the native plant community in North Idaho, how to cultivate those plants in changing conditions, maintain them with less effort and how they can provide healthy habitats for native bees. The second part of Carleton’s program — titled “Native Beekeeping for Increased Pollination in your Garden and Orchard — will take place Saturday, May 20.

Carleton came to horticulture after careers in emergency medicine and green/LEED interior design, as well as farm management. She currently works for the University of Idaho leading the Idaho Master Gardener Program in Kootenai County. She also trains volunteers within her plant and insect diagnostic lab, and provides soil test interpretations for local gardeners and hobby farms. The program is available to both in-person and Zoom audiences. In-person attendance includes coffee, tea and treats starting at 9:30 a.m. The program is co-sponsored by East Bonner County Library District and Sandpoint Parks and Recreation, and is free and open to the public.

For those wishing to attend the program on Zoom, register in advance at bit.ly/40ObLfL.

For more information, contact Preston Andrews at KNPS.Tech@gmail.com.

Hidden Lakes Ladies tee up for summer golf league

The Hidden Lake Ladies Club invites women golfers of all skill levels and ages to join the traveling golf league, which plays an 18-hole round every Thursday. With a schedule that starts in May and runs through the end of September, the club has been playing together for more than 16 years, adding new faces regularly. Play isn’t mandatory every week, and optional on-course games are also played to make golfing together more fun and competitive. Carpooling is encouraged and membership dues are $30 if paid by June 1. To learn more, or join HLLC, contact Arleen Lothian at lowthain@gmail.com.

Courtesy photo.

COMMUNITY

Music Conservatory serving up Global Gumbo at Little Carnegie concert

By Reader Staff

The Music Conservatory of Sandpoint is continuing its Conservatory Concert Series this spring in the Little Carnegie Concert Hall, presenting classical performances by MCS faculty and guest artists.

The next concert takes place Friday, April 14 at 7 p.m. with Global Gumbo — a high-energy evening showcasing the MCS Contemporary Department alongside favorite local musicians Truck Mills, Ali Thomas and Denis Zwang on a variety of guitars, percussion and woodwinds, respectively.

“In this program, these powerhouse musicians weave a tapestry of world music, blues and jazz,” MCS stated in its concert announcement.

“Imagine Afro-Latin barrelhouse blues played by Irish immigrants in a Turkish restaurant on Bourbon Street,” Mills said,

describing the vibe of Global Gumbo.

As with all Conservatory Concerts, the evening offers intimate, cabaret-style seating, with a curated selection of beer and wine available for purchase. Seating is limited to 70 attendees, and advance tickets are highly recommended. Tickets are available online at sandpointconservatory.org/events or at the door the night of the event.

Little Carnegie is located at the ground floor at 110 Main St. in downtown Sandpoint.

From left to right: Truck Mills, Ali Thomas and Denis Zwang. Courtesy photo.

Cribbage Night

7pm @ Connie’s Lounge

Game Night

6:30pm @ Tervan Tavern

Trivia Night

5-8pm @ Paddler’s Alehouse

THURSDAY, april 13

Penfolds Wine & Food Pairing Dinner

6pm @ The District

Featuring eight wines from Penfolds paired masterfully with Australian cuisine. $120/each, must buy tickets in advance. 208-265-8653

FriDAY, april 14

COMMUNITY

Sandpoint Soccer Association welcomes director of soccer operations

Live at the Hive: Brandon Jackson Band with Jordan Pitts

7:30pm @ The Hive

Enjoy line dancing lessons from

6:30-7:30pm, then opening act Jordan Pitts from 7:30-8:30pm. Headliners Brandon Jackson Band from Spokane will play their unique take on country music starting at 8:45pm. $10. Doors @ 6pm

Live Music w/ Jackson Roltgen

7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Blues, rock, folk, soul, Americana

Live Music w/ Oak St. Connection

5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Multi-genre music: Sam & Crystal

Live Music w/ Ben and the Buds 9pm @ 219 Lounge

World eclectic groove rock

Sandpoint Chess Club

9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee

Magic with Star Alexander

5-8pm @ Jalepeño’s

Global Gumbo MCS concert

7pm @ Music Conservatory

Join Ali, Denis and Truck for world music, blues and jazz at the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint. $30/adult, $15/students

Live Music w/ Chris Lynch

5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Keyboard warrior

SATURDAY, april 15

Funky Junk Antique Festival

10am-4pm @ BoCo Fairgrounds

Idaho’s largest and longest running antique and craft festival. Find treasures, food and drink, and amazing live music, also artisans, jewelry, pottery, barn finds and more. Admission $8 for whole weekend. Kids 12 and under free

SunDAY, april 16

April 13-20, 2023

Museum extended hours

10am-7pm @ BoCo History Museum

The Museum will be open for extended hours on Thursdays so everyone has a chance to visit

Contra Dance

7-10pm @ Sandpoint Comm. Hall

Music by Banna Damhsa and Morna Leonard calling. All dances called and taught. New dancers welcome. $5 donation

Premium Wine Tasting

5pm @ The District

A great opportunity to taste premium wines before you buy!

“Swinging in the Rain” dance

7-10pm @ Sandpoint Comm. Hall 1950s-themed dance with onehour Swing lesson followed by general dancing. $9/person

Live Music w/ Benny Baker

7-9pm @ Connie’s Lounge

Classic rock for Jacque’s 60th!

Pro-Voice Project: UnHappy Hour • 3-6pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co. Shed some tears in your beer for the loss of BGH’s labor and delivery department. Food, drink, guest speakers and a chance to share what the BGH delivery dept. means to you. A portion of drink sales will benefit the Pro-Voice Project and its efforts to stem the erosion of reproductive rights

monDAY, april 17

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi

7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Group Run @ Outdoor Experience

6pm @ Outdoor Experience

3-5 miles, all levels welcome, beer after

tuesDAY, april 18

Dine Out for a Cause • 4-9pm @ Trinity at City Beach

A Grad Night fundraiser for SHS with a portion of proceeds supporting Grad Night 2023

Paint and Sip w/ Lori Salisbury

5:30-7:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Paint a spring wildflower scene. $45

Little Live Radio Hour: The Powell Brothers featuring Woody Aunan • 8pm @ Panida Little Theater

A monthly live on-air event streaming from the Panida Little Theater. Hosted by 88.5 KRFY’s Jack Peterson and produced by the Festival at Sandpoint. Stream on KRFY.org or listen at 88.5FM on your radio dial

wednesDAY, april 19

Bonner County Candidates’ Forum:

Library and Pend Oreille Hospital District boards

5-7pm @ Sandpoint Library (community rooms)

Learn about candidates appearing on the ballot for the East Bonner County Library and the Pend Oreille Hospital boards

Live Piano w/ Jason Evans

5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Contemporary, jazz and originals

ThursDAY, april 20

7pm @ Connie’s Lounge Trivia Night 5-8pm @ Paddler’s Alehouse

Cribbage Night

Game Night

6:30pm @ Tervan Tavern

By Reader Staff

Brad Williams brings extensive coaching and playing experience to new role with a minor in psychology from St. Francis University and an MA in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University Irvine.

Sandpoint Soccer Association has announced that Brad Williams has joined the organization as director of soccer operations. In this role, Williams will oversee both the Strikers competitive club and recreational soccer programs, developing coaches and ensuring that players at all age levels are being coached consistently and effectively, in line with SSA’s overarching vision and philosophy.

Most recently part of the coaching staff at North Carolina State University, Williams brings over 20 years of combined youth and college coaching experience to the Sandpoint community. Before joining NC State, Williams served as an NCAA and junior college head coach and held various youth coach positions. In addition, he previously led youth coaching courses for the NSCAA/United Soccer Coaches.

During his playing days, Williams was goalkeeper for the Team Bath Football Club in Bath, England; the San Francisco Seals and San Jose frogs of the USL; and Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pa. He earned a BS in marketing

“We couldn’t be more excited for Brad to join the SSA team,” said interim board president Adam Tajan. “His extensive coaching and playing experience, love of the game and ability to connect with our kids and coaches will be invaluable for our community. We can’t wait to see how Brad helps elevate our program within Idaho Youth Soccer.”

Williams said he is “delighted to join the Sandpoint Soccer Association.”

“I’m passionate about developing young soccer players and ready to bring my coaching skills to the players and coaches of the Sandpoint community,” he added. “I’m excited to implement a technical plan that will build confidence and consistency in our players, while providing an overall positive experience.”

Williams will be relocating to Sandpoint in late April with his wife, Kate, and 5-year-old son, Rees.

Brad Williams. Courtesy photo.

Festival at Sandpoint offers pre-K outreach program

By Reader Staff

It has been a year since the Festival at Sandpoint launched its Pre-K Outreach Program in spring 2022. Since then, more than 70 students at Selkirk School and Little Lambs Preschool have participated, learning to play six different non-pitched percussion instruments, count and read rhythms, and play parts within a group.

Now in its second year, the free series of classes is designed to engage students through rhythm, movement and song, culminating with a live performance.

“During each class, students focus on a specific rhythmic element while integrating new instruments,” said Festival Education Manager Paul Gunter. “After the final performance, the students can take home their self-designed set of rhythm sticks to keep the music going strong.”

The program — which the Festival is working to expand into more area schools — is currently designed as four 30-minute classes, with a short performance directly following the final class. However, classes can be adapted to fit the school’s needs and can be integrated into the school day or offered as an after-school program.

Gunter works with numerous local instructors from a wide variety of musical backgrounds to provide the best teaching experience for each group.

Part of the Festival’s mission is to foster

a love of music through ongoing youth education programs, and the organization is excited to offer free educational outreach programs to local schools within the community.

Thanks to the support from donors, volunteers and the community, the Festival is able to continue to develop new programming to expand and grow its musical education mission and impact on youth in the community.

To learn more about the Festival at Sandpoint’s education programs and donate to its nonprofit mission, visit festivalatsandpoint.com.

Festival at Sandpoint Production and Education Manager Paul Gunter teaches a Selkirk School preschool student how to play the violin. Courtesy photo.

FOOD

‘Fine dining in a casual atmosphere’ The District’s wine and food pairings are a unique dining experience

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

“I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food.”

— W.C. Fields

For foodies and wine enthusiasts searching for the next good thing in Sandpoint, look no further than The District on First Avenue.

The District will host a wine and food pairing at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 13, featuring Penfolds wines and an authentic five-course Australian dinner. The event is part of The District’s regular wine and food pairings, usually held each month.

Starting at 6 p.m., and at a cost of $120 per person, the Penfolds event features fewer courses with larger portions, and a number of varieties of Penfolds wines to compare with each course.

“Penfolds took their original vines and stock from Australia and went to Napa, Calif. and planted that stock,” said Lizbeth Turley Fausnight, owner and chef at The District.

Each course will include comparisons between the Australian and Napa Valley versions of popular varietals.

“We’ll be comparing two blends and two syrahs, one each from California and Australia.”

As the oldest and most renowned winemaker in Australia, Fausnight said the label experienced a boost in popularity in the late 1980s and ’90s that has continued to this day.

“They’ve always been over-the-top good,” Fausnight said. “Their strong grapes are syrahs and cabs, and they make great blends. Some of their wines even retail for $900 per bottle. They’re really well-balanced wines.”

Paired with the Penfolds will be “true authentic Australian cuisine,” according to Fausnight.

“They do have a very specific style of cuisine,” she said. “Some courses use ingredients that are completely native to Australia. They do a lot of lamb, pork and beef. My sea bass is native to that area, so we’ll add that to the courses.

“You hear a lot about grilling things on the ‘barbie,’ but they also do a lot of roasting, bringing in lots of unique flavors that layer together in fun ways,” Fausnight added.

Treasury Wine, which owns Penfolds, will be on hand at the event.

“We always choose the wine first, then decide what to pair it with,” Fausnight said. “If you pair the right wine with the right food, the right fat content and acid, they’re going to bring out the different characteristics of each.

“When we started our wine dinners, we introduced some wines that people didn’t think they’d like, but paired with the right food, it’s like ‘Oh my gosh, that’s amazing!’” she added. “Put the right wine with the right food, the chemical makeup changes and the way it flows over the palette, you’ll get lingering flavors from both food and wine. It’s really amazing.”

Having attended the Italian wine pairing dinner last month, I can attest to Fausnight’s prowess in the kitchen. Each course was made with intent and care. The sauces were light and distinct, the proteins cooked to perfection and flavors nearly lept off the plate. The food was made even better by pairings with various premium wines, each bringing out specific notes or new combinations. As a wine novice, I learned a lot about how certain wines and foods compliment one another. I also learned that, despite her humility, Fausnight is an incredibly talented chef.

Penfolds wine dinner

Thursday, April 13; 6 p.m.; $120/ person. The District, 313 N. First Ave., 208-265-8653, thedistrictinsandpoint.com.

To help explain how each wine pairs with certain courses, a representative from

“I joke all the time that I’m not really a chef, I just play one on TV,” she said. “I was in the restaurant business for many, many years, but I worked front of the house, not back of the house. I spent a lot of time with my chefs, learning about foods and always had a great appreciation of the way different flavors work together. Plus, my children were raised in the kitchen. My son was standing on a milk crate cutting mushrooms with chefs at 5 years old. To-

day, he’s an executive chef at McCormick & Schmick’s in Portland.”

While claiming she has no “official training whatsoever” when it comes to working as a chef, Fausnight’s fine dining palette guides her in crafting clever, intriguing combinations.

“We like to say we’re fine dining in a casual atmosphere,” she said. “We’re working on our summer menu, coming up with things that are out of the ordinary or unique. I love it when people come in the door and they’re so surprised. They say, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the best food I’ve had in Sandpoint,’ and that means so much to us. We want to make sure the ‘wow’ factor is always there.”

There are still openings left for the Penfolds wine and food pairing five-course dinner, but act fast to ensure you get a spot, as the night might fill up by publication time. The District will also offer a premium wine tasting Friday, April 14 at 5 p.m. to taste wines from Stag’s Leap, Beaulieu Vineyards, Frank Family, St. Hubert’s and Etude. The cost will be $50 per person.

“We’ll offer 12 different premium wines at the wine tasting,” Fausnight said. “It’s a great opportunity to taste some really expensive wines before purchasing. You can’t buy these wines anywhere and there’s really no place you can go and taste these wines before buying.”

For those who are interested in dining off the regular menu, The District serves dinner from Wednesday through Saturday and lunch from Monday through Saturday. Reservations are recommended.

“The juice will be flowing,” Fausnight said.

Top: Diners are cozy and happy inside The District. Right: Penfolds wines will pair with Australian cuisine at the food and wine pairing dinner April 13. Courtesy photos.

MUSIC

The Powell Bros. w/Woody Aunan, Little Live Radio Hour,

By Reader Staff

Brothers Anthony and David Powell — who play under the moniker The Powell Brothers — have been a part of the Sandpoint music scene for more than two decades.

The Powells spent time in Nashville, Tenn. with legendary guitarists and harp guitarists such as Muriel Anderson, Stephen Bennet and Andy McKee, as well as consorting with expert luthiers around the nation.

April 18

This week’s RLW by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey

READ

The brothers founded Tonedevil Guitars in 2002, breathing new life and design into the modern acoustic harp guitar, featuring bass strings and acoustic guitar strings on the same instrument.

Live Radio Hour: The Powell Bros. w/ Woody Aunan

Little

8 p.m. Listen live at krfy.org or on 88.5FM.

The duo will play a set on their unique guitars as part of KRFY’s Little Live Radio Hour, streaming live on krfy.org or on 88.5 FM. The show is hosted by Jack Peterson and produced by the Festival at Sandpoint. Don’t miss it!

Brandon Jackson Band w/Jordan Pitts, The Hive, April 14

By Reader Staff

A central element of country music has always been storytelling. The Brandon Jackson Band began sharing their songwriting when lead singer and guitarist Brandon Jackson and guitarist Cody Parker came together with a true passion for music. Along the way, the band added bassist Brian Zabriskie, drummer Jake West and fiddler Suzaan Botha.

Today, the Brandon Jackson Band continues to share their

passion for country music. Based in Spokane, Wash., the five-piece won the 2021 Inland Northwest CMA Award for best performance in their area and recently headlined a show at the Knitting Factory.

Brandon Jackson Band w/ Jordan Pitts

Their unique sound is influenced by impactful lived experiences that relate to the masses through high-energy talent, which will be on full display Friday, April 14 at The Hive.

Line dancing lessons 6:30-7:30 p.m., opener Jordan Pitts 7:308:30 p.m., main show at 8:45 p.m.; $10; 21+. The Hive, 207 N. First Ave., 208-920-9039, beeswaxsystems.com/THEHIVE. Listen at brandonjacksonband.com. livefromthehive.com.

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint

Acoustic Blue, MickDuff’s Beer Hall, April 14

There’s something for everyone at an Acoustic Blue show — provided they’re fans of timeless tunes by icons like the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Elvis, The Beatles, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Buck Owens and others.

Featuring Greg V. Lewis on lead guitar and vocals, Josh Loew on bass and guitar, and Veronika Jones on violin and mandolin, the Hayden-based trio holds it down with a steady house gig at

Jackson Roltgen, Eichardt’s Pub, April 15

Mulligans in Coeur d’Alene. Now it’s Sandpoint’s turn to get a taste Friday, April 14, when Acoustic Blue swings into MickDuff’s Beer Hall with its broad portfolio of high-energy ’50s rockabilly, outlaw country, Delta Blues and folk.

— Zach Hagadone

6:30-9:30 p.m., FREE. MickDuff’s Beer Hall, 220 Cedar St., 208-290-6700, mickduffs.com.

There’s music that tries hard to sound vintage, and music that touches on the deeper sentiments of timelessness. For an example of the latter, look no further than Coeur d’Alene-based singer-songwriter Jackson Roltgen.

With versatile vocals and flexible influences, Roltgen blends rock, country and blues with a gentler, almost sultry soul sound to create a style that’s comfortable in its own skin and capable

Debate over the social media app TikTok is heating up on the national level, as federal lawmakers are currently debating whether to ban it unless the company cuts ties with China. I am not a TikTok user, but I’m fascinated by the hold the video app has on millions of Americans. Hearings are also sure to be humorous when our aging representatives discuss tech issues. For those of us unfamiliar with the polarizing app, there’s a solid look at the pros and cons by Vox reporter Rebecca Jennings. Find the article, titled “Has TikTok made us better? Or much, much worse?” on vox.com.

LISTEN

It’s been a long six years since English folk trio Daughter put out an album, so I’m beside myself with glee as I report that Stereo Mind Game — a stellar addition to the band’s catalog — dropped on April 7. Combining elements of eclectic, delicate electronica with soft, gorgeous indie rock melodies, Daughter is a mainstay among my favorite bands to put on shuffle and leave playing for hours on end. Favorite tracks off Stereo Mind Game include “Party,” “Dandelion” and “To Rage.”

WATCH

of drawing in listeners across generations.

Roltgen will thrive in an intimate space like Eichardt’s, playing songs poised for connection through lyrics, instrumental skill and plain ol’ groove.

—

Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey

7 p.m., FREE. Eichardt’s Pub, 212 Cedar St., 208-263-4005, eichardtspub.com. Listen on Spotify.

My childless home doesn’t typically choose animated films for post-dinner viewing, but my husband and I made an exception for the 2016 Dreamworks movie Storks over the weekend when the preview clip — which played as I hovered over the Netflix selection — made us both laugh out loud. Featuring the voice acting talents of comedian Andy Samberg, Storks tells the story of how humans used to get babies — before a stork went crazy and tried to keep one. The humor is so weird it works. Basically, it’s a kid movie, but for grown ups.

Anthony and David Powell with their unique Harp guitars. Courtesy photo.

The Brandon Jackson Band. Courtesy photos.

On perspective

From Northern Idaho News, April 13, 1926

OFFICERS GET NEWPORT STILL AND MASH

By Sandy Compton Reader Columnist

My brothers and I and our significant others once stood in Grandpa Earl’s east field on a summer night, watching sunset fade away. Hanging in the sky 10 degrees above the horizon was a brilliant, silver-white dot. My sister-in-law asked, “What’s that star?” I answered, “That’s Venus.”

I never forgot what she said to that. With a bit of incredulity in her voice, she said, “You mean, just right over there?”

That caused me to start looking at the sky differently.

Yes. Venus is just right over there — somewhere between 160 million and 26 million miles, depending on its travels around the sun in relation to Earth. As this goes to press, Venus is about 105 million miles away, and recently visible as one of a “convergence” of five planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Uranus and Jupiter— and the moon in our evening sky.

BACK OF THE BOOK DEPUTIES FIND BATHTUB MASH AFTER SEARCH

When the men from the sheriff’s office and federal men searched the vacant building next to the laundry at old Newport they found a bathtub filled with mash and eight barrels of mash besides a 60-gallon still. They arrested Jack Mullen and Claude Solt as being the owners of the still and Mrs. Helen Parker and Mrs. Genevieve Keller as being occupants of the house and having liquor in possession.

All four were brought to Sandpoint and landed in the county jail. Mullen and Solt were bound over to the district court for trial.

Mrs. Parker entered a plea of guilty when arraigned before Probate Judge Bonner and received a fine of $100 and 60 days in jail.

Mrs. Keller pleaded not guilty and will have a jury trial in the probate court tomorrow afternoon.

“Convergence” is not a good descriptor. Though the five might all be visible to a human watching from Earth — you will have to use a good pair of binocs to see Uranus — they are far from converging. They are, instead, aligned. That only means that from our position on our planet, they are in a somewhat straight line from us as we look out into space.

In the case of the alignment that recently graced our sky, Uranus was least visible, being waaaay out past Saturn — almost 1.8 billion miles from the sun — and so appears to be not all that large, even though it’s third in size behind Jupiter and Saturn.

If we were on Uranus (where we would be flattened by its gravity) looking back this way, we wouldn’t see anything out of the ordinary; just the sun as a faraway extra bright star. Looking toward the sun from Uranus, we would view the “dark side” of

the aligned planets.

The rule of planetary alignment visible from Earth is that all the planets we see have to be on the same side of the sun as us, for they show their presence by reflection. Because they are our solar system neighbors, Mercury, Venus and Mars are most visible, even though all are smaller than Earth.

So much for basic astronomy. My real point here is about perspective. How we see things in the natural world depends on where we are standing. How we see things in the cultural world depends on where we stand. And, it’s way past time to tell our legislators to take a stand about weapons of war — read: AR-15s and such devices — that doesn’t reflect the views of the arms industry and their lapdog, the NRA. Or is it the other way around.

No matter how you look at it — whatever your perspective is — these two institutions are in bed together, but it’s the general public who is getting screwed. (Sorry, editors. I don’t know how better to put it.)

As of April 3, there had been 131 incidents in the U.S. this year alone in which four or more people were injured or killed by guns, and many of those who suffered or died had not seen their 13th birthday.

I don’t understand how we can send kids to school — public or private — in today’s world, but we do. And, in the meantime, we allow mentally ill persons, angry persons, really unfit persons, almost any person who has the bucks — or a credit card — to buy weapons designed for one thing, and one thing only: to kill human beings in the most efficient — and horrible — way possible.

Will Rogers once said of the arms industry (about 90 years ago), “I never took a human life, I only sold the fellow the gun to take it with.” Basic price of a “knockoff” AR-15 — which is just as deadly as the “premium” models — is less than $400.

Sudoku Solution STR8TS Solution

It’s not all about mass shootings. Almost 10,000 people in the U.S. have already died in 2023 of gunshot wounds. The only country leading us is Venezuela, one of the most violent places in the world. By contrast, Sweden had 60 deaths by gunshot in 2022 — six-zero. Evidently, Sweden has a different perspective on gun regulation than the U.S.

The Second Amendment is the prevailing argument about gun regulation, but I feel it is misconstrued. Here it is: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

To my knowledge, no “well regulated Militia” exists, and from my perspective, that negates the absolute right to own any type of gun. As long as we allow weapons — especially weapons of war — to be sold indiscriminately, public safety will continue to deteriorate. Even gun owners, of which I am one, need to put that in perspective.

Crossword Solution

Instead of a regular arm, Carl had been born with a pigeon’s wing. The odd thing was, all through his life, no one had ever laughed at his wing — not even the mean kids at school. Then one day he realized why: He looked in the mirror and saw that HE WAS A PIGEON! He shit right there, as he often did, wherever he was.

CROSSWORD

Laughing Matter

By Bill Borders

bloviate

Corrections: Nothing to see here, people. Move along.

“While his opponent spoke his positions on relevant issues at the debate, the senator chose to spend his time bloviating about culture war issues.”

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22

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