Greek monk keeps faith, community together

For more than 50 years, Father Spyridon has prayed, worked and welcomed the faithful in a monastery carved into a cliffside high above the Aegean Sea. Panagia Hozoviotissa monastery has changed little since it was founded more than a millennium ago on the Greek island of Amorgos. And even as Greece rapidly secularizes alongside the rest of Europe, and islands like Amorgos wrestle with the massive growth of tourism, a few Orthodox Christian monks like Spyridon remain icons of local life. Locals continue to go to him for spiritual advice and praise his care for all visitors.

Wildlife refuge to close for summer restoration

Some say it should stay open; others say the project is not enough.

Recreators have emerged with the arrival of spring in North Idaho, but for those planning to enjoy the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge this summer, they’ll have to wait out the dry season, as a five-month habitat restoration project is scheduled to break ground this June.

Reject politicians, groups who fuel cultural divisions

Imagine if our legislature endorsed one state religion funded by our taxes, and only members of that faith could vote, buy land, find employment or protection under the law; and the only schools available were of that faith or private tutors for the wealthy.

Bonner County Calendar - April 10, 2025

A look at the events, activities, and meetings happening around Bonner County, from Sandpoint to Cocolalla, from Priest River to Ponderay, and from Clark Fork to Dover.

Bonner County Calendar - April 9, 2025

A look at the events, activities, and meetings happening around Bonner County, from Sandpoint to Cocolalla, from Priest River to Ponderay, and from Clark Fork to Dover.

Business briefs - April 9, 2025

Business news and information from around the United States and across the world.

Trump administration rolls back forest protections in bid to ramp up logging

President Donald Trump's administration acted to roll back environmental safeguards around future logging projects on more than half of U.S. national forests under an emergency designation announced Friday that cites dangers from wildfires.

Concerns bring hundreds to Saturday protest

Concerns ran the gamut — health care, Social Security, veteran support — as roughly 800 people turned out Saturday for the local iteration of the national "Hands Off" protest. While organized by Sandpoint Indivisible and the local chapter of 50501, a grassroots political movement, the event spanned a four-block area near the Bonner County Courthouse with supporters on both sides of the street — and throughout the political spectrum.

Bonner County Calendar - April 8, 2025

A look at the events, activities, and meetings happening around Bonner County, from Sandpoint to Cocolalla, from Priest River to Ponderay, and from Clark Fork to Dover.

Solid snowpack raises water supply outlook

April could still bring some cooler weather that slows down the snowpack melt rate, but right now, it looks like winter has ended and spring has officially arrived in Idaho," the report said.

Bonner County Calendar - April 6, 2025

A look at the events, activities, and meetings happening around Bonner County, from Sandpoint to Cocolalla, from Priest River to Ponderay, and from Clark Fork to Dover.

Montana researcher reflects on 30 years of wolves in Yellowstone

Snow crunched underfoot as Mark Hebblewhite scanned the ridgelines of Canada’s Banff National Park. It was 1995, and the young biologist, fresh out of undergrad, was trailing one of the park’s most elusive wildlife species – the gray wolf.

Bonner County Calendar - April 5, 2025

A look at the events, activities, and meetings happening around Bonner County, from Sandpoint to Cocolalla, from Priest River to Ponderay, and from Clark Fork to Dover.

Colleen Jean Carter, 65

Colleen Jean Carter, 65, passed away on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

Mary Ann Cooper, 80

Mary Ann Cooper, 80, passed away on Thursday, March 6, 2025.

Idaho's anti-DEI bill heads to the governor's desk

A bill placing sweeping prohibitions on DEI in public higher education institutions passed the House on Thursday and will go to the governor for consideration.

Bonner County Calendar - April 4, 2025

A look at the events, activities, and meetings happening around Bonner County, from Sandpoint to Cocolalla, from Priest River to Ponderay, and from Clark Fork to Dover.

Bonner County Calendar - April 3, 2025

A look at the events, activities, and meetings happening around Bonner County, from Sandpoint to Cocolalla, from Priest River to Ponderay, and from Clark Fork to Dover.

Forest, shoreline work approaches at Two Rivers Park

Priest River prepares to lay foundation for 38-acre riverfront project

Project organizers have spent the past three years laying the foundation for a park that could one day include a swimming beach, a dog park, athletic fields and other amenities. Once foresters remove hazard trees and cut footpaths on the property this spring, community members will be able to safely access the area for the first time in a century.

Bonner County Calendar - April 2, 2025

A look at the events, activities, and meetings happening around Bonner County, from Sandpoint to Cocolalla, from Priest River to Ponderay, and from Clark Fork to Dover.