There's paved streets and indoor plumbing here, too!

The headline on a story from a reputable national baseball website caught my eye the other day.

“Jacob Pfennigs is a ‘one of a kind’ prospect from ... Idaho!”

Now, us in North Idaho already know that about Pfennigs, the 6-foot-7 senior who starred in basketball as well as baseball at Post Falls High. Jake, who has signed to play baseball at Oregon State, figures to get selected during next week’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Baseball scouts and colleges are intrigued by his upside — and some basketball coaches expressed interest in him last winter as well.

That isn’t the issue here.

I guess it’s just the astonishment that someone talented could indeed come out of Idaho — as if all our fine state is capable of is producing potatoes and, back in the day, white supremecists.

We’re capable of much, much more.

Cable TV is no longer a luxury around here; some of us have even moved on to satellite TV.

And when a TV isn’t available, we’ve learned how to stream.

We’ve moved on from party lines, and covered wagons.

This may come as a shock to those outside of our state, but Idaho has produced its fair share of exceptional athletes/people.

Just off the top of my head, I can think of a few ...

... Vanessa Shippy, who somehow escaped the shackles of Idaho and became a folk hero of sorts at Oklahoma State, where the Lake City High grad helped restore the Cowgirls softball program to prominence, and was considered one of the top players in all of college softball this year. She’s now embarking on her professional softball career, and hopefully gets a taste of playing for the USA in an upcoming Olympics.

... her best friend, Casey Stangel, who had about as dominant a high school career as you can have. She might have been the best pitcher and the best hitter in the state, leading (along with Shippy) Lake City to three straight appearances in the state title game, including two state titles. Stangel went on to play one season at Missouri and three at Washington, capping her college career with an appearance in the Women’s College World Series. After serving an internship with the office of the commissioner of Major League Baseball, don’t be surprised if she ends up in charge of something very big someday.

... Alli Nieman, the best girls basketball player to ever come out of Sandpoint. A two-sport standout with the Bulldogs who went on to greatness in hoops at the University of Idaho. As good an athlete as she was, she’s an even better person, making a difference these days as a counselor, among other things.

... Katie Baker, who led Lake City to a state girls basketball title, then went on to have a stellar career at Montana, and is now an assistant coach for one of the better women’s basketball teams in the West, Oregon State. And, we hear, she once played a mean guitar and was a killer songwriter while a student at Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy.

Switching sexes for a moment ...

... Jake Plummer, born in Boise, now lives in Colorado, but is a frequent visitor to North Idaho. “Jake the Snake” left his mark as a quarterback at Capital High in Boise, Arizona State, the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos. He can still fling it.

... Jerry Kramer, who yes, was actually born in Montana, but has called Idaho home for most of his life. A legend at Sandpoint High, the University of Idaho and the Green Bay Packers, you may have heard that, at age 82, he’s finally going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year.

... Harmon Killebrew, who was born in Payette, who played for the Washington Senators (who later became the Minnesota Twins) in the 1950s and ’60s. He was a 13-time All-Star, the 1969 American League MVP, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.

... several others from North Idaho who have made it in the NFL, including John Friesz (Coeur d’Alene), Joe Toffelmire and Rollin Putzier (Post Falls) and Ron Heller (Clark Fork).

Need any more proof?

... Picabo Street, considered perhaps the most famous women’s downhill skier in the 1990s, was born in Triumph, Idaho, an unincorporated community in the East Fork of Big Wood River in Blaine County. She won two Olympic medals, including gold in the super G at the 1998 Winter Games.

... Corissa Yasen, the former Coeur d’Alene High multisport star, who went on to became a nine-time All-America in track and field at Purdue, including the 1996 NCAA heptathlon title. She also played one season of basketball for the Boilermakers, then played in the WNBA.

... Andrea Lloyd, considered by some the best women’s basketball player to come out of Idaho, was a three-time state player of the year at Moscow High. She went on to win an NCAA title with Texas in 1986 and a gold medal with the U.S. team at the ’88 games.

I’m sure there’s more — including a handful of other local baseball players that have been drafted over the last couple decades or so — but you get the drift.

It’s not easy, but it’s also not uncommon, for someone from Idaho to make it “big.”

OK, some of us are still trying to figure out Sling TV, Hulu, Amazon Fire TV Stick, etc., and how to get the Pac-12 Networks without giving up DirecTV, but give us time.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.