'This is like the last hurrah'

SPIRIT LAKE — Gordie Markworth is zipping up Maine Street in his ATV on a sunny Thursday afternoon when he pulls over.

A minute later, a fully-loaded loading truck rolls up next to him, waiting to make a right turn onto Highway 41.

It waits. And waits.

Several vehicles pass by before the loaded truck can begin its journey.

Markworth isn’t surprised. With more people comes more traffic.

“If all these people are coming in, we’re going to have to have some kind of businesses going up,” he says. “Business-wise, there ain’t much here.”

The town’s population, about 3,000, is growing — up from about 2,000 in 2010 and 1,400 in 2000. While recognizing growth can be good, Markworth isn’t wild about it. He loves life in this rural North Idaho outpost that he has called home more than a decade.

“I’d like to see nothing happen,” he said.

That’s unlikely.

Spirit Lake, the patriotic town that held a Fourth of July parade when most others canceled due to the coronavirus, the town that hosts what is billed as the world’s second-shortest parade on Labor Day weekend, is getting attention.

Larry Frisbie and Joan Genter, real estate agents with Windermere Coeur d’Alene Real Estate, both said it is a desirable place to live, with a beautiful lake, cozy Maine Street, proximity to Coeur d’Alene (about a 35-minute drive down Highway 41 and connecting to Interstate 90).

“It’s just far away enough from the city to feel like you’re in the country,” Frisbie said.

Others have noticed.

Take a drive on the city’s residential streets and you’ll see new homes being built.

“I think it’s a very good location,” Frisbie said.

According to Zillow, the median home value of single-family homes and condos in Spirit Lake is $357,224, with several homes for sale in the $300,000 range and lower.

Spirit Lake home values have gone up 10.8% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 5% within the next year.

People are expected to keep coming as rapidly rising costs in larger cities like Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls push folks north.

Genter said she just closed escrow on a Spirit Lake property where a young builder hopes to build a home focused on the lower end of the market

“So many of our families in the local marketplace here in Coeur d’Alene, they’re priced out of homes,” Genter said. “Here in Spirit Lake, you can get into a really nice house.”

Debbie Janhsen is the owner of Jo’s Hole Saloon on Maine Street, the main drag in town. It’s home to the Old West Hardware Store, C’s Train and Antique Shop, Fresh Air E-Bikes, Terry’s Cafe (which is for sale for $289,000) Messy’s Burgers, and two more popular taverns, Linger Longer Lounge and the White Horse Saloon.

Thursday about noon, with no customers inside, Janhsen was painting a frame in the front wall. She took the bar over from her mom, Joanne, who bought it in 1973.

“I’ve been doing this 30 years,” she said.

Janhsen said traffic has increased where there used to be almost none. She recalls attending school in Rathdrum and if she missed the bus back to Spirit Lake, two vehicles would pass by.

“One was my Uncle Rex and another one was somebody else,” she said. “So if we didn’t get those rides we ended up walking all the way to Spirit Lake.

“Now, the bumper-to-bumper traffic is just crazy,” she said. “Sometimes you can’t get on Highway 41."

“It seems like it’s just nuts, but I guess that’s progress,” Janhsen said.

Watching the changes, she shakes her head. The quiet little town where everyone once knew everyone isn’t like that anymore.

“I feel like my parents when I say things have changed,” she said, laughing. “It’s gotten crazy.”

Crazy, maybe, but conservative, definitely.

This is Trump territory. American flags attached to homes and trucks wave in the wind, as do banners proclaiming support of the president.

“Proud to be an American,” reads a sign posted in a downtown window.

If you’re headed north on Highway 41 as it passes through town, you’ll pass by Timberlake High School, Miller’s Harvest Foods, Spirit Lake Mini-storage, a park, a church and a gas station.

If you follow Maine Street, you’ll find Spirit Lake, about a mile at its widest and 100 feet at its deepest.

Like everywhere in North Idaho, summers are spectacular. Winters — you better dig in and be ready to dig out — are slower.

“I’m fortunate to have regulars who keep me afloat,” Janhsen said.

She does many of her own repairs, like plumbing, to save where she can.

“You do what you have to do,” she said.

Jim and Christe Hansen moved to Spirit Lake from Arizona about a year ago. Earlier this year, they opened Spirit Jewelry on Maine Street. It’s been all they hoped, with friendly folks who welcomed them.

“I love the people here,” Christe Hansen said. “This is a loving community. Spirit Lake is awesome.”

Marc Kroetch, owner of Fresh Air E-Bikes that has been around five years, is not surprised more people are moving in. It has much to offer for a peaceful lifestyle.

But he said the lack of commercial growth is a problem that the city needs to change.

“There is no growth, no commercial growth,” he said.

“Stagnant. Stagnant is a good word for it,” said his daughter, Afton Henderson.

Spirit Lake’s moratorium on building permits and sewer hookups adopted in 2017 ended in August. New construction is happening on residential streets.

“We’re certainly getting set up for growth,” Kroetch said.

But he said the city needs to do more to attract new businesses. A recent survey said people would like to see a medical clinic and car wash in town.

“Without some moderate growth, we’re not going to get it,” he said. “The No. 1 thing all the city residents should like is some moderate growth."

While he said he appreciates the efforts of Mayor Renee Eastman, he was critical of the direction she is guiding the town.

“She is not pro-growth,” he said.

“There’s a lot of good things that come with a little bit of moderate growth,” Kroetch added.

The Press called Spirit Lake City Hall on Wednesday asking to speak with Eastman and dropped by City Hall on Thursday and left messages Friday, but could not reach the mayor.

Still, Kroetch and others love the outdoors opportunities — hunting, fishing, biking, snowmobiling — that surrounds Spirit Lake. He spoke of the growing popularity of Empire Trails for biking and hiking in the area.

The waterfront park at the lake has been a great addition, he added.

“We get a lot more tourism dollars in the summertime,” Kroetch said. “Then in the winter, you save your money and hang on.”

Fresh Air E-Bikes has done well and Kroetch is confident it is on the right path.

“The market is telling us the future is electric bikes,” he said.

Helen Campilli, otherwise known as “Mrs. C,” was sitting in her shop, C’s Train and Antique Shop on Thursday. It was quiet.

She and her husband opened the business in 1994. Campilli said she has seen change and growth — “not commercially. But house-wise.”

She noted that Maine Street used to be full of businesses and now, there are several vacancies. An empty commercial building across the street is for sale for $139,000.

“We need more commercial growth,” she said.

Campilli, polite and friendly with a warm smile, said the antique shop, which specializes in Lionel trains and accessories, is her retirement job — not a necessity for income.

“It pays its own way,” he said.

One thing is clear. People in Spirit Lake like what they have and where they live. But change could be inevitable in what could be Kootenai County's toughest town.

“This is like the last hurrah,” Janhsen said. “This North Idaho area right here, because everything else is developing, this is the last area they can move north into.’