Year in photos - Kootenai County

John Churchill's patriotism is on display as he rides through the Bayview Daze Fourth of July parade.

Hauser Lake Fire Protection District firefighter Kyle Andrews walks by a burning house April 22 at a training site at Highway 53 and Pleasant View Road.

Irene Broderick leads the Hayden Senior Center Line Dancers during a rehearsal July 26 as the group prepares for a Hayden Days performance.

Lillee Dippolito stands in front of the kennel with her pig, "Charlie," at the North Idaho State Fair in August.

Don Dutton smiles as he plays a game with members of Lake City Thunder 14U softball team and their families at On Site for Seniors in Coeur d'Alene in June.

Ben Drake works on a coil of sausage Gentleman Sausages that opened on Fourth Street in downtown Coeur d’Alene in 2023.

Chris and Sandy Leonard cruise up Sherman Avenue in their 1969 Camaro during Car d'Lane in June.

Marine veteran Jim Zeorlin laughs during a ceremony to honor veterans at Brookdale Coeur d'Alene in November.

Juliet Hunt, Miss Coeur d'Alene's Teen, waves during the 31st annual Lighting Ceremony Parade in downtown Coeur d'Alene in November.

A clown is all smiles as he greets guests at Scarywood Theme Park in September.

Mallory Nehlich dances in City Park, where thousands celebrated Pride in June.

Krista Lapan embraces a friend at the finish line after completing her her 16th Ironman. She was the first local woman to finish the race in June.

Three-year-old Mason Thompson grins as a Coeur d’Alene firefighter helps him wield a fire hose at the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department’s September open house.

North Idaho College staff and faculty joined other community members at a rally in February, calling for NIC trustees to take action to protect accreditation.

Julia Hossack maneuvers a self-propelled gun around her property in Rathdrum. (CAROLYN BOSTICK/Press)

Sir Mimealot poses for an audience on the go at the North Idaho State Fair.

Marilyn and Paul Peterson were surprised by their family when they had a repeat of their initial wedding 60 years later on Oct. 26. They placed a lock engraved with their names outside the Hitching Post after the ceremony.

Ella Weaver and Elissa Weaver huddle with Tausha Winn and Matthew Hunter as they received a call from Santa Claus.

Phlebotomist Colbie Hayes prepares to obtain platelets from Zoie Cloutier at Vitalant. Blood supplies often dip during the summer months, when the need for donations often goes up, causing emergency need like the one that northern Idaho is currently undergoing.

North Idaho College President Nick Swayne and North Idaho College Foundation Executive Director Rayelle Anderson exchange big smiles July 12 as they congratulate Really BIG Raffle grand prize house winner Jamie Morgan during a phone call after the virtual drawing.

Jameson Mattmiller holds a sign in support of the Coeur d'Alene School District's supplemental levy March 16 as he and his Lake City High School band colleagues perform outside of the Midtown Meeting Center where, during a special meeting, Coeur d'Alene School Board trustees unanimously voted to go for another levy election in May.

Brad Smith, left, and Mark Mayer, center, have a laugh on a sunny June 23 as they and other Kootenai Amateur Radio Society members build the "antenna farm" on Frank Krug's Post Falls property in preparation for Amateur Radio Field Day.

Shared Harvest Community Garden board member Felicia Echeverria rinses kale, cabbage, beets and other veggies in a garden trough July 18 as she and others prepare produce to be donated to a local food kitchen.

Former student Karen Santos gives a happily surprised Eileen Bieber a huge hug March 24 as Bieber is honored for her contributions to Coeur d'Alene High School for the past 50 years. "I love her," Santos said. "She is my most favorite teacher ever in the world."

From left, Civil Air Patrol cadets C/TSgt Spencer Slater, C/SrA Landon Hart and C/1stLt Jeremy Abegg-Guzman salute the incoming Coeur d'Alene Composite Squadron commander March 28 during a change of command ceremony.

Coeur d'Alene School District facility dog Blue pays attention May 23 as he works with Atlas Elementary School first grader Matthew Shandy. Blue was the first to pilot a facility dog program when he was a pup in 2019. The program has since expanded.

Adam Graves hangs a flower basket on Sherman Avenue in May. BILL BULEY/Press

Chief Petty Officer Dennis Fox carries a remembrance wreath at Coeur d'Alene Memorial Gardens in December in memory of those who served and are serving in the Navy.

Northwest Expedition Academy Second-grader Olivia Kearbey yells before the start of her race in the Coeur d'Alene School District's annual elementary school cross country meet at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds in October.

Crowd members take pictures and plug their ears as the F-35s prepare for takeoff at the Coeur d'Alene Airport in June.

People plunge into Lake Coeur d'Alene on Jan. 1, 2023 during the Polar Bear Plunge.