EDITORIAL: The Press informs, a community responds

Local news matters. 

People who live, work and play in Kootenai County want to know what is going on in their communities. They care. They want to help. They want to be part of things.

So they read The Press.  

How do we know this? 

Last week, The Press reported that Companions Animal Center on Atlas Road was out of dog food and for the first time in at least a decade, had to buy food to be sure the pets under its roof were fed. 

The response was overwhelming. 

The day the story was published, people started delivering bags of dog food. The next day, even more. And over the weekend, the floodgates burst open. By Monday, about 30,000 pounds of pet food and more than $20,000 had been donated to the nonprofit shelter that does amazing work caring for dogs, cats and other critters in need of a home. Vicky Nelson, 12 years with CAC, said she had never seen anything like it. 

Contributions were such that CAC won’t have to worry about having enough pet food on hand for some time. 

That is great news.

This situation highlights two things. 

First, it shows that people read The Press. Oh, some will argue print is dead, or soon it will be. Everything is going digital. Local news is dying. No one cares. 

We beg to differ. 

In a world where circulation is declining at most newspapers, it’s holding steady or rising at The Press. Our carriers are still out there six mornings a week delivering newspapers to thousands of front doors. We are still the No. 1 source of local information. No one else is even close. The Spokesman-Review, long ago, used to give us a run for our money. But no more. 

Anyone who really wants to know and cares about what’s happening around Kootenai County reads The Press. It's that simple.

And second, we live in a community that cares deeply about each other. If a family needs food or rent money, people respond. If a child’s bike is stolen, someone buys them a new one. If a fundraiser needs donations, people give. And if an event is short of volunteers, people step up. If pets are in danger of going hungry, people provide.  

We would like to say we are amazed at this latest round of generosity, but we are not. To be honest, we've come to expect it. We have become accustomed to outpourings of kindness whenever we report someone, some organization or some animal could use a hand.

We know this because we live it. We see it. We report it.

So, here’s the deal. We’ll keep writing about what’s happening in Kootenai County, and you keep reading The Press. No, we can’t solve all the problems of this world, or even North Idaho, but we can sure try. And we're pretty sure that together, we’ll make things a little better along the way. 

Just ask the folks at CAC.