D.F. Oliveria
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Alaska Viking’s ‘Mooseltoe’
Americans in the 1960s and 1970s proved they were suckers for cute gimmicks before a Coeur d’Alene-born Alaskan be…
The Thong Man debate
Tim Bowman sunbathed in a thong swimsuit at City Beach for three years without attracting attention. In summer 1993, however, his sun-kissed bliss ended when h…
‘It was senseless violence and destruction’
“Father Bill” Wassmuth was on the phone with a friend when the bomb went off. On Sept. 15, 1986, shortly before midnight, white supremacists placed a pipe b…
There was another big volcanic eruption earlier this month
As reported in previous articles, there are over 1,500 active volcanoes around the Earth with an average of 50-70 eruptions per year. According to VolcanoDisco…
Zany ballot casting
The number of dead people who vote in Coeur d’Alene is nowhere near as high as the regular turnout of the Dearly Departed in Chicago. But a few denizens of For…
A perfect game
‘The Lioness of Idaho’
Congressman Butch Otter rarely played second fiddle to anyone. On Aug. 20, 2001, however, the Idaho Republican strummed his guitar contentedly and sang coun…
Steam-powered airline takes flight
Fudpucker World Airlines never lifted off, but its president had fun. The Hayden Lake company didn’t offer frequent flyer miles, complimentary meals, free W…
‘Come at your own risk’
Moviegoers to the Coeur d’Alene Drive-In that summer evening didn’t see Linda Blair’s character vomit thick Andersen brand split pea soup on Father Karras.
The villainous trio
A calloused kidnapper on the lam from one of the most heinous crimes of the 1970s bought a getaway car and sold guns in Coeur d’Alene. James Schoenfeld, the…
The first Miss North Idaho
Fern O’Toole credited her 15 minutes of fame nearly a century ago to a white bathing suit, a white flying helmet and a roaring biplane. At 16, during the Gr…
Don't tell her what to do!
A tube of “exotic melon” lipstick landed an aging Avon saleswoman in jail during the 1990s and launched a public relations nightmare for Coeur d’Alene. For …
Never count them out
Never count the Fabulous Shadows out. The teenage musicians who saved a DeMolay dance in the 1960s have performed for “a final time” on several occasions si…
Lucky to fish again
It was a dream come true when Jason Rzepa went fishing with his son, Collin. On July 22, 2016, the former Army National Guard staff sergeant and his boy, th…
His dad just wanted a grandson
There are matchmakers like Yente in “Fiddler on the Roof.” And then there are matchmakers like Arthur Brooks, father of a Utah businessman. Both are busy…