Our Gem: Construction ahead: Keep the lake clear

Everywhere you look, new houses are going up, highways are full of work zones, and lots are being cleared for new businesses. Construction inevitably changes our community, but it can also have a negative impact on our waterways. If you live near a lake, river, stream, or stormwater system, which includes almost everyone, you can minimize your environmental impact while complying with local regulations.

Idaho gas prices dip

Gem State average could drop below the $4 mark in coming days

Gem State ranks eighth in the U.S. for most expensive fuel

'Dead forests' can lead to widespread 'megafires'

Weather Gems

As I stated in a 'Gems' column written three years ago on Aug. 1, 2011, millions of acres of lodgepole and ponderosa pines in the western U.S., Canada and Alaska are being killed by literally billions of tiny bark beetles, wood-eating 'monsters.'

What is the National Academy of Sciences?

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has beenwww.uidaho.edu/lakesurvey

SBA seeks nonprofit to help businesswomen

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is seeking to partner with an Idaho nonprofit organization to help female entrepreneurs in the Gem State.

50 years of environmental advocacy

This year marks a milestone for policies that protect, restore Idaho's vulnerable areas

This year marks a milestone for policies that protect, restore Idaho's vulnerable areas

LEGION BASEBALL: Late-inning rally keeps Lumbermen alive at state

CLASS AA

To get an accurate total, snow must be measured at least six times a day

Weather Gems

As I said in a Dec. 10, 2007 article in 'Gems,' "if our precipitation falls as snow and collects on the ground as snow, it should be measured as snow" ... Harris law.

Garnet digging may be cut short

COEUR d'ALENE - Gem enthusiasts planning to visit the Emerald Creek Garnet Area to dig for Idaho's state gem, the rare star garnet, should plan to visit the site before Aug. 25 to be guaranteed availability of garnet-bearing material.

OPINION: Will Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde control the soul of Idaho’s Republican Party?

The serious split in the personality of the present-day GOP in Idaho was demonstrated in two articles that recently appeared in the media. The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, savoring its evil Mr. Hyde persona, announced on Dec. 8 that U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) would keynote its Lincoln Day Dinner in February. The very next day, Rep. Mike Simpson evoked the good Dr. Jekyll when explaining his vote for the Respect for Marriage Act.

Water at heart of region and its people

The Coeur d'Alene region has always been blessed with an abundance of natural beauty and natural resources. The lodge pole pines and tamarack trees that cover our mountainsides serve as our region's skyline and provide habitat to birds and mammals living in the forest and for those of us fortunate to live here, the forest can provide a peaceful getaway, a place to recreate and place of quiet solace. At the center of it all is our gem, Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Idaho pump prices up 1 cent

COEUR d’ALENE — Idaho drivers were in for a pleasant surprise when they filled up this week: Even though more people are visiting the Gem State at the height of the summer travel season, the state average gas price only went up by a penny.

A gem of an instructor: NIC music prof wins state award

North Idaho College’s Dwayne Huff has been named a 2022 Idaho GEM Innovative Educator by the Idaho State Board of Education. Huff has been at the forefront of affordable educational access since arriving at NIC. Huff has developed courses based on free instructional materials called open educational resource instead of requiring students to buy textbooks.

Lums, Gems go late at state tournament

BOISE - Stormy weather pushed back action at the Idaho "AA" state American Legion baseball tournament Wednesday afternoon, delaying the start of the Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen and Boise Gems game nearly an hour at Timberline High.

School is out, but candidates must focus on education

The end of the school year signals the start of summer vacation for Idaho's students, but candidates for office should not seek a hall pass from their responsibility to focus on the number one issue in the fall campaign: education. In this past legislative session, lawmakers agreed that education funding represented the most important issue facing the state. It should be true of the next session as well. Legislators have made a start in restoring education funding, but digging our way out of a deep hole requires a sustained effort.

MOUNTAIN: Yes on public use

The GEM committee is excited and supports the opening up of the mountain property for public use. The city of Rathdrum has acreage close to the city that could be used for hiking, picnicking and other low density uses. What a wonderful asset the city has that could be created and used by the people in the area. The city is gathering information to make an informed decision and try to address the concerns of all the people in the area, not just a select few homeowners.

Welcome to the rock

Huge diamond forfeited in Ohio to be auctioned

CINCINNATI - A large yellow diamond - known as the "Golden Eye" - seized in a federal drug and money-laundering investigation in northeast Ohio is going on the auction block with the minimum starting bid set at $900,000.

MY TURN: Our local jewel within our gem of a state

As I returned to Coeur d’Alene in August 2018 to retire, I realized that my life was taking a new turn. One year later a friend asked me, “How do you like retirement?” I pondered briefly, responding, “it is weird…good weird, yet a little weird.”

Lessons for legislators

The highest priority for Idaho's 2014 legislative is the same as it has been since the Great Recession ravaged the Gem State: Jobs.

Idaho celebrates 150 years