Freezing Fog Makes for Slick Streets on Tuesday, More Snow Thursday

SANDPOINT, Idaho. – While coyotes usually stay hidden from humans, the coyotes at Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort are not afraid to come out in the daylight, chasing skiers. “This coyote was way too comfortable around humans and was taking matter into his own hands,” T.J. Ross said. Ross...

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. – Traffic is running smoothly on the westbound I-90 on-ramp off of Sullivan in Spokane Valley after crews responded to a serious crash Sunday morning. The Washington State Patrol said there were injuries in the crash, but did not specify how many people were injured, nor how serious their injuries were.

IDAHO. – Both lanes of US 95, on the border of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation are mostly blocked due to a crash. Currently, an officer is directing traffic through the area. One lane is open in both directions. This is a developing story and will be updates as...

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Six western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a model to dramatically cut water use in the basin. California is the holdout. The state has the largest allocation of water from the river that serves 40 million people and a $5 billion-a-year agricultural industry. States missed a mid-August deadline to heed the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s call to conserve 2 million to 4 million acre-feet. They regrouped to reach consensus by the end of January. The outline will factor into a larger proposal on how to operate the two largest dams on the river. California didn’t sign on to Monday’s plan, but says it intends to release its own proposal.

SPOKANE, Wash. – A crash between a sedan and Mukogawa bus was reported around 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 30 on east Alki Avenue just before the road becomes Broadway. Alki Avenue was shut down in both directions while crews responded to the scene. While the details are still...

SPOKANE, Wash. – A mid-afternoon fire earlier this month destroyed a home, displaced a family and killed their cat. “The population of people who don’t have homes is already so large and it takes a kitchen fire to put you in that same position,” Makayla Munson said.

SPOKANE, Wash. – The man killed in a homicide in East Central on New Year’s Eve has now been identified. According to the Spokane County Medical Examiner, 42-year-old Carlos Thomas died due to “gunshot wounds of the chest.” The medical examiner listed the manner of death as homicide.

AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. – Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB) announced maintenance at the Child Development Center is on-going, and children have been moved to the School-Aged Center at Building 2310 as a result. Parents or eligible sponsors must pick up their children before noon, as lunch cannot be served...

IDAHO. – The Idaho State Police (ISP) is investigating a crash that sent multiple people to the hospital with minor injuries. On Jan. 29 around 3:43 p.m., ISP responded to a crash on southbound US 95 near milepost 371 in Benewah County. Police say a Hyundai Elantra was driving southbound behind a Chevrolet Malibu when the Elantra failed to slow with traffic and rear-ended the other vehicle.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Republican lawmakers have advanced a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the state to require people on Medicaid to work. The state recently expanded eligibility for the health plan. The proposal would amend the South Dakota constitution, meaning it requires voter approval. On Monday, all 11 Republicans on the House State Affairs Committee voted to advance the proposal to the full House. The two Democrats on the committee opposed it.

SPOKANE, Wash. – A bill that would make it legal for Washington adults to grow up to six cannabis plants at home is set for a public hearing in a state House committee next week. House Bill 1614 was introduced by Democratic Rep. Shelley Kloba, and is co-sponsored by...

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) — The driver of a car that plunged off a treacherous cliff in northern California, seriously injuring himself, his wife and their two young children, has been charged with attempted murder. San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said in a statement Monday that 41-year-old Dharmesh A. Patel, of Pasadena, also faces enhancements for great bodily injury and domestic violence in the Jan. 2 crash. Patel was seriously injured and taken to a hospital after the car went over the 250-foot cliff in an area along the Pacific Coast Highway south of San Francisco that is known for deadly wrecks. Rescuers initially hailed the family’s survival as a miracle. Authorities say they’ve come to believe the crash was intentional.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Competing priorities, outsized demands and the federal government’s retreat from a threatened deadline all combined to thwart a voluntary deal last summer on how to drastically cut water use from the parched Colorado River. That’s according to emails obtained by The Associated Press that largely cover communication among water officials in Arizona and California. The documents depict a desire to reach a consensus but persistent disagreement over how much each state could or should give. As a mid-August deadline approached and ultimately passed without a deal, one manager warned: “We’re all headed to a very dark place.” The states have since regrouped and are trying to reach a grand bargain by Tuesday. The alternative is having the federal government dictate cuts.

RENO, Nev. (AP) — General Motors has conditionally agreed to invest $650 million in Lithium Americas in a deal that will give GM exclusive access to the first phase of a mine planned near the Nevada-Oregon line with the largest known source of lithium in the U.S. The equity investment the companies announced jointly Tuesday is contingent on the project clearing the final environmental and legal challenges it faces in federal court in Reno, where conservationists and tribes are suing to block it. GM said Tuesday’s announcement marks the largest-ever investment by an automaker to produce battery raw materials. The mine could support production of up to 1 million electric vehicles annually.

WELLSBURG, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified the three young children and one adult who died in a rollover crash in northern Iowa that also injured the nine other passengers Friday morning. The Iowa State Patrol said 1-year-old Marlin Borntreger, 2-year-old Rebecca Borntreger, 4-year-old Emma Borntreger and 22-year-old Ervin Borntreger all died. None of the occupants of the van were using seatbelts or child car seats. Iowa State Patrol spokesman Alex Dinkla said the driver lost control of the van on a snow-covered stretch of U.S. Highway 20 near Wellsburg. Four passengers were ejected when the van entered the median and rolled over. Dinkla said he didn’t have updated conditions on the six adults and three young children who were injured.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – A committee meeting was held Monday for the Washington State senate to hear testimony and statements regarding SB 5226, a bill seeking to encourage Department of Corrections to pursue those who violate parole. Among those speaking at the committee were Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) John Nowells, and Spokane Police Department Chief Craig Meidl.

SPOKANE, Wash. – Spokane’s NAACP President Kiantha Duncan resigned Monday night after leading the local chapter since 2020. Duncan was vice president before becoming president of Spokane’s NAACP. From the start, she made waves as one of the first openly lesbian NAACP chapter presidents nationwide. “Definitely the first person here in eastern Washington at the Spokane branch to ever do that,” Kurtis Robinson who is now the NAACP president said. In Duncan’s time as president, a lot happened, most significantly, the Black Lives Matter Protests in 2020 and the loss of a major black figure in 2022, Sandy Williams. “Kiantha brought just a special magic to that, the ability and willingness and the finesse to have conversations about this stuff over and over again, and really help people feel seen and be heard,” he said. Both she and Robinson helped rebuild the organization after the controversy with former president Rachel Dolezal. “It’s taken years to build that back up to the place that it is while also knowing that again, as we build it back up and try to save and heal what’s happened, we’re also moving forward,” he said. According to our partners at the Spokesman-Review Duncan decided to leave because of a difference in philosophy between the NAACP and other organizations it often works with when it comes to advocacy. Robinson said he has dealt with similar differences. “It’s the complexity of being human. Right. So we all have different perspectives, even though we might both see the light, your view of the light is going to be different, just based on the fact that you’re you and I’m me,” he said. He said besides that, the role can take a toll on anyone. Robinson was president from 2017 to 2020 but he’s not done yet. With Duncan resigned, he is taking the seat of president yet again. “I have mixed feelings about it,” he said. Robinson plans to turn his focus to the youth in our community. “How are we and how have we been engaging with our youth, and to continue to make sure that their voices are heard, and that the things that they are articulating our needs are meaningfully acted on to the best of our ability,” he said. “That includes taking ownership of the fact that up to these recent times, we may be almost certainly haven’t done the greatest job with that.” According to our partners at the Spokesman-Review, Duncan plans to continue her humanitarian work. NonStop Local did reach out to Duncan but has not heard back.

SPOKANE, Wash. – Spokane City Council President, Breean Beggs, has issued a statement in response to the ongoing conversation of police reform. “Shortly after the death of George Floyd, I released a resolution with a suite of 24 proposed police reforms that I believed would support the reconciliation of our community and the police officers who work for us,” said President Beggs.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republican legislators in Kansas are focusing on helping conservative parents remove their children from public schools over what’s taught about gender and sexuality. The effort has become their alternative to pursuing a version of what critics call Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. A proposal to allow parents to use state tax dollars to pay for private or home schooling was to be available online Tuesday after a committee on K-12 spending introduced the measure in the House. The introduction comes as public school curriculum and funding have become hot button issues for conservative politicians nationwide. Lawmakers in Iowa approved a similar law last week and at least a dozen states are considering similar legislation.

SPOKANE, Wash. – The man accused of killing a homeless man in 2020 before murdering his ex-wife was found guilty of murder on Thursday, according to the Spokane Police Department (SPD). In March of 2022, A jury found Nathan Beal, 38, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of...