News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Grant County Public Utility District is proposing electricity rate increases for 2027 that would raise residential rates by about 3.1% and small-business rates by 3.6%, while establishing two new rate classifications for data centers and cryptocurrency operations. With demand for electricity widely expected to climb, future rates are projected to grow 21% higher than next year’s proposed rate in nine years, according to a fact sheet published by the utility this week. The proposal reflects the utility’s effort to accommodate growing industrial...
Josh Benthem, a salesman at Jess Ford, tees off number 10 at Coyote Ridge Golf Course Oct. 3, where the Ford dealership was holding its 3rd Annual Swing for the Good Tournament to raise funds for Center Senior Living, a local non-profit working to convert the former Center School into an assisted living facility. T&G Construction, which won an advantage at check-in and "gifted" the Jess Ford team the tutus to wear throughout the tournament, won the whole thing with a low score of 48.5. The...
Electric City council members are weighing their options between relying on the Grant County Sheriff’s Office and operating the city’s own police department after decades of contracting with local departments in nearby cities. The contract between Electric City and Coulee Dam will expire Nov. 3, and no bids have been received from Soap Lake or Grand Coulee. By Nov. 3, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office will cover all calls in Electric City, Mayor Blake Martin told the city council Oct. 13. Martin explained that if Electric City decides to follo...
Mr. Straw is feeling straw-ful at Coulee Medical Center as CMC's entry into the chamber of commerce's annual Scarecrow Trail. It's one of many activities the chamber is currently organizing, including the Get Connected Community Resource and Volunteer Fair at the Senior Center this Saturday from 10-3, and the Trunk or Treat on Main Street Oct. 31. The Volunteer Fair offers a way to find out how to volunteer by learning directly from people involved in those organizations what they are all...
Felix Marcolin celebrates his 90th birthday at the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center, along with his wife Liz, son Chris, and daughter Karen, and a roomful of those who recognize his continual contributions to the community through his everyday activities volunteering his time and energy - to the center, the fire department and more. He and Chris both did the 5K Run the Dam last month, where Felix won his age bracket as the only one in it. - from senior center Facebook...
People at Coulee Medical Center are excited to begin development of a rural family medicine residency training program in partnership with the University of Washington School of Medicine, a long-term investment in the future of healthcare in the community. The goal is simple, they say: train physicians here, connect them to the community, and give them a reason to stay. "Ensuring our community has access to excellent healthcare for generations to come means we have to think beyond how we...
You might see smoke rising around Lake Roosevelt in the near future. The National Park Service, in cooperation with the Wildland Fire Service, may implement prescribed underburns and pile burns in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area this fall. Safe and favorable weather conditions are expected from early October through December. Ignition of each area should be completed in one day, and fire management staff will carefully monitor the project areas until they are fully extinguished, the...
Fall is a great time to clear out your yard - removing woody debris also lowers the wildfire risk around your property, so the Okanogan Conservation District, in partnership with CCT Environmental Trust, is hosting free events for you to dispose of unburned and burnt woody yard waste. This includes two free drop-off days at the recycling center in Nespelem and a mobile chipping event where a crew comes to collect piles from your driveway. These events are in addition to the Regional Board of...
Grant County Public Utility District is proposing electricity rate increases for 2027 that would raise residential rates by about 3.1% and small-business rates by 3.6%, while establishing two new rate classifications for data centers and cryptocurrency operations. With demand for electricity widely expected to climb, future rates are projected to grow 21% higher than next year’s proposed rate in nine years, according to a fact sheet published by the utility this week. The proposal reflects the utility’s effort to accommodate growing industrial...
Taking opportunity where they found it, the couple working to create the Coulee Art House hosted a reception for the Washington Supreme Court justices last week as the court happened to schedule one of the court's traveling sessions in Nespelem. Ben and Naomi Dupris have been working to bring together their vision for an artistic hub and resource place for youth. As the old Coulee House Motel was being torn down, they saved as much of the salvageable signs as they could, which are now inside...
Respiratory illness season is beginning to show its first signs in Grant County, with COVID-19 activity already running higher than normally expected heading into fall, the Grant County Health District said Monday. COVID-19 remains elevated both locally and statewide. At the beginning of September, 1.6% of emergency department visits in Grant County were associated with COVID-19, and wastewater monitoring has detected moderate to very high levels of the virus during the past month. “Fall has only just begun and we’re starting to see the fir...
The three Mid-Columbia River public utility districts, Chelan, Grant and Douglas, approved a settlement agreement to resolve ongoing litigation with the U.S. government. The litigation, which began in 2024, was related to the Mid-Columbia PUDs’ collective share of the Canadian Entitlement and the benefits of water management under the Columbia River Treaty. Under the new agreement, the Mid-Columbia PUDs will pay for 25% of the reduced Canadian Entitlement (CE) obligations that the United States and Canada announced in the July 2024 Agreement i...
People wanting to voice their opinions to the school board may have to be more prepared with their thoughts if the board adjusts its policy for receiving public comment. The Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors reviewed proposed revisions to its public comment procedure Sept. 14, discussing shorter speaking limits, a sign-in requirement and a shift away from answering residents on the spot. The changes to their procedure for audience participation were taken up as a discussion....
SEATTLE — A federal judge in Seattle on Tuesday tossed the Trump administration’s lawsuit against Washington seeking the state’s voter rolls, in line with many rulings across the country. This marks the 25th case that the U.S. Department of Justice has lost in its push to access sensitive voter information. The Justice Department has sued many states for voter rolls, and has yet to have a judge rule in its favor. An appeals court has also ruled against it in a lawsuit against Michigan. The federal government has appealed many of its other...
Racers, family and friends, plus a 60-boat fishing tournament at Coulee Playland, and a soccer game in Grand Coulee combined for plenty of activity in the area. For complete race results to to: https://results.raceroster.com/v3/events/eykfjn9gr7n5tubq...
The 2025 Moose Lodge officers were awarded the 2026 Premier Lodge award, the second year in a row the Grand Coulee lodge has taken such an honor. Lodge 504 was also awarded the Champion Lodge award for their entire Washington Northern Idaho Moose Association, Lodge President John Thorsen told members Friday night. He said many factors are weighed in the awards, including engaged members, community activity, member enrollment and more. From left are Thorsen, Chaplain Kay Johnston, Vice President...
Corrections Town Clerk/Treasurer Kelly Ross’ comment about Elmer City’s utility rates being lower than the other nearby cities’ in an article last week was meant only to refer to their rates for garbage pickup, not for all utilities. To that point, she has supplied the following comparison: Rate for a 65-gallon cart: Elmer City $33.31 Coulee Dam $46.71 Grand Coulee $38.20 Electric City $37.41 Electric City still has police services under its contract with Coulee Dam until November 3, 2026. An article in last week’s Star incorrectly stated...
Electric City's leaders are wondering if residents want to keep using cameras at the end of town that snap photos of every car passing by, then stores the photos, records its license plate, time, and other information in a sharable online database. The city council on Tuesday postponed a decision on the city's Flock Safety license-plate reading cameras until October, pending information on the cost and filing deadlines for a possible special election to let voters decide. The council took no...
Enrollment is not hitting its budgeted expectation at Lake Roosevelt Schools, which can have consequences. District numbers can vary in the beginning of the year, but 23 students would be a lot to gain in one year. Superintendent Rod Broadnax reported to the district board that in-building enrollment stands at 523 students, with an additional 23 enrolled in the district’s Alternative Learning Experience (ALE) and online programs — roughly 546 to 547 students in total. The district budgeted for 570. Of the 23 ALE and online students, Bro...
With attendance sharply up and the principals assurance of seeing progress, the school board approved this school year’s School Improvement Plan Monday. The Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors approved the district’s 2026-27 school improvement plan Sept. 14 after hearing from Elementary Principal Lisa Lakin that chronic absenteeism at the elementary school has fallen from 233 students to 61 in a single year. Lakin presented a one-page summary of goals the district set last spring rather than the full 67-page document, tel...
About 16 people on Midway Avenue in Grand Coulee collect food for the Care and Share Food Bank Saturday while they make known their opposition to President Trump and many of his policies. - Scott Hunter photo...
Friends of the Grand Coulee Library relax in good company after a tour of gardens and more at the homes of Cathy and Ric Krohn and Marie and Dennis Hungerford. The group put on the Reap the Rewards Garden Tour, with appetizers, fresh vegetables to take home and more Saturday to benefit the local library and the Dolly Parton Imagination Librar...
Elmer City officials signaled more utility rate hikes may be unavoidable as they wrestle with mounting attorney fees from the town’s ongoing sewer dispute with Coulee Dam, council members said at Monday night’s meeting. Mayor Jesse Tillman told the council the town is currently covering its basic sewer costs but is falling short once legal bills tied to the court case are added. He estimated Elmer City would need about $30 more per sewer customer per month just to keep up with attorney fees if the legal fight continues through next year. A jud...
Colville Tribal Police arrested a man wanted on a federal arrest warrant Tuesday after the U.S. Marshals Service put out news that morning of a $2,000 reward. The U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force (PNVOTF) on Tuesday morning offered the reward of up to $2,000 for information that directly led to the arrest of Travis McClain, who was considered armed and dangerous. McClain was wanted for allegedly "assaulting by strangling and attempting to strangle an intimate...
COLVILLE – Fire investigators with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are seeking the public's help in locating several vehicles seen near the Cumbo fire in Okanogan County. The fire was first reported on September 11 at 2:00 pm on Burma Road, approximately two miles northwest of Methow. The fire spread to 51 acres and required multiple firefighters and aircraft to control. Witnesses reported seeing and hearing motorcycles operating off-road near the fire origin. At approximately 2:30 p...