Like every element of normal life, the shelter-in-place order for residents of Washington state to prevent the spread of COVID-19 impacted the mission of a local nonprofit group that was organized to provide a safe haven for veterans and their families to stay while the soldier receives treatment at the medical facility at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. In compliance with guidance and restrictions ordered by the Department of Defense, the national offices of Fisher House in Rockvi

It was the late 1970s. Larry Steckman was a wrestler for Bonners Ferry High School, and his to-be wife, Shelly Barton, was a wrestling cheerleader at the same school. Seventy miles away, family friend Conrad Garner was wrestling for rival Lakeland High School in Rathdrum, Idaho. It was the beginning of a lifelong love of wrestling for both men—and also the seed for something bigger. Larry, Shelly and Conrad would all go on to use wrestling as a means to create positive change

With the number of small and boutique breweries rising faster than the head on a stout porter, craft beermakers in Washington have opened the tap to new customers in an increasingly thirsty market. According to the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB), production almost doubled in terms of barrels per year at many breweries on the western side of the mountains over the past decade. For example, demand at Pike Brewing Company in Seattle jumped from 17,401 to almost 43

Shae has been a regular at the Spokane Shriners Hospital since she was a baby. It started with a one-week stint when she was 1 year old to address the scoliosis that was apparent in her spine. From then on, it was check-up appointments every six to 12 months—up until this visit, which could be as long as three months and a week. “I planned it to the day,” said Shae, now 14 years old. “It depends how fast my body stretches.” The top and bottom of her spine are straight, but th

If you’ve meandered through one of the many car shows of the Northwest, you’ve probably seen some pretty cool rides. It’s a great way to get up close to a piece of history. The common vehicles featured in most of these shows are mid ‘50s to late ‘70s American-made automobiles. Some shows have rules as to how old the car must be to be shown, what condition it is in or where it was made. While these shows can be a lot of fun, especially for those who grew up driving one of thes

The concept of driving across the country today is no small undertaking. It can take weeks of planning, stacks of road maps and an unquenchable thirst for the road. The first passage by automobile more than a century ago—in 1903 to be exact—was a challenge to both the vehicle and the brave individuals who tested the limits to travel from sea to shining sea. A bicycle racer who made his home in Tacoma, Washington, was half of the duo to successfully make the first journey by m

When a person goes to college and gets a degree, they typically learn a great deal about their chosen field, hoping to find a good job, make a lot of money and live the perfect dream life. For one Spokane woman though, going from point A to point B has already happened in her 30-some years, but with a fascinating, and life-changing, twist. Kumiko Love, an accredited financial counselor and the creator of The Budget Mom, was raised on a farm in Chewelah, Washington, and lived

To brew beer you need four key ingredients: water, yeast, malt and hops. Clean water makes for a crisp beverage, and yeast is used to convert sugars into alcohol. Malt is where the color and flavor profile comes from, and hops add to the aroma and bitterness. A stroll down any grocery store aisle and you’ll find such a wide range of choices that it’s hard to fathom they all come from the same four basic ingredients. If you’ve tipped back a Bud Light, Goose Island IPA, Elysian

I had a conversation with a young woman a while ago who’d recently gotten married. She and I were talking about the new phase of life she was in, and I asked her what her biggest challenge was. She answered, “I guess I would have to say my own individualism, since I’m in a different phase of life and I’m newly married now. Sometimes I think about who I am and what I’m supposed to be doing ... I want to live passionately now, not just in the future.” We all have that longing t

The orange-striped ships with sailors from the US Coast Guard that patrol the waters of Washington, Oregon and Idaho are responsible for more than checking registrations and policing loud parties. District 13 of the Coast Guard has authority over commercial fishing regulations, enforcing environmental regulations and protecting inland waters. But their primary mission is to protect the Pacific coastline from attack from hostile forces from the border of California to the stra

Richard Kresser stood outside a café in Bend, Oregon, devastated. He cried as he spoke to his girlfriend over the phone. “The trip’s over,” he told her. His bicycle, and the 80 pounds of highly specialized gear that had been attached to it, was gone: stolen by a passerby in the less than 10 minutes he had been inside grabbing breakfast. It was early July of 2018 and Richard was nearly halfway through the Tour de Volcanoes—a human-powered, mostly self-supported challenge he dr

Off course and months behind schedule, Jacob Hendrickson continues to propel his custom-made row boat toward what he hopes will be a triumphant landfall in Australia. The former Air Force pilot began his marathon journey in July 2018 for what had been charted to be a 9,150-nautical mile journey from Neah Bay in the northwestern corner of Washington state to Perth on the west coast of Australia. He has admitted the schedule was an optimistic view of a daunting physical and men

Ideas are powerful. Something as simple as a passing thought can become something huge that impacts our daily lives, or something small impacting the people in our neighborhood. When the idea is something that could positively impact a community, others are usually quick to rally behind it. There are examples all over the Northwest of how an idea can bring together people from all backgrounds and walks of life to find common ground and to better their surroundings; two of whi

As a traveling veterinarian and a world traveler, Bruce Pedersen is accustomed to rugged terrain. He practices veterinary medicine in Watford City, North Dakota, and Butte, Montana, boom towns 550 miles and 150 years apart, and lives the rest of the time—“the goal is half the year”—in Sandpoint, Idaho, he said. He has also traveled to India a number of times, climbed to the base camp at Everest with his daughter and taken a humanitarian trip to Swaziland and South Africa. But

It was freezing outside. The chill in the air was biting, and the ocean roared as waves crashed on the long, sandy beach. A gentle breeze blew as the sea mist coated our faces. Though it was August, it was mid-winter in New Zealand. And my family and I, including a 5-month-old and a 2-year-old, were about to ditch our warm clothes for swimsuits. And dig in, literally, at Hot Water Beach hot springs. Hot Water Beach is on the East Coast of the Coromandel Peninsula on the North

My first impulse was to slug the doctor. Not because he had just diagnosed me with the chronic disease known as multiple sclerosis. It was his bedside manner and an apparent lack of compassion. My neurologist was probably being practical when he suggested that my wife and I stop on our way home to buy a cane and insisted that we purchase as much life insurance as possible “while I still could.” This could not be happening to me. Not now. I had just started to live my dream. S

Fifty years ago, I was an acne-faced teenager desperately trying to cling to the tail of the political unrest that had swept our nation. While most of my junior high classmates spent their after-school hours on ball fields, my days were filled with creating memorable catch phrases that could be painted on poster boards that I prepared for the next rally against social injustice or the bloody war in Vietnam. My lunch hours were filled with gatherings of like-minded young peopl

It’s back to school time. While for some students it can be an exciting time of reuniting with their friends, for others it can produce a great deal of anxiety. The reason? They have been victims of bullying in the past and returning to that environment can be scary and intimidating. For many in the older generation, we equate bullying with the mean kid on the playground who pushes others around. But for the younger generation, bullying takes on a whole new form. Social media

Traveling the world. It's something many of us dream of doing but only few ever get the chance. And for one Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, mom and her four children, they have taken their world travels to a new level. Amy Hoffman Ford, a woman’s health nurse practitioner and single mom of four, has helped to open her children’s eyes to the world. Not through books, photographs or films, but by immersing them into the cultures themselves. Over the years, Amy traveled alone to Africa to

All You Need Is Love Three families who heeded the call to adopt By Jani Gonzalez The plight of medically needy orphans around the globe is a crisis few are aware of. In particular, Ukraine upholds antiquated and overburdened systems where developmentally delayed children are institutionalized in state orphanages where they are often neglected and abused. In 2017, UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) reported that 2.7 million children are in residential care (group homes o