As this complicated year draws to a close, our regional and national economy is riddled with positive news tempered with caveats leading many economists here to forecast "cautious optimism" in the year ahead.

At the Journal, we're looking forward to rekindled hope for the Inland Northwest business community in 2026 and an attitude of "let's make it happen" by its members.

The Federal Reserve recently lowered interest rates despite stubbornly high inflation. And while conventional economic indicators trend in a positive direction for many upper-income households, low- and middle-income families are navigating their household budgets around higher costs for essential goods and services. Job growth here is occurring, but it's tepid and mostly concentrated in the health care sector. 

We'd like to see continued momentum in making downtown Spokane a clean and safe place to work, shop, recreate, and live. Most residents say that they feel safe visiting downtown Spokane during the day, an indication that some progress is happening to address safety concerns in the city's core. With gratitude, we acknowledge the recent actions of the Mayor's office, City Council, and others for making progress on these issues. Additionally, many voters are happy with business expansion opportunities and the diversity of businesses in the Spokane region.

Similarly, we'd like to see improved collaboration between city of Spokane and Spokane County leadership to achieve meaningful progress on a variety of pressing concerns in the region in the year ahead. In 2025, we've seen disagreements between the two entities that have impacted regional emergency dispatch services, animal control programs, and utility taxes, among others. Despite some steps taken, challenges persist and in some cases have worsened. And we're looking forward to a new approach to address the region's needs.

We're also looking ahead to a year of moderated economic growth supported by many of the Inland Northwest's most notable organizations. Spokane's two largest health care providers, Providence Health & Services-Washington and MultiCare Health System, for instance, are showing signs of improving financials following significant losses in the first quarter of the year and in previous years.

We also hope that Spokane’s manufacturing industry remains on track for stabilization in 2026, as automation, global market pressures, and federal funding cuts impact the way manufacturing companies will grow in the new year. 

For our startup ecosystem, we wish for the continued progress and success of regional collaborative efforts that are helping to attract investors to the area, and a growing network of resources for early-stage companies and entrepreneurs that help bring their ideas to life.

One of the many consequences of the silver tsunami of baby boomer retirements is that the pool of candidates for employment. These retirements also are impacting board positions, and other civic efforts with decreased participation. We wish for a growing workforce, in addition to committed volunteers, and engaged civic leaders to step up and become more involved to relieve a relatively small group of people who are currently doing the bulk of the work. We're relying on the new generation of professionals to continue to make quality of life a priority for the Inland Northwest. 

Beyond all this, we hope each of you has found some value in our publication and will take the lessons learned from this roller coaster of a year to usher in prosperity in the year ahead.