Latest News

232-unit West Plains apartment complex sells for $33.5 million

Northern Heights units were developed in 2018

December 17, 2020

A Spokane-based investor group doing business as Northern Heights II LLC and a handful of minor investors have purchased a 232-unit Airway Heights apartment complex for $33.5 million, according to Spokane County Assessor's Office records.

Itron signs big contract with utility in Northeast

Software system will help National Grid automate data collection, reporting

December 17, 2020

Kevin Blocker

Liberty Lake-based Itron Inc. has signed a contract with East Coast utility Nation Grid to help that company with its meter reading capabilities. Based in London and doing business in three northeastern U.S. states-New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode

Big RV park planned near Stateline

Project could supplant resort complex that was approved a decade ago

December 17, 2020

Natasha Nellis

A resort development proposed more than a decade ago on the Washington-Idaho border could get a reboot as a 130-space RV park, according to documents on file with Spokane County. The Spokane County Hearing Examiner held a virtual hearing for the proposed

Tamarack Aerospace adds third installation center

Company to focus on expanding winglet tech to other aircraft makers

December 17, 2020

Natasha Nellis

Sandpoint, Idaho-based airplane winglet maker Tamarack Aerospace Group Inc. has opened an installation center in Aiken, South Carolina, marking its third expansion this year. The new space, which was developed through a partnership with Aiken-based

270-lot project planned in Liberty Lake

Mixed residential site plans call for 350 units

December 17, 2020

Virginia Thomas

A 60-acre site just north of Mission Avenue in Liberty Lake is envisioned as the future home of a new mixed residential development, according to documents filed with the city's planning and building services division. A notice of application shows the

Gestalt Diagnostics reports triple-digit growth

Company plans to add team members in 2021

December 17, 2020

Natasha Nellis

Gestalt Diagnostics LLC is on track to double its annual revenue this year and expects to see strong growth again next year. Dan Roark, CEO of the Spokane-based maker of software for pathologists, says, 'In 2020 we are on track â€¦ for 100% growth.

INW mining industry looks ahead with optimism

Lucky Friday output up; Bunker Hill anticipates reopening long-idled mine

December 17, 2020

Mike McLean

The mining industry in the Inland Northwest and throughout the U.S. shares some guarded optimism looking forward to 2021 and the incoming presidential administration, says Mark Compton, executive director of the Spokane-based American Exploration & Mining

Spokane-area tourism to remain dormant through mid-2021

Losses mount; recovery expected to take years but hope for second-half rally persists in industry

December 17, 2020

Virginia Thomas

The tourism industry here expects to see some signs of recovery in 2021 from the stifling effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but likely not until midyear. Meg Winchester, president and CEO of Visit Spokane, says that by all accounts, 2020 was shaping up

Low interest rates, high deposits to steer finance sector

Despite spike in loans, earnings could slump

December 17, 2020

Virginia Thomas

Experts here say that while financial institutions have seen increases in loans and deposits in 2020, they could feel the squeeze of low interest rates in 2021. In March, the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered the federal fund rate-the benchmark interest

Full job recovery is possible in 2021, Spokane economists say

Regaining lost jobs will require stimulus, successful vaccines

December 17, 2020

Linn Parish

If a few positive steps are taken in 2021, the Inland Northwest could regain all of the jobs it lost this year, Spokane-area economists say. Such a recovery might not be V-shaped, but it would be a dramatic comeback, as Avista chief economist Grant