City of Spokane planning department officials are considering residential zoning changes to increase housing density as part of PlanSpokane 2046, the city's comprehensive growth strategy.

Missing middle housing — once a mere sliver of residential permits issued by the city of Spokane between 2020 and 2022 — surged to nearly 20% of all residential permitting in 2025.

Four generations of the Lawton family have maintained leadership of Lawton Printing Inc. and FILE-EZ Inc. — an accomplishment many family businesses can’t claim. Instrumental to that level of continuity has been Ray Lawton, 79, who, along with his late brother Gary Lawton, represents the third generation to lead both Spokane companies.

Retired certified public accountant and Spokane community leader Bill Simer says his life would have looked much different had he not happened to meet a young woman and her brother in Spokane more than 50 years ago.

Barry Baker, longtime head of prominent Spokane-based general contracting company Baker Construction & Development Inc., says he doesn’t need to go into the office every day, but now he’s having too much fun there to stay away for long.

Phyllis Campbell, 2026 Spokane Journal of Business Icon, led an accumulative 50-year career in banking, philanthropy, and board service across the Inland Northwest and western Washington. 

From a service clerk in Montana to the leader of a regional grocery chain in Spokane, Jeff Philipps says his legacy was built by consistently restocking a few simple ideas: "Businesses succeed when they invest in people, and communities grow stronger when leaders choose to give back." 

Elaine Couture, former regional chief executive at Providence Health & Services who retired in 2021, is currently living her "best life," staying active and involved following a move to Arizona three years ago. Despite her relocation, her impact on the Spokane community remains anchored in the medical institutions she helped lead and expand over a distinguished 34-year career.

Spokane Colleges has established a new transfer agreement with the University of Idaho that aims to create a pathway to help students advance their education and prepare them to work in natural resource fields across the Inland Northwest.

The cybersecurity industry is experiencing significant growth as one of the fastest-expanding fields on a regional, national, and international level.