The notion that two of the Inland Northwest's publicly-traded companies, one that manufactures wood products and the other that makes paper products, would see a surge in demand during a pandemic may once have seemed hard to fathom.

Two financial institutions are planning to construct new branches, one on Spokane's North Side and one in Coeur d'Alene.

Nearly seven years ago, Sean Ruggiero, a Coeur d'Alene-based financial investment adviser, started an annuity and retirement company in large part because of the financial uncertainties he experienced in his childhood.

Ron McIntire was 33 years old when he started his first grocery store, Ron's Thrift Store, in Hayden. He and his wife, Joanne, had just moved to the small North Idaho town, which had a population of less than 800 at the time.

Lakeside Capital Group LLC has set its sights on a massive new development with over 1,000 acres of property between Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls. Under its Kootenai County Land Co. subsidiary, Lakeside plans to build a residential community, dubbed