Natasha Nellis

HUD awards $2.25 million in grants to INW tribes

Funds to repair houses, upgrade infrastructure

June 18, 2020

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $2.25 million in Indian Community Development Block Grants to tribes in Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Overall, tribes in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon received $6.9 million in grants.

Going mobile: Online banking usage spikes during pandemic

Inland Northwest banks, credit unions report more downloads, transactions

June 18, 2020

Natasha Nellis

With banks limiting contact between employees and their customers, the use of digital and mobile banking tools that the institutions have been investing in for years have seen sudden, dramatic spikes, Spokane-area financial industry representatives say.

Spokane hoteliers hope to buck West Side trends

INW hospitality industry isn't immune to uncertainty, though

June 18, 2020

Natasha Nellis

Reports of hundreds of layoffs at hotels in the Seattle area this month have some in the industry here concerned that Spokane will once again follow the trends set by the West Side.

Puget Sound Pipe & Supply to build West Plains operation

Company looks to expand access to Idaho, Montana

June 4, 2020

Natasha Nellis

Kent, Washington-based pipe valve and fitting manufacturer and retailer Puget Sound Pipe & Supply Co. plans to build a new, roughly 20,000-square-foot warehouse and office building on the West Plains to better serve customers in Eastern Washington, Idaho,

Western Insurance acquires two Spokane agencies

Company eyes four more acquisitions in three years

June 4, 2020

Natasha Nellis

Western Insurance Associates Inc. has acquired two agencies in the past month and expects more to follow, says company principal Drew Hodgson. The rapidly growing insurance company acquired the Wilson Insurance Agency Inc., at 507 W. Francis, as well as

$46 million apartment complex eyed in Spokane Valley

Desmet Quarry project will include 304 units

June 4, 2020

Natasha Nellis

Prominent Spokane developer Lanzce Douglass has his sights set on his next big multifamily housing project, a $46 million apartment complex to be known as Desmet Quarry, in Spokane Valley.

Realtors pivot to digital transactions

After 'simple shift,' companies install safety measures, start to reopen offices

June 4, 2020

Natasha Nellis

Representatives of Spokane real estate companies say the move to digital operations during Gov. Jay Inslee's Stay Home, Stay Safe mandate was a simple shift that required better use of existing technology.

Municipalities prep for revenue shortages

Tax revenue plummets after stores closures, consumers stay home

June 4, 2020

Natasha Nellis

Sales taxes traditionally have provided a relatively stable revenue source for states and local governments during previous economic downturns, but the toll the coronavirus pandemic is taking on the economy is different.

McFarlane Industrial Park envisioned on the West Plains

Developer to break ground in June, finish in Q1 2021

June 4, 2020

Natasha Nellis

Spokane Valley-based AT Acquisitions LLC is planning a 187,000-square-foot industrial building on the West Plains, says Aaron Lake, co-founder of the company, which does business as AT Industrial.