In the face of the rising dependence on smartphones, more banks are developing apps that work to build relationships with customers and offer on-the-go financial advice.

Several public agencies are working together to establish a sustainable industrial park on the West Plains, pioneering here a concept that goes by many names elsewhere, including industrial symbiosis, business ecosystem, or ecodistrict.

Selkirk Pharma Inc., a young injectable-drug manufacturing and packaging company headquartered in Spokane, plans to build a new, roughly $30 million manufacturing facility on the West Plains.