Retail sales in Spokane had a slow start in 2025, with low single-digit percentage growth, says Patrick Jones, executive director of Eastern Washington University’s Institute of Public Policy & Economic Analysis.

The Inland Northwest tourism sector is experiencing modest, steady growth this year, and industry experts here and in North Idaho say they expect the trend to continue in 2026.

Interest rates and affordability have been major factors in stagnant commercial and residential real estate markets in Spokane and Kootenai counties this year, according to some industry experts.

Spokane-based real estate and development company Bornhoft Commercial is closing its doors, says designated broker and founder Chris Bornhoft, who will be joining Spokane-based real estate company SDS Realty Inc. in January. 

Spokane Eye Clinic has been acquired by PRISM Vision Group, a New Providence, New Jersey-based general ophthalmology and retina practice management services provider.

Spokane International Airport has opened its first restaurant in a series of Inland Northwest-based establishments that are planned to operate in the airport's expanded Concourse C gate area in the next year.

Many U.S. businesses are bracing for the sharpest rise in health care costs in more than a decade, with employer coverage costs expected to jump nearly 10%, says Melissa Koontz, senior vice president, employee benefits at the Spokane office of Alliant Insurance Services Inc.

Refugees are finding their way back into their professions with the help of a program offered through a pair of nonprofits in Spokane.

A new Trader Joe’s grocery store is under consideration at a former Shopko building in Spokane Valley, at 13414 E. Sprague.

Liberty Lake-based utility-technology company Itron Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Locusview Ltd. and its subsidiaries, a privately held utility-focused software and services company with headquarters located in Chicago and Israel, for $525 million.