RANGE Media

On this week’s episode, Erin Sellers interviewed fellow RANGE reporter Daisy Zavala Magaña about her recent (and upcoming) reporting. In the first half of the show, the two of them talked about Daisy’s recent stories on a state-wide law enforcement mask ban. This mask ban was passed by the Washington State Legislature to keep ICE agents from wearing masks in our communities when they do immigration enforcement. Despite this, there’s been an increase of masked ICE officers making arrests.

Hannah Swenson needs more time. A tenants’ rights lawyer, she’s well put together, her hair tied back in a neat bun and her suit jacket unwrinkled. But the exhaustion of 16-hour days is starting to creep into her voice. It’s been a little over two weeks since the most destructive wildfires in Washington’s history began roaring along the northwest edge of Spokane. By Monday, August 17, the fires were mostly contained, but for Swenson, the crisis is just beginning.

Wildfires have burned over 700,000 acres across the state, and  the Spokane Complex fires alone have destroyed over 830 homes, displacing thousands of people. With the damage expected to exceed $1 billion, the idea of rebuilding can be daunting for communities.

The fire moved fast. Sunlight reaches only the top of the ocean. Past that, the water changes character every few hundred metres — scroll to descend through each zone. That's roughly the same descent a research submersible makes on a single dive. By the time Kendall Steinhardt and her husband evacuated their six children in three cars, the power transformers had already started blowing up in their Indian Trail neighborhood.

Welcome to CIVICS, where we break down the week’s municipal meetings throughout the Inland Northwest, so you can get involved and speak out about the issues you care about. Some things that stick out to us this week include: Spokane City Council could extend the interim moratorium on height limits downtown, which is government jargon to say — developers can continue to build really tall buildings downtown, if they want to.

Editor's note: Kara Odegard, who is quoted in this story and provided a courtesy photo, is a board member of the Spokane Workers Cooperative, of which RANGE is a business member. Per our policies on editorial independence, Spokane Workers Cooperative has no knowledge of or influence on our editorial coverage. Jeremiah Harding was not done with the Spokane County Commission by the end of its August 25 meeting.

On this week’s episode, Val Osier interviewed Daniel Walters about his recent stories from the 2026 Spokane GOP convention. They talked about what happened at the convention, Daniel’s experiences while sitting outside of it, and more. Check out this week's Free RANGE episode on !

💡 Read about the nitty-gritty details of the convention and the future of the local Republican party in a story from RANGE here. Experiencing the pulse-pounding thrill of watching local Republican precinct committee officers attempt procedural maneuvers through Robert’s Rules of Order doesn’t come cheap. For a general admission ticket to Saturday’s local Republican convention, candidates were charged $50. Delegates were charged $50. Guests were charged $50.

💡 Read about RANGE’s experience covering the conference — which had a mandatory $100 entrance fee for journalists — here. On the dais of the Spokane Valley City Council, Al Merkel — brash and boisterous — is something of a pariah. He’s been sued for defying records laws, investigated for disrespectful behavior toward city staff and called an “asshole” at a meeting by a fellow councilmember.

Content warning: This story contains references to suicide and may be distressing for some readers. Aaron Farinacci, who confessed to starting the Old Trails Fire, believes Spokane has already made up its mind about him, a court document says.