Sandpoint Reader

The Sandpoint Reader is our town's local, independent weekly newspaper. "Independent" means that the Reader is locally owned and operated by people who were born and raised in Sandpoint. The Reader is owned by Publisher Ben Olson, Editor-in-Chief Zach Hagadone and Senior Writer Soncirey Mitchell. Sandpoint Reader LLC is a completely independent business unit; no big newspaper group or corporate conglomerate or billionaire owner dictates our editorial policy.

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff A leadership shakeup at the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint has made waves throughout the community, with the news in late August that Executive Director Karin Wedemeyer would leave her position 17 years after founding the nonprofit music education organization. While the Board of Directors, under the leadership of President Frank Geisler, issued a press release late on Aug.

The Sandpoint Reader is our town's local, independent weekly newspaper. "Independent" means that the Reader is locally owned and operated by people who were born and raised in Sandpoint. The Reader is owned by Publisher Ben Olson, Editor-in-Chief Zach Hagadone and Senior Writer Soncirey Mitchell. Sandpoint Reader LLC is a completely independent business unit; no big newspaper group or corporate conglomerate or billionaire owner dictates our editorial policy.

By Molly O’Reilly Reader Contributor A local political candidate is promising to eliminate property taxes. As the old saying goes, “If it sounds too good to be true — beware!” Is it voodoo economics? For my vote, Scott Herndon will need to produce detailed figures of how much money is needed to replace property taxes statewide and exactly where the state will find that money. In 2025, what were the total property taxes paid statewide? How much was paid by homeowners (with a homeowner exemption)?

The Sandpoint Reader is our town's local, independent weekly newspaper. "Independent" means that the Reader is locally owned and operated by people who were born and raised in Sandpoint. The Reader is owned by Publisher Ben Olson, Editor-in-Chief Zach Hagadone and Senior Writer Soncirey Mitchell. Sandpoint Reader LLC is a completely independent business unit; no big newspaper group or corporate conglomerate or billionaire owner dictates our editorial policy.

By Reader Staff Organizers of the Monarch and Friends Festival, which took place Aug. 29 in Sandpoint’s Granary District, extended a lengthy thank-you to all those who made the gathering a success. “The Monarch and Friends Festival met its mission to celebrate Sandpoint becoming a Monarch City USA, and educating everyone about ways we can help,” stated representatives of the Pend Oreille Chapter of the Master Naturalists and the Mighty Monarch Conservation Group, which put on the event.

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff Amid rising global prices, the Bonner County Board of Commissioners has spent the past several months working with county department heads to tighten the purse strings while crafting the Fiscal Year 2027 budget. The commissioners passed the $81,428,836 budget on Aug. 31 in a 2-1 vote, with Commissioner Asia Williams dissenting due to disagreements over employee salaries.

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist In the final installment of the “digital addiction” series, we will be looking at methods to combat social media and video game addiction, and the benefits to reducing screen time in favor of other methods of entertainment. Digital addiction is a tricky subject. There is no single moment when use crosses the threshold into addiction. It is a collection of moments and altered behaviors that culminates into an invisible dependency.

By Jim Jones Reader Contributor Attorney General Raúl Labrador is embroiled once more in a conflict of interest lawsuit. He is now accused of using his position to bias voters against Proposition 1, the initiative designed to strike Idaho’s total abortion ban. The proponents of the initiative took him to court last year, claiming he had written deceptive ballot titles for the initiative. The Idaho Supreme Court ruled that the short title was improper and ordered Labrador to revise it.

By Groups concerned about the IPPLI Reader Contributors The Idaho Panhandle Public Lands Initiative (IPPLI) presented in the Sandpoint Reader guest editorial [Perspectives, “Idaho Panhandle Public Lands Initiative reaches landmark agreement,” July 23, 2026], would sacrifice crucial wildlife habitat in order to get crumbs of new Wilderness that would only secure a fraction of what needs protecting. We can do better.