Fool me once…
By Ben OlsonReader Staff It’s been five years since Editor-in-Chief Zach Hagadone almost broke the town. In the history of the Sandpoint Reader, only one publication date has ever lined up perfectly with April...
Category: Ben Olson
Battle of the burger dorks
By Ben OlsonReader Staff Occasionally, amid the constant drumbeat of negative stories about our crumbling world, the spotlight shines on something truly absurd to provide much-needed comic relief. Enter McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski. It...
Dumb of the Week: ‘Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia’
By Ben OlsonReader Staff As news came that President Donald Trump attacked Iran alongside Israel, I readied myself for another remarkable transformation by Republicans as they abandon their yearslong rhetoric about “America first” and...
Panida board addresses rumors of rental policy changes
By Ben OlsonReader Staff The Panida Theater board of trustees’ monthly meeting March 5 drew a few more spectators than usual. The Little Theater was filled to capacity, with others standing along the back...
SHS students host fundraiser for Model U.N. conference in NYC
By Ben OlsonReader Staff Students in the honors international relations class at Sandpoint High School have their sights set on New York City and are hosting a fundraiser to help pay for the once-in-a-lifetime...
Holding the line
A brief history of the Priest River Experimental Forest and a conversation with the ones who keep the legacy alive By Ben OlsonReader Staff Tucked beneath boughs of western white pine, fir, hemlock and...
Winter Carnival 2026: Week 2
By Ben OlsonReader Staff As evident with the snowfall in the mountains this week, winter isn’t packing it in quite yet. A final week of Sandpoint Winter Carnival events has been planned for outdoor...
A four-hour long diss track
Sean Combs: The Reckoning showcases another rich, famous person doing terrible things By Ben OlsonReader Staff When historian James Truslow Adams defined the “American Dream” in 1931, he emphasized that it was “not a...
The good divisions
By Ben OlsonReader Staff The Winter Olympics is more than just a collection of elite athletes competing for medals. It’s a salve that soothes skin rubbed raw from political divisions that have sharply divided...
Hoot Owl soup kitchen marks 12 years
By Ben OlsonReader Staff For the past 12 years, the Hoot Owl Cafe has hosted a soup kitchen every Monday night to feed the community — an anniversary celebrated by volunteers and patrons on...
