Category: Opinion

Opinion

The morning after the election

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

The morning after the election, I took a walk. The dark computer screen across the room beckoned me to waggle the mouse and wake it …

My mom is kind of a big deal

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

There’s not enough room on this page — maybe even in this paper — to adequately praise or even describe my mom. She’s kind of …

TV moms got nothing on the real thing

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

A significant portion of my formative years were spent watching television families. As a child whose parents both worked full time to ensure my two …

Passenger seat past

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey
Reader Staff

It is a spring evening, nearing sunset, after a warm day. The smell of sun-baked lakebed and blooming skunk cabbage fills the car, carried by …

The small, good things

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

Every job has its stresses, no matter if you’re the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or the dishwasher in a small-town diner. 

Journalism is …

Setting the record straight on wolves

By Don Gay
Reader Contributor

In my opinion, the Reader opinion article on wolf trapping [“Trapping is a legal, useful tool to manage wolf populations,” March 31, 2022, by Eric …

Hot take on Earth Day

By Kelsey Maxwell
Reader Contributor

My childhood “wild place” was nowhere near extraordinary by an outdoor enthusiasts’ standard. It was a truly tiny strip of forest between my best friend’s …

Farewell Mr. Marker

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

It’s common for people to point to “that one teacher” who made a big impact on them when they were young. I’ve been lucky to …

Letters

  • What If Chicken Little Was Right…? Dear Editor, I enjoyed reading Ms. Deubendorfer’s article, and look forward to her next, but I take exception to putting words in my mouth. I did not call Mr. Gifford those terms, nor would, as I don’t think of him that way. I was using cynicism to express my frustration at ...
  • Medicaid Expansion Needs Your Support… Dear Editor, I got one of those plastic bracelets yesterday. You know, the kind that gets you into fancy events and concerts, except mine granted me entrance to Grandstaff Veterans Hospital in Spokane. See, I’m a veteran (Korea, ’71-’72), and was really sick. I thought I had pneumonia. I decided to make ...
  • Thanks to Nick Gier… Dear Editor, I wanted to thank Nick Gier for his article illuminating Gandhi’s profound influence on Martin Luther King. I listened to a lecture given by the presiding Episcopal bishop, Michael Curry, on “Healing a House Divided.” The article made me think others might like to hear it. https://rap.wustl.edu/video/healing-a-house-divided-public-lecture-by-the-most-rev-michael-curry/ King and Gandhi brought factious ...
  • Response to Lockwood… Dear Editor, In response to Steve Lockwood’s comments Jan. 23, 2018…“Bonner County zoning codes are up for changes <WITH> the usual opportunities for citizen input. Industrial plants are <NOT> being permitted in many county zones.” Since 2008, there have been more than a dozen amendments making more than 60 text changes ...
  • Un-American Sentiments… Dear Editor, There are a lot of decidedly un-American sentiments running amok in the last issue that need to be addressed. In response to Ken Thatcher: You are wrong. We do not need less firepower, we need more. Do you recall the history of the Revolutionary War? Did the British government have ...
Close [x]

Want to support independent local journalism?

The Sandpoint Reader is our town's local, independent weekly newspaper. "Independent" means that the Reader is locally owned, in a partnership between Publisher Ben Olson and Keokee Co. Publishing, the media company owned by Chris Bessler that also publishes Sandpoint Magazine and Sandpoint Online. Sandpoint Reader LLC is a completely independent business unit; no big newspaper group or corporate conglomerate or billionaire owner dictates our editorial policy. And we want the news, opinion and lifestyle stories we report to be freely available to all interested readers - so unlike many other newspapers and media websites, we have NO PAYWALL on our website. The Reader relies wholly on the support of our valued advertisers, as well as readers who voluntarily contribute. Want to ensure that local, independent journalism survives in our town? You can help support the Reader for as little as $1.