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

  • Sandpoint’s resolve… Dear Editor, Last Wednesday I asked the council to withdraw the Resolution Affirming the City of Sandpoint’s Commitment to Human Rights and Non-Discrimination. I had proposed the resolution because I felt it was important for the City to take a symbolic stance affirming our compassion for those fleeing extreme violence and ...
  • Disappointed… Dear Editor, I was dismayed to hear that Mayor Rognstad buckled under pressure and took his proposal to welcome the Syrian refugees off of the table. “Welcome Back to the White Homeland!” I hear the voices of the dissenters in my head: “We hate everyone who is not like us. If you look different, ...
  • How would you like the world to be? Dear Editor, I dreamed about us. All of us. Under the stars, silent, deeply troubled people sat around a small fire on a very long night. Then the fire became the burning heart of Earth and around it the firelit face of every human soul. The world’s pain upon us, the ...
  • The Harm in Fear… Dear Editor, Recently, concerned parents shut down a Virginia school when a teacher tried to introduce students to Islam. Similarly, Linda Dunn, in her editorial, does not want Islam “even talked about” in our schools. Muslims inhabit twenty-two percent of earth. If we let fear rule, and refuse to know and understand ...
  • Blanket Statement… Dear Editor, In response to a letter from last week, some Christians may wish to reconsider their blanket statements condemning “these people”, presumably Muslim refugees. Most U.S. terrorist attacks have been perpetrated by Christians: Wade Michael Page murdered six; Jim David Adkisson shot nine, killing two; Eric Rudolph used guns and ...
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.