Category: Opinion

Opinion

Not far from the tree

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

When I was younger and someone asked where I was from, I’d tell them I was born and raised right here in Sandpoint. They might …

Voices in the Wilderness

By Phil Hough
Reader Contributor

We gather around friends and families during the holiday season — frequently counting our many blessings. While we’re at it, let’s include wild places among …

In the hunt for a few more years

By Tim H. Henney
Reader Contributor

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” Those historic, heroic words were by British …

What the woolly worm told me

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey
Reader Staff

Everyone knows about the prognosticating powers of the groundhog, recognized each February when Punxutawney Phil does or does not see his shadow, indicating the remaining …

Rural no more?

By Roger and Sandy Sparling
Reader Contributors

On Oct. 20, 2022, the Bonner County Zoning commissioners recommended approval of a zone change for the corner of Vay and Dufort roads. …

Fighting hate groups

By K.L. Huntley
Reader Contributor

Icy roads and a chill blowing down the snow-covered mountains didn’t deter close to 60 souls gathered at Sandpoint’s First Presbyterian Church on the evening …

‘Dear Editor’

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

Things are bad, folks. I say this not as a partisan for any particular political party, but as a son raised in a fuzzy melange …

Letters

  • Our Lake is at Stake… Dear Editor, I wrote the following letter to our Congressional representatives in Washington, D.C. (Sen Crapo, Sen Risch, Rep Labrador). They need to hear from us soon, please write. Dear Sir: I just read that the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act includes a provision to exclude hard rock mineral mining from the NEPA ...
  • Another Fourth… Dear Editor, My love of flag, country, and National Anthem is wholly separate from my visceral distrust of our elected legislators in D.C., who, in my humble opinion, are all corrupt, duplicitous narcissists who care not a whit about what’s good for our country. They care about power and reelection. Having said ...
  • Dear Leftists… Dear leftists who read the Reader, I’m writing this before Agent Orange announces the Supreme Court nominee, so I ask: How many of you will ask yourselves, “Maybe the court is too powerful?” Instead of getting triggered at whoever he picks.  As we all know, it’s impossible for you to be happy. ...
  • Today’s Journalists Face a Daunting Task… Dear Editor, Cameron Rasmusson’s eloquent opinion piece in the Reader — chronicling  the bravery of the Annapolis, Md., newspaper staff’s vow to publish a newspaper after five of their members were killed by a gunman — resonates with anyone who ever worked at or dreamed of being a journalist in this ...
  • Who Chooses The Bullies…? Dear Editor, The Reader and Ben have made a pledge to identify and brand a bully when they see one. Just after the 2016 elections Ben called out President elect Trump as a bully and explained why. I agree with Ben regarding President Trump, he uses the bully pulpit to the ...
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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.