Sandpoint Reader

Reader Quick Hits: May 4, 2020

May 4, 2020

  • We know that Bonner County has four confirmed cases of novel coronavirus, but how many tests have been administered? Idaho tests are tracked and logged at this link. Numbers are broken down by health district and by day, and updated weekly. Panhandle Health District, which appears at the top of each day on the bar graph, is represented in dark blue.
  • The Festival at Sandpoint announced today that it would be canceling its 2020 event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Executive Director Ali Baranski said in a Facebook post: “We know that a global pandemic does not stop at the Long Bridge and it would be irresponsible to gather 30,000 people this summer over the course of our two-week event.” Read the entire post here.
  • According to press release sent out today by regional county clerks, Bonner County has processed 6,970 absentee ballot requests for the May 19 primary to date. Increasing levels of participation can be seen across the panhandle. In the words of Shoshone County Clerk Tamie Eberhard, “Idahoans are not going to let this pandemic keep them from voting.” According to the release, ballot request forms for the election will begin landing in registered voters mailboxes this week. Voters can either return the ballot request form that is mailed to them or go online to request their ballot at IdahoVotes.gov.
  • Lake Pend Oreille is on the rise, and hydrologists are anticipating a fairly uneventful year as far flooding goes (learn more about that in Thursday’s Reader). For those who want live-time updates on the lake level at the Hope gauge — the gauge that the Army Corps of Engineers refers to as the official measure of LPO’s fill level — check out this handy tool from the Northwest River Forecast Center. It is updated hourly.

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