Tag Archives: North Central Idaho

Around Idaho: Economic activity, May 2025

Map of IdahoInformation provided in these news updates is collected up until the end of May and includes professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South central Idaho
Southeastern Idaho
Eastern Idaho

NORTHERN IDAHO

Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties

Regional news

Kootenai County

  • North Idaho College’s (NIC) trustees voted unanimously to bring forward a $58.9 million budget for fiscal year 2026 which includes the college’s first tuition increase since 2019. The budget proposal includes a tuition increase of $5.50 per credit for in-district students and $6 per credit for all other students. The budget proposal would shrink NIC’s budget deficit from $5.2 million in fiscal year 2025 to $1.2 million in the upcoming fiscal year. Even with the proposed tuition increase, NIC’s tuition rates would remain tied with the College of Southern Idaho, which is the lowest in the state. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • School levies in Post Falls and Lakeland School District passed with 62% and 66% support, respectively. Post Falls passed a $5.9 million per year supplemental levy which will support extracurriculars, school safety measures, staff salaries andother items. Lakeland passed a $7.5 million per year supplemental levy. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • The Post Falls City Council approved a $11.7 million project to design and build a new public works operations center. The new facility will eventually house the city’s streets, water operations and utility divisions. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

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Around Idaho: Economic activity, April 2025

Map of IdahoInformation provided in these news updates is collected up until the end of April and includes professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South central Idaho
Southeastern Idaho
Eastern Idaho

NORTHERN IDAHO

Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties

Regional news

Kootenai County

  • Hagadone Hospitality broke ground on the new Sherman Tower, which will be a 15-story expansion of the Coeur d’Alene Resort. The tower will feature 139 guest rooms in addition to nearly 10,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and office space. The opening is scheduled for the spring of 2027. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • Two new hotels are under construction in Kootenai County. In Coeur d’Alene, a Marriott-branded AC Hotel is now under construction, which will have 126 guest rooms and open in 2027. Work was previously underway on a 151-room Hyatt Place Hotel in Post Falls, which will open in December. Source: Journal of Business
  • The developers of the new Thomas George luxury high-rise condominium tower in Coeur d’Alene announced that construction is scheduled for completion this year, with residents moving in by years’ end. The top floors of the 80-unit, 18 story tower have been poured. Source: Journal of Business

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Around Idaho: Economic activity, March 2025

Map of IdahoInformation provided in these news updates is collected up until the end of March and includes professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South central Idaho
Southeastern Idaho
Eastern Idaho

NORTHERN IDAHO

Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties

Regional news

Kootenai County

  • Kootenai Health and MultiCare have announced plans to develop a new 30-acre medical campus, called Prairie Medical Campus, on the Highway 41 corridor in Post Falls. Phase 1 will include a micro-hospital with an emergency department and imaging, along with a multi-story facility for ambulatory surgery, laboratory services and clinic offices. Development will begin in 2025 with a 24-to-36-month completion timetable for the first phase. Source: MultiCare Newsroom
  • The first phase of construction at the Millworx development has been completed, with over 200 residential units, including townhouses and multifamily residences, completed. In addition, a four-story mixed-use building has been completed with residential space available on the ground floors and residential units now available on upper levels. A 151-room hotel is still under construction and is expected to be completed by year-end. Source: Journal of Business

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Port of Lewiston celebrates 50 years of economic development and job creation

In the spring of 1975, the Port of Lewiston opened for commerce when the first barge headed west down the Columbia-Snake River system.

Despite being approved by Nez Perce County voters in 1958, it was not until Lower Granite Dam was completed in 1975 that the Port of Lewiston became fully operational and was established as Idaho’s only seaport.

While the Lewiston metropolitan statistical area (MSA) — incorporating Nez Perce County, Idaho and Asotin County, Washington — is the only MSA in Idaho not adjacent to an interstate highway, it is the sole MSA in Idaho located along the U.S. Marine Highway system.

Over the last 50 years, the Port of Lewiston has had a significant impact in making the employment of north central Idaho both economically resilient as well as very distinctive compared with Idaho’s other labor regions. Continue reading →

Around Idaho: Economic activity, February 2025

Map of IdahoInformation provided in these news updates is collected up until the end of February and includes professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South central Idaho
Southeastern Idaho
Eastern Idaho

NORTHERN IDAHO

Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties

Regional news

  • Avista Utilities, a keystone provider of electric and natural gas utilities in the panhandle, has filed a proposal with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission that would raise rates for Idaho customers. As currently proposed, electric rates in Idaho would increase by 14% in September followed by a 5% increase in 2026, while natural gas would increase 10% and 1% in 2025 and 2026 respectively. Avista stated the proposed increases are intended to cover ongoing investment in infrastructure. Source: Journal of Business

Kootenai County

  • North Idaho College (NIC) received sanctions relief from its accrediting agency, with the college’s multi-year show cause sanction reduced to a probationary status. The move to probation grants a one-year extension for NIC to return to compliance, and a letter from the accrediting body noted improvement on a majority of the college’s noncompliance issues. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • Work on the multi-year project to replace the State Highway 411 and Interstate 90 interchange in Post Falls is proceeding to the next phase, after a productive winter helped by relatively mild weather. The Idaho Transportation Department will close the current westbound off-ramp with detours and temporary rerouting as they move on to the next phase. Construction has been underway since 2022 and the new interchange is slated for completion in 2026. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

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Lewiston career event provides resources for job seekers to upgrade their skills for in-demand jobs

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Aug. 15, 2022
Media Contact: Lisa.Grigg@labor.idaho.gov and Stacey.Wendt@labor.idaho.gov

Job seekers who want to change careers and increase their earning potential will be able learn about jobs and training resources available at an Aug. 18 skilled trades career event focusing on welding, plumbing, electrical and HVAC industries. The event takes place from 4-6 p.m., at the Idaho Department of Labor Lewiston office, 1158 Idaho St.

Attendees will learn about pay scales, work positions and requirements for their specific field of interest from others who work in these trades.

“This event is for people who are not college bound or feel like they can’t afford the training necessary to work in their chosen field,” said Misti Sullivan, Lewiston Labor office manager.

Electricians, welders, plumbers and HVAC professionals in the Lewiston Metro Area currently get paid higher than their counterparts in other areas of the state. Electricians earn on average, an annual average wage of $77,000, welders average $52,000 annually and plumbers average $57,000 per year. Continue reading →

Labor expands its employment services in north central Idaho

-Mobile Labor locations now available in Grangeville, Kamiah, Kendrick, Moscow, Potlatch, Orofino and Weippe-

People living in remote, rural areas of north central Idaho can now access Idaho Department of Labor services at seven – soon to be eight – nearby locations.

“Our mobile offices allow us to bring our services to you,” explains Department of Labor Director Jani Revier. “With the help of our partners of local libraries, community centers, city halls and other organization, we’re in more locations than ever before.”

Idahoans throughout the state can now get help finding a new job, upgrading their skills and increasing their earning potential in more than 50 locations. All mobile Labor locations offer walk-in hours and appointments for help with writing resumes, filling out job applications, preparing for an interview, accessing job training resources, filing for unemployment insurance benefits and other services.

Labor services for businesses include support for listing jobs, recruiting employees, organizing hiring events, employer seminars and gaining access to job training programs.

Three local office employees from the Lewiston Idaho Department of Labor office visit Kendrick, Moscow and Potlatch.

The remaining five offices are managed by Monica Jones and Heather Lerandeau. Together, they deliver a wide range of employment services to local job seekers and employers in Orofino, Weippe, Grangeville, Kamiah and Riggins, which opens April 14.

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Lerandeau, Jones serve as mobile office consultants for Grangeville, Kamiah, Orofino and Weippe

Heather Lerandeau

As a workforce consultant, Heather Lerandeau delivers a wide range of employment services to job seekers and employers who visit the department’s mobile office locations in Grangeville and Kamiah.

Photo: Heather Lerandeau

Heather Lerandeau

Helping Idahoans find jobs and rural employers recruit qualified employees is her favorite part of the job and keeps her busy. Some customers are referred to local education and community resource centers for workforce training or basic needs. For others it means support with navigating the process of filing for unemployment insurance benefits.

Before joining the department in 2021, Heather Lerandeau worked as a surgical assistant for St. Mary’s Hospital in Cottonwood. This helped her prepare for her new role with the Idaho Department of Labor as a workforce consultant assigned to Grangeville, Kamiah and Riggins (opening April 14).

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State Hospital North Holding Hiring Event in Orofino Sept. 15

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Sept. 8, 2021
Media Contact: Diane Hairston, Diane.Hairston@labor.idaho.gov

The Idaho Department of Labor is hosting a hiring event in Orofino on Sept. 15 for State Hospital North. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to noon at the Idaho Labor office, 416 Johnson Ave.

SHN is expanding staff and has created new positions in a variety of occupations, including medical, financial, food service, clerical and maintenance. Job titles include maintenance craftsman senior, office services supervisor 2, health information specialist and dietary aide senior.

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Idaho Department of Labor Releases Grangeville Area Service Plan

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: July 30, 2019
Information Contact: Darlene Carnopis, darlene.carnopis@labor.idaho.gov

Grangeville – The Idaho Department of Labor is implementing its new service model in the Grangeville region, providing direct mobile services to Grangeville, Riggins, Kamiah and Nezperce beginning Aug. 1.

Labor staff in Grangeville will continue to offer the same services through walk-in hours and appointment times in Grangeville as well as the three additional communities. Those services include resume writing, applying for jobs, filing for unemployment insurance benefits, mock interviews, connections to community resources, job training assistance and more.

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