‘Making a difference is my reason for being’
By Ben Olson
Reader Staff
Former Sandpoint mayor, pastor and elder advocate Paul Graves announced recently that he would be leaving Sandpoint. Those lucky enough to have known Graves are …
Category: Ben Olson
Dumb of the week: Now with more fascism!
By Ben Olson
Reader Staff
In the War of the Dumb, there are some clear winners. Mississippi state Sen. Bradford Blackmon, a Democrat, earned a special mention this week.
Blackmon …
‘The lessons that wilderness can teach us’
By Ben Olson
Reader Staff
Phil Hough can pinpoint exactly when he fell in love with the wilderness.
He remembers paddling down the Allagash River in a canoe in the …
Love abounds: Valentine’s for Seniors program celebrates five years of sharing love
By Ben Olson
Reader Staff
About five years ago, Donna Price saw a group in Coeur d’Alene creating Valentine’s cards for their local veterans. Price decided to participate and brought …
Dumb of the week: Now with more fascism!
By Ben Olson
Reader Staff
There’s a lot to cover this week in the land of the Dumb, so let’s try to keep up.
Last week, before the convicted felon …
One-man band, full-band sound
By Ben Olson
Reader Staff
Expect the unexpected for Coeur d’Alene musician Thomas Mudrick’s upcoming gig at the 219 Lounge from 9-11 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24.
Mudrick has played …
So dumb it squeaks
By Ben Olson
Reader Staff
I have an itinerant column I trot out every month or so I’ve dubbed “Dumb of the Week,” which highlights the sheer stupidity at work …
208 Fiction results for 2025
Here we present the winners of the fourth annual Sandpoint Reader 208 Fiction contest, in which we invited writers to submit a work of fiction totaling exactly 208 words for …
A delivery of hope (and food)
By Ben Olson
Reader Staff
There’s a theory that sandwiches taste better when someone else makes them. I wonder what the consensus is on delivered meals?
Since 2019, the students …
Ben’s best albums of 2024
By Ben Olson
Reader Staff
Let me begin by stating how ridiculous it is that I’m the one writing this article highlighting the best albums of 2024. New music is …
Coming up this week! Don’t miss Live Music, the Summer Sampler, the Art Party, Monarch Grind, the Sandpoint Renaissance Faire, and more! See the full list of events in the 