Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part two, with part one having appeared in Saturday’s Tribune.
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COLFAX — As harvest season gets underway in the Palouse region, farmers are reporting an unimpressive crop yield in the face of high heat and low precipitation.
Cory Christensen, grain merchant at Northwest Grain Growers, expressed his concerns about adverse effects of the lack of timely rains and early spring heat on this year’s wheat crop.
He said, “We’ve seen yields reduced to 75-85% of the 10-year average and elevated proteins in the areas in those same fields.”
The reliance on non-irrigated moisture makes the region susceptible to the whims of the weather, necessitating a constant search for ways to improve crop resilience said Christensen.
In response to the challenging conditions, local farmers have been collaborating with universities and private companies to develop better genetic breeding lines with higher tolerances to extremes.
Christensen highlighted the advancements in Pacific Northwest-specific varietal genetics and improved pre-planting seed treatment technology that contributed to better-than-expected grain harvests despite poor yields in some areas.
Randy Olstad, grain division manager at PNW Farmers Cooperative, acknowledged that this year’s crop yields have been spotty, with some fields reporting normal yields and others experiencing below-average results.
“It’s not a crop to write home about,” said Olstad.
The dry summer and higher temperatures have impacted crop growth and overall yield, emphasizing the significance of June rains for a successful crop.
Olstad said, “For us, it’s about our June rains; if we have a good rain, we have a good crop.”
Among the crops in their portfolio, some farmers have found early-seeded wheat to exhibit better resilience to the higher temperatures and dry conditions.
However, the overall market has been challenging for soft white wheat, with declining prices and lagging exports, Christensen said.
The market faces stiff competition from countries like Australia, Russia and Ukraine, which Christensen said offer grain at cheaper prices with more favorable currencies.
Despite the hurdles, Christensen said that both grain merchants and farmers remain optimistic for a potential surge in export sales this fall to bolster local markets into the next year.
— Reid Thompson, Whitman County Gazette (Colfax), Thursday
First Street set to reopen in McCall
McCALL — Kenzi Huskinson watched with excitement as crews began paving First Street on Wednesday in preparation of reopening the downtown McCall roadway for the first time since June.
Huskinson works as store manager for the newly established Laketown Clothing Company, which is among several businesses affected by road closures on First Street this summer between West Lake Street and Park Street.
“I still am meeting people, even locals, that don’t know we’re here,” Huskinson said of her shop at 200 Lenora St., a corner lot with First Street frontage and parking. “I would imagine it’s because there’s just not a lot of people driving by.”
However, that could change as soon as this weekend as First Street is set to reopen for public travel as soon as paving is complete, McCall Public Works Director Nathan Stewart said.
The new pavement will be a temporary overlay to help hold the road together over the winter before the second phase of the First Street project begins next summer.
“The repaved First Street will look and feel ‘patched’ next week and until next summer or fall when we formally reconstruct and repave it,” Stewart said.
A $759,000 contract was awarded to Knife River Corporation of Boise for the first phase of work this summer, which installed new underground water lines and stormwater drainage infrastructure.
It is expected to cost about $3.9 million in work next summer to complete the rebuild of First Street. The city will bid that work this fall.
Once complete, First Street between West Lake Street and Park Street will be rebuilt with a new roadway, sidewalks, stormwater drainage, bicycle lanes, landscaping and streetlamps.
Stacey Kucy, who owns Stacey Cakes at 136 E. Lake St. near the north end of the project zone, is optimistic the rebuilt roadway will make up for headaches caused by two summers of construction.
The bakery’s primary access off First Street has been blocked by construction barricades and chain link fencing for most of the summer, but a second entrance to the shopping center on West Lake Street has kept business steady.
“There is maybe a slight decrease in business, but nothing to cry about,” Kucy said.
Kucy has used social media to help make sure customers know the bakery is open. She also has adjusted product quantities based on road closures.
“We noticed when they closed Lake Street to a one-lane road, we were not as busy,” she said. “I adjusted our quantities the following time they closed the road to one lane so that I didn’t lose product.”
Amber McNatt, who owns the Cloud Nine Hair and Nail Studio at 1002 N. First St., has been similarly proactive by advising daily clients of current road closures and detours ahead of appointments.
Building-shaking booms and beeping from heavy equipment operating in the work zone have been a regularity during the studio’s business hours this summer.
“The vibration shakes the whole building and things fall of the shelf,” McNatt said.
Across the street at the McCall Community Congregational Church, dust from the work zone has piled up inside the church, which relies on opening windows to cool the building.
However, the summer of construction and road closures did little else to affect programming at the church, said Suzanne Evans, who chairs the church’s board of trustees.
“Most of our activities have been on Sunday, so noise isn’t an issue since they aren’t working,” Evans said. “The biggest issue is having to reroute traffic flow getting to the church.”
Kucy and McNatt both urged better business access signage for phase two work planned for next summer. Both also credited communication about the project from workers on the site.
“The crew out here was spectacular,” McNatt said. “They did everything they could to keep access for us and our clients.”
Work on First Street marks the final major phase of street work envisioned as part of a renovation of downtown McCall Streets and sidewalks that began in 2018. ‘
So far, the project has rebuilt streets and sidewalks on Park Street, Second Street, Lenora Street and Veteran’s alley. Streetlamps and landscaping were also added to the streets.
That work cost a total of about $7.5 million. Remaining work is projected to cost about $4.7 million, including work next year on First Street and stormwater drainage improvements at Art Roberts Park that are tentatively slated for 2027.
Most of the downtown project has been funded by the city’s streets tax, which has earned about $2.5 million per year since 2019, including an annual record of $3 million in 2022.
Since being passed in November 2015 by McCall voters, the 3% lodging tax and 1% general sales tax has raised nearly $15 million for city street projects.
The current streets tax expires in December 2025, but could be renewed if approved by McCall voters.
— Drew Dodson, The Star-News (McCall), Thursday
