There was little question what the most significant story in the region was in 2022 when the staff of the Lewiston Tribune chose from a list of topics.

And that story — the murders of four University of Idaho students at an off-campus house Nov. 13 — dominated the headlines right up until the end of the year, with an arrest being made Friday.

Besides that tragic event, other stories that kept our reporters busy in 2022 include the region’s housing crunch, the local ripples caused by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a busy year of crime and punishment, the continuing debate over salmon and dams, the sudden prominence of fentanyl in the drug trade and big changes in the city of Lewiston’s government and the Idaho Legislature’s makeup.

1. Murders shake Moscow and the entire nation

The top story of 2022 left four families heartbroken and a community in mourning. As the year came to a close, however, a promising new development occurred.

The Nov. 13 murders of University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen in their Moscow residence not only dominated local headlines, but captured the attention and fascination of the international media as well.

Much to the public’s frustration, it was a story that presented more questions than answers. For nearly seven weeks, no suspects were identified.

When news of the murders broke Nov. 13, police assured the public there was no threat to the community. Following outcries from the community and the media, they changed their tone and asked the public to remain vigilant as an individual capable of stabbing four people was still on the loose.

Concerned UI students went home early and finished the semester remotely. Those who stayed in town mourned Kernodle, Chapin, Goncalves and Mogen during a Nov. 30 vigil in the Kibbie Dome.

The Moscow Police Department, Idaho State Police and the FBI asked the public for any tips, video footage or photos that might shed light on what happened. They said this information might be one of the puzzle pieces that will help solve these murders. On Friday, Moscow Police Chief James Fry said police received more than 19,000 tips.

Then, on Friday, police announced that WSU student and Pullman resident Bryan Christopher Kohberger had been arrested in Pennsylvania in connection with the homicides.

Police are still asking for information, only this time they want to know more about Kohberger from those who knew him.

During a Friday news conference, both Fry and Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said this arrest does not mark the end of the case, but a new beginning, as Kohberger must still face an Idaho judge.

This story is not over, but 2022 will end with what appears to be a major breakthrough in the case.

— Anthony Kuipers

2. Housing crunch hits every corner of region

Men and women shivering in the cold without anywhere to go. Campers and tents serving as makeshift homes.

Both were more common in north central Idaho and southeastern Washington in 2022 as a housing crisis gripped every corner of the area.

Prices for houses and rentals soared, making it difficult for many, even double-income families, to afford shelter.

The market in Moscow was the most expensive in the area. The average price of a home in Moscow was more than $480,000 in some of the last months of this year, compared with $263,078 for the same time in 2017.

The trend was similar in other places. In the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley, homes averaged $353,710 near the end of 2022, compared with $206,250 for the same time five years ago.

In the recent past, families that couldn’t afford living in Boise or Coeur d’Alene might relocate to Lewiston or Clarkston to buy more affordable homes. If those communities lacked options within their budgets, they might live in a smaller outlying town and commute to work at places like CCI/Speer or Clearwater Paper in Lewiston. But that strategy was much less viable in 2022.

The causes were complex. From about the Great Recession until about 2018, the pace of construction of new homes had fallen behind demand. After COVID-19 struck, the popularity of almost everywhere in the Northwest skyrocketed.

Companies and organizations found that employees could do their jobs remotely as long as they had cellphones, laptops and access to high-speed internet.

With the freedom to work anywhere, many people escaped to less-populated regions such as north central Idaho and southeastern Washington to get away from civil unrest and traffic congestion in a place with abundant outdoor recreation.

What happens next is still unfolding. The last part of December was particularly miserable for the homeless. Snow and sleet fell on many days when temperatures dropped well below freezing, even in Lewiston, which often has some of the warmest weather in the area.

First Step 4 Life has ordered a military style tent that will be heated and equipped with portable restrooms that will be open from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. seven days a week with 20 beds this winter. It will be installed on a lot at the base of the Ninth Street Grade in Lewiston.

People will be allowed to stay there as long as they follow rules such as not posing a threat to themselves or others.

Constructing a higher volume of affordable, permanent housing could be even more difficult. One of the only large-scale projects in the works is being coordinated by Catholic Charities. It would take more than a year to complete and that’s only if the group succeeds in getting funding.

Catholic Charities has sought millions in federal tax credits and other money for the 72-unit apartment complex near Clarkston’s Walmart. It would be for homeless and low-income families and could be ready in the spring of 2024.

— Elaine Williams

3. Overturning of Roe v. Wade sets off Idaho trigger laws

In recent years, the Idaho Legislature passed multiple trigger laws that stood poised to ban abortion and allow for the prosecution of medical providers who perform abortions — if Roe v. Wade was ever overturned.

After the U.S. Supreme Court made that move in June, Idaho ended up with some of the strictest abortion laws in the country.

Both anti-abortion and abortion rights advocates, in Idaho and surrounding states, started making plans for its overturn months, and in some cases years, ahead of time.

After hearing news of the Supreme Court draft opinion leaked this spring, Hannah George, a Boise mother of two, told the Lewiston Tribune in May that she was looking into sterilization.

George, who previously suffered two miscarriages, said she worried what could happen to her children if she had a third and doctors delayed treatment for fear of legal, professional and financial repercussions.

“I think about if this had happened in 2016 (when I had a miscarriage). Like, what would the doctor do?” she said. “The doctor literally came into the ultrasound room and rushed me across the street to the hospital. The surgery had to happen in like, the next 20 minutes, or I was gonna die.”

In Washington, the state Legislature passed House Bill 1851 to expand the number of medical professionals authorized to perform abortions.

According to the Northwest Abortion Access Fund, which provides assistance for travel and other expenses to pregnant people seeking abortions, total practical support service costs increased from $413,057 in 2021 to $902,232 through Nov. 15 of this year.

In September, the University of Idaho sent a memo to its staff advising them to avoid language that could be seen as counseling in favor of, or referring for, abortion based on the No Public Funds for Abortion Act.

While the university later sent “clarifying points” to staff saying UI’s policy had not changed, some professors and students said the memo had a chilling effect on classes that discuss issues like abortion and contraception.

— Rachel Sun

4. Von Ehlinger found guilty of rape

A bad year in 2021 turned into a worse year in 2022 for former Lewiston Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, who was sent to prison for raping a 19-year-old House intern.

An Ada County jury found von Ehlinger guilty following a four-day trial in April. He was subsequently sentenced to a minimum of eight years in prison, plus an indeterminate term of 12 years and a $5,000 civil penalty.

The verdict came exactly a year after the first-term lawmaker resigned his legislative seat, in response to a House Ethics Committee recommendation that he be censured and suspended without pay for conduct unbecoming an Idaho state representative.

Von Ehlinger, 40, consistently maintained his innocence in the case. He acknowledged going on a date and having sex with the intern, but said it was consensual.

“She participated in the whole thing,” he said during his trial.

The House Ethics Committee, however, heard testimony during its investigation that von Ehlinger had made a number of women at the Legislature uncomfortable with his advances, including security guards, staff and lobbyists.

At his sentencing hearing in August, Ada County District Court Judge Michael Reardon said von Ehlinger failed to take responsibility for his actions.

“You have a pattern of explaining, excusing, deflecting and blaming others for the circumstances you find yourself in,” Reardon said. “As I listened to you today, I wrote down two words: victim and hero. You see yourself as a victim, and you see yourself as a hero. Frankly, I don’t see you as either one. You created your own circumstances.”

— William L. Spence

5. Former judge sentenced of sexual assault charges

A case that began more than three years ago ended this summer with the sentencing of former Asotin County Judge Scott Gallina, who was ordered to serve 15 months in prison.

Gallina was taken into custody in the same courtroom where he once presided. Spokane County Judge Michael Price handed down his decision after listening to statements from a victim, the former judge, Gallina’s wife and daughter, and attorneys for the state and defendant.

In April, Gallina pleaded guilty to third-degree assault with sexual motivation, a felony, and fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation, a gross misdemeanor, for crimes against two former co-workers.

Price hailed the women as “heroes” for speaking out about the pervasive sexual harassment and assaults in the workplace. “I’m overwhelmed by your courage, and awestruck by your dignity,” he said. “If you hadn’t spoken out, I have no doubt this outrageous behavior would’ve continued.”

Gallina, a 59-year-old Clarkston resident, served as the Superior Court judge in Asotin, Columbia and Garfield counties for five years before being arrested for sexual misconduct in 2019.

The plea agreement reached by the defense and state, and approved by both victims, called for a sentencing range of 13 to 27 months behind bars, with the state advocating for the high end.

Gallina will no longer be allowed to practice law and has to register as a sex offender. He will be released in 2023.

— Kerri Sandaine

6. Fentanyl trade takes toll on region

The next wave of the opioid epidemic is in full force in Idaho and Washington.

Law enforcement officials and prosecutors in the region have reported an increase in fentanyl cases. From January to October, the Lewiston Police Department saw 60 fentanyl possession cases and at least 15 cases of possession with intent to deliver.

The increase comes as opioid users are moving from hydrocodone or oxycodone to the synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine. For drug dealers, it’s easier to make, move and sell in larger quantities, sometimes thousands of pills at a time. The drugs travel across the U.S.-Mexico border up through California and Oregon into Washington and Idaho and are sold for about $20 a pill.

When people are charged with possession or intent to deliver, it creates more cases for the courts to deal with and more people with drug addictions to treat with limited resources. In Idaho, Nez Perce County Prosecutor Justin Coleman is working with the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association to create a trafficking law for fentanyl. In Washington, changes in the laws to a misdemeanor for simple drug possession have made charging people more difficult because people are referred to drug treatment, which is difficult to enforce, rather than jail.

On the health side, first responders are seeing an increase in overdoses. By October, there were six fentanyl overdose deaths reported in Nez Perce County, compared to six for the total year in 2021. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, are the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths.

The street drug has no consistency, which is what makes the pills so deadly. Just 2 milligrams can be fatal. First responders, drug users, and friends and family members have increased their use of Narcan, a brand of Naloxone nasal spray, which counteracts an opioid overdose.

— Kaylee Brewster

7. Debate over salmon and dams continues

Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray of Washington declined to champion breaching the four lower Snake River Dams this year, but the action that would improve the survival odds of threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead remains on the table.

Murray and Inslee, following a yearlong process, said the lack of replacement options for the electricity the dams generate and the transportation they provide for farmers makes breaching unfeasible in the near future.

But federal officials said for the first time this year that the dams must be breached if wild salmon and steelhead are to be recovered to the point they can support regular harvest — a goal set by regional stakeholders. Federal studies also indicated climate change is and will continue to be an increasing threat to the fish.

Breaching remains a discussion point in settlement talks between the Biden administration and plaintiffs of a long-running lawsuit that include the Nez Perce Tribe, Oregon and conservation and fishing groups. Federal judges have tossed several iterations of the federal government’s plan to balance the needs of the imperiled fish with operation of federal dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers. In 2021, the parties to that suit began settlement talks aimed at producing a “durable long-term strategy to restore salmon and other native fish populations to healthy and abundant levels.” Those discussions were extended in August, and both breaching and reintroduction of salmon upstream of Chief Joseph Dam on the upper Columbia River were said to be on the table.

The number of returning adult salmon and steelhead improved in 2022 compared to a recent five-year period in which fish abundance largely tanked. But the runs continued to be well short of recovery goals. Improving ocean conditions measured off the West Coast last year are expected to benefit the return of spring chinook this year. In contrast, fisheries managers are bracing for the potential of a poor return of B-run steelhead.

— Eric Barker

8. Crime and punishment in Nez Perce County

Nez Perce County saw its fair share of murder, manslaughter and attempted murder cases, some of which are still making their way through the court system.

Clyde and Demetri Ewing were both convicted of first-degree murder after separate trials in April and May. They were each convicted by a 12-member jury for the death of Samuel Johns on Jan. 8, 2021. Clyde Ewing was sentenced to life without parole this past week, but Demetri Ewing has yet to be sentenced.

A murder trial for James R. Brashear was scheduled to take place in November but was delayed because of an appeal by the defense to allow testimony and evidence that was suppressed by 2nd District Judge Mark Monson. A status conference hearing will be held Wednesday. Brashear is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of John Mast, his former son-in-law, in the Rosauers parking lot February 2021.

Two teenagers were charged with attempted first-degree murder in a shooting that took place in February in the Lewiston Orchards.

Triston Arnzen, 15, was charged with two counts for the shooting of George Hamblin Jr. and Macayla Hamblin, his stepfather and stepsister. Chloe Marks, 14, was also charged for the shooting of George Hamblin.

Marks has pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 23. Arnzen’s next court date is Jan. 19. Both teenagers were charged as adults.

A mother and daughter from Lewiston have been charged with first-degree murder for the death of Kenneth Morrison.

Kay M. Morrison, 81, and her 54-year-old daughter, Kimberly Morrison, were charged in August for allegedly drugging, suffocating and burning the body of 87-year-old Kenneth Morrison, Kay Morrison’s ex-husband and Kimberly Morrison’s father.

Kay Morrison was found to be incompetent to stand trial in December so the case will be delayed as Kay Morrison receives treatment.

Kimberly Morrison was arraigned to district court in December. She pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to have a status conference Wednesday and a trial is tentatively planned for April.

Jayne Carr, 32, of Lewiston, pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter in a fatal accident that occurred in November 2021 in Lewiston’s Normal Hill neighborhood.

Carr pleaded guilty to driving her vehicle at 96 mph and striking 60-year-old Linda Dupuis, of Peck, who was also driving and was killed. Carr was sentenced last week to 5-10 years in prison as well as a treatment program.

Williams L. Clements Jr., 43, of Lewiston, was charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter following a crash in October.

Clements was arraigned to district court on the charges in December, with a status conference set for Feb. 23.

Clements was allegedly driving under the influence and was involved in a three-vehicle collision on U.S. Highway 95 near Lapwai that killed Kim Michael Thompsen, 67, of Syracuse, Utah, and Troy Michael Thompsen, 40, of Meridian.

In addition, the Nez Perce County Prosecutor’s Office has been handling an influx of felony cases — more than 400 since the beginning of the year. The numbers have also created a crunch for public defenders assigned to those cases and the Nez Perce County budget.

— Kaylee Brewster

T9. Lewiston adjusts to new government format

New faces emerged in the city of Lewiston’s administration in 2022 with the community’s voter-mandated shift from a city manager to a strong mayor form of government.

Frustrations about how the city handled the pandemic and spending fueled the vote that eliminated the job of Alan Nygaard, who had served as Lewiston’s city manager for about four years.

His responsibilities were assumed by Dan Johnson, the city’s first mayor under the new structure.

The only returning city councilor was Kathy Schroeder. She was joined by Council President Hannah Liedkie and four other city councilors, Kassee Forsmann, Luke Blount, Rick Tousley and Jim Kleeburg, a former Lewiston mayor and city councilor. Blount resigned in July and was replaced by John Spickelmire.

They replaced former Mayor Mike Collins, and former councilors John Bradbury, Kevin Kelly, John Pernsteiner, Cari Miller and Bob Blakey.

City staff went through numerous changes too. Shannon Grow, the director of the Lewis Clark Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization, became community development director after the retirement of Laura Von Tersch. Lewison’s fire chief, Travis Myklebust, is retiring at the end of May. Dan Marsh’s last day on the job was March 31 after his position as the city’s administrative services director, chief financial officer and city treasurer was eliminated as part of a reorganization.

Jason Kuzik, a former patrol captain in the Henderson Police Department in Nevada, succeeded Budd Hurd, who retired as police chief.

Assistant City Attorney Kayla Hermann was promoted to city attorney in late September after Jana Gomez took a job as senior corporate counsel at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories.

The new officials had a full plate. They revised city code to match the strong mayor form of government and passed the first budget under the new structure that put contributions to Valley Vision and Visit Lewis Clark Valley on hold. Those contributions totaled $55,000.

Their time was also filled by figuring out what to do about the city’s increasingly prevalent homeless population and overseeing projects put into motion before they took their present positions.

Among those are upgrades of the city infrastructure and development of Community Park near Lewiston High School.

An overhaul of the city’s wastewater treatment plant and the construction of a new well are done. A new reservoir will go online by Lewiston High this spring, roughly the same time that the rebuilding of the city’s water treatment plant is done.

Infrastructure is anticipated to be an ongoing priority in coming years, including reconstructing city arterials like 21st Street and rebuilding streets and water and sewer lines in downtown Lewiston.

What to add at Community Park will also be before city leaders. A master plan approved by the council puts the cost of a playground, athletic fields, splash pad and other amenities at $95 million.

The council has approved the concept, but hasn’t hashed out how to pay for it.

— Elaine Williams

T9. Idaho Legislature gets a makeover

A perfect storm of redistricting, intra-party feuding and political aspirations led to historic turnover in the Idaho Legislature in 2022.

By the time all was said and done, nearly half the House and Senate had rolled over, along with four of seven statewide constitutional offices.

Most of the turnover took place during the May Republican primary, when 19 incumbent lawmakers lost. That’s nearly five times the average in legislative primary races dating back nearly 30 years. Three-term Sen. Carl Crabtree, R-Grangeville, was one of the incumbents who got caught up in the intra-party dispute. He lost a four-way race for the 7th Legislative District Senate seat.

“I think incumbents win on average about 91% of the time,” he said. “But there was no advantage to it this time around.”

Eight senators lost reelection bids during the primary. Five of them were committee chairmen and three were vice chairmen.

Sen. David Nelson, D-Moscow, added to the total when he lost to former Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Viola, in the November general election.

Add in the senators who retired and 20 of the 35 seats in the Idaho Senate will have new representation in 2023.

Similarly, 31 of 70 House seats will have new representatives.

“I believe that’s probably unprecedented turnover,” said former House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, during a Legislative Council meeting in November.

The 2023 legislative session, which begins Jan. 9, “promises to be an interesting one for a bunch of different reasons,” Bedke said, “ not least of which is the steep learning curve these 51 individuals will be facing.”

— William L. Spence

10. Patriot Front members arrested in Coeur d’Alene

A “little army” of 31 masked members of a white national group were arrested in June in Coeur d’Alene for conspiring to riot and made national headlines.

One of the members of the Patriot Front group, which was allegedly planning to disrupt the Pride in the Park event, was Winston W. Durham, of Genesee.

The 21-year-old Durham was released on a $300 bond the day after being arrested. Durham was a cadet in the Idaho National Guard and enrolled in Washington State University’s ROTC program. He was placed on a leave of absence pending the outcome of the investigation.

Durham will have a status conference Friday.

Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said the group had baseball bats, riot shields and other equipment, indicating “ill-intent.”

According to the Anti-Defamation League, Patriot Front is a white nationalist group with branches across the country that specialize in vandalism, racist propaganda and “flash demonstrations” meant to intimidate minorities.

— Kaylee Brewster

Top stories of 2022

1. Moscow murders

2. Housing shortage

3. Local reaction to Roe v. Wade

4. Von Ehlinger found guilty

5. Gallina sentenced

6. The rise of fentanyl

7. Salmon and dams

8. Crime and punishment in Nez Perce County

T9. Idaho Legislature

T9. Lewiston governing change

10. Coeur d’Alene arrests