OPINION: And now for something a little bit different

It doesn’t seem like that much time has gone by, but it’s been more than four years since the Lewiston Tribune introduced two contributors to its roster of conservative columnists whose work appear on Sunday’s Opinion page.

Cindy Agidius of Moscow brought to this effort a multi-faceted political background that included a term in the Idaho House (2013-15) representing Latah and Benewah counties, a stint as media director for the House Republican majority as well as serving as state director, first for former Sen. Dirk Kempthorne and then his successor, Sen. Mike Crapo. She also found time to sell real estate and author a column for the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Marvin F. Dugger of Lewiston was equally well-recognized as an advocate for gun ownership rights, vocational education, management of natural resources and the preservation of the four lower Snake River dams. Active with the Pulp and Paperworkers Resource Council, the Clearwater Paper retiree was a prominent face in the successful 2017 campaign to build a new Lewiston High School

Dugger remains.

But in September, Agidius started talking about scaling back.

“This may be my last column as I believe I have reached a point in life where the other irons in my fire are keeping me busier than I’d like to be and, eventually, it might be nice to join my husband in retirement,” she wrote that month.

Replacing her would not be easy. Experience aside, Agidius’ perspective as a right-of-center woman who lives on the Palouse was vital. So she graciously continued to fill the void while we recruited a replacement.

Make that replacements.

Joining the roster of Sunday columnists will be:

Jennifer Beasley of Moscow.

A lifelong Republican, Beasley has been active with the Latah County GOP and the Idaho Federation of Republican Women. She served as a delegate to the 2022 Idaho Republican Convention.

If you watched closely enough, you also may have noticed her role as former Rep. Caroline Troy’s substitute in the Idaho House on a couple of occasions as well as her own candidacy for office.

If helping to manage a 37-acre hobby farm on the Palouse, being a mother and grandmother weren’t enough, Beasley is also building on her nursing degree from Lewis-Clark State College by obtaining a doctorate in education from the University of Idaho.

Cindi Mader of Genesee.

She ought to be familiar to many Tribune readers. Mader’s husband, Dan, represented Nez Perce County in the Idaho House throughout the 1990s. The couple has managed their farm, commercial and residential properties, a new venue/event center and recently became co-owners of a downtown Lewiston coffee shop.

Cindi built a political resume of her own, which included staffing for Congressman — and later Sen. — Larry Craig, R-Idaho.

But that hardly tells the story. A graduate of Lewiston High School, she crisscrossed much of the country — working for an oil company in Tulsa, Okla., in the late 1970s before moving to Southern California where she worked for a chiropractor and an airplane manufacturing company. When she returned to north central Idaho, Mader completed a bachelor’s degree in business marketing at the UI and worked for what was then Potlatch Corp.

It goes without saying these are two active women with considerable demands on their time. So the idea of writing a column every four weeks was daunting. The solution was a hybrid. With Agidius, who will keep her hand in, they’ll switch off. It works out to about four columns a year from each of them.

Beasley’s introductory column appears elsewhere on this page.

“It’s been a great few years writing for the Trib on a monthly basis,” Agidius said. “I think it’s important to listen and learn from each other, which often means hearing the other side. Living in such a divided time in our political history compels me to keep a finger in the writing. But as I approach retirement, I am happy to turn the bulk of that over to two very talented and knowledgeable women in Cindi Mader and Jen Beasley.”

Continuing to serve in the Sunday conservative columnist rotation are:

Richard J. Eggleston, of Clarkston, a retired ophthalmologist who since joining the roster in 2021 has made a name for himself as a skeptic of conventional wisdom regarding COVID-19 remedies and the influence of the pharmaceutical industry.

Bob Hassoldt, of Kendrick. During the past three years as a Tribune contributor, Hassoldt has utilized his expertise in forestry to provide the other side to environmental issues, notably wind farms in southern Idaho and federal land management, while also finding fault with both parties in Idaho’s Legislature.

That’s in addition to the seven left-of-center columnists who appear each Wednesday in the Tribune: Shelley Dumas, of Grangeville; Russell Gee, of Lewiston; former Congressman Larry LaRocco, of Boise; Moscow businessman Ivar Nelson; former Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow; former Rep. John Rusche, D-Lewiston and now of Clarkston; and retired insurance executive Mark Sherry, of Lewiston.

They provide a sparkle to this page. Please welcome them, veteran and newcomer alike. — M.T.