Construction loans can be a great way to help you achieve the goal of building your dream home. Construction loans are typically a 12-month line of credit. Funds are disbursed from this line to pay the contractor to build your home. During this...

In between the Mr. Swift show and the Usher concert on Sunday, I had the chance to review some fifth-grade Social Studies. My young friend was studying the Declaration of Independence, and she was surprised at how much I remembered and knew about it...

I was disappointed to see the letter opposing a four-day school schedule last week. It followed the formation of a calendar committee at the school, which happens before every school calendar is submitted to the board. No plan was presented, for...

The year 2023 was a great year to be a gamer, and no matter what type of games you are into, there really was something for everyone. And 2024 is shaping up to be another fantastic year for gamers. Every year, we get new entries into established...

I've been making an effort lately to practice some skills that I haven't used very often in the last few years, and I think are becoming lost arts. The first is writing hand-written cards. I have a friend who, after every holiday or birthday, has her...

Dear school superintendent and school board members, I am sending this email to express my concerns with the possible switch from a five day to four day school week. I am writing as a licensed clinical social worker, who has been working with...

Questions: Why does halftime at the Super Bowl last 100 years and feature stuff football fans have no interest in? Is it just me, or do others have no idea what or who Usher is? Does the NFL book halftime entertainment to fool people not remotely...

Welcome to a leap year! I recently asked an artist friend what she planned to do with her “free day.” I expected to hear something funny but true like “sleep!” or something inspiring but exhausting like “try a new technique.” Instead, she said, ...

I love going back and looking at past Ledgers, but this week was a special adventure. This edition you're reading begins the 120th volume (or year) of our weekly publication. That first edition was published February 24, 1905. The Ledger back in...

When Justin Timberlake performed during the Super Bowl halftime show in 2018, I joked with everyone that they were going to try and play football during the Justin Timberlake concert. I’ve been making the same joke this year because one of my good f...

Earlier this month, Annie Wooden wrote an editorial about trying new things, about surprising ourselves with what we can accomplish when we step out of our comfort zones and do things we could fail at. Perhaps you’ve heard the encouragement to ...

Sanders County Community Housing Organization, doing business as Community Housing is an independent, non-profit organization that was formed in 2003 to provide affordable rental housing solutions for working and retired individuals and families in...

For years, gaming has been seen as an antisocial activity. A lot of people still have the stereotype of a person who locks themselves away in their room, eyes glued to a screen, and has little to no social life. There may have been some truth to...

I'm not sure you can put enough "r"s in the word "Brrr" to fully capture last weekend in northwest Montana. It was fascinating to watch the temperature go lower and lower. Saturday morning, as the thermometer was hovering at -21, I was one of the onl...

I finally subscribed to a local paper again after quite a lapse due to the lack of engaging content and the slant of my former small town's paper. Upon receiving my first copy of the Ledger, the first article I read is "On being worried and enraged...

Due to medical reasons, I was unable to attend the Thompson Falls City Council meeting on 8 January, but I certainly heard about it, and for all the wrong reasons. Members of the council were elected by voters to do the business of the city on...

by Michael Scharfe Mortgage Minute – Escrow Accounts Escrow accounts are very common with mortgage loans, although not all mortgage loans require an escrow account. Escrow accounts are, essentially, a bank-controlled savings account that is used t...

by Rusti Leivestad, Thompson Falls Mayor What is community? Definitions…a social unit with a shared socially significant characteristic. It’s about doing something together that makes belonging matter – caring about each other. Strong commu...

We're journalists, so we're curious. When we heard about the National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day event at Plains School, my reporter asked if I knew the history of the day. I didn't, so I started doing some research. It's a fantastic idea to...

The job of the City Council is to conduct the City’s business. We are responsible for facilitating the democratic process. To do this, we need to all be civil by respecting the rules. Recent attempts to hold meetings in venues other than City Hall h...

It’s time to write something clever about the new year. Or at least something. We get an extra day in 2024, and we get to go through an election season. Oh, boy! Mudslinging, prevaricating, science-denying, character-assassinating, and f...

There are certain things in life that you just have to figure out. We learn to problem solve, especially in a rural area. If you can't get leeks or curry at the grocery store, you learn to improvise. We also have a lot of people here who are experts...