Hey North Idaho ... company's coming!

This month will definitely be a banner time for visitors to our communities. First the Ironman event will draw athletes and their families from all over the country through Sunday, June 26. As they're on their way home, the Western Governors Association will arrive in Coeur d'Alene for their annual conference June 29 through July 1, with headquarters at the Coeur d'Alene Resort.Our own governor, Butch Otter, is chairman of the WGA and will welcome governors from 19 states and three U.S.-flag Pacific Islands. Quite an honor to have the governors, their families and staff enjoying our enviable natural beauty and hospitality.

***On Saturday we enjoyed an informal gathering of Press newsroom staffers, former and current. Some hadn't seen each other for a decade or so. Denise Durflinger hosted the get-together and she and Jeff Selle dazzled everyone with their barbecue acumen. Mike and Sholeh Patrick, Keith Erickson, Joe Butler, Marc Stewart, Maureen Dolan, Lucy Dukes, David Townsend, Taryn Hecker Thompson, Andrew Biscoe, Rick Thomas, Jeannie Peugh and Andre Ney attended and it was agreed that we'll do it again soon.

***On Sunday afternoon an unidentified flying rectangle was spotted in the skies over Post Falls, Coeur d'Alene and Rathdrum. I was able to catch a photo which I then enlarged on the computer, thinking it might have been a wacky marriage proposal or the like. But it turned out that the banner the small plane was towing was an advertisement for a national insurance company and featured an image of the reptilian character used in their commercials.

Note to insurance company ... if you're going to spend big money to have a plane fly your banner in hopes of gaining customers, you might want to have the pilot fly low enough that it doesn't require a photo enlargement to see the message. Fail.***

A few weeks back I mentioned some locals who'd made the Spokane Shock Arena Football stunt team. On Saturday I got to see some of those incredible athletes practicing. Adam Durflinger, Jamie Helm, William Dean, Kylee Krahenbuhl and Gavin Krieg performed feats of strength and agility that impressed.If you question the athleticism of cheerleading at that level, think of the strength it takes to balance someone over your head with one hand. There's a photo on moremainstreet.blogspot.com for a great visual.

***Happy Birthday today to Dave Haugen, Ted Pryor, Tammy Rickard and Emma Hoffman. Tomorrow Darrell Hull is the birthday boy. On Friday Mari Meehan, Taylor Gonzales, Lori Kaye Gabouri and Joan Crawford will blow out their candles. Kellie Palm, Erna Rhinehart, Sandy Green, Colin Evans, Tori Daily and Gary Schneidmiller celebrate another year on Saturday. On June 12 Nicci Cushman, Vivian Worth and Kamryn Jay Peacock share a birthday with Father Roger LaChance, who's marking his 70th! Monday is Dave Siroshton's birthday and on Tuesday, June 14 -Flag Day - Oskar Owens, Carmen Myklebust, Don Morgan, Christina Hatfield, Lisa Odenberg, Ralph Wohrle, Brandon Bedwell and Steve Bruno will be waving the red, white and blue for their birthday!

***THERE'S MORE: New stories and photos almost every day at More Main Street. There's a link also for adding your birthday to the Main Street Birthday Club!

***Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. She was voted Best Local Writer for 2010 by the readers of the NorthIdaho Business Journal. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press. More Main Street blog is at http://moremainstreet.blogspot.com. Listen to Main Street Monday on KVNI AM1080. Kerri can be reached at [email protected]