GALLERY: November 2025 in review
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 days AGO
The Moravida Festival commemorates departed loved ones with family altars and displays Nov. 1.
FILE PHOTO
Franco Perez (32) breaks loose on a run play for the Wahluke Warriors offense against Grandview Nov. 6.
The Mavericks celebrate after securing a 49-35 win at home over Issaquah Nov. 7 to advance to the 4A state tournament. Their state run ended with the month, but this year’s team secured its reputation as the winningest in Moses Lake history.
Big Bend Community College chemistry instructor Lindsay Groce receives the STEM Champion of the Year Award during the NCW Tech Alliance’s annual awards ceremony Nov. 5.
The Mavericks celebrate after securing a 49-35 win at home over Issaquah Nov. 7 to advance to the 4A state tournament. Their state run ended with the month, but this year’s team secured its reputation as the winningest in Moses Lake history.
The Royal Knights’ Scout Stevenson (21) from the Knights lines up for the start of the play while Brycen Fitzhugh (16) fills in at quarterback late in the game against King’s Way Christian Nov. 7. Royal shut out King’s Way 69-0.
The Grant County Democrats held a food drive on Veterans Day for the Moses Lake Food Bank, raising $393 in cash and about 200 pounds of food.
Country musician Coffey Anderson performed a concert for veterans Nov. 11 in Quincy.
The Othello High School drama troupe performed Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Nov. 13-15.
Broncos senior volleyball player Hannah Towne gets down low to hit the ball against Manson at the state tournament Nov. 13.
Ashton Rodriguez, left Ruby Nishida starred in Moses Lake High School’s production of “Mamma Mia!” Nov. 21-25.
Taggart Rathbun navigates traffic as he carries the ball upfield in Moses Lake’s game against Bothell Nov. 15.
The Port of Moses Lake celebrated its 60th anniversary Nov. 13.
Almira/Coulee-Hartline's Caden Correia runs for a first down against Entiat Nov. 15.
Ricky Boehler, flanked by Jeremiah Jensen, left, of the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office and Community Court Specialist Manny Garcia, prepares to shred the DUI complaint that would have sent him back to prison. Boehler graduated from Community Court Nov. 19.
Volunteer Vlad Kovtonyuk loads a sack of apples into a car at the Moses Lake Food Bank’s drive-thru Thanksgiving distribution Nov. 24.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | November 30, 2025 3:00 AM
COLUMBIA BASIN — November in the Basin began with memorials for the departed, surged through state sports championships and finally began to look like winter during Thanksgiving week. Here are a few highlights from last month.
Cheryl Schweizer, Nance Beston, Mike Maynard, R. Hans Miller and Caleb Perez contributed to this report.
Franco Perez (32) breaks loose on a run play for the Wahluke Warriors offense against Grandview Nov. 6.
The Mavericks celebrate after securing a 49-35 win at home over Issaquah Nov. 7 to advance to the 4A state tournament. Their state run ended with the month, but this year’s team secured its reputation as the winningest in Moses Lake history.
Big Bend Community College chemistry instructor Lindsay Groce receives the STEM Champion of the Year Award during the NCW Tech Alliance’s annual awards ceremony Nov. 5. The Mavericks celebrate after securing a 49-35 win at home over Issaquah Nov. 7 to advance to the 4A state tournament. Their state run ended with the month, but this year’s team secured its reputation as the winningest in Moses Lake history.
The Royal Knights’ Scout Stevenson (21) from the Knights lines up for the start of the play while Brycen Fitzhugh (16) fills in at quarterback late in the game against King’s Way Christian Nov. 7. Royal shut out King’s Way 69-0.
The Grant County Democrats held a food drive on Veterans Day for the Moses Lake Food Bank, raising $393 in cash and about 200 pounds of food.
Country musician Coffey Anderson performed a concert for veterans Nov. 11 in Quincy.
The Othello High School drama troupe performed Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Nov. 13-15.
Broncos senior volleyball player Hannah Towne gets down low to hit the ball against Manson at the state tournament Nov. 13.
Ashton Rodriguez, left Ruby Nishida starred in Moses Lake High School’s production of “Mamma Mia!” Nov. 21-25.
Taggart Rathbun navigates traffic as he carries the ball upfield in Moses Lake’s game against Bothell Nov. 15.
The Port of Moses Lake celebrated its 60th anniversary Nov. 13.
Almira/Coulee-Hartline's Caden Correia runs for a first down against Entiat Nov. 15.
Ricky Boehler, flanked by Jeremiah Jensen, left, of the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office and Community Court Specialist Manny Garcia, prepares to shred the DUI complaint that would have sent him back to prison. Boehler graduated from Community Court Nov. 19.
Volunteer Vlad Kovtonyuk loads a sack of apples into a car at the Moses Lake Food Bank’s drive-thru Thanksgiving distribution Nov. 24.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Moses Lake teachers march downtown
MOSES LAKE — Teachers from across Moses Lake marched from Sinkiuse Square to Frontier Middle School Thursdayin support of the Moses Lake Education Association’s work stoppage. The teachers stayed at Frontier while a band played at Carl Ahlers Park across the street and passing motorists honked. The teachers had been on strike for four days while the union negotiates a new contract with the Moses Lake School District.
Mini-farm for sale has deep Grant County roots
SOAP LAKE — There’s a little piece of history in the mini-farm for sale east of Soap Lake. “It’s been with the same owner since the 1930s,” said Anna Van Diest of Moses Lake Realty Group, who is listing the 25.19-acre property at 20226 NE Adrian Road, just south of SR 28. The well, still in use, was dug in 1931, she added, more than two decades before the Columbia Basin Project brought irrigation water to the Basin. There’s not much left now of the town of Adrian, but if things had gone a little differently in 1910, the Grant County Courthouse might have been located where the farm now stands. When Grant County was formed out of the eastern part of Douglas County in 1909, the city of Ephrata, then just over 300 people, was named the county seat. The people of Adrian got up a petition the following year to grab the county seat away, according to the Washington history site historylink.org, but were defeated in a 945-802 vote. A few remnants of the town and the railroad cutoff nearby are still visible from the road or in aerial photos.
Small, local shops offer unique Christmas gifts
MOSES LAKE — Plenty of people do all their Christmas shopping from the comfort of their laptop. But just a few blocks away, local small businesses are offering things you won’t necessarily find online. “Most of our shoppers, they're looking for something unique, not something they can get from Amazon or from China,” said Ken Haisch, one of six vendors at Third Avenue Antiques in Moses Lake.