Are Earth's land areas getting drier?

We all know that water is essential to life on our planet as it supports ecosystems. Approximately 71% of the Earth is covered with this liquid, and it’s estimated that there are around 326 million trillion gallons of water on Earth. However, over 97% of this liquid is undrinkable salt water. The rest of it is freshwater, but around 68% of the planet’s freshwater is locked up in ice and glaciers. According to the USGS, if all the Earth’s water, which includes the freshwater sources and oceans, were put into a sphere, the diameter of this “water ball” would be about 860 miles across. Water is also being discovered outside our planet. In various forms, the liquid has been found in asteroids, comets, other moons and other planets that may possess subsurface oceans or even water vapor in their atmosphere.

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Loggins, Counting Crows top Festival lineup

SANDPOINT — The Festival at Sandpoint is celebrating its 30th annual summer concert series with a sparkling lineup that features Kenny Loggins, Barenaked Ladies, and Counting Crows.

Casino regulators seek coronavirus fines in 3 Nevada cases

LAS VEGAS (AP) — State casino regulators are seeking fines against two casinos and a bowling alley in rural Nevada, alleging that employees and patrons failed to comply with requirements including a mandate for people to wear face coverings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

PSNI launches plans for future expansion

The bad news is that Panhandle Special Needs, Inc., most often called PSNI (pronounced piz-knee) has recently given notice by the city that their lease, when up, will not be renewed. They must move. This isn’t a small feat.

Ramona Delores Kincaid

Nov. 9, 1945 — Oct. 13, 2023

Ramona Delores Kincaid, formerly Long, departed this life on October 13, 2023. She was 77 years old.

Pandemic leads 7-Eleven to forgo free Slurpees on 7-11

DALLAS (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic has taken away another summertime tradition in the U.S.: There will be no free Slurpees at 7-Elevens on Saturday — July 11 — to hail a date that doubles as an abbreviation of the convenience store chain's name.

Make this the year you stop wasting food (and money)

Who hasn’t felt the shame of a refrigerator purge? You’re sentenced to face the forgotten leftovers, fuzzy produce and years-old salad dressing that you swear must have come with the fridge. But it didn’t. You paid money for all these things, and now you have to throw them away.

PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL: Coeur d'Alene routs GSL power Mead

Coeur d'Alene, St. Maries and North Idaho Christian notch nonleague wins on Saturday.

William Harley Bagwell October 21, 1944

Our dad, William Harley Bagwell, was born on October 21, 1944, in Wenatchee, WA to George Leslie Bagwell and Evelyn Julia Archer Bagwell. Dad’s dad was stricken with rheumatoid arthritis at an early age which left Dad as an only child to be raised by his mother, grandmother and a handful of uncles. Despite this non-traditional way of being raised, Dad always told the best stories about his childhood and teen years.

Bloomberg, surrogates for Sanders, Biden come to N Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's primary elections are heating up with presidential candidates and their surrogates visiting as early in-person voting begins.

Badgers fall to Kellogg in IML matchup

BONNERS FERRY — The Badger boys played hard against Kellogg on Thursday, Feb. 6, eventually falling to the visiting Wildcats 73-55.

Samaritan authorizes land purchase for possible new hospital

MOSES LAKE — Samaritan Healthcare commissioners approved the purchase of a parcel of land at a special meeting Monday, the first step toward a possible new hospital. Commissioners also agreed to allow Samaritan’s administrative team to continue negotiations for other parcels of land at the same site.

Badgers fall to Kellogg in IML matchup

BONNERS FERRY — The Badger boys played hard against Kellogg on Thursday, Feb. 6, eventually falling to the visiting Wildcats 73-55.

Gallery Nights features variety of talent

The art community of Whitefish comes together during the summer to host an evening of featured artist exhibitions, entertainment, and light refreshments on the first Thursday of the month.

Amid pandemic, homebrewing surges in popularity

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — On March 14, the day after the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a national emergency in the United States, I decided to take up an activity that I had abandoned decades ago.

Sheriff's Blotter

Notable calls for the day!

People flee town near Moscow, Idaho through a tunnel of fire and smoke as Western wildfires spread

Multiple communities in Idaho have been evacuated after lightning strikes sparked fast-moving wildfires.

Flathead County schools increase number of fans allowed at events

4 allowed for each home participant; 2 for each visiting team member

On the eve of Glacier High’s football opener against visiting Helena Capital, it has been announced that the number of fans allowed for each home participant has been increased to four.

Europe ramps up vaccinations as virus haunts Easter holidays

PARIS (AP) — The French city of Lyon's main stadium opened as a mass vaccination center during Easter weekend, and thousands spent the holiday lining up for injections at hippodromes, velodromes or other sites as France tried to speed up shots amid a new rush of coronavirus cases.