Free Republic

Previously overlooked real-estate markets brace for the ‘New American Consumer’Home prices are rising across the country as Americans rush to purchase houses, driven in part by a newfound ability to work remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. But where are they set to rise the most? Not in the Sun Belt, by and large, according to a new index. The Emerging Housing Markets Index from the Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com analyzed the 300 largest metropolitan areas across the country. Each housing market was evaluated based on a range of factors related to real estate, economic vitality and...

If you ventured to downtown Coeur d’Alene, Idaho last night you would think you had entered a Militia family reunion. No one has an accurate count of how many heavily armed citizens came out to support peaceful protestors and protect local businesses and citizens against shipped in ANTIFA members but it was certainly HUNDREDS, perhaps over a THOUSAND. “We just drove downtown Coeur d’Alene. It is packed with armed citizens. I’ve never seen so many AR-15s in my life. There’s at least a thousand armed citizens walking on the sidewalks and the streets are packed with cars and trucks with...

A Friday afternoon (June 4, 2020) letter signed by Mayor Steve Widmyer and the Coeur d'Alene City Council expressed support for the rights of armed citizens who have been patrolling downtown since Monday. “It’s tough,” said Councilman Dan Gookin, “because the cops want to stay neutral. The cops want to do their job. We are the ones who take positions on this. But everyone’s been behaving marvelously. There’s been a lot of people downtown — I’m going to call them ‘militia,’ because I don’t know what else to call them. There’s been a lot of militia downtown, and they’ve been...

Reports and rumors that groups bent on rioting and violence in Coeur d’Alene brought out men and women with guns on Monday determined to stop them if they arrive. Dan Carson was patrolling Sherman Avenue with an AR-12 automatic 12-gauge across his chest, an AR-15 strapped to his back, two 9mm handguns holstered and a .38 special, too. “I heard there are some people on the way who shouldn’t be here,” he said early Monday evening. Those people, he said, were Antifa and Proud Boys, militant far-left and far-right groups. Carson said he was in Spokane Sunday night helping protect...

A Republican candidate for Idaho’s lieutenant governor said women who get an abortion should receive the death penalty if abortion becomes illegal in the state. State Sen. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, said at a candidate forum hosted by the Christian podcast CrossPolitic that women getting an abortion should be punished. Moderators asked him if he supported including the death penalty as a possible punishment, and Nonini nodded in response, according to the Associated Press.

Police in Idaho said they were looking for a gunman who shot and wounded a pastor outside his church Sunday afternoon, one day after he led a prayer at a rally for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz. Tim Remington was found with multiple gunshot wounds outside the Alter Church in Coeur d'Alene at around 2 p.m. local time Sunday. Remington's nephew Matthew and other church members told KREM that Remington was shot four times in the back as he walked to his car. KREM reported that Remington was expected to make a full recovery. On Saturday, Remington led a prayer...

The pastor of a prominent Idaho church was shot and critically wounded in the church's parking lot Sunday, a day after he delivered the invocation at a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, authorities told NBC News. Tim Remington, 55, senior pastor of the nondenominational Altar Church in Coeur d'Alene was in critical condition at Kootenai Health and Medical Center late Sunday afternoon, the hospital told NBC News. Police told NBC station KHQ of Spokane, Washington that when officers arrived shortly before 2 p.m. (5 p.m. ET), they found a man with several gunshot wounds. The gunman fled...

COEUR d’ALENE — Ted Cruz supporters confirmed the presidential hopeful will make a stop in Coeur d’Alene Saturday afternoon. Norm Semanko, Cruz’s statewide coordinator, posted a message on his Facebook page confirming Cruz is going to be in town on Saturday.

The man charged with fatally shooting Coeur d'Alene Police Department Sergeant Greg Moore, 43, admitted to pulling the trigger during an interview with investigators. Court documents released Tuesday morning stated that Jonathan D. Renfro, 26, admitted to the crime during the interview. Renfro allegedly said he shot Moore because he had a gun in his pocket and knew Moore would find it. He admitted to shooting Moore with a 9mm Glock pistol he had in his coat pocket according to court records. Sgt. Moore was shot Tuesday around 1:30 a.m. near Wilbur Avenue and Joanna Drive. White said Moore was...

<p>Two Christian ministers who own an Idaho wedding chapel were told they had to either perform same-sex weddings or face jail time and up to $1,000 in fines, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court.</p> <p>Alliance Defending Freedom is representing Donald and Evelyn Knapp, two ordained ministers who own the Hitching Post Wedding Chapel in Coeur d’Alene.</p>

President Barack Obama says the Supreme Court’s recent gay marriage orders may have the biggest impact of any ruling of his presidency. Obama told The New Yorker that the court’s Oct. 6 rejection of appeals from states seeking to preserve gay marriage bans is the best of his tenure. …

…and the distinction between gay rights and religious persecution just vanished. It begins with equality and ends with everyone losing their freedom.But I love all these new freedoms we’re getting. We now have the freedom to do what various pressure groups want or go to jail. I hope we don’t get too many more new freedoms or we’ll run out of jail cells. Officials in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, are threatening an elderly couple who run a wedding chapel with jail time unless they perform wedding ceremonies for gay couples.Donald Knapp and his wife, Evelyn, both ordained ministers who run Hitching...

Coeur d'Alene City Council. Idaho, as with most states, has a preemption statute that guarantees uniform gun laws across the state.  The laws have proven to be popular in the United States.  All states have some form of preemption.   In New York, courts have ruled that the State handgun licensing law preempts local ordinances.  The laws vary in their application by state.  The Idaho Second Amendment Alliance is pushing Idaho governments to follow the state law.   Most have been doing so, at least when notified.  Coeur d'Alene seems to have less respect for the rule of law than most.  ...

NOTE The following text is a quote: Third Man Sentenced for Distribution of Methamphetamine in North Idaho Michael Ray Opland, 52, of Shoshone County, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday to 188 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and failure to appear, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced. U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge also ordered Opland to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term. Opland pleaded guilty to the charges in September 2009. Co-defendant Paul Dean Hartman, 44, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, had previously been sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Lynn B. Winmill in January 2010...

BELLEVUE – The FBI is investigating after envelopes containing white powder showed up in government offices from Seattle to Boise. In Bellevue, a building with offices of the Internal Revenue Service was evacuated around 12:30 p.m. A female worker said she opened an envelope in the mailroom and white powder "poofed" out. "One worker was directly exposed and another worker was close enough nearby to be concerned. We've taken both of them to the hospital," said Lt. Eric Keenan of the Bellevue Fire Dept. Federal and local investigators converged on the four-story building. While Port of Seattle bomb dogs searched...

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) -- A teen trying to rob an espresso stand in northern Idaho met his match in a gun toting barista. Police say the 17-year-old confronted Sunshine Espresso owner Michelle Cornelson with a gun Wednesday morning, demanding all her money. Cornelson has been hunting since she was a girl and says she remained calm as a customer pulled up to the other side of her kiosk in Coeur d'Alene (kohr duh-LAYN'), distracting the teen.

An Idaho pharmacist who wrestled down an armed robber was fired. A pharmacist who fought off an armed robber in Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho was awarded a special award from the city. But his award from his employer was termination because he fought and captured the robber. He chased an armed gunman who stole prescription medications, and was able to tackle him outside the store. He confronted the man who informed him he had a gun and started reaching for his pocket. But, the former college wrestler tackled him. As often happens, the robber accidentally dropped his gun....

A northern Idaho pharmacist who tackled a gun-toting robber and received a special award from the city of Coeur d'Alene has been fired for violating company policy. Jerry Gunderson says he was dismissed from the Shopko pharmacy ... A Shopko spokeswoman at the company's corporate office in Green Bay, Wis., declined to comment. Police arrested the man and Gunderson later received a Citizen Appreciation Award from city leaders.

A crowd estimated at up to 1,200 people has been waiting in the cold for former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to begin signing books at the Fred Meyer store in Coeur d’Alene. The first 700 people in line are being given wristbands that will guarantee a chance to have Palin sign up to two copies of her book, “Going Rogue.”Fred Meyer officials have begun to pass out the wristbands in preparation for the noon event. The first person in line, Mary Ann Porter, of Spokane, said she arrived at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Overnight temperatures plunged as low as 9...

Note: Photo and videos included. COEUR D'ALENE -- The Aryan Nations is experiencing an unwanted resurgence in North Idaho. SNIPPET: "However, a man named Paul Mullet claims he is going to bring the racist organization back." SNIPPET: "Mullet says he moved here from Ohio five months ago because North Idaho is the "last stand" for the Aryan Nations movement. Mullet says he's in the process of buying a large amount of land in the area." SNIPPET: "Monday's distribution of racist material in Spokane Valley's Trentwood neighborhood was the latest in a series of similar incidents. Aryan Nations literature has also...