Dec. 30—There were developments at the municipal, state and federal levels; happenings at the two universities; and ventures made by local businesses.
But all throughout 2023, the Bryan Kohberger case cast a long shadow over the Palouse. It was judged the region’s No. 1 story for the second consecutive year, as voted on by the Daily News staff.
Kohberger, charged with murdering four University of Idaho students in November 2022, was memorably flown from Pennsylvania to the Palouse in a single-engine plane on Jan. 4 — a journey that took the whole day. The following day, court documents were released to the public that, for the first time, detailed his allegedly activities before, during and after the murders.
The case has moved into the realm of the court, where it will continue to be significant news in 2024.
1. Kohberger brought back to Palouse; legal process moves along
A crowd of media members and the public braved a chilly Jan. 4 night outside the Latah County Courthouse to catch a glimpse of the police vehicle carrying Bryan Kohberger from the airport to Latah County Jail.
Kohberger, accused of murdering four University of Idaho students with a knife during the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, had been arrested Dec. 30, 2022, at his parents’ Pennsylvania house. The Washington State University student’s return to the Palouse marked the end of a tense manhunt that put the community on edge for more than a month.
The end of the manhunt gave way to the beginning of a long and ongoing legal process as both the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office and Kohberger’s defense team prepare for a trial. There was an indictment, an arraignment, a not-guilty plea ordered by Judge John Judge, and a trial date that was set and later vacated.
Meanwhile, the world continues to watch the case unfold.
A tumultuous 2023 ended with what the UI hopes to be a sign of healing for the community. The house on King Road where the murders took place was torn down Thursday after the prosecution and defense teams were given access to the home to gather additional evidence.
2. Gas line rupture leaves region in the cold
More than 36,000 Avista customers went without heat and other services fueled by natural gas when a large transmission line north of Pullman was ruptured in early November.
A farmer installing a drainage pipe allegedly hit the underground gas pipeline with a plow on Nov. 8. The loss of natural gas caused the University of Idaho along with several school districts to shut down. Some major employers like Clearwater Paper and CCI/Speer also closed during the outage.
Although temperatures were mild at the time, people flocked to area stores to purchase portable electric heaters and quickly exhausted supplies. One Lewiston business, Bill’s Heating & A/C, garnered goodwill by loaning out thousands of portable heaters. People bundled up in winter coats and draped in blankets queued up in Soviet-like bread lines at the G Street business while waiting for the devices.
The damaged gas transmission was quickly repaired but Avista had to hire thousands of contractors to restore service — a process that stretched to nearly a week for some customers. The relighting process started with ensuring the lines feeding individual customers in Moscow, Pullman, Lewiston, Clarkston and other communities were purged and shut down so the entire system could be recharged. Workers then had to go door to door to restart gas furnaces and other appliances like water heaters and stoves. To accomplish the feat, the utility company brought in workers from across the western United States and also contracted with regional heating, ventilation and air conditioning companies. The workers were welcomed by some like a liberating army.
The landowner who allegedly caused the outage is facing a civil fine of up to $10,000 and may face a misdemeanor charge for not having the pipeline located and flagged before plowing.
3. Pac-12 Conference falls apart, leaving WSU in limbo
For Washington State University, 2023 will be remembered as the year the Cougars lost their historic Pac-12 Conference — at least as it’s been known for the last 100-plus years.
After Southern California and UCLA announced their departure from the league in 2022, eight other schools followed suit in 2023, including Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, California, Stanford, Arizona and Arizona State.
That left just WSU and Oregon State remaining in the “Pac-2.”
The Cougars and Beavers hope to rebuild the league, and a judge granting the two universities control of the conference moving forward is a step in the right direction. But rebuilding a troubled and abandoned league that also has its own money issues will be easier said than done.
In the short and medium term, WSU will not be bringing as many “big name” teams to its stadiums and arenas, which could mean fewer butts in the seats at Gesa Field and Beasley Coliseum. It could also mean fewer rooms taken in Pullman’s hotels and fewer tables filled at its restaurants during the usual busiest times of the sports seasons, primarily football in the fall and basketball in the winter.
In the long term, it could mean less money coming into the school through media rights deals and other NCAA-related funding.
The Cougars are used to being the underdogs. Now, they’ll have to embrace it more than ever.
4. UI makes unexpected bid for University of Phoenix
In a move that came seemingly out of nowhere to outsiders, the University of Idaho announced its $685 million plan to acquire the University of Phoenix through the creation of a not-for-profit entity.
UI President Scott Green praised the new diverse revenue sources University of Phoenix will provide and the access to education it can offer to thousands of students.
The move was also met with a wave of opposition from politicians, Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador and UI employees. They questioned the legality of the purchase, the reputation of the University of Phoenix and whether the acquisition will benefit the UI as the university promises.
Labrador brought a lawsuit against the Idaho State Board of Education, alleging it violated the Open Meetings Law leading up to its approval of the Phoenix purchase. A trial on this matter is scheduled for January.
5. Pullman working to make Project Downtown a reality
No one said that the work would be easy, especially on Pullman’s largest revitalization project the town has seen in decades.
There is excitement but also trepidation about Pullman’s Project Downtown. The city, community and local businesses anticipate a well-done reworking of downtown, including essential upgrades to Main Street’s aging infrastructure. But city staff have had to navigate challenges that come along with a project of this scale. And many downtown business owners expect low sales during construction.
If all goes to plan, crews will be uprooting Main Street from Grand Avenue to Spring Street from late April to early October to upgrade the town’s streets, sidewalks, public spaces and infrastructure. The city of Pullman was allocated $9.6 million in relief from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act in 2021. Around $6.9 million from the allotted amount is earmarked to fund construction of downtown.
Local officials have been navigating shortfalls to keep the project on track, like receiving no bids for the project in November, inflated construction market prices and extended schedules. City staff have continued to stay committed to the project, and are optimistic about its success once completed.
6. Vandals win playoff game for first time in 30 years
The University of Idaho football team capped its season 9-4 overall and 6-2 in conference play, which was good enough for it to reach the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the second consecutive season.
The Vandals notched their first playoff win in 30 years with a 20-17 decision over Southern Illinois in the second round.
The game was hosted at the P1FCU Kibbie, which sold out twice during the regular season when Idaho hosted Montana on Oct. 14 and Montana State on Oct. 28.
The Vandals’ season came to a close with a 30-22 loss to Albany in the quarterfinals of the playoffs Dec. 9. (For more on the Vandals’ season, see today’s Sports section.)
7. SEL comes to Moscow
The largest private employer in the region got even bigger this year.
Pullman-based Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories expanded its footprint to Moscow in 2023. It opened a $100 million, 162,000-square-foot facility so that it could manufacture its own printed circuit boards for its devices. The printed circuit boards go to SEL’s manufacturing centers in Pullman, Lewiston, West Lafayette, Ind., and Lake Zurich, Ill.
A celebration of the factory’s opening drew esteemed guests like Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Washington U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
The plant also boasts environmentally friendly practices such as a zero-liquid discharge process that has helped earn SEL an environmental excellence award from the Idaho Association of Commerce & Industry for 2023.
8. U.S. 95 project back on track
The project to expand and realign U.S.Highway 95 south of Moscow got back on track this year.
The Idaho Department of Transportation had to put some areas of construction on hold as it waited to get the necessary permits to continue with the entire project. The project includes building a new four-lane route from Moscow to Thorn Creek Road in the interest of safety and reducing travel times.
The Army Corps of Engineers suspended 13 permits at wetland sites along the 6-mile stretch of highway in August 2022.
This decision came as the Corps and the Idaho Transportation Department were co-defendants in a lawsuit brought forth by the Paradise Ridge Defense Coalition.
The PRDC, which has opposed ITD’s course of action in the project for years, sued the Corps to get the agency to cancel the Clean Water Act permit it granted ITD.
In September, those permits were approved and ITD anticipates the highway’s completion in fall 2024.
9. Tribes, Biden administration strike fish-and-dam deal
The three-decade struggle to restore Snake River salmon and steelhead entered a new phase when the Biden administration struck a deal with the Nez Perce and other Columbia Basin tribes and salmon advocates.
According to the agreement, the tribes and environmental groups agreed to put their lawsuit challenging the operation of fish-harming dams on hold for at least five years. In exchange, the government committed to spend $300 million over 10 years to improve salmon and steelhead habitat and update hatcheries. The government will also help the tribes develop alternative energy that can be counted as replacement for hydropower produced at Snake River dams should the U.S. Congress ever approve breaching the dams.
According to the terms, the government will spill more water during the spring when many juvenile fish are migrating to the ocean but cut back on spill in August, a move that could hurt wild fall chinook.
Agriculture and shipping interests and representatives of public power utilities bitterly opposed the deal and said it was developed in secret, will raise the cost of power, and is a road map to dam breaching. The agreement was negotiated behind closed doors, as is common with the settlement of lawsuits. While it does aim to make dam breaching more palatable in the future, it still leaves that decision to Congress.
Snake River salmon and steelhead returns once numbered in the millions. But the runs declined dramatically following construction of eight dams between Lewiston and the Pacific Ocean. Most returning adult fish are now from hatcheries, and wild spring chinook, steelhead, sockeye and fall chinook are all protected by the Endangered Species Act.
10. Pullman switches mayors for first time since 2004
Pullman residents elected a new mayor for the first time in two decades.
The position opened became available after longtime Mayor Glenn Johnson announced he wouldn’t be running for reelection. Johnson is Pullman’s longest serving mayor, who served five terms after being appointed in 2004.
Francis Benjamin won the seat after beating retired Pullman teacher Debora McNeill in this year’s general election. Benjamin and McNeill advanced to the November election after defeating Councilmember Eileen Macoll in the primary election this August.
Benjamin is a longtime Pullman resident who’s invested 30 years into the community by volunteering for various city organizations, including 13 years on the Pullman City Council. Originally from Lewiston, he moved to the Palouse for school and stayed to raise three kids with his wife and college sweetheart, Heidi.
His philosophy is less talking, more doing. In his term, he plans to see Project Downtown come to fruition. He said he wants to promote Pullman being a welcoming community that appreciates its diversity, better communication across the Palouse and a respectful and responsive city council.
Contact the Daily News staff at editor@dnews.com.