Today's headlines:
- No relief in sight for NW in latest drought forecast.
- Growing list of hurdles is putting many NW pear growers in debt—or out of business entirely.
- Spokane Prosecuting Attorney's Office pursues grant for domestic violence risk assessment tool testing. Officials say it comes with much needed funding for more staff.
- Trans Affirm crowd-sources information on inclusive restrooms in Idaho as criminal ban partially takes effect.
- North Idaho residents, organizations and businesses can apply for disaster funds as recovery continues from December's windstorms.
Plus, we bring you the third in our series of conversations with candidates hoping to succeed Timm Ormsby in the state House of Representatives.
Today, Democrat and former emergency physician Pam Kohlmeier makes her case for representing Spokane.
Kohlmeier says she's focusing some of her campaign on improving healthcare in rural communities. Part of the problem, she says, is that many rural residents don’t understand the financial stress their local hospitals are experiencing.
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SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting was contributed by Doug Nadvornick, Anna King and Owen Henderson.
Owen Henderson hosts and produces the show.
TRANSCRIPT
[THEME MUSIC]
OWEN HENDERSON: From Spokane Public Radio, it’s SPR News Today.
I’m Owen Henderson. It’s Thursday, July 9, 2026.
On today’s show, forecasts show there’s not much relief in sight for the Northwest when it comes to this summer’s drought.
Plus, growers in the Northwest produce nearly 90% of the country’s fresh pears. But a growing list of hurdles is putting many in debt—or out of business entirely.
And we bring you the third in our series of conversations with candidates hoping to succeed Timm Ormsby in the state House of Representatives.
Today, Democrat and former emergency physician Pam Kohlmeier makes her case for representing Spokane.
Those stories and more, coming up on SPR News Today.
[FADE OUT THEME]
Almost all of Washington and Oregon are experiencing higher-than-usual fire danger right now.
Here’s Brad Pugh from the federal Climate Prediction Center.
BRAD PUGH: “I would say the most likely area to see drought development during the next few months would be the Columbia River basin in Washington and Oregon, especially if we see those above-normal temperatures during the next three months that occurs. Then drought is likely to not only develop but intensify as well.”
OH: Jim Wallmann from the National Interagency Fire Center says North Idaho and western Montana are in slightly better shape.
Some areas received more rain than usual in June and early July.
But Wallmann says that will bring only a temporary reprieve.
In fact, he says, much of the Northwest is looking at a grim rest of the summer.
JIM WALLMANN: “Looking ahead into August, expecting all of Oregon, Washington and the southern half of Idaho to be above normal potential, based on the really dry conditions in the mountains and then also the fine fuel loading that we have in the lower elevations as well. Idaho and Montana, we think it’s going to be a little bit more normal.”
OH: Forecasters say a developing El Niño weather pattern could lead to a warmer-than-usual winter in the Northwest.
They say it’s not yet clear whether that will lead to more or less precipitation.
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Pear growers in the Northwest say consolidation in supermarkets is driving down their prices.
The rising costs of labor, diesel, propane and fertilizer are also threatening the struggling industry.
Now many in the northwest are going into deep debt, or are getting out of the business.
Near Hood River, Oregon, Lesley Tamura is a fourth-generation pear grower.
She says if pear growers go under, it will have a ripple effect.
LESLEY TAMURA: “It’s the irrigation supply store that is established here because of the orchards and our needs, it’s the mechanic who makes a lot of our revenue from fixing our equipment and keeping us up and running.”
OH: Tamura says last year’s closure of a major pear processing plant in Yakima also dumped a lot of fruit back on the fresh market in a bumper crop year.
About 87% of all fresh U.S. pears come from the Northwest.
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The Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office is hoping to get funds for more staff by testing out a domestic violence risk assessment tool.
The office should have seven attorneys focused on domestic violence cases, Prosecuting Attorney Preston McCollam says.
Right now, there are four.
McCollam told County Commissioners this week his office is pursuing a state grant in partnership with city police and the YWCA.
Local law enforcement already has an assessment tool for domestic violence survivors, but…
PRESTON McCOLLAM: “This one is tailored specifically to trying to identify individuals that fall into or at risk for homicide… the idea is that you are picking your most high risk, prioritizing those for services.”
OH: Data from McCollam’s office over the last year shows attorneys have begun declining to prosecute felony domestic violence cases much more often.
McCollam says his team just doesn’t have the staff to keep up.
If they get approval, McCollam told Commissioners his office staff would get access to the screening tools and the funds to potentially hire another attorney.
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As transgender Idahoans navigate the state’s new restrictions on which public bathrooms and changing rooms they can use, one group aims to help.
The nonprofit Trans Affirm has launched a map with crowd-sourced information about places around the state where trans and gender non-conforming people have found inclusive bathrooms.
The organization says the map can help assuage the anxiety many trans people feel when going to public spaces or traveling through the state.
Group leaders say the tool is especially helpful as Idaho’s partially blocked criminal bathroom ban continues to work its way through the courts, and uncertainty remains around how the law will be enforced.
Community members, businesses and other groups can report locations with inclusive restrooms and check out the map at Trans Affirm dot org.
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North Idaho businesses, nonprofits, renters and homeowners can now apply for loans to fix damage from December’s windstorms.
The Small Business Administration is offering assistance in replacing and repairing property or other assets lost and harmed by the more-than-80-mile an hour wind gusts.
Shoshone and Idaho County residents and businesses qualify for loans of up to $2 million to fix physical damage under the most recent disaster declaration.
Those applications are open until August 7.
Anyone in Idaho’s 10 northernmost counties can still apply for assistance with economic injuries caused by the windstorms until January 7.
[SHORT MUSIC BED]
Spokane legislative candidate Pam Kohlmeier is focusing some of her campaign on improving healthcare in rural communities.
Part of the problem, she says, is that many rural residents don’t understand the financial stress their local hospitals are experiencing.
As part of our candidate interview series, SPR’s Doug Nadvornick talks with Kohlmeier about an organization she’s affiliated with that’s trying to raise awareness:
PAM KOHLMEIER: Prosperity Eastern Washington. The birthplace of it was right here in Spokane with these two amazing women, Shirley Grossman and Ros Luther. They're both in their 80s. I try to keep up with both of them, which is hard.
But in the fall, they became very concerned about health care access in Eastern Washington, especially the rural areas. And in rural areas, and I grew up in a small town, so I understand what happens with messaging. These rural areas vote oftentimes against their own best interests, including voting for leaders that say pass HR 1, that takes away funding for their own Medicaid, that hurts their own rural hospitals. But people don't see that unless it comes to them in a form that is educational. It's not meant to be divisive. It's just meant to raise awareness.
So what we've done is we've raised $123,000 to put 13 billboards all the way from Colville down to Walla Walla with basic messaging about Congress forcing painful choices, medicine or food. Prosperity Eastern Washington. People go on the website, and there's a group of about 10 of us that really focus on ensuring accurate information that's helpful on the website.
What happens if your Medicaid gets taken away? What state agencies can you reach out to for help? What happens if you're feeling overwhelmed by this? Conveying 988, you know, is a resource people can have. How do I find out how financially healthy my local hospital is? Here is the data from the Department of Health website. Oh, your hospital's a million and a half in debt. Oh, they've been that way for three years and it's getting worse.
Just to raise awareness. Not telling people who to vote for, but then they can maybe talk to their board members of their hospital. Like, why did we not know this? Or ask, you know, if they go to a town hall with congressional people, why is it that you voted against this? To get more information.
DN: So I'm not quite sure, if you go to Olympia, how does that turn into legislation that's going to help people?
PK: So rural health especially. So right now we have—when I lived in the 9th LD, the two representatives from there are Republicans. They've been Republicans for decades. They also want to improve rural health care, but we look at the ‘how’ very differently. And so really helping to be at the same table, having discussions and sharing even some of that data with them to bring them on board.
I was an educator for decades. I taught in medicine, then I taught in public health law. Helping people understand basic concepts and then bringing them along and having dialogue, you know, and not acting like I have all the answers because I don't.
They'll bring the perspective of, well, this is the way it really is in rural America as I know it, and then you keep discussing and you come to a consensus, whereas right now we have too much division and those conversations aren't happening.
OH: Pam Kohlmeier is a former emergency room doctor, attorney and candidate for the Washington House of Representatives in Spokane’s Third Legislative District.
She’s one of three Democrats angling to replace Timm Ormsby.
We’ll hear from the lone Republican in the race, Natalie Poulson, tomorrow morning.
You can find conversations with all four candidates on our website, Spokane Public Radio dot org, or in your SPR News Today podcast feed.
[SHORT MUSIC BED]
SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting today was contributed by Doug Nadvornick, Anna King and me, Owen Henderson.
I’m also your host and producer.
Thanks for listening.
It’s SPR.
