The sorry state of home sales in N. Idaho • Craig, Crapo on board the omnibus • All those in favor, say "aye" • Preston Councilman dies in tragic accident • Breezing through school • Albino skunk captured

The sorry state of home sales in N. Idaho

The Coeur d'Alene Press says North Idaho Realtors are selling like it's 1999 — literally.

The number of single-family home sales in North Idaho during the last six months has nearly dropped to 1999 levels during the same six months, according to Coeur d'Alene Multiple Listing Service stats released Monday.

From April 1 through Sept. 30, the total number of single-family home sales in North Idaho was 1066. In 1999, during the same time period, the number was 1007.

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Craig, Crapo on board the omnibus

Both Sen. Larry Craig and Sen. Mike Crapo have reversed course and are now supporting a package of public lands bills that includes protection for the Snake River system and the Wyoming Range.

The Jackson Hole News and Guide says the Idaho senators were unsure about the Omnibus Public Land Management Act because of fears about how it would affect rights to Snake River water held by farmers in their state.

Sen. Craig "worked with Sens. Barrasso and Crapo for several months this summer to solve a major issue related to Idaho water rights and water delivery," said Craig's spokeswoman Susan Irby in an e-mail to the paper. "All parties have agreed upon language that protects Idaho's water without undermining the objectives of Sen. Barrasso's Wild and Scenic bill."

It didn't hurt the discussions that the package of bills includes the Owyhee Initiative, which would designate 517,000 acres as the Owyhee-Bruneau Wilderness, release 199,000 acres of wilderness study areas to nonwilderness multiple use management and designate 316 miles of Wild and Scenic rivers in Idaho.

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All those in favor, say "aye"

The Mtn. Express says Craig and Rep. Mike Simpson "acted correctly and wisely in voting for the $700 billion financial rescue legislation."

An editorial in the paper said Rep. Bill Sali's opposition was "just more knee-jerk, ideological naysaying" and Sen. Mike Crapo's "nay" vote was the "most disappointing."

The paper asks, "If a barn had been burning, would Sen. Crapo have paused to study whether to use a large or small bucket of water to put it out?"

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Preston Councilman dies in tragic accident

Preston City Councilman Mike Kunz was killed Monday after police say he accidentally shot himself inside his computer software store.

Kunz, a hunter with military experience, had served on the city council for five years and had just recently been reelected.

"We grew up learning how to do things properly and for dad to accidentally shoot himself like this while cleaning his gun, I can't fathom," said his son, Daren Kunz.

According to TV station KUTV, Preston police have ruled out the possibility of foul play.

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Breezing through school

USA Today says that more than 80 schools across the country have installed some type of wind turbine.

Now, a program called Wind for Schools is aiming to bring smaller turbines to schools in six states: Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota.

The program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, is the first program to use smaller turbines with a mission of educating students and the community about wind power.

Wind energy provided less than 1% of the USA's electricity at the end of 2006 but is expected to provide 20% of the nation's electricity by 2030 if the industry's annual growth of 25%-30% continues.

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Albino skunk captured

A Wilford, Idaho, farmer earlier this week captured an albino skunk in a trap set on his farm to catch the stinky pests.

Harold Bischoff and his wife, Sharon, made some calls Monday morning to notify the Upper Valley Standard-Journal and the Idaho Fish and Game Department of the rarity they had captured.

Usually they kill the skunks they trap, but they kept this one alive so a Fish and Game officer could see it and the grandkids could get a look at it after school.