Rocket test causes boom near Moses Lake, no danger reported

MOSES LAKE — An explosion north of Moses Lake Tuesday night turned out to be harmless. “At approximately 8:50 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21, Stoke Space conducted a planned structural test at our Moses Lake facility as part of our Nova rocket’s qualification program,” Stoke Space Technologies Spokesman John Taylor wrote in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald. “The purpose of the test was to pressurize a propellant tank to its structural margins, eventually reaching its designed failure point – a standard engineering procedure during qualification testing.” The Moses Lake Stoke Space Technologies facility is used to test reusable second-stage rockets to deliver materials into orbit economically, according to Columbia Basin Herald archives.

QUINCY MAYORAL RACE Q&A: Worley vs. Rodriguez

QUINCY – The Quincy Mayoral Race consists of candidates, incumbent Paul Worley and Manny Rodriguez. Both candidates were given questions with a word count limit for responses and matching deadlines to respond.

Legals for October, 22 2025

WISe treatment

Intensive program cares for children with complicated needs

MOSES LAKE — Sometimes, a child or teen with problems needs to take a different approach. “This is designed to be completely different than the traditional ‘Come to therapy for 50 minutes, sit on my couch, we'll talk about it, and off you go. We'll see you in a month,’” said Andrea Peyton, a WISE program director in Kennewick. “This is a much more intensive service.”

Ephrata School District announces Hall of Fame inductees

EPHRATA – The Ephrata School District announced the newest additions to its Athletic Hall of Fame. This induction recognizes alumni, coaches and teams whose performances at Ephrata High School and subsequent athletic contributions have brought distinction to themselves, the school and the Ephrata community.

‘Fiery Kam’ leads Mavs to third straight win

MOSES LAKE – On Saturday, the Mavericks (7-3-1) defeated the West Valley Rams 3-1 at Lions Field. Head Coach Alysha Overland feels great about where the teams stand after their third straight win. “I'm excited. That was a great game. Every girl on the field did their job. I'm super excited with where the team's headed after today,” she said.

Co-responders provide behavioral health assistance, support

MOSES LAKE — Sometimes a disturbance or a welfare check that requires a law enforcement response is also a mental health crisis. Renew, Grant County’s behavioral health organization, the Moses Lake Police Department and Grant County Sheriff’s Office are partnering on a program to make help available for people facing a crisis when it’s needed.

Keep Halloween safe for little monsters

QUINCY — Next Friday, hordes of little ghosties, ghoulies and things that go bump in the night will be on the streets with one thing on their minds: massive amounts of sugar. And when they’re that focused, they don’t always watch out for themselves.

MLSD’s Lewis addresses levy promises, elementary start time

MOSES LAKE — Tensions continue between the Moses Lake School District and the Moses Lake Educators Association as discussions continue over a modified elementary school schedule and the restoration of educational programs critical to student learning.

Knights defeat Wahluke, remain unbeaten

ROYAL CITY – On Friday, the Royal Knights (7-0) and the Wahluke Warriors (2-5) met in a South Central Athletic Conference game. The Knights were dominant offensively, defeating the Warriors 65-6.

Mavs clinch district title

MLHS slowpitch punches ticket to state tourney

MOSES LAKE – On Thursday, Mavs slowpitch (16-1) defeated the Eastmont Wildcats 13-3 to become the 4A District Champions and punched their ticket to the state tournament. After splitting a doubleheader to end their season, Head Coach Mike Hofheins said they were on a mission.

AI learners win prizes, gain skills in NCW Tech Alliance contest

MOSES LAKE — The North Central Washington Tech Alliance Skill-a-Thon has ended, and four Grant County residents are among the winners. “The winners walked away … with some knowledge of cybersecurity and different kinds of AI technology,” said David Estrada, NCW Tech Alliance STEM Program manager for Moses Lake.

Basin housing market stabilizing

MOSES LAKE — Just a few years ago, homes for sale in the Basin were few and far between. Today, things seem to have moved more or less back to normal.

Moses Lake council, school board candidates discuss issues at forum

MOSES LAKE — Candidates for the Moses Lake City Council and Moses Lake School District discussed school and city finances, trust and water at a forum sponsored by the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce. Joel Graves, running for city council, said Moses Lake has some challenges to address. “These aren’t problems that we can keep kicking the can down the road on,” he said. Council candidates Deanna Martinez, Graves and Jeremy Davis, and school board candidate Mike Nordsten, answered questions submitted by the forum’s sponsors. Council candidate Jim Perez sent a statement, saying work commitments kept him from attending. Chamber Manager Debbie Doran-Martinez said school board candidate Lila Baker had declined to attend, citing her withdrawal from the race due to health reasons.

BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 17-25

COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you celebrate Halloween or harvest, there’s no shortage of macabre fun this week in the Basin, plus crafts, live music and more. Here are some ideas for getting out and about:

Renewed legal battle ramps up over Columbia Basin dams and salmon

A long-running court battle over how to balance protections for endangered fish with hydropower dams in the Columbia River Basin has resumed after a two-year pause. Conservationists, anglers and clean energy groups, along with the state of Oregon, asked a federal court Tuesday to grant a preliminary injunction that would change how eight dams on the lower Columbia and Snake rivers operate. They argue that these changes would improve the conditions for salmon and steelhead survival.

Ephrata looking for architect to remodel potential new city hall

EPHRATA — The final layout of a former business recently purchased by the city of Ephrata, and the ultimate fate of the existing Ephrata City Hall, are still to be determined. That will be part of the process of remodeling the old Rite-Aid building at 250 Basin St. SW. Ephrata City Administrator Ray Towry said the first step will be hiring an architect. “We’ll budget for a (request for proposals) for an architect to redesign that space for us next year,” Towry said. “Depending on how involved you want to be, and (how much) we want to involve the public in that design, will determine the length of time it takes.” The existing city hall and the possible uses of the old Rite-Aid building were among the items discussed at the regular meeting of the Ephrata City Council Wednesday. Council members also discussed revisions to a union contract and renaming two streets at the site of the new Grant County Jail.

Ephrata’s new code enforcement officer focused on standards

EPHRATA – The city of Ephrata hired Ioan Horvat as the new code enforcement and building inspector. Horvat says he aims to bolster the city’s municipal standards and enhance the quality of life for Ephrata residents. “I’ve been working for the last 20 years, mostly in construction and construction management. I focused on quality control, and this is the link to code enforcement,” Horvat said.

Let’s get Zillow home

OTHELLO – Zillow, named after the home-buying website, will not help you buy a home; instead, he wants to be a part of yours. This sweet cloud is neutered, up to date on vaccines and microchipped. All he needs now is a loving family that will spoil him with tummy rubs and Milk-bones. If he seems like the perfect little guy for you or your family, visit AdamsCountyPetRescue.org and fill out his application. If you can’t adopt right now, visit the website and click “donate.”

Ephrata Middle installs inclusive playground

EPHRATA — Ephrata Middle School has completed installation of a new, inclusive playground designed to enhance outdoor playtime and learning opportunities for all students.