Karen Ann Crook

1941 — 2025

Karen Ann (Blair) Crook of Moses Lake, Washington, age 84, died September 16, 2025, peacefully at home with her family by her side. Karen was born September 1941 to Virgil and Belle Blair in Longview, Washington. Karen had one sister Barbara Easley who preceded her in death.

Legals for September, 24 2025

Changes to Medicaid spark controversy, confusion

MOSES LAKE — New requirements for applicants and recipients of Medicaid, scheduled to go into effect in 2027, have caused confusion and controversy. Who qualifies and how recipients maintain eligibility have been the subject of extensive discussion since HR 1, the bill that established them, was approved by Congress in July. Democrats have claimed the bill will devastate health care for Americans, while Republicans have boasted about the measure's savings and potential to reduce the national debt.

Tigers roar past Ellensburg

EPHRATA – The Ephrata Tigers’ football team earned a strong 43-20 home victory over Ellensburg Friday night to improve their record to 2-1. “We started off kind of shaky, we made a few mistakes, but we tied it together, and then we came out and did what we needed to do to win,” said Tigers junior Ty Plaisted.

Museum booth at UMANI Festival part of global day of play

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Museum & Art Center announced their participation in the Our World: Worldwide Day of Play event this Saturday as part of the activities at its booth at the UMANI Festival. The festivities are set to run from noon to 6 p.m.

‘Blockbusters to Broadway’

Central Basin Community Concert Association opens season with Jason Lyle Black

MOSES LAKE — The Central Basin Community Concert Association kicks off its 2025-26 season Thursday, with a performance by Jason Lyle Black’s Electric Trio.

Legals for September, 23 2025

Huskies dominate Cougars in Apple Cup

PULLMAN – On Saturday, the Huskies were victorious 59-24 over the Cougars in the 117th Apple Cup. Huskies Head Coach Jedd Fisch said the team is happy to have the Cup back in Seattle. “I thought they came out ready to play,” Fisch said. “This is a game that we had to win, we had to come out and play our best football.”

Suárez homers and Woo exits after 5 innings as Mariners beat Astros 4-0 to take over 1st in AL West

HOUSTON (AP) — Eugenio Suárez hit his 47th homer, three other Mariners went deep and Bryan Woo pitched five effective innings before leaving unexpectedly as Seattle beat the Houston Astros 4-0 on Friday night to take over first place in the AL West.

Mavericks dominate Grizzlies in first home win of ‘25

MOSES LAKE – On Friday, the Moses Lake Mavericks defeated the Sunnyside Grizzlies 49-13 in their first home game of the season. Head Coach Brett Jay said it was great to finally have a game out home in front of their fans. “Good to get back home, we had two games on the other side of the mountains. It's fun to get back in front of our home crowd, great crowd tonight, youth football night, fun to see all the youth football players, but just proud of our team, it was a total team effort,” Brett said.

BASIN EVENTS: Sept. 19-27

COLUMBIA BASIN — Fall officially begins next week and there’s a lot going on in the Columbia Basin. Here are a few things to enjoy:

Warden welcomes new police chief: Jeff Gann

WARDEN – The Warden Police Department has a new leader, Chief Jeff Gann, an officer with nearly two decades of law enforcement experience. Gann started his job Monday and will be officially sworn in by the mayor during the Sept. 23 regular council meeting. Following a career at the Castle Rock Police Department, he honed his skills in a variety of roles, including as a defensive tactics' instructor and as a corporal, he said.

Coffey Anderson concert to honor veterans in Quincy

QUINCY — Nationally known country artist Coffey Anderson will honor veterans in Quincy and beyond with a Veterans Day concert. “(Anderson) is considered the most popular current country artist who’s not associated with a recording studio,” said Daniel Chisholm, founder of Veterans Operation Creation, which is sponsoring the concert. “He writes his own music; (he’s) a very patriotic Christian man. And he is a storyteller. So when he performs he has meaning behind the words.”

Mavericks state runners heading to Woodbridge Invitational

MOSES LAKE – On Saturday, the Mavericks will be represented by six runners in the Woodbridge Invitational held in Orange County Great Park, California. Senior Liam O’Shea said the team has been thinking about this event for a long time. “This past week, me personally, I've been eating and sleeping California, there's no amount of preparation that I want to forego, or I want the team to forgo. We've really been making sure to get in every small thing so that when we step up to that line Saturday, we can really perform our best,” O’Shea said.

Local Job Corps students keep wildfire crews functioning

MOSES LAKE — Firefighters are battling fires across Washington – 20 of them Tuesday morning – but they’re not doing it alone. Back at the fire camp, at a safe distance from the fire, Job Corps students are working to ensure the firefighters have everything they need.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Community matters...

As I write this, I just finished speaking at the Ephrata Rotary Club’s weekly meeting at Country Deli in Ephrata. The banquet room in the back of the restaurant was filled with more than a dozen folks who were there not just to grab a meal, but to share some positivity and talk about the work they can do to make the community an even better place to live.

Ephrata School District considering spring 2026 bond

EPHRATA — After more than a year and a half of work, the Ephrata School District’s District Facility Study Group has decided to recommend putting a $75 million bond package on the February 2026 ballot. The goal of the workgroup, said Ephrata School District Superintendent Ken Murray, was to ensure all of Ephrata’s students had quality learning spaces. “Primarily, people had an opportunity to see what we were able to accomplish with our 2019 bond and the facilities that are in place at one of our elementaries, and then, obviously, at Ephrata Middle School,” Murray said. “And one of the real goals, initially, was they saw how safe those facilities are. They saw how (those facilities incorporate) current trends in terms of the types of spaces that you could create for students.” Murray said the bond package, if approved, would have a tax bill impact but allow the district to remodel and expand Ephrata High School, replace Grant Elementary and Parkway Intermediate schools and provide a better Performing Arts Center for students. Some of the work had initially been approved by voters in 2019 along with funding, but inflation caused by the pandemic and other factors caused their cancelation and the funding was zeroed out through a process called defeasement.

Knights pull off win in OT

ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights soccer team had a close game against Naches Valley where the Knights came out on top in overtime with a 3-2 victory. “We’re still trying to figure things out,” said the Knights Head Coach Jens Jensen. “We’re getting better, but we’re still making a ton of mistakes.” The first half went back and forth between the two teams until late in the half Naches Valley scored and the teams went into halftime with the Knights behind 0-1. Jensen said the team had to make some key adjustments before they went into the second half such as keeping an eye on Naches Valley’s strong players and prevent them from scoring again.

Knights earn a convincing win at home

ROYAL CITY — The Royal City Knights volleyball team earned a 3-0 victory at home against Naches Valley Tuesday evening. “I think it went pretty good. The first two sets were really good and then the last set we didn’t do too hot, but we came back and pushed,” said Knights player Maddie Allred. The Knights started the evening off strong, taking and maintaining the lead in the first set and winning 25-14. They repeated this success in the second set, holding their opponents under 10 points for the majority of the time. Naches Valley tacked on a few more points before the set ended at 25-14 in favor of the Knights.

Ag contributions recognized at FCAD in Quincy

QUINCY — The contributions of Quincy’s farmers and agricultural workers were recognized with a parade and a big party at Farmer Consumer Awareness Day Sept. 13.