Harvey Heer

June 4, 1952 — Oct. 16, 2025

Harvey (Rick) Heer, 73 of Ephrata, Washington passed away on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, peacefully at his home. Harvey and Shirley Heer. Rick graduated from Ephrata High School in 1970. He attended Yakima Valley College, playing on their basketball team. In 1972 he married Nancy Youngers. They lived in Ephrata, Washington and had two sons together, Kevin and Allan Heer. In 1990 he married Sylvia Meulman and moved out of town to the farm on Road 9 and had two daughters, Lorna Bailey and Leah Johnson. Rick was a maker and farmer at heart. He grew many types of crops including wheat, cherries, alfalfa, corn, peas and hazelnuts. In his spare time he enjoyed riding his 1966 Shovelhead Harley Davidson, fishing, photography, sailing and welding. He was always ready with a joke or a story and will be dearly missed by his family.

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.

A journey of resilience

Rebecca Moore recounts her path from breast cancer diagnosis to remission

MOSES LAKE – In the heart of Moses Lake, Washington, Rebecca Moore faces life anew after a challenging battle with breast cancer. With unwavering strength, she recounts her journey, emphasizing the importance of hope, community, and self-discovery amid adversity. Rebecca’s diagnosis came unexpectedly on August 1, 2023, just months after losing her father.

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.

Moses Lake council, school board to hold joint workshop

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake City Council and Moses Lake School Board will be talking about water, partnerships and facilities at a workshop scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday. Ryan Shannon, Moses Lake School District director of public relations, said MLSD officials proposed the workshop to talk about issues that affect both of them as well as the city as a whole.

Trunk-or-treating in the Basin

MOSES LAKE — Halloween is right around the corner and fun, spooky and exciting events are coming soon to help area residents enjoy the holiday. Here are a few:

Legals for October, 22 2025

The Knights win third straight game

ROYAL CITY – The Knights shut down the Wapato Wolves on Tuesday at home 3-0 to improve to 11-3 on the season. Though the Knights will take a win any day, Head Coach Jens Jensen felt they left some scores out on the field.

Washington college football recap – week 8

MOSES LAKE – Week eight saw both outcomes of a game across Washington college football. Teams like the Eagles and the Wildcats continue to build momentum while the Cougars and Huskies hit a rough patch in their season. See below how your favorite teams fared and where they stand heading into week nine.

Basin Sports Schedule: Oct. 22-29, 2025

COLUMBIA BASIN – High school athletes head into their final weeks of the regular season and are working to improve their records as the postseason draws near. Check out where your favorite sports team will be heading this week.

Tigers get back on track with win over Toppenish

EPHRATA – The Ephrata Tigers (4-3) earned a 28-0 victory at home against Toppenish Friday evening. The Tigers hold their fifth-place standing in the Central Washington Athletic Conference and look to improve their record in the final two weeks of the regular season.

Basin volleyball roundup Oct. 14-20

MOSES LAKE – The final stretch in the 2025 Basin volleyball season is here. Up to this point, local teams have been doing everything they can to put themselves in a position to make a push for the postseason. See below where your favorite teams stand and their current record.

Mavs remain undefeated

MLHS defeats Eastmont 7-0 in Friday play

MOSES LAKE – On Friday, the Mavericks (7-0) defeated the Eastmont Wildcats 21-0 on the road. The Wildcats presented a tough challenge, but the Mavs responded when it mattered most.

Tippett scores two goals as Flyers beat Kraken 5-2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Owen Tippett scored twice and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Seattle Kraken 5-2 on Monday night. Travis Konecny, Tyson Foerster and Noah Cates also scored, Cam York had three assists and Sean Couturier added two as Philadelphia won for the third time in four games. Dan Vladar finished with 21 saves. Jordan Eberle and Jani Nyman scored for Seattle, which snapped a season-opening five-game point streak (3-0-2). Joey Daccord gave up all five goals on 21 shots through two periods, and Philipp Grubaouer had six saves in the third.

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.

WA fuel prices third highest nationally

MOSES LAKE – After a month-long reign as the second-most expensive state to purchase fuel in, Washington’s fuel prices have dropped below Hawaii’s.

STUDIO BASIN: MLSD superintendent discusses promises, district's future

MOSES LAKE — On this episode of the STUDIO BASIN Podcast, Reporter Nance Beston invited Moses Lake School District Superintendent Carol Lewis onto the podcast to discuss promises the district has made to the community about finances and levy spending. This is a follow-up from the statement Carol Lewis made at the previous regular school board meeting and the Columbia Basin Herald article titled: "MLSD's Lewis addresses levy promises, elementary start time," which can be read at: bit.ly/1025MLSD.

Mariners head to game 7 after a win and a loss over the weekend

SEATTLE (AP) — The Mariners looked poised to take the ALCS after taking a 3-2 series lead on Saturday. However, the Blue Jays stormed back in game six to tie the series. Both teams head to game seven to decide who will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

Hundreds rally in Moses Lake to protest Trump admin.

MOSES LAKE — Almost 300 people turned out Saturday for the “No Kings 2.0” rally in Moses Lake, according to Grant County Democrats Vice Chair Jill Springer Forrest, considerably more than the rally held in June.