Wayne C. Brown

1940 — 2025

Wayne Clair Brown, 85, of Royal City, Washington, passed away September 17, 2025. He was born on June 13, 1940, in Victor, Montana, the fourth child of Harold D. Brown and Lila May Steffensen Brown. The family moved to Charlo, Montana, when Wayne was two, and he grew up there alongside his eight siblings.

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.

FIRE AND AIR QUALITY REPORT: Sept. 23, 2025

MOSES LAKE – The fires below have burned nearly 130,000 acres combined across Washington as of Monday afternoon. This is around 20,000 acres more than Thursday.

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.”

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:

FIRE REPORT: Sept. 19, 2025

MOSES LAKE – The fires below are burning nearly 111,000 acres across Washington as of Thursday afternoon. This is around 11,000 acres more than Monday. The two fires that showed the most growth were the Lower Sugarloaf Fire, gaining around 3,000 acres since Monday. It remains as the second largest blaze in the state. The Bear Gulch Fire also showed growth of around 6,000 acres since Monday. The growth makes it the third largest fire in the state and bumps the Crown Creek Fire out of the largest three.

GCSO blotter for Sept. 12-15, 2025

The reports below were provided by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. Suspects in the incidents are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Cougars fall to La Salle Lightning

WARDEN – The Warden Cougars volleyball team fell 0-3 to the La Salle Lighting in their first home game of the season Wednesday evening putting their record at 0-2.

Charity golf tournament needs more volunteers

WARDEN – On Sept. 27, the ‘Dude! Where’s my Cart!?’ charity golf tournament will be held at Sage Hills Golf Course. Event organizer Karisti Cox said the tournament is to help raise awareness for Alzheimer's. “The fundraising is all designed to go towards the Alzheimer's Association, more specifically, to the Columbia Basins Walk to End Alzheimer's but ultimately, it all goes to the same place,” Cox said.

BASIN SPORTS SCHEDULE: Sept. 18-24. 2025

COLUMBIA BASIN — The air is getting cooler as local athletes head into their third week of fall sports. See where the local high school teams are heading this week.

Robert Redford, Oscar-winning director, actor and indie patriarch, dies at 89

(AP) - Robert Redford, the Hollywood golden boy who became an Oscar-winning director, liberal activist and godfather for independent cinema under the name of one of his best-loved characters, died Tuesday at 89. Redford died “at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,” publicist Cindi Berger said in a statement. No cause of death was provided.

FIRE REPORT: Sept. 16, 2025

MOSES LAKE – Last week, the Chelan County Commissioners declared a State of Emergency for the Lower Sugarloaf and Pomas Fires which are burning around 20,000 acres. There are several level one “Be Ready,” level two, “Get Set,” and level three “Go” evacuations in the county. As a result, the commissioners declared the county a disaster, according to a statement from the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office.

South Grant Co. forum examines challenges, opportunities

MATTAWA — Improvements to state Route 243, more options for solid waste disposal, increased housing in southern Grant County, and more apprenticeship and job opportunities for young people. Those were among the recommendations that emerged from a forum sponsored by the South Grant County Chamber of Commerce Sept. 10.

Moses Lake’s downtown sees busy Saturday

MOSES LAKE — There was a lot going on Saturday in downtown Moses Lake, with a fundraiser walk, an art festival, a wine-and-music tour and a nonprofit expo all happening more or less at once. The day started at McCosh Park, where the Walk to End Alzheimer’s drew more than 200 people to raise money for dementia research.

Fair entertainers rule the stage

OTHELLO — Elvis Presley passed away in 1977, despite the occasional tabloid rumor to the contrary. But the man singing “Jailhouse Rock” at the Othello Fair Thursday made a believable substitute. “I just loved Elvis,” said Danny Vernon. “(I) found my father’s records when I was a kid, and there was so much to listen to. Movie songs were fun because there’s always a different theme: you’re racing a car, or you’re in Hawaii or in the army.” Vernon was part of the entertainment lineup at the Othello Fair Thursday, which included Penelope the Clown, Reptile Isle, balloonist Cody Williams and juggler Paul Isaak. Some of them performed on the two stages at the fairgrounds, and some roamed around the grounds. Most of them had at least two performances every day.

BASIN EVENTS: Sept. 12-20

COLUMBIA BASIN — It’s the last official week of summer and the Basin is brimming with fun things to do. Here are a few:

Flowers, pumpkins and a fall market at Rue & Sage

MOSES LAKE — There’s a lot growing at Rue & Sage this fall. The floral business offers a U-pick pumpkin patch and hosts a fall pop-up market, and now they’ve expanded into U-pick flowers as well. Home decorations and furniture will be available at the event.

FIRE REPORT: Sept. 12, 2025

MOSES LAKE – The fires below are burning around 91,400 acres across Washington as of Thursday afternoon. The blazes were causing air quality concerns regionally.

Mavericks’ soccer triumphs over Huskies

OTHELLO — The Moses Lake Mavericks soccer team went on the road and earned a 2-0 victory over the Othello Huskies Tuesday evening. “I think that we did really good today,” said Mavs player Chelsea Gonzalez. “I feel like we had really good chemistry, and we were passing good and we just took advantage of our opportunities.”