Local hospitals face 'challenging financial landscape' after Big Beautiful Bill passage

MOSES LAKE — The recent approval of new federal Medicaid rules will affect local hospitals and medical providers. What that impact will be, however, is still unclear. “So much is still unknown,” Glenda Bishop, chief executive officer for Quincy Valley Medical Center, wrote in reply to an email from the Columbia Basin Herald. “We simply do not have enough data to predict with accuracy any outcomes.”

FIRE REPORT: Nearly 7,000-acre fire burning near Kettle Falls

KETTLE FALLS – The Hope Fire has burned around 6,800 acres and is uncontained as of Thursday, according to InciWeb. This is the largest fire burning in Washington as of Thursday. “As far as we know, there might be (a) little bit of fire growth going on due to the inversion lifting over parts of the fire, but we don't have big winds on it today,” Public Information Officer Gayne Sears with Northeast Washington Interagency Type 3 said.

Family graduations bring five generations together

MOSES LAKE — Five generations of the Nelson and Bishop families gathered in Wenatchee Saturday to celebrate two family members’ graduations.

Othello dentist delivers home-grown greatness

OTHELLO — It’s been said that some people are born to greatness, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them. And then there are those who do great things on a small scale. “For whatever reason, I always seem to gravitate into leadership,” said Dr. Chris Dorow, owner of Othello Dental Arts and president of the Washington State Dental Association. “When I graduated from dental school in 1995, I was the student body president for the dental school. I went immediately from there into volunteering for the Washington State Dental Association. My first committee was the Communications Committee, and then they moved me to Membership Services … I was there for 16 years, and I (was asked) to be on the board of directors an insane amount of times.”

Home inventory up, sales slow but still steady in the Basin

MOSES LAKE — There’s a lot of activity going on in the real estate compared to a year ago, according to data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which tracks real estate trends in 26 Washington counties. According to the NWMLS, Grant and Adams counties had higher increases in active listings and closed sales in June 2025 over June 2024 than the rest of the state. But the activity on the ground only partly bears that out, said Brian Gentry, principal managing broker for Re/Max in Othello. “Over last year, yes,” Gentry said. “Over three years ago, no. There’s a lot more inventory right now. Where we would typically on any given day see in Othello 11 or 12 things on the market, we’re in about the 35 range right now. Some of those are new construction, so they’re presales, but there’s a lot of people putting their homes on the market.”

People with disabilities should take extra steps in case of fire

MOSES LAKE — Fire danger is always high at this time of year. For people with disabilities, that can be problematic. July 26 is National Disability Independence Day, recognizing the nearly one-third of Americans who live with a disability. Unfortunately, having a disability can make the danger that comes with a fire much greater, according to a statement from the Washington State Fire Marshal’s Office. Of the 72 fire deaths that occurred in Washington state last year, 11 were people with a disability. Physical disability was the second leading human factor contributing to fatalities in residential buildings between 2017 and 2019, a study by the U.S Fire Administration found, accounting for 30% of deaths.

Building permits for July 11, 2025

Unincorporated Grant County

Legals for July, 11 2025

Two Moses Lake men arrested in drug distribution case

MOSES LAKE — Two Moses Lake men were arrested, one of whom is being held in the Spokane County Jail, in connection with two search warrants served by the Moses Lake Police Department Wednesday. Moses Lake Police Chief Dave Sands said federal charges are pending against the two men. “These are both being prosecuted at the federal level. If the prosecutions are successful, these subjects will be out for quite a bit longer than state-level prosecution,” Sands wrote in answer to a question from the Columbia Basin Herald.

Sixers 18U falls to Moundtime 18U on Thursday

MOSES LAKE — On Thursday, the Central Washington Sixers 18U baseball team traveled to Puyallup to play the Moundtime 18U team. They lost control of the game early and were defeated with a final score of 8-0. “Today's game didn't go so well,” Sixers head coach Jason Laugen said. “Pitching just didn't perform, and we had a hard time hitting the baseball as well. So, all around it wasn't a great effort on the day.”

BASIN EVENTS: July 11-19, 2025

COLUMBIA BASIN — Don’t let the hot weather put you off; there’s still plenty to do both indoors and out. Here are a few things to check out this week:

Officials are tracking an earthquake swarm at Mount Rainier but say there is no cause for concern

SEATTLE (AP) — Officials are tracking the largest swarm of earthquakes in more than 15 years on Washington's Mount Rainier but say there is no indication that the cluster of quakes is cause for concern.

EPHRATA MAYORAL RACE: Bruce Reim

EPHRATA – As the city of Ephrata approaches its upcoming mayoral election, incumbent Bruce Reim seeks to continue his eight-year tenure. He said his extensive experience in government and community activism underlines his commitment to Ephrata, which he believes is transitioning from a small town to a robust city.

EPHRATA MAYORAL RACE: Steve Oliver

EPHRATA – Candidate Steve Oliver, a long-time local business owner and community advocate, is putting forth his vision to revitalize the city of Ephrata. Oliver, who has owned Tarot Tattoo for 25 years, believes a strong focus on entertainment and infrastructure is essential for the city's growth and sustainability. “I am a business owner and a parent. The condition of the city has just gotten to the point where we're desperate for entertainment around here,” Oliver said. “Things are dilapidated and falling apart, and it just seems it's just like a trajectory downward.”

Moses Lake Museum exhibit, ‘Balance,’ highlights the permanent and the transitory

MOSES LAKE — Some things are temporary and some aren’t. How those intersect is the theme of an exhibit opening at the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center Friday. “The world is crazy, and so many things are happening, but some things still (are) not changing,” said artist Mihail Kivachitsky. “The stars (and their) astronomical characteristics are a reflection of that … It can be actual today, it was actual 1,000 years ago, and probably is going to be in the future.”

Give ‘em the ol’ Razzles dazzle

MOSES LAKE – Dazzled by Razzles? Lucky for you, she is available for adoption at Grant County Animal Outreach. This sweet girl loves a long walk, good ear scratches and chasing the ball. She is spayed, vaccinated, microchipped and ready for you to fill her application at GrantCountyAnimalOutreach.org. If you can’t adopt right now but would like to help a local shelter, visit the website and click “donate.”

Local BMX rider heading to world championships in Denmark

MOSES LAKE – Alli Kay Tatum started riding dirt bikes in 2021 when she was 12-years-old. Four years later, she is going the UCI BMX Racing World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. “It was just surreal, it finally happened. I never thought it would happen, but I was just really excited,” she said.

MLSD celebrates having full new admin team on site

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake School District celebrated Tuesday after having the full new administrative team in the office. “Well, this is actually the first day that the whole team is here,” Superintendent Carol Lewis said. “Various people have obviously been in and out. What is most exciting is that we were able to structure this team in such a way that roles are clearly defined and people were hired based on their ability to do specific work within the district.”

Ephrata and Quincy police blotters for July 10, 2025

The reports below were provided by the police department indicated. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Every day an adventure...

Being a journalist is sometimes like riding a tornado. One moment you’re out at the county fair helping young folks celebrate the hard work they put into a Future Farmers of America Project, the next you’re out covering a shooting, and an hour later you’re sitting in a school board meeting while folks debate whether buying better smelling soap or softer toilet paper is more important.