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Rising Stars 2014: Ellie Aaro

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July 3, 2014

The Inland Northwest is home to a sizable number of young entrepreneurs and emerging professionals. We asked a small sampling of them to tell us about their careers so far and aspirations for the future.

Spokane's emerging leaders seeks support

Inland Northwest organizations provide networking, mentoring

July 3, 2014

Judith Spitzer

Ask any three people what constitutes leadership and you will probably get three very different answers. It turns out the subject of leadership is on the minds of many in Spokane, both on the part of established business people who have lived and done b

Elea Sprinkle: Leading Bureau's Business Boom

Organization's budget, staff, Web traffic are up

July 3, 2014

Katie Ross

Elea Sprinkle, president and CEO of the Spokane-based Better Business Bureau of Eastern Washington, North Idaho, and Montana, says the organization has experienced significant growth in multiple areas in the last few years. 'Everything is up,â€ she sa

Washington must work to keep edge in aerospace

Innovation, skilled workers are among high priorities

June 19, 2014

Mike Marzetta and Melanie Jordan

As more people take to the skies for business and pleasure, airlines around the globe will purchase nearly 30,000 jets during the next 20 years to accommodate world travel and to replace aging and less fuel-efficient aircraft. In order to meet this increa

Many tax incentives serve growing aviation industry

Environment favorable for 100-plus companies here

June 19, 2014

Jason Munn, Tom Sanger, and Marke Greene

Over the last several years, the aerospace industry has remained robust-and Spokane is no exception. Commercial airline orders are experiencing a multiyear backlog, production rates are increasing, and the combination of low interest rates and a high de

Aerostar Aircraft takes long, slow journey to make fast jet

Hayden concern seeks $50 million for domestic manufacturing of aircraft

June 19, 2014

Mike McLean

Three decades after the last new Aerostar airplane was manufactured, the current owners of Aerostar Aircraft Corp. still are working to carry out the vision of the plane's designer-to produce with the same basic airframe small jets for business and pe

Aerospace industry searches for skilled workers

Labor gap looms as many workers near retirement

June 19, 2014

Katie Ross

As demand for aerospace products rises worldwide, the industry here and across the state is experiencing a shortage of skilled workers, and the gap could continue to widen, industry leaders here say. Mike Marzetta, president of Liberty Lake-based Altek

Mammography bus expands capabilities, reach

Five-year-old vehicle here adds portable defibrillator

June 5, 2014

Kim Crompton

Providence Health Care's five-year-old mammography coach, which has seen recent growth in the number of mammograms it performs and is extending its reach into additional rural areas, soon also will be equipped with a portable defibrillator, giving it th

Ballet-inspired barre workout trend grows

Movements said to boost injury recovery, mental well-being

June 5, 2014

Katie Ross

The ballet-inspired barre workout, a recent craze in women's fitness, has made a home and grown in Spokane during the last several years with both franchised and independent studios. Barre workouts, Spokane Barre studio co-owner Courtney Wick says, mo

Combating county's high maternal smoking rate

Low income, other stressors contribute to gap, officials say

June 5, 2014

Judith Spitzer

Despite the well-known dangers of smoking cigarettes during pregnancy, the percentage of expectant women who smoked in Spokane County is almost twice the rate of pregnant smokers in Washington state as a whole, say Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD)