News Flash

The Airport Office will be open from 9am to 4pm. CLOSED for lunch from 12:30pm until 1pm. For assistance on the airfield, please contact Airport Operations at 208-916-8630

Kootenai County will have two elections in 2026: A Primary Election on May 19th and a General Election on November 3rd. Have you made a plan to vote this year?Idaho law requires Absentee Ballot Requests to be re-submitted every calendar year. Have you requested your Absentee Ballot for 2026?Voters must re-register if they have moved or experienced a name change. Is your voter registration up to date?Visit VoteIdaho.gov today to Request your Absentee Ballot or to Update your Voter Registration!

The Historic Preservation Commission invites you to attend any of their upcoming presentations on the history of Cougar Gulch. For more information please click here.

COEUR d’ALENE – Kootenai County and the cities of Coeur d’Alene, Hayden, Post Falls and Rathdrum are updating the Areas of Impact that serve as a guide in planning for future growth.

Idaho law requires cities and counties to review and establish these Areas of Impact boundaries by Dec. 31.

“An Area of Impact defines the area outside a city’s limits where both the city and county believe there will be future growth and development, a need for additional services and possible annexation,” said David Callahan, director of Community Development for Kootenai County. “These Areas of Impact simply identify areas where the city and county planning interests overlap, and the two jurisdictions should coordinate land-use decisions.”

Areas of Impact boundaries may indicate areas that could be annexed into a city in the future, but Callahan said it’s important that the public understands that an Area of Impact is not an annexation.

Prior to this amendment to Idaho law, these areas were known as Areas of City Impact. Kootenai County has had long standing Areas of City Impact agreements with the cities since the 1990s. The new Areas of Impact boundaries will replace the Areas of City Impact boundaries, and the existing agreements will be nullified.

Kootenai County’s Board of County Commissioners is holding a public hearing at 11 a.m. Dec. 18 in Room 1B of the County Administration Building.

At the hearing, commissioners will consider an ordinance that will officially update and define the maps illustrating the Areas of Impact for each of the four cities, establish a legal description, and repeal all ordinances and those portions of ordinance in conflict with the new Areas of Impact.

Additional public hearings will be scheduled for the remaining cities in Kootenai County that need to establish Areas of Impact boundaries.

“This hearing and the new Areas of Impact boundaries would not change taxes, city services, zoning or annex anyone’s property into any of the cities,” Callahan said. “It is only about updating the planning boundary between the county and the cities. This is a procedural requirement from the state.”

Unless a property owner is interested in annexation or development, the change in the Areas of Impact boundaries would have little to no effect, Callahan said.

In Idaho, a city cannot annex land without going through a formal, public process that involves both the city and property owner.

Anyone wishing to submit written comments on the proposed agreements must submit them to the county at least 10 days before the public hearing.

More information on the proposed Areas of Impact agreements, including maps and answers to frequently asked questions, is available here or by contacting the Community Development Department at (208) 446-1070 or kcpz@kcgov.us

ATTENTION RV DUMP USERS: The water will be turned off for the winter at the RV Dump at 250 E Dalton Avenue on Friday, October 17, 2025. The RV dump will still be usable all winter, but water will not be available until spring.

The boat launch at Upper Twin will remain open, however, the dock is moved for winter storage to prevent ice damage. The dock will be moved back in the spring as soon as weather allows.  We plan to store the dock every winter until further notice.

ATTENTION BOATERS: The Lake Coeur d’Alene Vessel Pump-Outs at Harrison and Carlin Bay will be shut down for the season on Friday, October 17, 2025. We will turn them back on as early as possible in the Spring.

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ATTENTION SNOWMOBILERS:

Due to extremely low snow conditions and no significant snowfall forecast in the next 10-days, we will remove the trailhead barricades on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 until such time conditions allow grooming operations. The Department is required to remove barricades when no active snow grooming operations are occurring. Kootenai County Snow Groomer Department is ready to redeploy the barricades and start grooming operations if conditions allow, and we hope they will.  

As a reminder, the removal of barricades will allow common vehicle travel again on Forest Service roads, be careful out there!

Thank you,

Kootenai County Snow Groomer Department