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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1890 | 3 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 4 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1903 | 7 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1905 | 77 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1914 | 203 |
| 1915 | 263 |
| 1916 | 371 |
| 1917 | 270 |
| 1918 | 42 |
| 1922 | 8 |
| 1923 | 86 |
| 1924 | 68 |
| 1925 | 32 |
371 stories
- Prohibition Raids Reach Benton County Cellars
A Hover couple is left in tears after the Sheriff enforces the state's dry laws on their home-made vintage.
- The Great Spirit’s Empty Promise
High waters on the Yakima River thwart a final fishing feast for the Yakima people, highlighting a long-standing struggle over treaty rights and resource access.
- The Prosser Court House Bond Scandal
Two county commissioners bypassed legal procedure and public objection to rush through a massive $125,000 bond issue, triggering an immediate lawsuit and a firestorm of local outrage.
- The Secret Courthouse Bond Deal Benton County Tried to Ram Through
Commissioners Clements and McNeill authorized $125,000 in bonds for a Prosser courthouse after a closed-door plan their own lawyer admitted was designed to keep taxpayers in the dark. A Kennewick lawsuit put the deal before Judge Grady.
- A Monopoly Grabs the Tap
When the irrigation company took control of the water company's annual meeting, local farmers realized their rights to the water were being held hostage.
- The Battle for the Benton County Courthouse
Taxpayers mount a legal challenge to halt a $125,000 bond issue, alleging backroom deals and corrupt influence by county commissioners.
- A Fifteen-Million-Dollar Gamble on the Horse Heaven Hills
Voters prepare for a high-stakes bond election to fund the irrigation of 50,000 acres, warning that defeat spells doom for the district.
- Rabid Coyotes Put the Whole Columbia Valley on Edge
State College confirmed hydrophobia in a hog’s head from a Richland-area ranch, prompting dog quarantines and warnings that unusually bold coyotes could spread the disease through the valley.
- The Sudden Loss of Kiona
A devastating fire in the nearby town of Kiona leaves a general store, hotel, and post office in ruins.
- Irrigation Bond Election Halted by Corporate Standoff
Horse Heaven growers demand transparency as power company refuses to disclose critical water rights data for the $15 million project.
- The Battle for Kennewick’s Waterfront
A bitter civic argument erupts over a harbor expansion plan, pitting proponents of organized public infrastructure against critics who fear taxpayer-funded overreach.
- A Ruinous Gale Sweeps the Valley
A severe windstorm lays waste to orchards and hay crops in Finley, leaving farmers to survey the wreckage.
- The Midnight Rail Raid in Kennewick
Law enforcement turns a routine freight train inspection into a high-speed chase, leaving hoboes running for their lives.
- Rabid Coyotes Terrorize Richland Farmers
A bold coyote invades a local ranch, biting livestock and triggering a community-wide alarm over a potential rabies outbreak.
- The $37,500 Handshake: How Benton County's Tax Crusaders Blessed a Courthouse Deal
Prosser's anti-tax league swore it would guard the public purse to the last janitor's salary. Then its own man changed his mind on Monday, and the Kennewick editor noticed where the $37,500 went.
- The County Agent, the Sugar Beet, and the Strawberry Harvest That Finally Went Right
In his 1916 annual report, county agriculturalist Lee M. Lampson chronicled a quiet revolution in Benton County — homegrown seed, revived sugar beets, cooperative buying, and the federal employment office that finally matched a thousand strawberry pickers to the ripening crop.
- The Sliding Hill: Railroad Abandoning Prosser
A shifting, unstable hill beneath the tracks forces the Northern Pacific to build an expensive eight-mile detour, threatening to bypass the town of Prosser.
- The Right to Water: A Legal Win for Landowners
A landmark court ruling frees White Bluffs landowners from paying for irrigation water they did not use, potentially signaling the end for the local water company.
- The Tragedy at Cold Creek
An immigrant homesteader takes his own life after a grueling and unsuccessful struggle to find water on his property.
- Benton County Commissioners Caught in Courthouse Bond Scandal
Chairman J. B. Clements and Commissioner Alex. McNeill face an injunction after allegedly pushing through a $125,000 bond issue for a new courthouse without public consent.
- The Indignation at the Oiled Road
Citizens hold an 'indignation meeting' to condemn the poor state of the road between Finley and Kennewick and the officials responsible for its maintenance.
- The Yakima River’s Winter Rampage
Ice jams cause the Yakima River to rise eight feet in hours, devastating local sheep flocks and prompting emergency concern.
- The Stockyards That Were Really About Raising the Value of Sand and Sagebrush
When Pasco promoters pushed stockyards at Ainsworth, Kennewick’s editor saw a railroad, a packer and owners of “practically worthless” land getting a public subsidy. He wanted no part of it.
- A Gasser, a Picnic, and a Promise: Kennewick Bets on Oil and Gas
Drillers pause to case off 400 feet of water, 85 people picnic at the well, and a Yakima promoter promises a franchise — and maybe oil — by summer.
- The War Over the Desert Water
An irrigation landowner at White Bluffs vows a 'fight to a finish' against corporate power companies for reneging on water contracts.