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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1908 | 29 |
| 1909 | 16 |
| 1910 | 15 |
60 stories
- The Courthouse Contract That Took Three Tries
The lowest bid lacked a certified check; the next-lowest contractor balked at its own price; the job finally went to Colville builder Lee Gayman.
- County Printing Contract Sparks Legal Fight
Stevens County commissioners award the county printing contract to the Colville Examiner, but a rival paper sues, alleging the process was unfair.
- Temperance Leagues Launch County-Wide Fight to Make Stevens County Dry
Two hundred delegates pack a Colville church, form the Stevens County Local Option League, and plot a precinct-by-precinct petition drive to force a special election on liquor sales.
- Stevens County's $200,000 Bond Sale Was a Buyer's Bargain—and a Taxpayer Windfall
Chicago investors paid a premium for the county's refunding bonds, cutting the interest rate and saving Stevens County about $6,000 a year.
- The Tax Bill That Landed on Stevens County Property Owners
A fight between the county assessor and prosecuting attorney over taxing money and mortgages ends in a court-ordered reassessment—and a bill for the people.
- The Assessor Followed the Law. Then the County Lawyer Sued — and the Taxpayers Got the Bill.
A Stevens County feud over exempting mortgages and county warrants from taxation turns into a straight-up election threat, reprinted from the Colville Statesman-Index.
- Overnight Line at the Courthouse as Washington’s New Primary Law Meets Its First Test
Candidates camped outside the Stevens County auditor’s office to file for office—and Newport-area races split three ways before the votes were even cast.
- The Prosecutor's Record: 'Arrest on Suspicion, Investigate Afterwards'
A Stevens County election fight turns on the county's criminal docket — who jailed innocent men, and who got his convictions.
- The Ministers' Quarrel That Split Colville's Temperance Fight
A local-option campaign turned personal when the Rev. W. A. Diggins claimed all the town's ministers were behind temperance—and the Rev. G. H. Wilbur publicly called that a lie.
- A Stolen Rig, a Suspicious Liveryman, and a One-to-Ten-Year Sentence
James Thompson hired a rig in Colville, drove it to Addy, and tried to sell it—then found himself before two judges in a single day.
- One Thousand Parcels, One Deadline: the County Races the Clock on Tax-Title Land
A new state law gave landowners exactly one year to challenge old tax foreclosures. On the day it expired, the suits landed in the Stevens County courthouse all at once.
- A Locked Furniture Store and a Mattress Fire in Colville
Citizens broke in to haul out furniture while smoke filled the upper floors of M. C. Kelly's store; the blaze was stopped, but the damage outpaced the insurance.
- The Judge, the Ballot, and the $2,000 Reprieve
A losing judicial candidate tried to force Stevens County to reprint every ballot. A Tuesday court ruling stopped him—and spared the treasury a costly last-minute scramble.
- The Election That Decided Whether Stevens County Would Stay ‘Closed’
A county prosecuting attorney race turned on saloons and law enforcement, with the new officer’s supporters expecting a ‘wide open’ county—prompting a sharp rebuttal from the Newport press.
- Stevens County Weighs a Bond to Retire $25,000 in Warrants
Commissioners ask taxpayers whether to bond the county's outstanding warrants and cut the interest rate from 7 percent to under 4.
- The Socialists Came to Stevens County With a Straight-Ticket Warning
A complete Socialist slate and a four-way judge's race had county politicos doing arithmetic before the September primary.
- The Books Don't Lie: A County's Debt Fight Comes Down to the Fine Print
A contributed broadside against Stevens County's Democratic commissioners argues that a $14,776 'reduction' in the county debt hides $44,420 in new warrants — and the highest tax take in county history.
- Miners’ Liens and a $20,000 Mortgage Land on the Spokane Lead Mines
A Michigan creditor and a Spokane lienholder pursue the Metaline district mining company over unpaid notes and laborers’ claims.
- A Snowbound Road That Would End at Newport's Doorstep
State Road No. 2 — a $25,000 legislative appropriation — is about to go to bid, but contractors must first wait for the Calispel Mountains to thaw before they can walk the line.
- Denver Bond House Walks Away From Stevens County's $219,500 Debt
A Colorado bidder refused the county's funding bonds after winning them — so the board turned around and handed the whole issue to the State of Washington.
- The Trial of James F. Logan
A murder trial in Colville stalls as the court struggles to find an impartial jury among citizens who have already read the details in the press.
- A Jury Settles the Water for Calispell
Landowners in the Calispell bottoms are awarded damages, clearing the way for a diking district to reclaim about 100 acres from the annual overflow.
- Stevens County Tried to Tax the Railroad at Nearly Double. It Cost $12,000.
The state supreme court ruled the commissioners had no business overriding the state tax commission's valuation of the Spokane Falls Northern — and the county treasury paid for the lesson.
- Colville Boosters Redrew the Map, and the Taxpayers Paid for the Surveys
Northport cries foul after County Surveyor Clare Hunt moves the Newport–Metaline–Orient road off its original line, leaving a direct-route town side-tracked — and several thousand dollars spent on surveys that produced no road at all.
- A Lumber Case Becomes a Political Weapon Against Judge Carey
Opponents whispered that the judge reversed a jury in secret. A witness says the ruling came in open court before 200 people.