Nimble Thimble Needle Nook moves to a new space If we’re lucky, we discover a passion in high school. For Karen Dahl, owner of the Nimble Thimble Needle Nook, that passion was uncovered in home economics class when she learned to sew. She was inspired, she said, “Because I wanted clothes.” “This was in the […]
BUSINESS
Stipe named chair of NCB board
North Cascades Bank (NCB) has announced the recent appointment of Beth Stipe as chair of its board of directors. Stipe has more than 25 years of experience in governance and board leadership and joined the NCB board in June 2018. She is the executive director of the Community Foundation of North Central Washington and has […]
New state guidelines expand options for vaccinated people
The Barnyard Cinema in Winthrop is celebrating with truffles and music — on the big screen — when the theater opens to the public this weekend for the first time in a year and a half. Movie theaters, like other indoor entertainment, restaurants and bars, are permitted to open at 50% capacity, with additional guidelines to keep patrons at […]
Michael Kamansky turned a passion into a profession
During the COVID restrictions, many people learned a new skill: baking sourdough, raising a garden, or tying flies. Michael Kamansky took up piano tuning. Initially, Kamansky began with the idea that he could tune his own piano and maybe those of a few close friends, but the more he learned, the more he fell in […]
Methow Valley restaurants have mixed reactions to federal aid program
RRF included in Biden’s massive stimulus package By Rebecca Spiess Some Methow Valley restaurants may be receiving money from the federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), a program that is part of the $28.6 billion stimulus package signed into law by President Joe Biden. The fund will offset pandemic-incurred losses for restaurants, bars and other qualifying […]
Farmers Market returns with traditional April opening
COVID protocols continue for sellers, buyers By Ashley Lodato Spring offers the Methow Valley a host of long-awaited conditions: longer days, blooming flowers, and the beginning of the farmers market season. The Methow Valley Farmers Market opened for its 42nd season on April 10 and will run Saturdays through Oct. 30 from 9 a.m.-noon in […]
Lovettes took over as COVID hit hard
By Rebecca Spiess Callie and Tom Lovette had planned for everything. They’d researched taking over Cascade Pipe & Feed Supply Inc. from founder Julie Palm for more than 24 months. “We spent about two years dreaming, planning, researching,” Tom Lovette said. The couple’s backgrounds gave them plenty of experience: Callie had run her own catering […]
Oakleys bring Morning Glory Balloon Tours to soft landing
By Ashley Lodato When Kurt Oakley attended the Albuquerque Balloon Festival in the 1980s, he saw the balloons and said to himself “I gotta have one of those.” So he and his wife, Melinda, bought one. “I was a firefighter, she was a ski instructor,” Oakley says. It was the American Dream, with a twist. […]
New Twisp business tries out supper club model
TwisPasta housed at former Twisp River Pub By Natalie Johnson Mike Schiesser started making lasagna more than 30 years ago, over the years adding to and personalizing his recipe in a quest for pasta perfection. He’s pretty happy with the end result. “I would enter this in a state fair if they had a lasagna […]
Northcotts take over management at Bear Creek Golf Course
By Don Nelson Local golfers will encounter some familiar faces – but in different roles – at Bear Creek Golf Course this season. Brothers Rick and Bart Northcott have taken over management of the scenic 9-hole course near Winthrop from Mike and Laurie Hilton, who had managed Bear Creek since 2018. The Northcotts are leasing […]
