Category: Sports & Outdoors

Congratulations to the next Badger Hall of Fame inductee for the Class of 2025. Dr. Roland Houston Hall, or as his family and early childhood friends affectionately called him, “Toad,” […]

The Bonners Ferry Badger Athletic Hall of Fame is excited to introduce two of the six individuals and team who will be inducted in the hall’s Class of 2025; Kathy […]

Bonners Ferry Badger senior Ethan Cowell was at the head of the pack this weekend finishing in at 18:43 at the Bonners Ferry Cross Country Invitational. Five schools with 52 […]

It’s a sight you will never forget. The rhythmic sound of moving water, the crisp fall air and the vibrant red fish filling the creek will all leave you with […]

Young fly fishers, whether by age or how green they are in the neck, seem to like traveling to other rivers and streams, continuously trying new things like a kid […]

As life moves on, and summer drifts past us once again, our time at the river becomes less about each cast and more about becoming a part of the current ourselves. We rush past new landscapes, find ourselves stagnant in the slow waters only to take up speed again as we encounter rocks and boulders in our way, wildlife that laps up a bit of our soul, and share a feeling that there is an end to this all but we might as well enjoy the flow for a bit longer.

It is a nice feeling to wake up each day knowing that I do not live in a fishing destination necessarily, but I am surrounded by decent fishing and many […]

Hunters in 2025 will have mandatory testing for chronic wasting disease for deer in seven hunting units, including the addition of Unit 63A north of Idaho Falls, which was added […]

Many things drag us out into the wilderness: the daily barrage of incomprehensible political decisions, the copious amounts of brain-rot produced by the inevitable screen watching and scrolling that has […]

Sheer beauty comes from all places while you are fly fishing: the bluebirds song against the drone of a rolling creek, the ripples caused by emerging insects and the subsequent trout nose breaking the surface to feed, the analeptic response from feeling the tug of a trout at the end of your line. Or, sometimes the waters decide to paint a picture for you, a snapshot of nature that you, and only you, are usually there to witness.

The issue comes with the amount of mending one has to do to keep a good drift. It is the Kootenai, and with that comes an incredible power of cross currents, undercurrents, back drift, and spots of stillness. But if you have a good line and a bit of mending knowledge, it is manageable and rewarding.

Crayton Garrett, 10, Bonners Ferry is competing for Youth Athlete of the Year and a chance to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. You can help Crayton make […]

The average person just sees a bug. A fly fisher can see the caddis or the mayfly, the salmon fly and stonefly. They see a running current; at the same time a frightening, powerful phenomenon and a thing of beauty. A fly fisher sees the way the water curls over a large rock, the trout nearby waiting for the next course to their meal behind it. The fly fisher sees the water in a different way; it is a whole different experience. A better experience.

Boundary Community Hospital (BCH), in partnership with Boundary County School District 101, is proud to offer free sports physicals for Boundary County students from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, July […]

… now I wanted to play catch and release rather than kill and grill. This drove my father crazy. He fished and hunted to put food on the table, and now his only son of four kids wants to let that beautiful 18-inch rainbow he caught on a stonefly imitation go back into the water rather than into his and his family’s stomachs.

Maybe the Moyie is what you could call a Pabst Blue Ribbon river: by myth, it won the award for “America’s Best” in the past–hypothetically at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition for the PBR–but in reality no one really knows if that is the truth or not. All we know is that they are both cheap, fun, will give you a slight buzz if you really try, and are made mostly of water.

In a place like the Moyie River, I want the only trash in there to be the quality of fishing. It makes getting skunked a heck of a lot more enjoyable when I don’t have to clean up the area every single time I am out there.

What lurks under these beautiful clear waters are what I consider one of the best (if not the best) fish to catch in this wonderful country of ours: the Westslope Cutthroat Trout.

Seven members of the Duke’s Claybusters Bonners Ferry High School trapshooting team heading south this weekend to the Boise Gun Club in Kuna, Idaho, to compete in the Idaho State […]

In my mind, and the minds of many other anglers, there is always a trout rising in the back of our head.

The Special Olympics Idaho Summer Games are just around the corner. On June 6 and 7 in Nampa, the games will commence and three of the Bonners Ferry Mountaineers; Dylan […]

My son Olaf spent all of last summer wading in the creeks, climbing over boulders, helping to net fish, and running full bore from nests of angry yellow jackets with me but he had not yet tried his hand in fishing with a fly rod.

As Gingrich wrote, “a trout is a moment of beauty only to those that seek it” … I hope we can keep our minds in the right place and keep our public lands public…we must make our voices heard if we want to save our public lands. For you, for me, for our families, our children, and our children’s children.

Members of Bonners Ferry Gun Club and the Bonners Ferry High School Claybusters traveled to a 2 day ATA trap shoot in Libby. We had two days of fantastic trapshooting. […]

By Badger Sports Reporter, Piper Banning The Badgers traveled to Boise for the track and field state championship this weekend and brought home some hardware. The 4A state champion for […]

By Badger Sports Reporter, Piper Banning For the first time in school history, Bonners Ferry High School has a tennis team. Though it be a team of just two this […]

There is movement of the water, the decaying dead things, the fish that feed our obsession, the change of sediment, the deer that drinks not fifty yards from me with its feet dug deep into the muddy bottom of the Kootenai. And under the slow moving foam, in the uncleared and slightly brown waters, are trout waiting as patiently as I am.

Idaho’s Free Fishing Day is a day to set for June 14, 2025. On June 14, there will be no need to have a fishing license, but all other rules […]

That’s a wrap. Bonners Ferry High School Golf has come to an end for the 2025 season. Badger state goer, Eli Blackmore earned a 6th place individual medal, scoring 77 […]

For the first time in school history, Bonners Ferry High School has a tennis team. It took two young people with a desire and drive to play high school tennis […]

… what has mainly stayed the same as it was 30 years ago is nature. Our surroundings. Objectively the best part of this area; a wholly unique and beautiful part of the country at large. And the best part of that nature is in the waters.

As a working family man, I can’t always get out when I want to (especially when I run out of good excuses). However, there are still things I can do in the meantime to soften the blow of not having my feet in the river.

Boundary County Sheriff Travis Stolley has announce two upcoming off highway vehicle (OHV) classes to be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 17,  and Saturday, June 7, both […]

Tuesday’s Trouble women’s bowling league sent eight players to the Idaho State Championships. The event was held on three separate weekends and in two cities to accommodate all bowlers. The […]

Helene Rae and her best friend Kim Lucas signed to their respective colleges last week. Helene Rae will be attending the College of Idaho in Caldwell as a track athlete […]

My reunion with one of my oldest, and dearest, friends began as one should: a few blue cans, a juicy tri-tip that had been in a smoker all day, and a bit of small talk.

“… the river changes towards beauty. It remains the same in our eyes but the water that rolls past your ankles is somewhere far, far down the river within a minute. It makes one question the minutiae of everyday life away from the river, how we humans conduct ourselves whether face to face or through a phone screen. And it makes one wonder why we have lost our way as rivers ourselves.”

On Saturday, March 1, The Historic Pearl Theater in downtown Bonners Ferry put on a showing of the IF4, or International Fly Fishing Film Festival, which I attended with some […]

There you are, watching your size 14 CDC caddis dead float perfectly with the foam in the current over what you know is at least a 12” west slope cutthroat. […]

By Kathy Konek Junior rifle shooters from the Sandpoint and Kootenai Valley (KV) clubs participated in the Washington State Junior Smallbore Indoor Championships on Saturday, March 8. They travelled to […]

Stolen by Mike Weland Momentous occasions so profoundly change the lives of those who experience them that grasping the idea that you’ve evolved to a different plane, a higher level, […]

It was an unseasonably warm day in late February for Boundary County. Not two days earlier, we had a decent covering of snow (enough that my son was still begging […]

By Jesse and Piper Banning Your back-to-back champions arrived home last night to quite the surprise. The Bonners Ferry High School gymnasium was packed to the gills with Badger fans, […]

Dear Bonners Ferry High School varsity basketball team … Congratulations on achieving a monumental milestone by winning the Idaho State Basketball Championship for the second consecutive year! This accomplishment is […]

By Badger football coaches and staff – Badger Youth Football and Cheer is excited to share our new website and simplified online registration. We are still very much a work […]

The Bonners Ferry High School cheer team competed at the state competition this year but did not place as hoped. While the outcome wasn’t what they had envisioned, the team’s […]

Badger basketball coach Nathan Williams sends congratulations to senior Thomas Bateman for achieving 1,009 points in his high school career, and state play lies ahead. Thomas put up 132 points […]

By Badger Sports Reporter, Piper Banning The middle school Badger boys kicked off their season tonight with three wins! The Badgers of Bonners Ferry took on the Spartans of Priest […]

Your 2025 Duke’s Claybusters – By Ron Campbell “Claybusters scores for week 5 (half way) of the Bonners Ferry Gun Club winter league. Scores are as follows: Juniors: Trenton Myers […]

By Badger Sports Reporter Piper Banning Thursday night was senior night for two Lady Badgers. With family and friends surrounding them, Syndey Hinthorn and Brooke Petesch played the second to […]

By Kathy Konek On January 18, the Kootenai Valley Rifle Club, in Bonners Ferry, hosted the Idaho State Junior Olympic Rifle Championship. Nineteen shooters from the Bonners Ferry (KV), Sandpoint, […]

By Katie Banning The Lady Badgers beat the St. Maries Lumberjacks tonight with whopping 33-point lead ending the game 80-47.  The Badgers started off strong with 47 points in the […]

By Piper Banning The annual Backwoods Brawl between rival schools Timberlake and Bonners Ferry Badgers is one for the books. Though the Badgers did not win the coveted brawl trophy […]

By Piper Banning The annual Elks Hoop Shoot North Idaho Regional competition took place Saturday in Sandpoint and our Boundary County Middle School contestants both brought home wins! The Elks […]

The Bonners Ferry High School Cheer squad won Grand Champion at the Winter Wolves Challenge at Lake City High School today! Nice work, Badgers!!

Conrad Gardner has been a fixture of Bonners Ferry High School wrestling since 1986.He started the Wrestling Wall in 2005, dedicated to Badger state champions and/or Badgers who go on to wrestle in college. This year, the wall is 20 years old. It’s also the first year a Lady Badger’s name earns a place there.

By Kristie Campbell Club Secretary The Bonners Ferry Gun Club (BFGC) and the Duke’s Claybusters High School trap team kicked off their league season with a soft opening this week, […]

By Piper Banning UPDATE:  Girls JV were victorious on Saturday 41-27 against Thompson Falls.  Great job, ladies! The Badger wrestling club made the trek over to Ronan, Montana where Sofia […]

Fighters Sofia Brown and Nevaeh Therrien were both crowned champions at the Western Montana Wrestling Invitational in Ronan, Montana, for the Badger girls wrestling team. Aubree Graves also made it […]

To add to their resume, the boys Badger varsity basketball team has won the championship game and taken first place in the Avista Tournament in Lewiston today, bringing their season […]

In their second game of the Avista Holiday Tournament in Lewiston, the Badgers dominated yet again against the Moscow Bears, taking the win 66-50.  They will grace the court again […]

By Katie Banning Two undefeated teams met for competition last night in the Avista Holiday Tournament in Lewiston at the P1FCU Activity Center.  The Badgers of Bonners Ferry and the […]

They are the only 7-0 boys 4A class high school basketball team in Idaho with only one other team, Snake River, awaiting a loss. They sit at the top of […]

Both the boys and girls varsity and junior varsity basketball teams traveled to Reardan, Washington today to end 2024 with ‘The Reardan Christmas Tournament’.  The Varsity Lady Badgers took the […]

Courtesy Paula Petesch Valley View Elementary School hosted the Elk’s Hoop Shoot today. Students practiced shooting free throws during their physical education classes recently and were able to qualify for […]

The Badger boys basketball team is on track for state this year and the Badger fans couldn’t be more excited! Last night the Badgers beat the Logos Knights on the […]

In a defining moment for Lexington Sporting Club, Lexington, Kentucky, and the local soccer community, the club proudly announced Terry Boss, who has deep roots in Boundary County, as the […]

Lady Badgers take the win AGAIN tonight against the Kellogg Wildcats, 49-21!! The Badgers host the Moscow Bears at 7 p.m. Friday, December 6 … Go Badgers!

Welcome back, Bonners Ferry Badger fans! It’s basketball season again. I have heard some great things about the season  ahead and just yesterday I got some intel from head coach […]

By Piper Banning Badger Sports It was a long week for the Badgers this week. Cross Country and Volleyball had districts, the girls and boy’s varsity soccer teams went to […]

By Piper Banning The Badger boys win another shutout 2-0 over Grangeville this afternoon! They’ll play the championship game vs. CdA Charter Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Post Falls! Let’s […]

By Piper Banning In Europe, the game of soccer is called football. In Post Falls Monday in game 1 of the 2024 Intermountain League District4A boys soccer, the Badgers put […]

By Piper Banning We are small, but fierce.  The Bonners Ferry Badgers have, since infancy, housed athletes in the four walls of each school in Boundary County, some of them […]

Water woes continue to plague Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge with the one remaining pump not operating at full capacity. The south end of the managed waterfowl hunt has achieved desirable […]

Kootenai Valley Rifle & Pistol Club shooters have won local and state matches, earned college scholarships, a place on the line at the Junior Olympics, and produced nationally recognized NRA […]

By Piper Banning Badger Sports Reporter Last Monday and Tuesday were big for the Boys varsity soccer team with a win 6-0 versus Priest River on Monday and the very […]

Community Chat meetings in Bonners Ferry regarding Chronic Wasting Disease are done unless\until additional information is available to share with the public. With the Unit 1 surveillance hunt now over […]

        By Badger Reporter Piper Banning It was a busy week for the Badgers.  So busy in fact, that some of the scores and stats didn’t make […]

Homecoming is the perfect day to announce our next 2024 Bonners Ferry Badger Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, Badger fan, Ron Smith, born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 1938. He […]

HOME COMING!! Friday, September 13 10 a.m. – Float judging 11 a.m. – Parade Roll Call and Line Up Noon – Parade (Floats to BFHS after) 12:30 p.m. – Tailgate […]

By Badger Reporter Piper Banning It was a busy week for Badgers sports. On Tuesday the boys’ varsity soccer team won against their rival, the Timberlake Tigers, with a shutout, […]

By Piper Banning Badger Sports We have a win, ladies and gentlemen! The JV Badger football team dominated against the Eureka Lions with 28-0 win last night in their second […]

Swing into action for a healthier community at the annual Fry Healthcare Foundation (FHF) Golf Tournament! This year’s tournament tees off on Friday, September 6, with all proceeds focused on […]

Over the next few weeks, the Bonners Ferry Badger Athletic Hall of Fame will introduce and share biographies of our 2024 inaugural inductees to the Bonners Ferry Badger Athletic Hall […]

9B.News Badger sports reporter Piper Banning is asking help from Badger fans Saturday as she’s competing in the only sport with an away meet … she and the Badgers will […]

The Badger eighth grade football team needs more players! If you are interested, go to the Bonners Ferry Youth Football Facebook page, and print out a registration form! To learn […]

The storied 2024 Idaho 3A Basketball Champion Bonners Ferry Badger Boys gathered Monday at the Kootenai River Inn for one final team get-together to pick up their championship rings as […]

By Katie Banning “The Outta Shapers” of Bonners Ferry sponsored by Turner Plumbing, competed in Hoopfest in Spokane over the weekend, the largest three on three basketball tournament in the […]

If turnout at this year’s Bonners Ferry High School Volleyball Camp June 011-13 is any indication, the Badger volleyball program stands to be in pretty good shape for the next […]

Boundary Community Hospital (BCH), in partnership with Boundary County School District 101, is proud to host its annual Free Sports Physicals event to ensure all Boundary County students have the […]

Inspire Girls Basketball Club would like to congratulate Markynn Pluid for signing to play basketball at Snow College, Ephraim, Utah, with a full ride scholarship. A Badger in high school, […]

Badger Basketball Camp 2024 is coming right up, but the deadline to register, June 5, is upon us for those campers who want to be guaranteed the t-shirt. There will […]