Sandpoint, Idaho is a diverse and wonderful city with much to offer its residents and visitors. Listed below are web sites for many of the businesses based in and around Sandpoint. Please browse through them to learn more about this wonderful place that we proudly call "Home."

Located on the northern shore of Lake Pend O'reille and against the dramatic backdrop of the Selkirk Mountains, Sandpoint is ideally situated, making it a true four-season paradise. Winter recreation, water sports, challenging golf courses, unique marketplaces and panoramic views are only some of the reasons that Sandpoint is a great place to live.

The economy of Sandpoint is steady; since the city is the county seat of Bonner County, many county offices are housed here. The main industries in the Sandpoint area are timber, tourism and manufacturing. The city has had a steady growth of new industry since the 1990's. Sandpoint continues to attract people from all over the nation, from various backgrounds and lifestyles, each hoping to take advantage of all that Sandpoint has to offer A warm welcome is extended to those desiring to be a part of this beautiful and diverse community.

Climate
Sandpoint has a true four season climate that is much more moderate than that found further east in the Rockies. There is neither extremely hot nor cold weather. usually, there are only a few sub-zero days each winter while summer has equally few days on which the temperature rises above 90 degrees. Nights are generally cool. The average year-round temperature is 47 degrees and there are an average of 125 frost free days each year.

Precipitation averages about 33.3 inches per year. Snow during November, December, January, February, and March averages 87.8 inches per year. The heaviest precipitation comes during the winter months while summer is the driest, when weeks of consecutive clear, sunny days are not uncommon.

Educational Facilities
School District 82 provides educational services to all of Bonner County Approximately 5,800 students, kindergarten through grade 12, are enrolled in 14 schools. A senior high, an "alternative high school," junior high school, and three elementary schools are located in Sandpoint itself. private and parochial schools are available.

The new Sandpoint High School opened in the fall of 1991. It joins Sagle Elementary, Hope Elementary, Priest River Lamanna High, and the Idaho Hill Elementary as district schools newly built or expanded under the $15.8 million plant facility levy passed by Bonner County voters in the spring of 1987.

Both North Idaho College, a community college whose main campus is located in Coeur d'Alene 45 miles south of Sandpoint, and the University of Idaho offer a variety of credit and non-credit courses in Sandpoint itself. Students can also drive to North Idaho College or take classes at several Spokane area universities. Lewis-Clark State College, through its Coeur d'Alene office, also offers classes and degrees to Bonner County residents.

Health Care
Bonner Medical Center, an accredited full-service hospital, provides medical care to Bonner and Boundary counties and to residents of western Montana. The 62-bed hospital offers a full range of inpatient and outpatient services including surgery radiology ultrasound diagnosis, mammography CT scan, intensive and coronary care, and physical therapy The hospital also provides a physician-staffed emergency room and a family-centered birthing room.

Sandpoint's medical community includes 30 physicians and 13 dentists. Specializations include orthodontics, dermatology obstetrics and gynecology pediatrics, ophthalmology radiology orthopedic surgery vascular surgery sports medicine, psychiatry internal medicine and family practice. Sandpoint also has a variety of home health care resources available to those who need them.

Sandpoint offers every level of care for the seniors. The 55 units at Alpine Vista Apartments were created to give seniors an independent living situation while providing meals, transportation, and 24 hour emergency assistance. Valley Vista Assisted Living Community provides shelter care in its 60 rooms while Mountainside Health Care offers long-term convalescent care with 24 hour nursing staff. Home health care is also available through several local companies.

Local medical resources are augmented by Spokane's nationally-recognized medical services with emergency transport provided by specially-equipped helicopters.

Population

During the 70's, county population grew by 55 percent from 15,600 to 24.000. That growth continued, though at a slower rate, during the 80's and it has accelerated again dramatically in the 90's.

Most of the growth has taken place outside of the Sandpoint city limits in the surrounding county Many of the new residents have come from urban areas seeking the quality of life attributes that Sandpoint possesses. These newcomers have, in turn, added their skills and energies to the Sandpoint community

City/County Government
Sandpoint City is the largest of the four incorporated cities at the heart of Bonner County. The others are Dover to the west of Sandpoint and Ponderay and Kootenai to the north and east. Each is governed by a Mayor and City Council. Bonner County, of which Sandpoint is the county seat, is governed by a three-member commission. Both the city of Sandpoint and the county have full-time planners who work with the appointed planning commissions on the development of planning objectives and zoning ordinances. Anyone considering building is directed to them for help in beginning the application process. A resource for finding contractors, the Sandpoint Plan Center is located at the Chamber on Hwy 95 north. Idaho taxes are among the lowest in the country Property taxes within the City of Sandpoint are about 1.8 percent of assessed market value; county taxes are approximately one percent. Idaho's income tax code follows federal guidelines with graduated rates that range from two to seven percent. Sales tax is currently five percent.

Economy
The Sandpoint area economy has traditionally been based on the timber industry. Forest products presently account for over 20 percent of the Bonner County payroll. Production is now above pre-recession levels of the early 80's.

Tourism is the other important industry in the area. Each summer sees an influx of visitors who come to enjoy the fishing and boating on Lake Pend Oreille and to hike in the surrounding mountains. The addition of Hidden Lakes Country Club to the county has provided an added attraction for visitors.

The recent changes at Schweitzer Mountain Resort have made Sandpoint a true year 'round destination. With the addition of a quad chair, lights for night skiing, snowmaking equipment, and a new hotel, Schweitzer has become a regional destination that hosted 140,000 skier visits last year.

Perhaps the most important development for the long term health of the Sandpoint area economy has been the location of a variety of light manufacturers in the area. While unemployment in Bonner County still runs above national averages and per capita income remains substantially lower, the local economy has dramatically improved and the future looks bright.

The first white man known to visit the Sandpoint area was David Thompson, the famous explorer and "land geographer." He, with partner "Big Finan" McDonald, established the Kullyspell House on the Hope Peninsula in 1809 as the first trading post in Idaho.

Kullyspell House survived for only two years, however, and it wasn't until the coming of the Northern Pacific Railroad in the early 1880's that permanent settlements took root. At that time, Hope and Clark Fork were established to help support the railroad building and operation.

The history of Sandpoint as a settlement dates back to the year 1880 when Robert Weeks opened a general store and dealt in furs. The town was known for a long time as Pend Oreille and actually existed east along the lakeshore from the current site.

The community grew slowly until the construction of the Great Northern Railroad in 1892. This railroad brought L.D. Farmin to Sandpoint as a Great Northern agent. He filed on the original town site and laid out Sandpoint in 1898, ten feet above the lake's high water mark.

The city's early history was tied closely to the railroads and to the timber industry as the Humbird and other area mills sought to harvest the timber resources of the region. In the early 1900's over 225 men worked for the Humbird Mill in two shifts to keep up with demand. Timber continued to play a major role in the local economy as Sandpoint became known for the cedar electric and telegraphy poles produced by area companies. However, the community grew slowly until World War II brought the construction of Farragut Naval Vase in Bayview. This "Boot" camp trained over 300,000 seamen for duty in the war and introduced them to this region.

After a slowdown following the war, the area has grown in spurts as disenchanted urbanites have sought the slower pace and physical beauty of north Idaho. It is expected that growth will continue into the foreseeable future.

Transportation
Sandpoint is located at the crossroads of federal and state highways, U.S. Highway 95 passes through Sandpoint from north to south. U.S. Highway 2 runs east to west and connects Sandpoint to Spokane to the west and Montana to the east. Highway 200 connects Sandpoint with Missoula, Montana. Below are approximate highway mileages to major cities:

Sandpoint is situated on three major railroad lines. It has the only passenger service in Idaho with a daily train to Seattle and Portland to the west and Chicago to the east. The Sandpoint General Aviation Airport has recently been resurfaced and expanded to 4,600 feet. With instrumentation due to be installed soon, Sandpoint will be able to handle regular commercial airline flights in addition to landing corporate jets. Spokane International Airport, 75 miles away serves seven major airlines and provided regularly scheduled flights to destinations anywhere in the world. Local public transportation is now provided by North Idaho Community Express, which is developing regular, fixed routes to serve the county and all North Idaho.

Communications
The Bonner County Daily Bee provides daily newspaper coverage for the Sandpoint/Bonner County area. It is joined by the twin radio stations KSPT/KPND in covering the local scene and keeping people abreast of local events and activities. Newspaper service is also provided by the Spokesman-Review. Virtually all of Spokane’s radio stations and its three network television stations are received in Sandpoint. In addition, Sandpoint itself has cable television supplied by Northland Cable.