Local briefs

Candidates announce runs for elected state, local positions

Robert Blair, R-Kendrick, announced Friday he is running to represent Legislative District 6 in the Idaho State Senate.

District 6 includes Latah, Lewis and part of Nez Perce counties.

Blair is substituting for Sen. Dan Johnson, now Lewiston’s mayor, in the current Legislative session.

Also this week, Matthew Casberg announced he is running as the Democratic candidate for Latah County Clerk, a four-year term.

Casberg is an administrator for Tri-State Outfitters in Moscow. His wife, Michal Casberg, is the interim District 5 Democratic chairperson.

The Latah County Commissioners appointed Tonya Dodge to the clerk position last fall.

Great Backyard Bird Count begins

The Great Backyard Bird Count, a four-day project to identify birds on the Palouse began Friday and will continue through Monday. The count is a joint effort of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. It is one of the first community science projects for collecting data on wild bird migration.

The project asks individuals to spend at least 15 minutes during the four-day period and count every bird seen or heard during that time frame. The data collected is then used by scientists to track migration patterns. For more information visit birdcount.org.

Foley Institute speaker series to focus on gun industry

The Washington State Foley Institute is continuing its speaker series with a presentation from Ryan Busse at noon Tuesday via Youtube. Busse is a former executive in the gun industry and author of “Gun Fight: My Battle Against the Industry that Radicalized America.”

The talk will be streamed on the Foley Institute Youtube channel and will stay up for anyone to watch after the event is over. Busse will discuss the gun industry and what he feels can be done to promote a sensible approach to gun ownership.