The owners of Moscow Axe Throwing hope their new business hits the bull’s-eye for recreation on the Palouse.
The venue gives customers an opportunity to try their luck striking targets 12 to 15 feet away with axes, knives or ninja stars in seven lanes that accommodate as many as six people.
“We want them to have fun,” said Chris Ihler, an owner, whose nickname, predictably, is Axe. “That’s the main part of this venue.”
The cost is $25 per person per hour. The price includes unlimited throws during the time individuals reserve as well as instruction about the basics of throwing and safety. People can change what they’re throwing as often as they want.
Reservations can be made at moscowaxethrowing.com. Moscow Axe Throwing sells water and soda. Customers can bring in their own food.
Future expansion plans include a restaurant with adult beverages and a Western-themed bar in the basement of the building at 310 W. Third St.
A graduate of Seattle University, Ihler was an Uber driver in the Seattle area looking for entrepreneurial opportunities just before opening the venture with business partners. Among them are Tyler Sabin, a Washington State University graduate who raises hops in Prosser.
After Ihler and Sabin met through friends of friends, they started brainstorming ideas and landed on ax throwing after Sabin enjoyed trying it at a business in the Spokane area.
They chose Moscow because of the absence of social activities for its large population of university students, as well as the lack of competition and high visibility in the smaller town.
“We know Moscow Axe Throwing will be the place to be and the thing to do for everyone in the area,” Ihler said.
Tri-Cities credit union expands in Pullman, with third location
A credit union with roots at the Hanford Site near the Tri-Cities has opened a third location in Pullman.
Gesa Credit Union is at 1170 SE Bishop Blvd. offering consumer, mortgage and business products and services. Its name used to stand for General Electric Supervisors Association.
Its hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The newest Pullman office of Gesa has a full-service teller line. It also has two drive-up interactive teller machines where members can conduct transactions they typically would at automated teller machines and communicate with Gesa employees by video conferencing.
The branch will have a training center for Washington State University students who operate its existing two on-campus, full-service locations.
Based in Richland, Gesa is Washington’s second-largest credit union with more than $5.5 billion in assets and 285,000 members.
Gesa has almost 30 branches in Washington, as well as student-run locations that include the two at WSU and a dozen at high schools.
High school interns handle daily operations at the schools during their lunch hours and work at Gesa branch locations as tellers after school. An education team at Gesa provides supervision and oversees grand openings and annual back-to-school campaigns.
Study identifies importance of sleep for women’s work ambitions
Women climbing the career ladder have a greater need for quality sleep than their male counterparts.
That is a finding of a two-week-long study conducted of 135 workers in the U.S. that was published in the journal “Sex Roles,” according to a news release from Washington State University.
“When women are getting a good night’s sleep and their mood is boosted, they are more likely to be oriented in their daily intentions toward achieving status and responsibility at work,” said lead author Leah Sheppard, an associate professor in WSU’s Carson College of Business in the news release.
“If their sleep is poor and reduces their positive mood, then we saw that they were less oriented toward those goals,” she said.
Sheppard’s co-authors were Julie Kmec of WSU and Teng Iat Loi of the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Men and women generally experienced the same amounts of good and bad sleep during the study, but women were more likely to report they had lowered intentions to seek more status in their jobs after a night of poor sleep, according to the news release.
“The researchers can only speculate about exactly why sleep’s impact on mood effects women’s aspirations and not men’s, but they suspect it may have to do with gender differences in emotion regulation as well as societal expectations — or some combination of these forces,” according to the news release.
Clearwater Paper and Vista Outdoor report strong earnings
LEWISTON — Lewiston’s manufacturing sector continues to thrive.
Clearwater Paper earned $20.6 million in July, August and September, its second quarter, compared with $1.9 mil-lion for the same time last year, according to results issued last week.
Vista Outdoor had net income of $133 million in its sporting products segment which includes its Lewiston ammunition operations in its 2023 fiscal year second quarter that ended Sept. 25, according to financial results released last week.
That compares to $175 million for the same time last year. Its outdoor products segment had net income of $30.5 million in its second quarter compared with $42.7 million for the same time last year. Camelbak and Simms Fishing are two of the brands in that part of the business.
The top executives of both companies stated they were pleased by the reports.
“We had an excel-lent third quarter, which exceeded our expectations with strong volumes, pricing and operational performance,” said Clearwater Paper President and CEO Arsen Kitch in a news release.
“While paperboard demand and pricing remained strong, our tissue performance continued to improve with higher pricing helping to offset the impact of inflation,” he said.
Clearwater Paper manufactures tissue for toilet paper, paper towels, paper napkins and facial tissue. It also makes paperboard for packaging and paper dishware.
Vista Outdoor has a “strong balance sheet and a solid financial foundation that allows us to continue to invest in our brands throughout the economic cycle,” said Chris Metz, CEO of Vista Outdoor, in a news release.
“Our business is healthier and more profitable than it has ever been, thanks to our continued focus on executing our long-term strategy,” he said.
Vista Outdoor had previously announced that it will split into two independent, publicly traded companies — one that handles the company’s outdoor brands and one composed of its ammunition operations. The move is expected to happen in 2023.
Area food banks to benefit from fundraiser
LEWISTON — Mark Bone, a Pacific Empire radio host, will spend three days living in a trailer 30 feet off the ground to support food banks.
Pacific Empire’s event, called “Hanging Out With Turkeys,” will be Nov. 17-19 at Rogers Toyota at 21st Street and 16th Avenue in Lewiston.
Staff from Pacific Empire will collect donations of food and money from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 17 and Nov. 18 and 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 19. Information about what food contributions are being sought and ways to donate cash are at dailyfly.com/hanging-out-with-turkeys.
Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.
Igloos provide warm oasis for diners at Orofino hotel
OROFINO — The Best Western Lodge at River’s Edge in Orofino has introduced heated, igloo-shaped pods that customers rent in two-hour time blocks to eat and drink.
Igloos are made of clear panels, allowing views on a patio overlooking the Clearwater River and Orofino Creek. Each has room for as many as eight individuals with “luxurious decor and cozy seating,” according to a news release from Best Western Lodge.
Reservations for the igloos are available by calling (208) 476-9999.
