General Local

Coeur d'Alene Lake is warming a little earlier than it has for the past two years when Ironman athletes dove into frigid waters barely breaking 50^o. This year it looks like the CdA Ironman competitors will have a little easier time in the water with some warmer temperatures.

Last year's Ironmen experienced 57^o water with the lake warming up from 53^o over the course of two weeks. Today, with Ironman more than a month away, we already have lake temperatures greater than 55^o.

A combination of factors have contributed to this, including early snow melt and warmer than usual temperatures over the past two weeks.

It has been several years since we've experienced such great weather so early in the year. Typically lake temperatures don't rise to these levels until late March, and daytime highs are only in the upper 60s to low 70s. While this month has been warmer than usual, it has not yet come close to breaking our record May temperatures. The record high for May in Coeur d'Alene was 98^o, something we rarely see until July or August.

The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot for the upcoming 2013 school levy election is coming up on Wednesday, March 6.

Per a pres release on Friday, March 1, fewer than 100 people have voted in-person absentee so far, and less than 1,000 have requested mailed absentee ballots. To learn more about how to vote in this election, hit the link above!

In-person absentee voting ends on Friday (March 8). The election will be held on March 12.

On March 12, 2013, there will be a school district election asking voters in the Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai Joint and Post Falls districts to approve new levies to fund school operations including maintenance and security.

Coeur d'Alene School district has announced that it will ask for $27,200,000.00 to be divided between two years in the amount of $14.3 million the first year and $12.9 million the second year. Amounts have not yet been announced for the Kootenai Joint and Post Falls school districts.

These levies follow last August's bond elections in which voters approved $37.7 million for Coeur d'Alene School District and $2 million for Kootenai Joint School District. A levy for Lakeland School District in the amount of $4 million ($800,000.00/year for 5 years) was also approved by voters in August 2012.

Lakeland School District's voters also approved two more levies in March 2012, one for $9,050,000.00 and another for $9,900,000.00.

This year, voters will be able to cast their votes in the school levy election with in-person absentee between February 25 and March 8 at the Kootenai County Elections office. The office is open from 8:00a to 5:00p, Monday through Friday. You may also request an absentee ballot. On election day, March 12, polls will be open from 8:00a to 8:00p. Not all polling places will be used for the election. Precincts 1-7 and 10-12 will not be used, and some other polling places have been changed. You can use the Polling Place Lookup Tool to find the appropriate polling place for this election.

Further Reading:
Kootenai County Elections Press Release
CdA Press: Cd'A Determines Levy Amount

Coeur d'Alene area roads are looking better than they were earlier today, but conditions are still quite hazardous out there. Rain is expected later today, followed by a drop back down to freezing temperatures and more snow tonight. Drive safely!

Interstate 90 - Veterans Memorial Bridge

We keep a close eye on Coeur d'Alene Lake's temperature, with readings from the United States Geological Survey taken in the lake near the Spokane River. But daily readings don't really give a feel for the wide range of temperatures the lake experiences over the course of a year. Last summer we showed you a chart of the lake temperatures from August 2011 - July 2012.

This is a chart of the lake's temperatures throughout all of 2012, a time during which the lake ranged from a near-freezing low of 37^o (on January 20 and February 25) to 74.6^o on July 20.