Liz Kishimoto

The Spokesman-Review’s dedicated staff of photo journalists help bring to life stories about the residents and communities in the Inland Northwest. At a moment’s notice, they may drive many miles to photograph an event or people in the news. They make feature photos that take planning and special equipment. In covering assignments, they aim to tell the human story without judgment, but with kindness and sensitivity to the person or persons in front of them.

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Tens of millions of people across the United States have been enduring heat wave after heat wave this summer, in what feels like an unrelenting succession of humid days and scorching temperatures. While there’s no denying that extreme heat and humidity can be physically uncomfortable, research suggests that such conditions can be trying on your psychological well-being, too.

After embellishing the 19th century with alternative histories and fantastic developments in four previous novels, beginning with her best-selling debut, “The Watchmaker of Filigree Street,” Natasha Pulley grounds her latest work in an actual 20th-century event. “The Half Life of Valery K” takes off from a 1957 nuclear explosion in the Soviet Union, which blasted mortally dangerous levels of radiation into the atmosphere, and the ensuing coverup by the Soviet government. Exhibiting all the storytelling skills that made her earlier books readable and popular, Pulley offers a piercing study of how a police state deforms individual psychologies, personal relationships and professional ethics.

Messages of love, bunnies and all the colors of the rainbow made up the Easter egg coloring contest submissions. Children from Chattaroy to Coeur d’Alene decorated Easter eggs for The Spokesman-Review’s spring coloring contest. The judges enjoyed all the bright colors and spring motifs.