Feb. 28—LEWISTON — A soon-to-open Lewiston clothing retailer has its roots in a romance that blossomed when the owners were employees in a different location of the store.
The Storm Cellar is expected to debut at 835 Main St., a former U.S. Bank branch, in early March, said Lydia Warner, who owns the store with her husband, Caleb Warner.
The business is opening at a time when Lewiston is still recovering from the departure of a number of stores that carried clothing, including Macy's, JCPenney, Shopko and Kmart.
The Warners have been married since 2019 after connecting at Moscow's Storm Cellar, which he managed for three years.
"We were great friends," she said. "But we really got to know each other working in the store. We had our engagement photos taken there."
The store will carry a mix of men's and women's clothing and shoes that will include new and carefully curated previously owned pieces.
"We focus on bargains and great deals," Caleb Warner said.
The inventory at the Lewiston store — which will be larger than the one in Moscow — will come from a number of channels. The store purchases clothing from individuals, paying in store credit or cash.
The Warners also do transactions with entrepreneurs who buy new items in large quantities from brands such as Anthropologie, J. Crew and Urban Outfitters, which don't have a brick-and-mortar presence in the region, he said.
The Warners developed their sourcing skills from Austin and Laura Storm, who own Moscow's Storm Cellar.
The Warners have a licensing agreement with the Storms to use the Storm Cellar name, Caleb Warner said.
Moscow's Storm Cellar continues to be under the ownership of the Storms. They also are active in Colfax, where they are renovating St. Ignatius Hospital and own Bully for You, a clothing, antique and furniture store. Similar to the Storm Cellar, it carries a mix of new and previously owned merchandise.
New doctor joins Sleep Lab at Pullman hospital
PULLMAN — Dr. Usha Nandhini has accepted a position as the medical director of the Sleep Lab at Pullman Regional Hospital.
Her new responsibilities include developing and reviewing all sleep studies, policies and sleep lab technologies, according to a news release from Pullman Regional Hospital.
The lab is introducing new sleep technology called Nihon Kohden Polysmith 12, software that is replacing the present system for in-lab and at-home sleep studies.
She will continue to provide sleep medicine care at Palouse Sleep Medicine, part of the Pullman Regional Hospital Clinic Network, a position she has held since 2022.
Nandhini completed medical school at Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, India, before finishing an internal medicine residency at St. Vincent's Hospital in Worcester, Mass. That was followed by a sleep medicine fellowship at Boston Medical Center in Boston.
The telephone number of her practice is (509) 338-6000.
New Old Navy continues to take shape in Lewiston
LEWISTON — A 12,500-foot shell for Old Navy is nearing completion immediately east of Ulta Beauty in Lewiston.
The retailer hasn't yet submitted plans for the second phase of construction at 2640 Nez Perce Drive that would include things such as shelves, counters and interior finishes, said John Smith, Lewiston's building official.
Old Navy's plans for Lewiston first became public in July when a building permit application was submitted to the city of Lewiston.
Old Navy, which opened in Moscow in 2007, carries clothes for men, women and children.
It is a brand of Gap Inc., the self-described largest specialty apparel company in the U.S. Banana Republic and Athleta also are a part of Gap.
Culdesac genealogist earns her accreditation
CULDESAC — Matching adopted children with their birth parents is part of what Jill Nock does at her business, Mountain State Genealogy in Culdesac.
Since founding the venture in 2020, she has identified the biological moms or dads of about a dozen people, said Nock, a retired accountant.
"It's vital so they can know their health history if nothing else," she said. "I believe everybody deserves to know where they came from."
Nock recently obtained an Accredited Genealogist credential for the Upper South region of the United States through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists by passing three levels of exams, according to a news release she issued.
The Upper South region includes Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Nock covers that area and the rest of the United States in her work that involves helping people understand where their family members came from and if any of their relatives played important roles in history.
Nock's interest in genealogy began when she was 14 and continued as a hobby in the years that followed until she formalized her interest in a business.
"I wanted to do this to help people," she said.
She charges $50 per hour for general genealogy work, $60 for work that involves DNA and a base fee of $100 to do interviews to gather family history.
When she is doing DNA work, clients give her access to accounts from companies such as Ancestry.com that have gathered the DNA.
The oral history interviews last one hour and come with two pictures of the family member who was interviewed and a transcript of what was said.
Nock can be contacted through her website, mtnstgen.com.
New roundabout at Lewiston Orchards intersection approved
LEWISTON — A new mini-roundabout that will be constructed in the Lewiston Orchards is aimed at improving safety for children walking to Centennial Elementary School and the Boys & Girls Club of the Lewis Clark Valley.
The Lewiston City Council awarded a bid of $328,418 to Western Construction for the roundabout at 10th Street and Burrell Avenue at a council meeting this month.
The intersection is about halfway between the club and the school, said city of Lewiston Public Works Director Dustin Johnson.
Fourteen crashes had occurred at the intersection when it was evaluated a couple of years ago, part of why the improvement is the third priority in the city's transportation capital improvement plan, he said.
The congestion typically happens at specific times when there are events at the school or club, he said.
"If you put in a four-way stop, you're going to start getting people who are going to roll through it or not abide by that," Johnson said.
Studies have shown advantages to roundabouts, he said.
"The traffic data demonstrates over and over again that the accidents are fewer and those accidents that do occur are less severe than a four-way intersection," Johnson said.
Construction is expected to start in the middle of March and take six weeks.
A number of councilors stated their support for the project. Among them were Kassee Forsmann, who said she drives by the intersection every day.
"I'm terrified when kids are getting out of school and walking there, because you get people going back and forth stopping," she said. "You have to make eye contact with the kids so that they know that you're there watching them."
Councilor Jim Kleeburg also said he favored the upgrade.
"Burrell is a speed zone," he said. "The average speed is far above what the posted speed limit is. And I think it's time that we slowed the traffic down."
Idaho's job creation trend rated 'healthy' by agency
New short-term projections from the Idaho Department of Labor indicate Idaho's "healthy" rate of job creation is anticipated to continue for two years.
Total employment in Idaho — including self-employed and family businesses — reached a new high of 854,474 in 2022, according to a news release issued by the Idaho Department of Labor last week.
That number is predicted to grow by 1.4% annually and reach 878,100 in 2024, according to the news release.
Local trends reflect what is happening statewide. The unemployment rate was 2.5% in north central Idaho, according to the most recent statistics from December.
It was lowest in Latah County, with a rate of 2%, and highest in Clearwater County, which had a rate of 5.2%, said Lisa Grigg, an economist with the Idaho Department of Labor, in an email.
Nez Perce County's unemployment rate was 2.3%, while Idaho County's was 3.3% and Lewis County's was 3.1%, she said.
A number of signs point to ongoing strength in Idaho's economy, according to the news release.
Among them are low unemployment, high in-migration, numerous job openings and high wage growth.
Going forward, the fastest-expanding industries are projected to include health care, information, construction, transportation and warehousing.
"These patterns of growth are closely tied to two broad economic trends: namely, the growing and aging of Idaho's population — and a continued shift towards e-commerce," according to the news release.
Williams is the Tribune's business editor. She may be contacted at william@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.
