The secret’s been out for a while now: the Inland Northwest is the place to be.
New numbers compiled by the site USA Facts show just how much the region has grown over the last decade-plus. Between 2010 and 2022, Spokane County’s population jumped more than 16%, from about 472,000 people to more than 549,000.
Across the state line, Kootenai County grew even faster. In that same 12‑year period, its population climbed about 32%, from roughly 139,000 people to more than 183,000.
At the center of that boom is Kootenai County’s largest city: Coeur d’Alene. The growth there is hard to miss — in new rooftops, heavier traffic, packed restaurants and rising housing prices. And with growth comes growing pains.
KXLY took your questions about those changes to the city’s new mayor, Dan Gookin.
Gookin is new to the mayor’s office, but not to City Hall. He served on the Coeur d’Alene City Council for more than a dozen years, including during the tumultuous COVID‑19 years, when he spoke out against mask mandates. He’s also been active in the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, at times publicly clashing with party leadership.
As mayor, though, Gookin has a different role than he did on council — and less direct power.
“The council could make a decision I don’t agree with; I have to go with that, because the council is the one who has to make the decision,” he said. “They do all the finances, they set policy.”
One of Gookin’s main projects is creating a policy standards manual for the city — a guidebook he says will help bring consistency to decision‑making as Coeur d’Alene continues to expand.
Those policies, he says, will help shape the city’s direction at a time of population and business growth.
When asked whether the rapid growth is a good thing, Gookin didn’t hesitate: “Oh yes… growth is always good,” he said. “What’s the opposite of growth? Dying. How does a ghost town become a ghost town? It stops growing.”
But he acknowledges that pace of growth is creating real challenges: traffic, housing, public safety and affordability.
One idea Gookin is exploring to help pay for those services is a visitor or tourist tax — something he notes many other cities already have.
“What we don’t have in this city is a visitor tax, a tourist tax,” he said. “When you go to any other city in the world, and you’re paying your hotel, there’s a city tax on there, a bed tax. We don’t have that. We could use it, and it would generate enough revenue to offset our first‑responder costs in the summer.”
Gookin says that concept is something he’s discussing with Idaho lawmakers, since any new tax structure would likely require state approval.
Beyond taxes and traffic, the mayor says long‑term economic health depends on keeping more young adults in the community and giving businesses a reason to invest here.
One step he’s pushing: selling the city‑owned Harbor Center building to the University of Idaho, cementing the school’s permanent presence in Coeur d’Alene.
“If we can keep our 18‑year‑olds here, if we can have a crop of people educated who are then our workforce, and then you can attract employers here, then we can do more to get those people employed,” Gookin said.
KXLY viewer Trevor asked the mayor about increasing traffic, especially in his neighborhood, as more drivers cut through side streets to avoid congestion.
Gookin agrees it’s a growing concern.
“It is a problem, and it’s a problem throughout the city,” he said. “As we grow, people are starting to use residential streets as thoroughfares because they find the shortcuts. Again, the technology is saying, ‘Hey, there’s a faster way to go.’”
Still, he says the city has options.
“These are things we have to deal with. We handle them,” Gookin said. “We have the tools to handle them. We have a traffic‑calming policy. We implement these things and see how well they work.”
Traffic‑calming tools can include speed humps, signage, curb extensions and other design changes meant to slow drivers down and discourage cut‑through traffic.
Another viewer, Caiti, wanted to know how the state’s more than $50 million budget deficit could affect services in Coeur d’Alene.
Gookin says city leaders are trying to protect core services, even as they face financial pressure and questions about property taxes.
“The goal is: How do we provide the level of service that we have to the citizens we have without cutting back on that?” he said. “If we wanted to, yes, we could go ahead and lower or keep property taxes the same, but we have to get rid of something — and there’s no will on council to do that, and I don’t think the public wants us to do that. They just want us to be good stewards of their money.”
As Coeur d’Alene continues to grow, Gookin says his focus will be on:
Finalizing a policy manual to guide city decisionsExploring a visitor tax with state lawmakersStrengthening the city’s relationship with the University of IdahoUsing existing city policies to address traffic and neighborhood impacts
City leaders say they’ll continue weighing how to balance growth and quality of life — and they’re encouraging residents to stay engaged.
You can see Robyn Nance and Mayor Gookin’s full interview here.
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