Magazine calls Bonners 'best kept secret'

Bonners Ferry earned a spot in the fourth annual listing of Mother Earth News’ “Great Places You’ve (Maybe) Never Heard Of.”

Released Tuesday, the magazine dedicated to sustainable living cites Bonners Ferry’s evolution from a logging town to one with an active local arts scene, a commitment to local business and the Native American Kootenai tribe’s environmental efforts as a few of the reasons to spotlight this Idaho town.

“Bonners Ferry shows how a town can reinvent itself and still keep a unique local flavor,” says John Rockhold, managing editor for the magazine. “Mother Earth News focuses on cool things you can do to live wisely and create community, and we think our readers will identify with a place like Bonners Ferry.”

Bonners Ferry was one of 11 selected communities in its October-November issue. The annual Great Places list serves as a fun way to recognize cities and towns that combine elements such as comfortable climate with positive civic energy, investment in the local economy and meaningful initiatives for the environment. And, yes, the editors know that some people have heard of these locales.

Other cities making this year’s list are Mountain View, Ark.; Oakland, Calif.; Cornwall, Conn.; Carbondale, Ill.; Lanesboro, Minn.; Rock Port, Mo.; Sylva, N.C.; Silver City, N.M.; Norman, Okla.; and Walla Walla, Wash.