Farewell to the Herald

I always wanted to be a writer but had the common dilemma of not knowing what to write about. With the desire to hone my writing skills, I applied at the Bonner County Daily Bee in August 2021 and started covering the education and city of Sandpoint beats.  

By October 2021, I moved to covering Boundary County when the position opened up at the Herald. At the time I was seeking a shorter work commute and figured a weekly paper would be a slower pace and where I could focus on getting my legs under me in journalism. What I didn’t expect was being fully engulfed in this wonderful place we all call home. 

I was able to sit courtside for the biggest moments in our community. I was on the sideline photographing the height of Badger sports, such as in November 2022, when Cleo Henslee dove into the endzone against Wood River in the 3A state playoffs at home, the first time in 20years that the Badgers had gone so far. 

I’ve seen our defeats, whether on the court at districts and missing a state berth, or at district court when a convicted man is sentenced and regrets his actions.  

I’ve seen this community come together in loss and rally around the families who have lost their homes or loved ones.  

I’ve been invited to witness and document people’s most grueling moments, from covering an elderly woman being evicted in winter to honoring "Wes" Portrey South Boundary’s Firefighter of the Century in his last days.  

I thank you for allowing me into your lives and homes to see and write about this community. Although we have our differences, we all come together in times of need and in times of celebration.  

I know I’ve made mistakes along the way, definitely spelling mistakes of common Boundary County names, for which I apologize. It took me longer than I’d like to mention to figure out how all the Bateman kids are related and that Moyie Springs has the best food at council meetings. 

My last day at the Herald is Thursday, Oct. 3, and this will be my last edition, as I’ve taken a reporter job at the News-Register in McMinnville, Oregon.  

You might still see my name next to photos or my byline in upcoming stories that did not make it in this paper. I will frequent Boundary County as I come home to visit my family.  

Going forward, Badger sports will be covered by Max Oswald, Bonner County Daily Bee sports reporter and Badger fan. If you have any outdoors or local sports news, please contact Max at moswald@bonnercountydailybee.com 

If you see him at games, please make him feel welcome.  

Entertainment, business and community news should be directed to Jennifer Wright, our part-time editorial assistant. She can be reached at jwright@bonnersferryherald.com or stop by our office.  

Breaking news and local politics news should be directed to our editor, Caroline Lobsinger, who works out of the Bonner County Daily Bee office in Sandpoint. She can be reached at clobsinger@bonnercountydailybee.com  

If you aren’t sure who to contact you can call our office at 208-267-5521 or email the newsroom at news@bonnersferryherald.com 

Thank you for sharing this community with me.  

Emily Bonsant (pronounced “Beau-sung”)