| Bonner County Daily Bee | |
| Type: | Daily newspaper |
| Format: | Broadsheet |
| Foundation: | 1965 |
| Owners: | Hagadone Media Group |
| President: | Clint Schroeder, President & Corporate Publisher |
| Publisher: | Clint Schroeder |
| Editor: | Caroline Lobsinger |
| Language: | English |
| Headquarters: | Sandpoint, Idaho |
| Oclc: | 42853323 |
| Issn: | 1047-6822 |
The Bonner County Daily Bee (also known as the Daily Bee) is a U.S. daily newspaper based in Sandpoint, Idaho. It is owned by the Hagadone Media Group and is part of the Hagadone News Network.
The Bonner County Daily Bee has been in print since 1965 [1] and its target markets are Bonner and Boundary counties.
The paper was founded as a four-page newspaper by Ernest Gale "Pete" and Adell "Dellie" Thompson after a dispute over an ad account, according to "Beautiful Bonner: The History of Bonner County."[2]
The couple moved from North Dakota to Coeur d'Alene, lured by a job at the "Kootenai County Leader" in 1961. Thompson moved to Sandpoint a short time later where he went to work for the News-Bulletin where he stayed until 1965 when he bought half interest in a local print shop. Thompson would soon buy the entire business to ensure a move to a larger facility and renamed the business, Pend Oreille Printers.
After moving to the new location, the Thompsons launched The Beehive in response to a move by the News-Bulletin for a key ad account held by Thompson's print shop. The couple believed the community needed a daily newspaper to better serve the area. According to "Beautiful Bonner," the couple "came up with the name for the new paper from a comment made by their typesetter, Jeannie Hottel. "Call it the Beehive," she said. "You sure stirred up a hornet's nest."
In 1966, the Beehive and print shop moved to 310 Church St., where the newspaper still resides. Thompson purchased the Sandpoint Bulletin and, for a time, published both the Bee Hive and the News-Bulletin.[3]
The Beehive was published until 1968 [4] when it was merged with the News-Bulletin and its name changed to the Sandpoint Daily Bee.[5] In 1988, the paper's name was changed to the Bonner County Daily Bee.[6]
In July 1984, Thompson sold Pend Oreille Printers and the Sandpoint Daily Bee as well as the Bonners Ferry Herald, which he had purchased in 1978, and the Priest River Times, which he had purchased in 1976, to the Hagadone Media Group. [3]
The Bonner County Daily Bee maintains a website, app and social media presence that are updated several times a day with breaking news stories and articles on current events, community news and local sports.
The paper has won multiple journalism awards, including several general excellence awards from the Idaho Newspaper Association, and the Utah-Idaho-Spokane Associated Press Association as well as many writing and photography awards. [1]
Its main office is in Sandpoint, Idaho.