Idaho announced as fastest growing state
Courtesy of the U.S. CENSUS BUREAU The census map shows that Idaho was the only state in the given time set to report a greater than 2 percent increase in population.
Courtesy of the IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR The data shows that Shoshone County has struggled in the last 10 years to gain new residents. Though the changes are not extreme, a declining trend is apparent as the years go on. The county has not dipped above 13,000 since 2001.
By CHANSE WATSON
Managing Editor
OSBURN — To the excitement (and possibly disgust) of many Idahoans, the United States Census Bureau recently announced that Idaho was the nation’s fastest-growing state over the last year. The state’s population increased 2.2 percent to 1.7 million from July 1, 2016, to July 1, 2017.
Luke Rogers, Chief of the Population Estimates Branch, explained that “domestic migration drove change in the two fastest-growing states, Idaho and Nevada.”
On a national level, the census bureau stated that U.S. population grew by 2.3 million between July 1, 2016, and July 1, 2017, representing a 0.72 percent increase to 325.7 million. Only eight states lost population between July 1, 2016, and July 1, 2017.
With the state reporting these increased population numbers, residents of our piece of Idaho may be puzzled as to why we are not experiencing the same trends.
According to the Idaho Department of Labor, Shoshone County has experienced a 4 percent dip in population from 2006 to 2016 — going from 13,014 in 2006 to 12,432 in 2016. Although these numbers do not show a drastic change, they do show a declining trend that has been going on since 1982, when the county boasted a population of more than 19,000.
Shoshone County’s IDL profile attributes this decline to “devastating mine and smelter closures” that then lead to the areas population falling “28 percent in the 1980s,” and “at a lesser rate in the following decades.”
Colleen Rosson, executive director of the Silver Valley Chamber of Commerce, has a lot of experience with trying to get people to come to the Silver Valley. From taking point on community events to marketing our local businesses for roughly seven years, it’s safe to say she knows a thing or two about why (or why not) people come (or do not come) to our area.
Referencing prior conversations she has had with Sam Wolkenhauer, IDL Regional Economist, Rosson believes that its not just the topic of population where Shoshone County is late to the party, its everything.
“It’s always pretty evident by the numbers that Shoshone County lags,” she explained. “There’s always a lag time from Shoshone County to anywhere else in the state. When the recession hit, it was slower to hit here. When the increases started to hit, it was slower to hit here. There’s always that natural lag no matter what it is.”
Going hand-in-hand with the mining industry leaving the area, one could point to Shoshone County’s higher-than-state-average unemployment (5.7 percent) and poverty rate (18 percent) as reasons why folks have not flocked to the area as compared to the rest of the state.
Rosson argues that there are plenty of good things going on in the county that have recently attracted a younger demographic.
With the staggering population increase of Kootenai County and the Coeur d’Alene area, Rosson says that she has seen some slight spillover into Shoshone County.
“People that I have talked to that are moving in (say) that they had heard about Coeur d’Alene or they had visited Coeur d’Alene for whatever reason… (and) when they got there, they realized that it was already becoming a city, so they just kept going to find that rural atmosphere that they like.”
Boasting a myriad of recreational opportunities in both summer and winter, Shoshone County certainly fits the bill for those with outdoor mentalities.
Combine this with our area’s affordable housing costs (compared to the state average) and you have a recipe for potential.
The missing ingredient — modern technology.
Shoshone County continues to remain on the ever-shortening list of communities in the country that do not have access to broadband high-speed internet. Although the outdoor opportunities bring people in, it can be argued that a lack of reliable internet could be a factor in why they don’t stay.
Rosson is hopeful that with recent steps taken by companies like Syringa Networks, this issue will soon be resolved and Shoshone County can embrace those with a ‘work hard, play harder’ lifestyle. “Something I definitely see more of for our area is professionals and telecommuters, because we have that lifestyle.”