NEW THIS MORNING: Wednesday, September 18

1. Idaho economist: Strong labor market supports economy

The Federal Reserve is expected to announce its first rate cuts in five years today.

“This is a very big deal because interest rates have been abnormally high by our recent standards,” said Sam Wolkenhauer, northern Idaho economist for the Idaho Department of Labor.

“We are actually in the final stages of the process of achieving a soft landing, where we can bring inflation down without causing a recession. It’s a kind of controlled slowdown of the economy,” he said.

Whether rates are cut by a quarter or half a percentage point will largely determine how satisfied the market is, he said.

2. Coeur d’Alene grand jury indicts federal inmate on charges of sexual exploitation of a child

A federal grand jury in Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday returned an indictment charging an Arkansas federal inmate with sexual exploitation of an Idaho child, the Idaho District Attorney’s Office said.

Hamza L. Nijmeh, 39, is charged with sexual exploitation of a child.

Prosecutors allege that between August 2023 and October 2023, Nijmeh used multiple cellphones to sexually exploit a child in Idaho while Nijmeh was in a federal prison in Forrest City, Arkansas.

3. PF teen gets prison sentence for role in shooting

An 18-year-old Post Falls man was sentenced to prison Monday for his role in a shooting that injured another man.

District Judge Barry McHugh sentenced Ashlan Taylor Hjelmstrom to 10 years in prison with eligibility for parole after three years for aggravated assault and to 10 years in prison with eligibility for parole after three years for unlawfully discharging a vehicle he was a passenger in, according to a news release from the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office.

4. Coeur d’Alene student suspended after threatening to ‘shoot up the school’

For the second time this month, a Lakes Middle School student has been suspended after allegedly threatening to “shoot up the school,” Coeur d’Alene police said.

In an email to families obtained by The Press, Lakes administrators said several students heard a “concerning comment” from a seventh-grader on Monday and reported the information to the school resource officer toward the end of the school day.

“This prompted an immediate investigation by the Lakes administrative team and the Coeur d’Alene Police Department,” the administrators said in the letter. “The police and school administrators contacted the student and family. After speaking with the student, the Coeur d’Alene Police Department and Lakes administrators both took appropriate action to ensure the safety of our students and staff at Lakes.”

5. Man pleads guilty to secretly recording nude videos

A man is in jail after confessing to secretly making nude videos of children and adults.

Michael S. Wall, 51, of Coeur d’Alene, pleaded guilty Monday to four counts of sexual exploitation of a child by possession of sexually exploitative material and four counts of video voyeurism using a device, all felonies.

Wall pleaded guilty under an Alford plea to the first count of sexual exploitation of a child, specifically relating to the possession of “approximately 390 photographs and/or videos” depicting child sexual abuse. In entering an Alford plea, Wall did not admit guilt but acknowledged that there was sufficient evidence to convict him at trial.