Articles by Jeff Morrow
Want to be a better athlete? Former Fever player can help
Steven Whitehead played football for years, getting a cup of coffee with the National Football League’s New Orleans Saints before embarking on a successful indoor football league career with the Tri-Cities Fever. The last season with the now-defunct Fever came in 2015, when he was named the Indoor Football League’s (IFL) top Offensive Player of…
Education: Build, rebuild, remodel – repeat?
Despite the pandemic, the Mid-Columbia’s school districts and schools – grades Kindergarten through 12, as well as higher education – plowed ahead to build, rebuild and remodel schools and support facilities. From a recently opened Kennewick High School, which cost over $100 million, to $30 million buildings at both Columbia Basin College in Pasco and…
Get speed, adrenaline rush at indoor go-kart track
Since Kennewick’s first indoor go-kart track opened, it has been a popular place for those who need to speed. The Kennewick track is the sixth DirtKart facility to open since Brycen Tarr and his family launched the first one in Spokane in September 2019, after years of having a dirt track in their backyard and…
Runners Soul finds right shoe so your feet will thank you
On a recent Friday morning, customers were coming into Runners Soul at a steady flow. Suddenly, a woman and her high school-aged son from Connell entered the store and walked right up to Scott Conrad, who owns the Kennewick establishment. “My son is running cross country and he needs new shoes. I’ve been told you…
Mexican ice pop shop’s icy treats keep you cool on hot days
For 28 years, Paleteria La Jalpita has been handcrafting icy Mexican treats on a stick in downtown Pasco. “We have six pots a day, with each pot producing 800 paletas, for 4,800 total paletas a day,” said Rom Romero, whose dad, Jesus Romero, owns the shop. Paletas are Mexican ice pops that come in a…
Richland sisters find sweet success with Layered Cake
Richland sisters Elena Gavin and Concetta Gulluni admit they were never good friends as teenagers. Being 3 ½ years apart in age, they had their own friends. But now, as business partners in Layered Cake Artistry, 117 W. Kennewick Ave., Suite 110, in downtown Kennewick, Elena, 41, and Concetta, 38, have become the best of…
Weightlifter-owned gym combines science, nutrition and just the right machine
Valentino Robles played basketball during his high school days in Pasco. Tino, as most people know him, never thought much back then about lifting weights. “I hated lifting weights back in high school,” he said. “I liked being skinny and agile.” But lifting weights – and helping others learn how to lift them – has…
IHOP owner: Locally-owned franchises are local too
Susan Mendenhall is a fighter. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a pandemic or trying to educate the public that her two Tri-City IHOP stores are local restaurants. She won’t lose her fight because after 20 years with IHOP, she still loves and believes in what she does. She loves the people, whether it’s her employees…
Richland High grad trades golf career for rock climbing gym
Pat Howard was looking for something that would push himself the way playing golf used to. Howard, a Richland High School graduate, was a standout golfer who went on to compete for Oregon State University. He then worked as an assistant professional at Bellevue’s Overlake Golf and Country Club for the past 15 years. “I…
A new generation takes a swing at Pasco Golfland
For as long as she can remember, Justine VerMulm has known Pasco Golfland as both her playground and her workplace. “My mom was pregnant with me when they were selling golf balls out there from a fireworks stand,” she said. “I worked out there as a kid. As a family, we’ve always celebrated birthdays there,…
