In 1983, the United States Environmental Protection Agency listed the Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex in Northern Idaho as a Superfund site due to the high level of heavy metals that had been released into the environment by mining operations.
The excitement was palpable as parents escorted their little ones to see the unveiling of a new addition in the Coeur d'Alene Public Library.
In the center of the children's library stood a wooden structure, wrapped with a bow and engraved with the words, "Kids who read succeed." The new story cabin was already catching the imaginations of the children in attendance, many who peeked in the windows and waited patiently to go inside and explore.
“I grew up here,” Mike Elmore said. “I grew up in Coeur d’Alene, this is where I learned to play golf, bought a junior pass out here and eventually worked here, then went away. I just want to come back and kind of put my thumb print on it, just give it the care that it deserves."