Spotlight on Challis
Challis, a small mile-high mountain town set in central Idaho, is known by visitors for its charm and beauty. Residents are fiercely proud of their community and, despite a national recession, a number of growth initiatives are moving forward.
Challis has a renewed energy with a developing business district plan that already has launched a new weekly Farmer's Market (2009) and community interest in leveraging its agriculture and tourism industries to create more value added products. That could range from organic beef to outdoor clothing manufacturing.
A new observatory, funded in part by NASA, Boise State University and the Custer Economic Development Agency, will soon be in place. The space observatory takes advantage of Challis' freedom from light pollution, providing a stunning view of the night skies. The observatory is expected to attract astronomy buffs (whose urban locations hamper their interest) and tourists interested in nighttime activities.
"We have a number of assets, but I think our top three would be: our fiber and power capacity, our quality of life amenities that make this a good place to live and raise a family, and our proximity to outdoor recreation," said Jolie Turek, Executive Director for Custer Economic Development Agency. Listen to Turek talk about Challis' ties to the outdoors.
The Challis "Skyline"
Business District
When Joni Cain and her husband, T.T. , decided to open a gym in
downtown Challis in 2008, she knew they were filling a niche and that
they would 
do well. With forest service personnel looking
to stay fit for their jobs and schoolchildren seeking an additional
recreation outlet, a fully equipped gym seemed like a winning business
opportunity. They invested in remodeling a downtown building and new
equipment, and knew that when the recession ended they would be poised
to grow and even add a second phase to their new building.
"My husband's passion is physical fitness-he works for the forest
service-and part of his job is keeping his firefighters in shape for
their job," said Joni Cain about why they decided to open the Fire
Mountain Fitness Co. in Challis. Listen to Cain talk about how her business is doing here.
With about 900 residents-and about 4,000 in the region-businesses here
know they need to build wisely and understand their customer base. For
Bonnie Rowles, that meant designing a residential inn that could
accommodate frequent corporate travelers to the region-from CPA's to
government officials to regional agency personnel-who needed temporary
housing that could also be used for meeting space. The Benjamin Inn, which is composed of a historic 
Victoria mansion and remodeled cottages, is located in the downtown core.
"Most of our clients come here for work and a lot from Boise or Idaho
Falls come for a quick getaway to relax," said Rowles. "We get a lot of
people who come for the Challis Lilac Festival and other area events." Listen to Rowles' talk about what it was like moving her family from California's Bay Area to Challis, Idaho.
Other businesses, too, cater to the unique population that travels through the area. Middle Fork Aviation
operates out of the Challis Airport, providing everything from charter
flights for backcountry hunters, fishers and hikers to fuel and service
to other aircraft.