One Of The Chamber's Board Members Had Loaned It Money For The Event

A lawsuit filed in 1st District Court in Kootenai County seeks over $104,000 from the Hayden (ID) Chamber of Commerce in repayment of a loan plus interest for the "Thunder Over the Prairie" air show in 2004.

In that year, Bjarne B. Larsen, a chamber board member, loaned the chamber $50,000 for the airshow.

He has since passed away, and the trustees of his estate, his sons Solar and Dana Larsen, have filed the suit to regain the original loan plus interest since 2005, which is said to total $64,856.60, according to a report in the CDA Press.

According to the report, at the time the loan was made, the Chamber agreed to pay an interest assessment of $15,000 by June 30, 2004, at which point interest would begin to accrue at 12 percent annually. The Chamber has paid some $18,100 in six installments over the past 10 years, according to court documents.

The air show racked up some $238,000 in debt, according to the report. Representatives of the Chamber did not respond to requests for comment from the paper.

FMI: www.co.kootenai.id.us/departments/districtcourt