2025 will be a new chapter for Kellogg
The future is looking bright for the city of Kellogg.
It’s not that 2024 wasn’t a good year, but 2025 is shaping up to be a milestone for the rural community, and Kellogg figures to be the epicenter.
Shoshone County’s largest community has experienced steady growth over the previous few years, with business and population growth. A community that once boasted a population of over 5,000 people declined to almost 2,000 in 2010 according to census data. The main catalyst for this decline was the shutdown of the Bunker Hill Mine throughout the 1980s.
Over the past 14 years, major efforts have been made to regrow the Kellogg business community, propped up by Dave Smith Motors and Silver Mountain. Beyond those two pillars, Kellogg has struggled to maintain much business and effectively became a bedroom community to Coeur d’Alene.
The Silver Valley will always lean on mining and tourism as its major drivers of business. Over the years mining has ebbed and flowed, while tourism dollars are spent at local ski hills, and in the city of Wallace.
Years ago, Wallace figured out that tourism would have to be the city’s lifeblood and they made the absolute most of it. With festivals and events, and by maintaining the town’s history, Wallace by itself became a tourist attraction that draws thousands of people annually.
Developable land is also at a premium. Kellogg was able to land Tractor Supply Co. in 2023, but that was because there was an empty building large enough to house such a business. Meanwhile, due to available space, Smelterville has been able to attract bigger retailers like Walmart, Maverik, Grocery Outlet, and Dollar Tree.
Kellogg has had no such luck. Instead, the city has attempted maligned ideas like giving businesses a Bavarian Theme, which didn’t stick for very long, if at all.
Silver Valley Economic Development Corporation Director Paige Olsen has watched Kellogg languish through its identity crisis for a few years, but recent developments have her excited for what’s to come for the small mountain town.
“The mining sector has seen substantial growth, especially due to the upcoming reopening of the historic Bunker Hill Mine,” Olsen said.
Bunker Hill CEO Sam Ash has routinely stated that the reopening will create roughly 250 new jobs, with an additional 1,000 indirect jobs coming with it.
Indirect jobs are not directly related to a specific project but are created by the other businesses nearby, that are positively affected by the economic growth of that business.
Those indirect jobs are where Olsen is really focusing, particularly in uptown Kellogg, where the once-thriving business community has been reduced to empty buildings and come-and-go businesses.
Revitalizing Kellogg’s uptown area is a major lift and has been promised over and over again. But with Bunker Hill’s reopening becoming a reality as opposed to a whispered pipe dream, there is more momentum than ever.
“This includes working closely with the city to create sustainable strategies for filling vacant buildings,” Olsen said. “A key objective is to develop long-term, sustainable plans that align with the city’s vision for growth. This includes fostering local entrepreneurship, creating incentives for new businesses, and supporting existing businesses in their expansion efforts.”
Kellogg may never get back to being a community of 5,000 people, but only time will tell if the efforts expected in 2025 can restore some of Kellogg’s former business glory.
