Ironwood club getting new digs

Ironwood Athletic Club is moving to a new location in the Riverstone development.

Construction will start next spring on a 70,000-square- foot building, just west of Riverstone Park. The new club is scheduled to open in December of 2008, or early 2009.

“It will give us a lot more room,” said Jack Tawney, a co-owner of Ironwood Athletic Club, noting that the current club opened 26 years ago.

The new club is a joint project of Ironwood Athletic Club and Riverstone West LLC, a company sponsored by SRM Development of Spokane. The two firms will jointly own the real estate, and Ironwood Athletic Club will operate the new club.

The new club will feature an indoor lap pool and a therapy pool, plus features such as a spa, basketball court, and indoor tennis, squash and racquet ball courts.

HELENA, Mont.

Avista will pay rent for Montana dams

The Montana State Land Board approved a settlement Monday with Avista Corp., which has agreed to pay rent of about $4 million per year for the land on which its dams are located.

The state sued three utilities seeking rent for the land. Avista decided to settle its part of the case.

PPL Montana is still fighting the lawsuit and is awaiting a judge’s decision. It told the Land Board that the case is likely to go to the Montana Supreme Court.

PPL also says Avista is paying too much.

Avista serves about 350,000 electricity customers in Eastern Washington and northern Idaho. It owns dams on the Clark Fork River.

SEATTLE

Nordstrom reports earnings increase

Luxury retailer Nordstrom Inc. on Monday said third-quarter earnings rose 22 percent, helped by an extra week of sales the company counted in the quarter, compared with a year ago.

Nordstrom said its profit rose to $165.7 million, or 68 cents per share, compared with $135.7 million, or 52 cents per share, during the same period last year.

Results included a gain of 9 cents per share related to the sale of Nordstrom’s Faconnable business, which closed in the quarter.

Revenue rose 5 percent to $1.97 billion from $1.87 billion in the year-ago quarter.

SAN JOSE, Calif.

HP profits rise; stock buyback OK’d

Hewlett-Packard Co.’s fourth-quarter profit easily exceeded Wall Street’s expectations, bolstered by surging laptop sales and continued strong demand for highly profitable printer ink.

The board computer and printer maker also authorized an additional $8 billion for stock buybacks, a sign the company believes its shares are undervalued.

A brighter financial forecast helped lift shares 45 cents in after-hours trading Monday to $49.89. During the regular session, before the results were reported, the stock fell $1.31 to $49.44.

HP’s net income leaped 28 percent in the three months ending Oct. 31, rising from $1.69 billion, or 60 cents per share, to $2.16 billion, or 81 cents per share.

From staff and wire reports