Every morning at 5 a.m., a group of us sets out from City Hall for a walk through downtown Spokane.

This morning, I showed up 25 minutes late—thanks to somehow setting my alarm for 4:15 p.m.—and ended up walking solo, choosing a quiet route through Riverfront Park. With the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament coming to Spokane this weekend, I couldn’t help but reflect on just how much this city has to offer.

Riverfront Park is nearly impossible to describe in a way that fully captures its beauty—99 acres in the heart of our community—and today, it looked nothing short of majestic. The U.S. Pavilion, the somber Vietnam Memorial, the Howard Street Promenade, Havermale Island’s wandering paths, the Looff Carrousel, the Clocktower, dozens of art installations, and most of all, our incredible Spokane River cascading through it—all were deeply powerful in the unseasonably warm pre-sunrise.

As I crossed the Howard Street Bridge, four deer trotted past me—an unexpected reminder of Spokane’s longtime, but still perfectly fitting motto: Near Nature. Near Perfect. Canada geese, squirrels, and early spring birds were everywhere. The only no-shows were our ever-present turkeys… How did our amazing park rangers figure that one out??

Riverfront Park is not just beautiful—it’s immaculately maintained. There are no signs here of the challenges that have become so visible in other parts of downtown. Instead, what you find is hope, pride, and legacy. Our park stands at the physical and symbolic center of what Spokane can be at its best—a city that honors its past, with the civic and environmental spirit of Expo ’74 still echoing throughout its design, and a city that embraces its present and future, with Gonzaga’s inspiring campus, a reimagined and dynamic North Bank, and our grand, historic downtown surrounding it all.

The park is also a timely reminder of what’s possible as we look toward the upcoming Parks and Schools levy—an exciting partnership carefully structured to deliver even more transformational, quality-of-life projects for generations to come.

As we welcome visitors for the NCAA tournament, Riverfront Park is the front porch for all we’re proud to show off—and it’s nothing short of extraordinary. It’s also a reminder that the challenges we face with addiction and chronic homelessness downtown are not insurmountable. If we can build and preserve a space like Riverfront Park, we can also work together to heal what’s broken—restoring both the fabric of our community and the lives of our most vulnerable citizens.

Spokane is our city of hope. At 6:00 a.m., rejoining my group, the river flowing, the sun preparing to rise, and deer peacefully crossing a pedestrian bridge, that hope feels not only possible—but already in motion.