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Lewiston, Idaho, Home of Speer® and CCI®, Among Top 10 on Outdoor Life’s Annual Top 200 Towns for Sportsmen for Fourth Straight Year
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For the fourth year in a row, Lewiston, Idaho finished in the top 10 of Outdoor Life magazine’s Top 200 Towns for Sportsmen. Rankings are based on hunting and fishing opportunities and socio-economic status. Quality of life, suitability for families, unemployment rates, household incomes and cost of living all contribute to the rankings. Lewiston is home of ammunition brands CCI®, Speer® and Speer Bullets®—and has been since 1951. It was the Top Town in 2009 and is the only town to remain in the top 10 each year since the rankings began.
LEWISTON, Idaho - May 9, 2011 - Lewiston, Idaho has been voted one of America’s “Top Towns for Sportsmen” by Outdoor Life magazine for the fourth consecutive year. The town continues to rank highly for its abundant outdoor opportunities and economic development. It has been home to the Speer®, Speer Bullets® and CCI® ammunition plants since 1951 and is the only location to make the Top 10 every year Outdoor Life has compiled the exhaustive 200-town list.
Top Town Criteria
Outdoor Life magazine conducts a comprehensive, in-depth search to create their Top Towns list. Outdoor opportunities are rigorously evaluated and account for 60-percent of a town’s total ranking. Numerous socio-economic factors make up the rest of the evaluation.
More Than a Hunter’s Haven
Lewiston continues to rank as a “Top Town for Sportsmen” because of its vast hunting and fishing opportunities—and high quality of life and sustainability for families. It boasts a low unemployment rate, low cost of living, excellent public school system and steady growth over the past decade. Roughly 30,000 residents occupy this town at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers.
“Lewiston is the only town that has consistently put up excellent socio-economic and outdoor scores year after year,” said Outdoor Life Senior Editor John Taranto. “It's not that we keep putting Lewiston in the top 10—it keeps putting itself there. Lewiston's staying power shows stability in providing its residents not just great hunting and fishing opportunities, but also a very comfortable quality of life.”
An Outdoorsman’s Dream
Lewiston sits between the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. The larger Snake River is world-renowned for sturgeon and salmon fishing. It also offers tremendous smallmouth bass action. The Clearwater is known for pristine hiking and scenery. These rivers wind through steep, rugged canyons and support plenty of hunting opportunities, too.
Trophy mule deer, elk and bighorn sheep inhabit the highlands. Dedicated outdoorsmen can also pursue wild turkeys and chukar within sight of the two mighty rivers. Add this to the endless rafting, camping and jet-boat opportunities and it’s not hard to realize why outdoorsmen and women flock to Lewiston. Nestled in the valley, the winter season is relatively mild—making snowmobiling in the morning and golfing in the afternoon a possibility once or twice a year.
Staples of the City
Lewiston is also home to CCI®, Speer® and Speer Bullets®, three industry-leading ammunition manufacturing companies. The companies have a rich history and currently employ more than 1,100 workers. All have achieved ISO 9001 certification for quality and are part of ATK Security and Sporting.
Vernon Speer started Speer Ammunition on Snake River Avenue in 1951. He was quickly joined by his son, Ray, and brother, Dick, who helped distinguish their innovative products by forming Cascade Cartridge, Inc. The two companies pioneered component bullets, numerous primers and many methods still in practice today. Much has changed since then, but the Speer, Speer Bullets and CCI plants have all remained a vital piece of Lewiston’s economy.
“Our Lewiston facilities have evolved with the marketplace and are an integral part of this city,” said Ammunition General Manager Marty Zacha. “I moved to Lewiston to work with CCI and Speer years ago. These plants have been a fundamental part of this city for more than 60 years. The strength of these companies has played a major role in the sustained economic development of Lewiston.”
About Speer®
Headquartered in Lewiston, Idaho, Speer is part of ATK Security and Sporting. The company has a long-standing reputation for making the world's finest bullets and in 1996 became one of the first U.S. ammunition manufacturers to achieve ISO 9001 certification for quality. The company manufactures a variety of bullets and cartridges for law enforcement, reloading and sporting applications. More information is available at www.speer-ammo.com or www.speer-bullets.com for component bullets.
About CCI®
Dick Speer founded Cascade Cartridge, Inc. in 1951 next to the Snake River in Lewiston, Idaho. The company manufactured and marketed centerfire primers for government use in its infancy. CCI now develops them for sporting applications as part of ATK Security and Sporting and is the world leader in rimfire products. The company also produces shotshells, industrial powerloads and Blazer centerfire handgun ammunition. For more information, visit www.cci-ammunition.com.
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