Duane Hagadone, founder of Hagadone Corp., dies at 88

One of the pillars of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, passed away Saturday afternoon.

Duane B. Hagadone, 88, died at his winter home in Palm Desert, Calif., family members confirmed.

Mr. Hagadone built one of the Inland Northwest's strongest business empires, including The Coeur d'Alene Resort, a newspaper group whose flagship paper is the Coeur d'Alene Press, restaurants, boat dealerships, rental properties and more. At the time of his death, Mr. Hagadone still served as chairman of the board of The Hagadone Corp. while son Brad Hagadone ran the company day to day.

"A native of Coeur d'Alene, Duane loved North Idaho and the communities that the Hagadone Corporation has served,” the family said in a statement.

Hadagone Media Group newspapers include the Lake County Leader, the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, the Bigfork Eagle, the Whitefish Pilot, the Hungry Horse News in Columbia Falls, the Western News in Libby, and the Mineral Independent and Clark Fork Valley Press in Sanders County.

Arrangements will be announced in the coming days.