Swedish Fire Department Shows Interest in Idaho Boats

An economic partnership representing companies in north central Idaho and southeastern Washington is trying to sell boats to the descendants of the seafaring Vikings.

The Lewiston Tribune reports the fire department in Stockholm, Sweden, is in the market for welded aluminum jet boats.

The emergency services agency in the Scandinavian capital showed interest in boats made by Renaissance Marine, a boat maker in Clarkston, Wash., just across the Snake River from Lewiston.

Valley Vision, an economic development group based in Lewiston, says clusters of islands near Stockholm and in Norway’s fjords are similar to the San Juan islands near Seattle.

Doug Mattoon, executive director of Valley Vision, says building business relationships in Scandinavia will take time, but he hopes relationships between Sweden and the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley grow.