Newport was given its name in 1890 due to its selection as a landing site for the first steamboat on the Pend Oreille River.

The case went stagnant for decades until Pend Oreille County Sheriff, Tony Bamonte took interest in the 1980s.The weapon believed to have killed Conniff was found in the Spokane River underneath the Post Street Bridge in 1989.

[14] Newport is located at an elevation of 2,160 feet (658.5 m)[1] and according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.07 square miles (2.77 km2), all of it land.

[15] The town of Oldtown, Idaho, is just to the east of Newport, and on the Pend Oreille River.

There are no natural or physical barriers between the two towns, and it is strictly a political division, separated by the straight-line state boundary.

The watershed of the Pend Oreille in the Newport-Oldtown area west of the river is extremely limited.

This is due to a small depression of no more than 50 feet (15 m), which begins about one-half mile from the river.

Unable to flow uphill, the waters (from natural springs, rainfall runoff, etc.)

33.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Newport experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen Dsb/Dfb) with cold, moist winters and warm, drier summers.

Compared to Spokane (the largest city in the area), on average, summer and winter temperatures are cooler at night, but very slightly warmer in daytime.