Idaho Historical Society head Janet Gallimore told lawmakers this morning that despite the governor's rejection of the agency's request to hire additional staff for fundraising, the agency felt it was so "vital" that it reorganized and reshuffled its staff to allow the appointment of a development director. "Through an agency reorganization ... we accomplished this enhancement internally," she told JFAC. The Historical Society now gets 47 percent of its funds from sources other than the state general fund, she said. Though expansion of the state historical museum has been put on hold due to the economic downturn, fundraising for that project from non-state sources will continue, she said.

Also during the Historical Society budget hearing, former Idaho Lt. Gov. David Leroy, chairman of the Idaho Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, reminded lawmakers, "Thirteen days from today on Feb. 12th, the actual 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, we will rededicate our Lincoln monument. ... I hope that you all can attend and be part of history." The monument will go in at a new, higher-profile location just south of the state Capitol.

---

---