As University of Idaho President Duane Nellis leaves Idaho this week to become president of Texas Tech, his parting advice to the state was to invest in its workers by funding raises for state employees. That’s something Idaho Gov. Butch Otter declared a priority early…
Idaho is at risk of lawsuits over its flawed public defender system, according to a 2010 report, but after several years of study, the state still hasn't agreed on how to fix the system, the AP reports. Now, an interim committee of lawmakers is being…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — An industry group that promotes burning brown coal to make energy poached U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador's top staffer, marking the latest employee to exit the second-term lawmaker's office. The Lignite Energy Council named…
The Idaho State Police reported 31 DUI arrests statewide over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, from Friday night through early Tuesday morning. ISP also reported 23 crashes, including one fatality and five causing injuries. There were also 35 drug-related arrests, 28 of those misdemeanors and…
Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger told the Spokesman-Review’s Scott Maben in an interview yesterday that he hasn’t yet decided whether to keep or drop the Boy Scout troop chartered by the sheriff’s office, but he said his Christian faith and what the Bible says about…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: MCCALL, Idaho (AP) — An orphaned black bear cub that suffered second-degree burns on its paws during an August 2012 forest fire in eastern Idaho has been returned to the wild, healthy and 70 pounds heavier. Officials…
Sen. Mike Crapo held a press conference at a Boise gun shop today, where he blasted Congress' and President Barack Obama's bid to tighten gun laws while promoting reauthorization of a 2004 law that, among other things, directs federal taxpayer money for mental health courts.…
The University of Idaho has named Michael Satz, associate dean in the College of Law, to serve as interim dean of the college, effective June 1. Satz succeeds Don Burnett, who was named interim president of the University of Idaho. When Burnett accepted the interim…
Here’s a surprising turn of events: With April’s strong state tax revenues, if current trends hold, statutorily required transfers to Idaho’s Budget Stabilization Fund, the state’s main rainy-day savings account, will fill that fund to its statutory cap by the end of the current fiscal…
Now that the Legislature has approved archiving the video and audio streams of its proceedings during its sessions, Peter Morrill, general manager of Idaho Public Television, told the Legislative Council today that IPTV’s goal for the upcoming 2014 session is to have that day’s audio…
The Legislative Council has voted unanimously to approve the appointments for its legislative interim committees; you can see the list here. The new committee on the K-12 education system will be co-chaired by Senate Education Chairman John Goedde and House Education Chairman Reed DeMordaunt; other…
As the Legislature’s IT division manager, Glenn Harris, opened his presentation to the Legislative Council on technology changes during the 2013 session, he referred to the “hand-holding” sometimes needed when new technologies are introduced. House Speaker Scott Bedke asked if most of that “hand-holding” was…
The Legislative Council is meeting this morning, with an agenda that includes appointments to interim legislative committees, including panels on federal lands transfer, the state’s public defender system, natural resources issues, the K-12 education system, Energy, Environment & Technology; and the criminal justice system. There’s…
The Idaho Transportation Department says it’s having success with its latest weed-control method for areas near water, where spraying herbicides is a no-no: Goats. A herd of about 100 rented goats was turned loose into a fenced area around a retention pond on Eagle Road…
A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Idaho’s school funding system, in part because families are charged fees for various aspects of instruction, has suffered a major blow, after District Judge Richard Greenwood on Friday dismissed all but one school district from the suit, and said…
The shooting range at Farragut State Park in North Idaho will reopen Saturday morning after a prolonged legal fight; the 70-year-old range has been closed since 2006 after neighboring homeowners sued over noise and errant bullets. This morning, 1st District Judge John Mitchell issued a…
A longtime CPA in Payette whose firm audited many school districts, cities and other government agencies was also secretly the author of “dozens of racist and anti-Semitic tracts” under the pseudonym Farnham O’Reilly, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports in the latest issue of its…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) — The CEO of the Inland Northwest Council of the Boy Scouts of America says he met with a northern Idaho sheriff after the sheriff said he planned to drop his office's charter…
A plan to bail out the financially troubled Nampa School District through a series of house raffles has been suspended, after it turned out to be in violation of state gambling laws. Retired developer Phil Allaire planned to sell $100 raffle tickets for 40 Nampa…
Twin Falls podiatrist, anti-nuclear activist and former candidate for governor Peter Rickards has been arrested for trafficking in marijuana, the Twin Falls Times-News reports. The newspaper reports that Rickards was arrested at his home on May 24, and investigators with a search warrant seized 4.3…
A group of Medicaid patients with severe disabilities who sued the state last year over cuts in their care are now seeking class-action status for their lawsuit, on behalf of about 3,600 people who receive care through a waiver program for people with developmental disabilities.…
The Lewiston Tribune reports that the Clearwater Collaborative, a group that includes environmentalists, lumber companies, the Nez Perce Tribe and local and state officials, has reached an agreement intended to restore wildlife habitat and protect pristine areas while also allowing economic activities such as logging…
Union groups are getting a chance to revise their lawsuit and add new defendants in a challenge to two Idaho laws targeting organized labor, the AP reports, following a ruling by the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The Building and Construction Trades Council AFL-CIO…
Idaho now has more than 50 farmers’ markets statewide, according to the state Department of Agriculture, which has a new guide out here, complete with locations, times and dates of operation. In the Boise area, farmers’ markets from downtown Boise to Eagle, Kuna and Mountain…
Gov. Butch Otter kicked off an expanded canal safety campaign today, joining agriculture groups, Idaho Power, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, state broadcasters and more to launch a series of TV and radio ads and an expanded public education effort. “We have thousands of miles…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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