Idaho state Rep. Phil Hart stole timber from state land to build his log home in Athol in 1996, according to court documents, and still hasn’t paid a judgment against him for the theft. What’s more, the property Hart illegally logged is school endowment land,…
The Idaho Transportation Department met with a Korean firm in September that wants to move another 40 to 60 giant truckloads of oil equipment across scenic U.S. Highway 12, and local residents who are suing over four other shipments didn't find out until their attorney…
The Idaho Republican Party's new attack ad against Democratic candidate for governor Keith Allred charges that he'd tax everything from child care to church bake sales, a claim Allred dubs a "wild distortion." Norm Semanko, Idaho Republican Party chairman, said the new TV commercial, which…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: MIAMI (AP) — Three U.S. Senate candidates are responsible for nearly half the notices the Federal Election Commission has issued in the past year for taking contributions that appear to exceed federal limits. An Associated Press analysis…
GOP congressional hopeful Raul Labrador has announced that he's had his best campaign fundraising quarter, and raised more than $250,000 in monetary and in-kind contributions combined during the quarter that ended Sept. 30. The report on that quarter isn't due out for another week; that's…
A national group that supports curbs on immigration has weighed in on Idaho's 1st CD race, the AP reports, and declared both Democratic Congressman Walt Minnick and his Republican challenger Raul Labrador "true reformers." Click below to read the full report from AP reporter Jessie…
Lively debates tonight for a couple of lower-profile statewide elected positions, Secretary of State and Lieutenant Governor. Here, in this Idaho Public TV photo, Mack Sermon, left, Democratic challenger, speaks; incumbent Secretary of State Ben Ysursa is at right. Sermon championed vote-by-mail, saying Idaho would…
The "Idaho Debates" tonight will feature the candidates for Lieutenant Governor, incumbent Republican Brad Little and Democratic challenger Eldon Wallace, starting at 8 p.m. Mountain time, 7 p.m. Pacific; followed by the candidates for Secretary of State, incumbent Republican Ben Ysursa and Democratic challenger Mack…
GOP congressional hopeful Raul Labrador released his own poll today showing Minnick leading him 37 percent to 31 percent, with 6 percent each for independent Dave Olson and Libertarian Mike Washburn and 21 percent undecided or favoring none of the candidates. The poll was conducted…
The Idaho Republican Party has come out with a new TV commercial attacking Keith Allred, the Democratic candidate for governor, which is airing statewide, starting yesterday in the Treasure Valley and throughout the rest of the state, including the Spokane market, today. "It's an independent…
Idaho Congressman Walt Minnick has been endorsed by the Idaho Fraternal Order of Police, who said in a statement that the freshman Democrat "has shown that he is someone Idaho can trust on issues important to anyone who cares about enforcing the rule of law."…
Keith Allred, the Democratic candidate for governor, has a new TV commercial out that's running statewide. Like his last one, it criticizes Gov. Butch Otter for this year's 7.5 percent cut in funding for public schools. You can read my full story here at spokesman.com,…
UPDATE: This is tonight! Granted, these are not the most high-profile state elected offices, but they do matter - the lieutenant governor, for example, casts tie-breaking votes in the state Senate, and the Secretary of State is our state's chief election official and serves on…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on today's campaign visits to southern and eastern Idaho by Mitt Romney, as Gov. Butch Otter moves to shore up support among LDS voters. BSU political scientist emeritus Jim Weatherby said, "I'm not surprised Otter brought…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Republican Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter has abandoned his silence — at least partially — on three constitutional amendments on the Nov. 2 ballot. Earlier this week, he declined to take a position. His…
Here's Democratic candidate for governor Keith Allred's response to incumbent Gov. Butch Otter's campaign rally with Mitt Romney in Boise today and Frank VanderSloot's comments there:"It's unfortunate that Frank Vandersloot wants to use religious and partisan labels to distract people from the actual positions held…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter brought in former presidential candidate Mitt Romney to stump for him today in Idaho Falls and Boise, in an effort to pump up support among LDS voters in southern and eastern Idaho. Idaho Falls businessman Frank VanderSloot, who hosted the Idaho…
Here's a link to my story at spokesman.com on the debate tonight between the two candidates seeking to lead Idaho's school system for the next four years, and you can click below for a full report from AP reporter Jessie Bonner. Tonight's live debate was…
In their closing comments at the end of tonight's debate, each candidate for superintendent of public instruction spoke out. "Idaho needs a real advocate for education," incumbent Supt. Tom Luna declared. He then asked, "Is an advocate for education someone like me who is reducing…
Asked how their backgrounds - Luna's as a businessman, and Olson's as an educator - qualify them to serve as state superintendent, Olson, answering first, said he, too is a businessman, recounting the budget he oversaw at the Boise School District, the large number of…
Asked about teacher pay, Luna said, "We have to do something about low teacher pay not just in Idaho but across the country. ... We have to give teachers in Idaho more control over how much money they make." He said he's a proponent of…
Asked about the state's math initiative, Luna said it's had "tremendous impact." He noted that, among other changes, students are choosing to do additional math through the Apangea math program he's added in classrooms. "We have states from all over the country that are coming…
Reporter panelist Michelle Edmonds of KIVI-TV asked the two candidates if they'd take the ISAT test themselves and publicize their scores, a question that was submitted by a viewer online. Olson said, "I would not want to take especially the math portion of the ISAT.…
Challenger Stan Olson was describing a program in the Boise School District, which he headed as superintendent until his retirement this summer, and said, "It's kind of like defending a dissertation - I'll have to tell you about that some day." That was a crack…
Asked about testing and the Idaho Standards Achievement Test, Olson said of Idaho educators, "They know like I know that ISAT is a low-bar assessment." Among the standards Idaho's students should be tested for, he said, is "post-secondary readiness, and we're lying to our children…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
