"Idaho Gov. Jim Risch has just announced he’ll close Idaho’s office in Washington, D.C. – which the state has had since May of 1999 – and instead open a constituent-service office in Coeur d’Alene and a similar one in Idaho Falls. Luke Malek, a Post Falls native and former chief development and communications officer for the Dirne Community Health Clinic in Coeur d’Alene, will staff the new Coeur d’Alene office. (Incidentally, Luke has been working on constituent service in Boise for the initial days of Risch’s administration, and this reporter’s repeated queries as to whether he’d soon be posted to North Idaho went unanswered for the past two weeks.) Risch said, 'Opening an office in northern Idaho is a big step in achieving my goal of increasing constituent service for Idahoans. I want to provide easier access to my office for citizens who are not in the Boise area.'"

For the rest of Betsy Russell's Eye On Boise post, click here.

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