Though he turns 72 on May 3, Gov. Butch Otter hasn’t slowed the rough-and-tumble lifestyle he began growing up on a Canyon County farm. This week, he’s nursing a strained back injured Sunday in a ranch wreck in Star. Otter is building a storage room in his barn. “I lifted this beam over the top in order to put it in place and I shoulda just waited until I had some help,” Otter said after his meeting with the Statesman editorial board Wednesday. “You know, I’ve done it before.” ... His office said Otter didn’t miss any work following Sunday afternoon’s mishap, but his gouged right hand bore bright red iodine dressings Wednesday. So, I asked, “When are you gonna learn?” “When I’m dead!” he replied joyously/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: No matter what you think of Otter, you have to admire his refusal to back away from physical labor, right?