A Kootenai County prosecutor may soon be appointed to take local drug trafficking and child pornography cases to federal court. Commissioner Dan Green presented the Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney program on Monday during a joint meeting of the Kootenai County Commissioners and the Coeur d'Alene City Council. Under the program, a county prosecuting attorney would be cross-deputized and have the ability to pursue federal charges in local criminal cases. "Federal statutes have a lot tougher sentencing rules," Green said. "I think this is another tool for (County) Prosecutor (Barry) McHugh to use to combat crime." Idaho has allocated $35,000 of the needed $85,000 in annual compensation for a county attorney to work at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Coeur d'Alene. Using population figures from 2013, Green calculated that the county would pay $16,566 and Coeur d'Alene would pay $16,072/Keith Cousins, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

Question: Looks like the anti-federal government paranoia is in bloom again. Thoughts?