State Sen. Shawn Keough, co-chairwoman of the powerful budget committee, was surprised by that Huckleberries Online headline that read: "Keough only North Idaho Senate chair." So she emailed Huckleberries: " I’m not sure who (Yours Truly) writes the headlines but if Lewiston is still in North Idaho we have 2 Chairmen in the Senate.  Sen. Dan Johnson, (R) Lewiston was appointed Chairman of the Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee.  That is a significant appointment for us, in my view!"

DFO: We've been down this road before. During my two years as news editor of the Lewiston Tribune, the Trib referred to the 10 northernmost counties as "northern Idaho" -- and pooh-poohed the insistence of North Idahoans to refer to the five northernmost counties as "North Idaho." It goes way back to the time that Boise, in Sufferin' Idaho, swiped the state capitol from Lewiston. Our North Idaho predecessors wanted to succeed -- and ended up with the University of Idaho as a consolation prize. Or something like that. However, if Shawn says that Sen. Dan Johnson, R-Lewiston, is a keeper, who am I to argue. Shawn has been serving our area well for more than 20 years. She knows which are the good ones at the state Capitol and which are the culls.