Idaho stimulus requests: They want how much for what?

BOISE - A geothermal outfit wants $225 million for well-drilling. Micron wants $100 million for a project. One Idaho woman wants $34,000 to pay off credit cards. All are among a huge array of request for funding from the federal economic stimulus that Idaho Gov. Butch Otter released today. The list, which is posted online, includes requests from individuals, private companies, charities, local governments, school districts, state agencies and more. Jon Hanian, Otter’s press secretary, said it appears that some applicants decided to “shoot the moon.” A quick peek at the list of requests reveals a $225 million request from Agua Caliente LLC for geothermal well drilling at various Idaho locations; $260 million to expand the Ada County landfill; $2.2 million to build a new Boys and Girls Club in Kuna; and $48.2 million for a new Canyon County Jail. There’s $14.8 million for renovation of Canfield Middle School in Coeur d’Alene; $630 million for wind farms for Idaho Wind Energy LLC; $100 million for a project at Micron; Lynn Dickerson wants $1.9 million for a private business start-up; Melody Russell wants $34,000 to pay off credit cards; and the Girl Scouts of the Silver Sage Council asked for $321,527 to “offset lower receipts,” presumably from this year’s recession-impacted cookie sales. The governor encourages anyone who submitted a request to check the list and make sure it’s accurately represented. He also said a separate state Web site will be set up “in the near future” to allow citizens to track “the allocation and use of all stimulus funding.”