Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has filed a motion with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals asking that the state be allowed to file additional arguments in its motion for an en banc review, a reconsideration by an 11-judge panel of the earlier three-judge panel’s rejection…
The Idaho Attorney General’s office has received a request for a recount of the Nez Perce County portion of a District 6 legislative race, from losing candidate Thyra Stevenson, a Republican. Stevenson lost to Democrat Dan Rudolph by 26 votes. Mike Kingsley, who lost to…
As Idaho certified its official election results on Wednesday, a troubling distinction emerged: This year’s election was the first time ever that less than 40 percent of Idaho’s voting-age population cast ballots in a general election. “Frankly, it was disappointing,” said Idaho Secretary of State…
The Otter Administration is asking an Ada County judge to reconsider his ruling that the $60 million Idaho Education Network broadband contract was issued illegally and is void, reports Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News. Richert reports that the private attorneys for the state filed…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Republican Party has named former U.S. Sen. Larry Craig as finance chair for the party’s executive committee. Party officials said Wednesday that Craig fills an empty volunteer fundraising position. Craig was…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — Idaho State University wants to spend about $600,000 to buy a new house for the school's president. The Idaho State Journal reports (http://bit.ly/1uQRQdE) that the State Board of Education will vote on whether…
Idaho was among seven states where the number of unauthorized immigrants increased between 2009 and 2012, the AP reports, according to a report released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center. The report estimated that Idaho jumped from 35,000 unauthorized immigrants in 2009 to 50,000 in…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho work group has tweaked its recommendations on expanding Medicaid eligibility in a last-minute effort to make their plan more politically palatable to lawmakers. Work group facilitator Corey Surber says the 15-member…
A new report on pay disparities finds that women and minorities in Idaho who work full-time are far less likely to earn a living wage than the population as a whole, and though such disparities also show up nationwide, they’re more pronounced in Idaho. The…
Idaho’s state Land Board accepted the final version of a consultant’s report today on the asset allocation of the state’s endowment investments, including both land and financial investments; it found that timber land is an excellent investment for the endowment, grazing land is just marginal,…
Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador's bill to transfer 31 acres in the Riggins area from federal to Idaho County ownership for a shooting range passed the House late Tuesday on a voice vote. To become law, it still needs Senate passage and the president's signature; click…
The successful launch of Idaho’s new health insurance exchange website is part of a big success story for a Silicon Valley tech firm that's providing the software through a $37 million contract, and also working with exchanges in California, New Mexico and Mississippi. GetInsured, headed…
Melissa Davlin of Idaho Reports writes on her blog here that there’s at least one contested leadership race shaping up in the Idaho House: Rep. Rick Youngblood, R-Nampa, is running for House Assistant Majority Leader, as is the current holder of that post, Rep. Brent…
The Idaho chapter of the Sierra Club is opening a free electric vehicle charging station in downtown Boise, and encouraging other businesses and government offices downtown to do the same. “For a business, it’s a fairly simple and inexpensive perk that they could give for…
Idaho’s state health insurance exchange – unlike Washington’s – reported a flawless launch over the weekend to its second open enrollment period, as the state shifted from relying on a federal technology platform to its own home-built one. “It’s 360 degrees different,” said Pat Kelly,…
When the Idaho Legislature convenes it organizational session on Dec. 4, six committee chairmanships and two leadership posts will be up for grabs, due to election outcomes, retirements and other moves. The chairmanships: Senate Education, Senate Resources, House Business, House Local Government, House Resources, and…
Americans are using less water, though people in the Northwest individually use more than the national average and Idahoans use more than people in any other state, the AP reports; Idaho long has ranked high in per-capita water use due to its low population and…
Pocatello city officials say Idaho State University security officer have been overstepping their authority, even cleaning up the scene before calling police after an accidental shooting in a classroom, the Idaho State Journal reports. In the September incident, a chemistry professor shot himself in the…
At the Idaho School Boards Association convention in Boise today, two resolutions aimed at easing school districts’ financial woes were approved, reports Clark Corbin of Idaho Education News; his full report is online here. The school trustees from around the state overwhelmingly backed a resolution…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: HAILEY, Idaho (AP) — Planning officials in the central Idaho town of Hailey are recommending the number of chickens residents are allowed to keep be doubled from three to six. The Idaho Mountain Express reports (http://bit.ly/1q0RC3y) that…
At 3 p.m., the National Weather Service reports that Boise’s snowfall total for the storm reached 7.6 inches – a new November record. That surpassed the previous record snowfall for Boise in November of 7.4 inches in 1935.
Two former executives of a company that said it was planning a nuclear power plant in Idaho have been indicted by a federal grand jury on 14 counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, filing false tax returns and making false statements to federal agents.…
It’s the sixth time in 12 years that this has happened, but somehow it still sounds funny: Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo has been selected for the prestigious post of chairman of the Committee on Committees for the Senate Republicans. That’s the panel that’s in charge…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter is accepting applications through Dec. 5 for the state's next director of the Idaho Department of Insurance. Current insurance chief Bill Deal is retiring Dec. 31. “The successful applicant for this position will have big shoes to fill," Otter said. "Bill…
The National Weather Service reports that the 6.5-inch snowfall total in Boise now ranks as the third-highest in November on record – going back to 1892. The highest was 7.4 inches in 1935; followed by 6.8 inches in 1995. UPDATE: We hit 6.8 inches at…
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