Idaho 1st District Congressman Raul Labrador, asked today why he decided to recruit and hire longtime Idaho Statesman political reporter Dan Popkey to be his new press secretary, said, “The main reason is I wanted to have a better relationship with the Idaho media. I…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo says he will seek re-election in 2016. In making the announcement Friday in Lewiston, the 63-year-old Republican says he's committed to resolving a number of critical issues to the…
Colorful former Idaho Congressman George Hansen, who served seven terms in the U.S. House, ran unsuccessfully for the Senate three times, and also served time in federal prison, died Thursday in a Pocatello hospital at the age of 83. Idaho Statesman reporter Rocky Barker has…
The National Interagency Fire Center says folks flying unauthorized drones near wildfires are getting in firefighters’ way, and they’re asking the drone operators to cut it out. Unauthorized drones “could cause serious injury or death to firefighters on the ground,” NIFC warns today. “They could…
Idaho’s state Board of Education has voted unanimously to give preliminary approval to a new tiered certification system for teachers, opening the way for a public comment period and public hearing before final consideration of the rule in November. The new way of approaching teacher…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: KETCHUM, Idaho (AP) — Organizers of a disputed predator derby aimed at killing wolves in central Idaho are asking for a five-year permit to hold the contest. The Idaho Mountain Express reports (http://bit.ly/1nW7xbv) in a story on…
A.J. Balukoff, Democratic candidate for governor of Idaho, has sent a letter to the board of the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, the business lobbying group whose PAC has launched an attack campaign against him including a website dubbed “LiberalAJ.com,” asking the business leaders…
Gov. Butch Otter’s Medicaid Redesign Work Group met all day today, and at the end, voted 10-3 in favor of accepting federal Medicaid expansion money to cover low-income uninsured Idahoans with contracted health plans focused on primary care and prevention; you can read my full…
Idaho state tax revenues in July came in slightly below the state’s newly revised forecasts, but 3.8 percent above July of the previous year. Revenues were 1.4 percent below the revised forecast of $244.3 million for the month. The forecast for fiscal year 2015, which…
Thanks to the persistence of 11-year-old Carson Magee of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho has now officially proclaimed the second Monday of February as “Type 1 Diabetes Awareness Day,” and Carson’s helping plan an awareness event at the state Capitol that day. Carson was diagnosed with the…
Idaho State University would eliminate its bachelor’s degrees in German and French. Boise State would do away with its Department of Bilingual Education, and could eliminate its College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs in a restructuring. The University of Idaho would do away with…
Idaho’s state endowment is expecting to make at least $30 million later this month from an auction of state-owned cabin sites on Priest Lake - an estimate state officials call "conservative" - and another $13 million from another auction at Payette Lake in December. Currently,…
Firefighting costs for the Idaho Department of Lands are up significantly this year, the state Land Board was told this morning, coming to $24.4 million to date. An estimated $2.1 million of those costs will be reimbursed to the state Lands Department from other agencies,…
A.J. Balukoff, the Democratic challenger to Idaho GOP Gov. Butch Otter, in response to yesterday’s announcement from the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry that it’s launching an independent campaign against him, said it shows that Otter “is determined to run away from his poor…
The American Legacy Foundation, a national anti-smoking group founded as part of a nationwide tobacco settlement, has donated $350,000 to the University of Idaho to establish a scholarship program at the College of Law in honor of Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden. The new Lawrence…
Flows in the South Fork of the Boise River will jump next week as part of a project to recover fish habitat in areas impacted by heavy sedimentation after last year's Elk and Pony Complex fires. Idaho Fish & Game reports that the river's volume…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) — The Constitution Party of Idaho has rejected its gubernatorial candidate. The Lewiston Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1kBzsTb) in a story on Wednesday that delegates at the party's recent state convention in Cascade voted against endorsing…
A Spirit Lake man has lost a court appeal challenging a city fine he received for connecting his neighbor to his city water service via a hose, after the neighbor had been cut off for non-payment. Michael Freitas charged that the city couldn’t constitutionally bar…
Watch out for those mosquitoes - Idaho just just reported its first human case of West Nile virus for the season. Its a Blaine County woman in her 20s who is recovering and didn't require hospitalization, but last year, Idaho had 40 human cases and…
The Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, a lobbying group that represents the state’s largest businesses, announced today that its political action committee, the Idaho Prosperity Fund, is launching an independent campaign against A.J. Balukoff, the Democratic candidate for governor. “A.J. Balukoff wants Idahoans to…
Idaho is seeing an "alarming" rise in cases of whooping cough or pertussis, according to the state Department of Health & Welfare, and vaccinations are being urgently recommended, particularly with the looming start of school. Idaho's already had 241 cases of whooping cough reported to…
A.J. Balukoff, the Democratic candidate for governor, has sent a guest opinion out to Idaho news media laying out his vision for improving the state’s economy. “Under the state’s current leadership, our economy has plummeted,” he writes. “Today, Idaho’s families work harder for less.” Balukoff…
I-84 through Idaho is now officially Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway, under legislation passed and signed into law this year; new signs for the route were unveiled at a ceremony on the state Capitol steps this morning. “It has been far too long for this recognition…
Shoppers at the Albertson’s store at 16th and State streets reported an unusual sight this morning – Gov. Butch Otter and a crew apparently filming a campaign commercial, doing multiple takes. Otter campaign spokeswoman Kaycee Emery confirmed that’s what was happening. “We’re currently in production,”…
Unsuccessful GOP state school superintendent hopeful Randy Jensen, who placed second in the four-way GOP primary, falling to Sherri Ybarra, says he never authorized Ybarra to list him as a member of her campaign team, nor has he endorsed either candidate in the general-election race…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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