Idaho’s state endowment fund earned 18.8 percent on its investments in the past year, investment manager Larry Johnson told the state Land Board this morning. He said that’s the second-highest earnings year in its history; the fund is now worth $1.736 billion, a new record.…
After two dogs were killed in traps while out on walks with their owners in North Idaho this winter – and amid increasing incidents of dogs being caught in traps statewide – Idaho’s Fish and Game Commission has agreed to look at new rules to…
Idaho’s state Division of Purchasing is making progress toward better monitoring of multimillion-dollar state contracts, according to a new state report to lawmakers. Incensed over big problems with big contracts, lawmakers have passed four pieces of legislation in the past two years calling for better…
Idaho Statesman political columnist Dan Popkey cornered a half-dozen people for video remembrances at former Idaho Gov. John V. Evans’ funeral last week, and came up with this interesting anecdote: When Evans, a Democrat, became governor in 1977, he wanted – and got – his…
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who spent five years as a Taliban captive in Afghanistan, returned to regular duty today, the AP reports, with a desk job at a Texas base that makes him available to Army investigators for questioning about his disappearance in 2009. It's…
Hari Heath, a Benewah County delegate to the tumultuous Idaho State Republican Party convention in Moscow last month, opines in an op-ed piece today about the convention, which ended in disarray with no votes on leadership, resolution or a party platform: “These are the growing…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: SALMON, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Fish and Game Commission is opposing the proposed Boulder-White Clouds National Monument for fear of losing control of wildlife management in the 592,000-acre area. The decision this past week during a…
Idaho’s state health insurance exchange, YourHealthIdaho.org, is losing two of its top three staffers – Executive Director Amy Dowd is leaving to become CEO of the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange, and Alberto Gonzalez, operations project manager and a former bureau chief for the Idaho…
The Idaho Transportation Board has voted unanimously to approve 80 mph speed limits for southern Idaho freeway stretches on I-84, I-86 and I-15 that now are 75 mph, but only after a long discussion of questions about the changes and with the condition that the…
The body of former Idaho Gov. John V. Evans is now lying in state in the rotunda of the state Capitol, and will be until 4 p.m. Here, friends, well-wishers, acquaintance and fans line up to pay respects to Evans’ family, including his wife, Lola.…
Former Canyon County prosecutor John Bujak says he thinks he can win his Libertarian bid for governor of Idaho, and told Idaho Statesman columnist Dan Popkey today, “I represented myself through five criminal trials in the last three years. The establishment didn’t expect me to…
Changes to federal e-rate funding that could make money available to fund WiFi in Idaho schools and libraries was approved by the FCC today, Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News reports today; you can read his full report here.
Former Idaho Gov. John V. Evans will lie in state at the Capitol today from 1-4 p.m.; his funeral will follow at 5 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Rockies. A memorial service and burial will follow tomorrow in Malad, where Evans, who was 89,…
The owner of a dog fatally shot by a Coeur d’Alene Police officer on Wednesday says the dog wasn’t a “vicious pit bull,” as initially reported by the police department in a news release Wednesday, but a 2-year-old black Labrador named “Arfee.” Coeur d’Alene Police…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Auditors with the Idaho Legislature say State Treasurer Ron Crane has not provided enough evidence that a full review was conducted following an inappropriate money transfer. The auditors found earlier this year Crane's…
Idaho's new 80 mph speed limit law specifically requires that the state Transportation Board approve any speed limit boosts under the new law – the bill repeated that requirement four times – but the board delegated the matter to its staff and hadn't planned to…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — The first-degree murder trial for the grandson of the chief of the Idaho Department of Correction is scheduled to begin July 21 in south-central Idaho. The Times-News reports (http://bit.ly/1oKp3mO) that attorneys met…
Changes to the federal e-rate system could make money available to Idaho’s public schools to offset the costs of providing WiFi services for Idaho schools and libraries in the future, reports Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News. The federal money could help Idaho expand WiFi…
The Idaho State Board of Education today hired Dwight Johnson, most recently a senior administrator at the Idaho Department of Labor, as its new state head of professional-technical education. Johnson recently also was a finalist for the job of state director of legislative services, a…
If you’re a baby boy in Idaho, chances are your name may be Liam. A girl? Sophia. Those were the most popular names given to babies born in Idaho in 2012, according to the state’s latest annual vital statistics report, out this week from the…
An inmate on Idaho’s Death Row died today after an extended illness, the state Department of Correction announced; Michael Allen Jauhola had been on Death Row at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution (The Max) since 2001, and had been transferred to the prison’s medical unit…
Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador introducing legislation today to transfer 31 acres of U.S. Bureau of Land Management land in Idaho County to the county for a gun range – a move the BLM supports. Idaho…
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is backing Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador’s move to transfer 31 acres of its land in Idaho County to the county for a gun range. “We’re supportive of the effort,” said Suzanne Endsley, public affairs officer for the BLM’s Coeur…
Idaho 1st District GOP Congressman Raul Labrador announced today that he's introduced legislation that would transfer 31 acres of federal Bureau of Land Management property in Idaho County to the county for use as a gun range. “For years, the Idaho County Commission has been…
Idaho's long-awaited survey on transportation improvements is out from the University of Idaho, and it turns out an overwhelming majority of Idahoans think Idaho's roads and bridges need big fixes or they'll fail in the next 10 years. However, the options to pay for that…