Here’s a link to the Idaho State Police incident report on the Jan. 25, 2013 traffic stop in which a 69-year-old Washington man, whose vehicle had Colorado plates – he has a second home in Colorado – was pulled over as he entered Idaho on…
Mark Coonts, the attorney for Darien Roseen, the retired executive with Colorado license plates who was pulled over, detained and fruitlessly searched for drugs just inside the Idaho border as he passed through the state on I-84, said, “This driver was singled out because of…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has added a southern Idaho county to its list of Idaho regions considered natural disaster areas because of drought. The department designated Elmore County a primary natural disaster…
Lots of news has happened over the past week while I’ve been off work. Here’s some catch-up: Gov. Butch Otter signed 112 bills into law on Wednesday (the list he published looked much longer, but nearly every bill was listed twice); and 48 on Friday…
Several stars from the A&E program “Duck Dynasty” appeared at a fundraiser for Idaho GOP secretary of state candidate Lawerence Denney on Saturday night, and Idaho Statesman reporter John Sowell reports that “several thousand” people attended the event at the Idaho Center, which seats 12,279.…
A federal lawsuit against the Idaho State Police charges that officers profiled, pulled over, harassed, detained and searched a Washington man simply for driving across the Oregon line into Idaho on the freeway – because he had Colorado plates. Officers insisted the man must be…
I’ve been feeling really fortunate that this is my week off work, because the skiing has been great up at Bogus Basin, where there were sunny spring conditions early in the week, followed by a reported 5” (much more in places) powder dump today that…
Idaho must restore $16 million a year in services to Medicaid clients with developmental disabilities, under an injunction issued by a federal judge, the AP reports. The cuts were made in 2011; the order from U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill requires them to be…
Downtown Boise’s FalconCam caught a big development today: Downtown’s Peregrine falcon pair has its first egg. This is the earliest date a first egg has appeared in the nest box high atop the One Capital Center building at 10th and Main streets since the webcam…
Idaho has slipped from first in the nation for its proportion of workers earning the minimum wage, to second after Tennessee, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Idaho’s percentage of workers earning the $7.25 per hour minimum dropped from 7.4…
About 1,400 flood insurance policies in Idaho subsidized by the government are facing hefty premium increases despite a congressional fix intended to limit the worse of the rate hikes, the AP reports. More than a million policyholders across the nation will be required to pay…
Boise’s non-profit ski resort is delivering the spring skiing this week, from soft, smooth, forgiving corduroy on the frontside in the morning (pictured at right) to sweet spring slush on the backside in the afternoon (shown above). It’s the last hurrah for Bogus Basin; the…
Education funding took center stage at the Idaho Legislature this year – even bumping big new tax cuts from the favored top-priority position they occupied in recent years. Lawmakers nearly doubled Gov. Butch Otter’s proposed 2.9 percent increase in school funding, to $66 million; the…
North Idaho Rep. Shannon McMillan says she’s “grateful” for the process in which the House Ethics Committee decided to not take any formal action against her for failing to disclose a conflict of interest before voting against a bill. McMillan, R-Silverton, cast one of just…
GOP lawmakers who voted last year in favor of the state health insurance exchange weren’t more likely to draw primary challenges this year after all, Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey reported on Sunday; he calculated that 36 percent of those who voted “no” drew primary…
On tonight’s “Idaho Reports” program on Idaho Public Television, I join Jim Weatherby, Sven Berg, and co-hosts Melissa Davlin and Aaron Kunz for a discussion of the events of the week, from the final action of the legislative session to Idaho politics. Also, Davlin and…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter joined GOP legislative leaders today to declare this year’s legislative session a success. “In 74 days, I thought we accomplished a lot,” Otter said. “I think it was probably one of the smoothest sessions I’ve ever seen.” He said it “maybe…
NPR reports today that Idaho is one of a few states where failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney can still be an effective campaigner, and takes note that Romney has been stumping here for Gov. Butch Otter and Congressman Mike Simpson, both of whom face challenges…
A federal judge says he won't put a lawsuit against a major private prison company on hold while the FBI investigates the company for possible criminal fraud charges, the AP reports. U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge made the ruling this week in a lawsuit brought…
House and Senate Democrats today pointed to some steps forward during the just-concluded legislative session, from the passage of a criminal justice reinvestment plan to some boosts to education funding. “But the Legislature did very little on many of the issues that challenge us most,”…
When the Coeur d’Alene Tribe wanted to buy the former greyhound racetrack in Post Falls and turn it into a casino in 1998, Idaho Gov. Phil Batt said no – tribal gaming should stay on the reservation. That restriction became state law in 2002, after…
The gavel has fallen and the Senate has adjourned for the session, at 6:57 p.m. Boise time. Just a minute later, at 6:58, the House did the same.
The House has finished its business for the legislative session, passing SB 1430 on a 47-22 vote, to provide the funding for top elected officials' raises next year. Now, it's sent committees to notify the Senate and the governor that it's completed its work and…
There was little debate on one of the biggest budget bills of the session in the House, as the Medicaid budget passed on a 44-26. That measure, SB 1424, was the next-to-last bill of the session for the House. The last bill is SB 1430,…
Despite vehement debate in favor of it from House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, the House has defeated SJR103a, a proposed constitutional amendment regarding militia service, on a 33-37 vote. It needed two-thirds support to pass. A laughing Moyle said afterward, "In 16 years, that's…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
| March 2014 | ||||
| 31 | 30 | 27 | 26 | 25 |
| 24 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 |
| 17 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
| 11 | 10 | 07 | 06 | 05 |
| 04 | 03 |
