Idaho's schools superintendent is defending big pay raises he gave his top staffers earlier this year as temporary hikes that are part of a strategy to ease the transition for his successor, the Lewiston Tribune reports. Those who received raises include Tom Luna's former deputy…
Former Idaho First Lady Jacque Batt, wife of Gov. Phil Batt, died on Sunday; the Idaho Statesman has a remembrance online here. Current Idaho Gov. Butch Otter and First Lady Lori Otter issued this statement: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Jacque Batt.…
When lawyers for the state of Idaho and for four Idaho lesbian couples face off in a federal appeals courtroom in San Francisco on Monday, the fate of Idaho’s invalidated ban on same-sex marriage will hang in the balance. Idaho is pushing hard in its…
The Coeur d’Alene Tribe says it will immediately file a motion to stay Judge Lynn Winmill’s ruling today granting an injunction ordering the tribe to shut down the poker room at its Worley casino, and will file an emergency appeal to the 9th Circuit U.S.…
U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill issued an injunction today ordering a halt to “Texas Hold ‘Em” poker tournaments at the Coeur d’Alene Casino at Worley, saying the tourneys violate Idaho’s ban on poker; you can read my full story here at spokesman.com. The tribe argued…
A disillusioned former Republican with an unusual story could throw a big wrench into the Idaho governor’s race this year. If Libertarian candidate John Bujak succeeds in his bid to appeal to disaffected Republicans who voted against Gov. Butch Otter in the GOP primary, he…
Idaho has joined sixteen other states in two briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court, led by Colorado, urging the high court to take up the issue of same-sex marriage in cases from Utah and Oklahoma. The 17 states ask the Supreme Court to take those…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) — Edgar Steele, who once represented Aryan Nations founder Richard Butler in a lawsuit that bankrupted the white supremacist group, has died in federal prison in California. Steele was 69. Steele was serving…
Here’s the latest on the website-plagiarism dustup in the Idaho state superintendent of schools’ race: Republican candidate Sherri Ybarra has removed both paragraphs from her campaign website that matched wording posted months earlier on Democratic rival Jana Jones’ campaign website. Now, the “Join Team Ybarra”…
The instructor who shot himself in the foot with a concealed handgun while lecturing to 20 students in a chem class at Idaho State University on Tuesday has been identified, and it wasn’t just some guest instructor – it was an assistant professor of chemistry…
Idaho Education News reports today on a numbers debate: Does Idaho rank 50th or 51st for its investment in education? The answer: Both. There are several measures, and Idaho ranks at or near the bottom on all of them. The rankings that have 51 possibilities…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A federal judge has denied Idaho's request to dismiss a lawsuit arguing that the recently passed law criminalizing surreptitious recording at agriculture facilities is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill says in…
Sherri Ybarra, GOP candidate for Idaho state superintendent of schools, has now issued a statement about her campaign website’s apparent copying of Democratic rival Jana Jones’ campaign website, but hasn’t addressed whether she’ll change her site; the duplication was reported today by Idaho Education News.…
KTVB-TV reports today a key new detail about this week’s accidental shooting on the Idaho State University campus: 20 students were present when the instructor, who has an enhanced concealed carry permit, accidentally shot himself in the foot in a chemistry classroom on the campus.…
Idaho Education News reports today that GOP candidate for state schools Superintendent Sherri Ybarra apparently copied entire sections of her campaign website from Democratic rival Jana Jones, whose campaign website was posted months before Ybarra entered the race. Jones told Idaho EdNews she was “shocked”…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter’s new campaign commercial claims the state’s economy is “on a roll” thanks to his leadership, citing several selected measures. But overall, Idaho’s economy, while growing, has been much slower to recover than most states from the big recession that hit just…
Gov. Butch Otter has announced that he’ll participate in four debates with his general election opponents, including the “Idaho Debates” on Oct. 30 to be broadcast statewide on Idaho Public Television, co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Idaho Press Club. Otter also…
An Idaho State University instructor was shot in the foot yesterday after a concealed, loaded handgun he was carrying accidentally discharged in a classroom around 4 p.m., the Idaho State Journal reports. The wounded instructor had an enhanced concealed carry permit, the type of permit…
The harshest political ad on the air in Idaho’s governor’s race goes after Democratic candidate A.J. Balukoff, branding him a “liberal” and attempting to tie him to President Barack Obama. Balukoff, a Boise businessman and longtime chairman of the Boise School Board, says the ad…
Tom Luna, Idaho state superintendent of schools, is making an offer to both of the candidates vying to succeed him: The day after the election, he’s offering an office next to his to whichever one is elected to allow the next superintendent to start the…
Idaho schools chief Tom Luna has submitted a proposed budget for public schools for next year that reflects a 6.9 percent increase in state funding. The budget proposal calls for $23 million to start on a new teacher career ladder, which Luna says will then…
John Bujak, Libertarian candidate for governor of Idaho, has posted his own anti-Butch Otter website entitled www.liberalotter.com – echoing the attack website www.liberalAJ.com put up earlier by the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry to go after Democratic candidate for governor A.J. Balukoff, as part…
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: LAPWAI, Idaho (AP) — High school students in a north-central Idaho town will have to take gym classes through an online program this year after a school levy failed. Lapwai School District Superintendent David Aiken told the…
Idaho's red state roots haven't faded, the AP reports, but political infighting inside its Republican Party has left many feeling disenfranchised with the so-called traditional GOP candidates who will appear on this year's election ballot. Tea party voters, who showed to be a powerful voting…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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