Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation has received $40,000 in corporate sponsorships since getting legislative approval nearly a year ago to reach out to businesses to help offset the agency's depleted budget. The amount is double the estimated $20,000 department officials hoped to secure in the first year. Sponsors include Cabela's, North Face and Airstream NW. The department's sponsorship proposal sailed through the Idaho Statehouse last year with a handful of lawmakers raising concerns that some sponsorships would result in renaming of the state's 30 parks. However, department spokeswoman Jennifer Okerlund says none of the sponsorships required a name change. State lawmakers chopped the parks department budget during the economic downturn, forcing the agency to look for money elsewhere. This year, the agency received $3.5 million in state funding.

AP reporter Kimberlee Kruesi has a full report here.