Gov. Butch Otter said today, “I think the legislative session should be short. … My focus again is going to be on education.” He said, “We’re starting to realize the promise the career ladder,” the teacher-pay improvement plan that’s now entering its third and biggest...
At today’s AP Legislative Preview, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has announced he’s forming a higher education task force similar to his K-12 education improvement task force that launched the state’s current five-year plan to improve Idaho’s schools. “The task force initiative will be to do...
Idaho state Treasurer Ron Crane announced this week that he won’t see re-election in 2018 to a sixth term, and will retire instead. “Twenty years is a long time and I've enjoyed it immensely but I believe it is time for someone else to put…
Idaho lawmakers may consider expanding a jobs incentive that state officials say already is generating hundreds of new jobs in the state; Sandpoint Sen. Shawn Keough says it could do more for small, rural communities like those in her North Idaho district. You can read...
Idaho GOP Sen. Mike Crapo was named chairman of the Senate Banking Committee today, succeeding Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama. The Senate tonight passed a resolution ratifying an earlier vote of the committee making Crapo the new chair. He had been in line for the chairmanship…
New Idaho Supreme Court Justice Robyn Brody was formally invested in her new office today, in a ceremony that included heartfelt remarks both from Brody and from new Chief Justice Roger Burdick; a ceremonial “robing” in which Brody’s husband, 5th District Judge Jonathan Brody, helped...
Idaho’s tight labor market is expected to continue, state Department of Labor officials told lawmakers today, with the labor force growing by 24 percent from 2000 to 2016, while the population grew by 35 percent. But the population gains are projected to come...
“Tepid” has been “kind of the word for the decade so far” when it comes to the stock market, Bob Maynard, chief investment officer for the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho, told lawmakers today. “This year, as I speak, the capital markets outlook is warmer than it was previously but still...
Megan Ronk, director of the Idaho Department of Commerce, told lawmakers today, “Overall, I would say that I’m very optimistic. Certainly we have some challenges that we have to work through and that we’ll continue to face at a statewide level, but Idaho is continually…
The U.S. economy is predicted to grow 2 percent this fiscal year, and 2.2 percent in each of the subsequent years, fiscal year 2018 and 2019, Idaho chief economist Derek Santos told lawmakers today. “That’s pretty moderate,” Santos said. And Idaho’s economy is likely to...
Lawmakers on the joint Economic Outlook Committee began their work today by going over their information packet, which is online here. It’s packed with information about Idaho’s economy, from 10-year trends in state economic indicators to population by county, and from gross state product by...
The Legislature’s joint Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee is convening this morning at the Capitol, for a full day of hearings on the state of Idaho’s economy as lawmakers prepare to gauge how much tax revenue will be available for next year’s state budget....
According to the Idaho Office of Emergency Management, we’re in for a weather trifecta: First the snow, then extreme cold temperatures, then flooding as temperatures rise to above freezing by Sunday. “One of Idaho’s major hazards is flooding following significant snowfall and subsequent rapid thawing,”…
A group of veterinarians from Mexico is suing an Idaho dairy in federal court, contending that the dairy lured them under false pretenses and then forced them to work in poor conditions as low-wage general laborers as part of a human trafficking scheme. The lawsuit against Funk Dairy Inc. in the small southern Idaho town of Murtaugh was filed...
Idaho received the fourth-lowest grade in the nation for its school system today, as Education Week released its annual rankings of state school systems. Idaho EdNews reports that Idaho’s grade came in at 67.6, a D-plus, topping only New Mexico, Mississippi and Nevada. The ranking…
Idaho's top schools chief was quietly working with a company that was auditing the state's teacher evaluation system to build a replacement system while the audit was still underway, the AP has learned through public records requests. The audit by McRel International found that 99 percent of the evaluations reviewed were incomplete...
Both of Idaho’s U.S. House members – GOP Reps. Mike Simpson and Raul Labrador – opposed the secret vote to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics, reports Rob Hotakainen of McClatchy News. Simpson’s spokeswoman, Nikki Wallace, told McClatchy, “Congressman Simpson voted no and spoke against…
Kootenai County is Idaho’s powerboating king, according to a new economic impact study from the Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation and Boise State University, with $89.8 million spent there on powerboating in 2015, more than Ada County’s $60.3 million, No. 3 Bonner County’s $39.2…
Schools are closed in the Boise and West Ada school districts and more (full list here from KTVB-TV, including school districts, private schools and day-care centers throughout the valley), and the National Weather Service says the snow depth in Boise is at 10 inches, tying…
Vogue Magazine today came out with an article on the “10 Hottest Travel Destinations of 2017,” and amid such exotic locales as Oman, Madagascar and Sri Lanka, there’s a single U.S. destination included: Idaho. “Idaho is having a moment,” the magazine says. “The capital, Boise," is "quietly setting itself up to be one of America’s most desirable...
Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo has been named to the Senate Judiciary Committee, a position that could help him shepherd through the nomination and confirmation of Idaho’s next federal district judge and push for Idaho to get a third federal judgeship. Crapo didn’t give up any...
Gov. Butch Otter has named Chris Jensen to head the state Division of Building Safety, succeeding Kelly Pearce, who retired at the end of 2016 after 10 years in the post. Jensen has been the southeastern Idaho regional manager for the agency for the past…
So what’s next for outgoing Interior Secretary Sally Jewell? A long road trip, she said, a months-long camping expedition across the nation’s southern public lands, after she leaves office. But first, Jewell said, “I’ve got a lot of friends that are coming in from around…
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who made her final official visit to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise today, said it’s “very frustrating” that after years of pressure and bipartisan agreement, Congress still hasn’t approved changes in how wildland firefighting is funded, to avoid robbing…
The holidays aren’t typically a big news period, but lo and behold, there was legislative news while I was off, and it wasn’t about taxes, health care, education funding or roads. Instead, it was wedding bells, as House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, tied the…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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