Idaho lawmakers, key business stakeholders and education experts have begun identifying key changes to the state's colleges and universities to improve post-secondary access and graduation rates. The 36-member task force met Friday to discuss workforce challenges, funding woes and the state's role...
Federal officials are requesting a 20-year extension involving the storage at an Idaho facility of reactor core debris from the partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. The U.S. Department of Energy in a document made public Friday is asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to renew...
The Idaho State Police have agreed to settle a lawsuit from a New Meadows restaurant/bar that was targeted in a sting operation and hit with fines and a liquor license suspension after it hosted a burlesque show. The Intersection BBQ Bar & Grill, which serves lunch and dinner...
Ski clubs from throughout the west are gathering in Boise this week for the 85th annual convention of the Far West Ski Association, and the public is invited to join them at a fountain party Friday afternoon in The Grove celebrating both the convention and…
When he got his chance in Thursday’s Senate Intelligence Committee hearing to question former FBI Director James Comey, Idaho Sen. Jim Risch shifted into trial-attorney mode, parsing the words of a key portion of Comey’s written testimony and peppering him with questions aimed at suggesting the testimony actually absolves President Trump of...
The Idaho Supreme Court has denied custody and visitation rights to a gay woman who raised a child with her former partner. In the ruling handed down Wednesday, the unanimous court said that because Jane Doe's former partner is the one who was artificially inseminated and conceived the baby, and because the two women weren't married...
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has named Boise attorney Peter Barton a 4th District judge, to fill the judgeship vacated by the retirement of Judge Patrick Owen. Barton, 48, has been a partner at Givens Pursley LLP since 2011, focusing on natural resources law, government regulations…
When he got his chance in this morning’s Senate Intelligence Committee hearing to question former FBI Director James Comey, Idaho Sen. Jim Risch shifted into trial-attorney mode, parsing the words of a key portion of Comey’s written testimony and peppering him with questions aimed at...
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Wednesday he is ordering a review of federal efforts to conserve the imperiled sage grouse to ensure that officials in 11 Western states where the bird lives are fully consulted. While the federal government has a responsibility under the Endangered Species Act to protect the ground-dwelling bird, "we also...
State officials have approved an Idaho utility company's plan to close a coal-fired power plant in Nevada about 10 years ahead of schedule and raise monthly bills for customers to cover depreciation costs. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission announced Monday a settlement with Idaho Power to close the North Valmy Generating Station near Valmy...
Former Idaho state schools Superintendent Tom Luna, who announced earlier that he was considering running for the Idaho 1st District congressional seat the current Rep. Raul Labrador will vacate as he runs instead for governor in 2018, said today that he’s decided against running. “Cindy...
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, in his annual address to the business community on Wednesday, touted the state’s current economic growth and said it’s proof his strategy during the recession worked, including refraining from raising taxes. And Otter outlined his top priorities for his final legislative session next year: Education and tax cuts...
Idaho’s state tax revenues came in $15.2 million ahead of forecasts in May, beating the forecast by 7.8 percent and exceeding last May’s revenues by 12.2 percent. That brings the state’s revenues for the fiscal year to date – which has one month remaining –…
Idaho Judge David Nye’s nomination to be the state’s next federal district judge is on the agenda for the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow morning, and it appears a committee vote is likely within the week. Nye already won unanimous approval from the committee after a hearing in June...
Idaho’s county Department of Motor Vehicles offices have been hit with increasing and sometimes lengthy statewide outages in the past few months, and the Idaho Transportation Department announced today that its drivers license provider, Gemalto, has sent a team of specialists to Boise to work…
Two members of the Followers of Christ faith-healing sect have been arrested in Oregon in the death of their premature baby; Sarah and Travis Lee Mitchell are accused of murder and criminal mistreatment. Idaho, unlike Oregon, hasn’t acted to remove faith healing as a legal…
Every downtown hotel has been booked for months, and good luck getting a dinner reservation – Boise is hosting its largest multi-day convention ever at its downtown convention center, and it’s North Carolina’s loss...
Idaho continues to experience pockets of severe nursing shortages while better paying jobs in surrounding states are attracting Idaho's nursing graduates, according to a recently released report from the Idaho Department of Labor. The report, issued late last month, found that southwestern Idaho faces the biggest challenge...
When Gov. Butch Otter’s 35-member Higher Education Task Force meets Friday at BSU’s Stueckle Sky Center, at least five of the eight member of Idaho’s state Board of Education – all eight are task force members – will be attending, which constitutes a quorum of…
If Lt. Gov. Brad Little wins his bid to be Idaho's next governor in 2018, he will be the only candidate to already have hands-on experience with the job. The two-term Republican has served as acting governor 373 times since taking over the second-in-command position in 2009, according to records requested by The Associated Press. Under the...
A debt-financing deal worth a half-billion dollars appears to cost Idaho hundreds of thousands more in interest and fees than similar offerings by other states, the Idaho Statesman reports, and a governor-appointed investment adviser wants a state board to review it.State Treasurer Ron Crane rejected the financial expert’s concerns as “erroneous...
From a new state Health & Welfare director to two new parole commissioners to an array of moves among the gubernatorial campaigns and lobbying groups, my Sunday column offers a roundup. Also, Sen. Crapo pushes to extend Secure Rural Schools funding, and 'dozens' turn out for Labrador-for-governor campaign stop in eastern Idaho...
Here's my full story from spokesman.com: By Betsy Z. Russell BOISE – The nation’s new secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior brought a message to Boise on Friday: Public lands must be retained, but they also must produce more through resource extraction. “Up front, I’m...
GOP gubernatorial hopeful Dr. Tommy Ahlquist today named Damond Watkins as his campaign chairman. Watkins, of Idaho Falls, is Idaho’s national committeeman for the Republican Party. Watkins said he generally doesn’t endorse in primary races, but in the 2018 race for Idaho governor – which…
The U.S. secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior signed a joint memorandum pledging interagency cooperation for the upcoming fire season, during a visit today to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise. Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, who joined Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue and Interior Secretary…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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