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News > Education

Many rural Idaho counties don’t have private schools. What vouchers would mean for them

UPDATED: Sun., March 26, 2023

Challis, the seat and largest city in Custer County, is home to about 1,000 people, two public schools and no private schools. If a Challis resident wanted to attend a private school, the closest option is in Sun Valley — 119 miles away.

News > Idaho

Idaho House introduces late-session medical cannabis bill

Sat., March 25, 2023

A new bill designed to provide for a “tightly regulated system” of medical cannabis was introduced Friday morning in the Idaho House of Representatives.

News > Pacific NW

Gov. Brad Little signs bill to let Idaho execute inmates by firing squad

UPDATED: Sun., March 26, 2023

Idaho could begin executing death row inmates by firing squad as early as this summer after Gov. Brad Little joined a wave of Republican support to use the method when lethal injection drugs are unavailable. Little signed House Bill 186 on Friday, tasking the Idaho Department of Correction with creating policies to implement the new law, which goes into effect in July.

News > Idaho

With Medicaid, K-12 budgets still on docket, Idaho legislative session to continue next week

UPDATED: Fri., March 24, 2023

Republican legislative leaders missed their nonbinding target to wrap up Idaho’s 2023 legislative session on Friday.

News > Idaho

Mandatory porn filters fail in Idaho Senate, presidential primaries bill passes

UPDATED: Fri., March 24, 2023

Although the legislators would like to adjourn and a number of bills remain to be heard and voted on, senators spent over an hour discussing a bill that would require mobile devices activated in Idaho to have a content filter installed.

News > Nation/World

McMorris Rodgers leads grilling of TikTok CEO as lawmakers call for data privacy law

UPDATED: Fri., March 24, 2023

WASHINGTON – In a marathon hearing on Thursday, the CEO of TikTok struggled to assuage lawmakers’ concerns that the massively popular video app’s ties to the Chinese government make it a threat to U.S. national security.

News > Idaho

Drug-sniffing dog put his paws on a man’s car. Idaho Supreme Court says he trespassed

UPDATED: Wed., March 22, 2023

The Idaho Supreme Court has vacated a Mountain Home man’s conviction for felony drug possession and delivery after it ruled that a police drug-sniffing dog trespassed and conducted an illegal search by putting its paws on his vehicle, prompting the search that led to his arrest. The court issued its decision Monday, with three of the five justices in agreement and two dissenting. The case ...

News > Nation/World

Biden says he’ll work with Simpson and others to help salmon in Northwest; McMorris Rodgers highlights president’s river mix-up

UPDATED: Wed., March 22, 2023

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Tuesday promised to work with leaders in the Northwest, including a prominent Republican, to protect salmon in the Columbia River Basin.

News > Education

Coeur d’Alene school board will try to pass levy again as superintendent warns up to five campuses will shutter if it fails a second time

Tue., March 21, 2023

During a special meeting Monday, the Coeur d'Alene School Board of Trustees unanimously voted to place a two-year levy on the May 16 ballot. If voters approve it, the tax will collect $25 million annually and replace a $20 million levy passed in 2021.

News > Pacific NW

Idaho bill to execute inmates by firing squad clears Legislature, heads to governor

UPDATED: Wed., March 22, 2023

Idaho is poised to become the fifth U.S. state to approve prisoner executions by firing squad after the proposed law cleared the Legislature on Monday on its way to the governor’s desk.

News > Pacific NW

Babe Vote, March for Our Lives Idaho file suit over law eliminating student IDs for voting

Sat., March 18, 2023

Two different organizations representing young people in Idaho announced they have filed lawsuits challenging a new law that Gov. Brad Little recently signed that eliminates student IDs as an acceptable form of identification for voting.

News > Idaho

Bill criminalizing gender care for trans youth clears hurdle in Idaho Legislature

UPDATED: Fri., March 17, 2023

A few Idaho state senators from both major political parties said in a Friday committee hearing that they can’t support an existing bill to criminalize all gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth – but the committee’s Republicans were open to supporting an amended version.

News > Pacific NW

New report shows Idaho’s shortage of direct care workers is worse than national average

UPDATED: Fri., March 17, 2023

A new report released to the Idaho Legislature on Thursday by the Office of Performance Evaluations found the state needs at least 3,000 more direct care workers to serve older and disabled Idahoans who rely on those professionals to remain in their homes.

News > Pacific NW

Nonprofits seek relief from Idaho Attorney General Labrador’s ‘fishing expedition’

UPDATED: Fri., March 17, 2023

Last year, the Marsing School District applied for a federal grant to help fund summer school and preschool programs. The rural Treasure Valley district, which serves fewer than 1,000 students, received about $135,000. “It was always our interpretation that we qualified,” Marsing Superintendent Norm Stewart told the Idaho Statesman by phone. That’s why Stewart was surprised this month when the ...

News > Idaho

Lewis-Clark State College removes artwork about abortion, citing a state law

UPDATED: Mon., March 13, 2023

Six works in a Lewis-Clark exhibition about health care were perceived to run afoul of a law that prohibits the use of state funds to “promote abortion” or “counsel in favor of abortion.”

News > Nation/World

Northwest lawmakers will play key roles in bipartisan rail safety push after Ohio derailment

Sun., March 12, 2023

WASHINGTON – Northwest lawmakers are set to play key roles in a bipartisan effort to improve railroad safety in the wake of a high-profile derailment that spewed toxic chemicals in Ohio.

News > Pacific NW

JFAC approves $32 million in emergency rental assistance funding for Idaho

UPDATED: Fri., March 10, 2023

The Idaho Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee signed off on a $32 million supplemental funding request for emergency rental assistance on Friday after children’s advocacy groups spent weeks advocating for the funding.

News > Pacific NW

Idaho Senate votes to eliminate use of student IDs for voting

UPDATED: Fri., March 10, 2023

The Republican-controlled Idaho Senate voted Thursday night to eliminate student IDs as an acceptable form of identification to vote in Idaho elections.

News > Pacific NW

Dems call budget ‘roadmap for stronger America’, Republicans say ‘spending binge must stop’

UPDATED: Thu., March 9, 2023

U.S. President Joe Biden’s newly announced budget plan drew criticism from Northwest Republican lawmakers and praise from local Democrats on Thursday.

News > Pacific NW

Idaho House passes drag show, abortion trafficking bills

UPDATED: Wed., March 8, 2023

BOISE – The Idaho House of Representatives on Tuesday passed drag show and abortion trafficking bills, moving the legislation ahead of several budget bills on the calendar.

Featured Stories

Idaho House introduces late-session medical cannabis bill

Latest Stories

Many rural Idaho counties don’t have private schools. What vouchers would mean for them

Idaho House introduces late-session medical cannabis bill

Gov. Brad Little signs bill to let Idaho execute inmates by firing squad

With Medicaid, K-12 budgets still on docket, Idaho legislative session to continue next week

Mandatory porn filters fail in Idaho Senate, presidential primaries bill passes

McMorris Rodgers leads grilling of TikTok CEO as lawmakers call for data privacy law

Drug-sniffing dog put his paws on a man’s car. Idaho Supreme Court says he trespassed

Biden says he’ll work with Simpson and others to help salmon in Northwest; McMorris Rodgers highlights president’s river mix-up

Coeur d’Alene school board will try to pass levy again as superintendent warns up to five campuses will shutter if it fails a second time

Idaho bill to execute inmates by firing squad clears Legislature, heads to governor

Babe Vote, March for Our Lives Idaho file suit over law eliminating student IDs for voting

Bill criminalizing gender care for trans youth clears hurdle in Idaho Legislature

New report shows Idaho’s shortage of direct care workers is worse than national average

Nonprofits seek relief from Idaho Attorney General Labrador’s ‘fishing expedition’

Lewis-Clark State College removes artwork about abortion, citing a state law

Northwest lawmakers will play key roles in bipartisan rail safety push after Ohio derailment

JFAC approves $32 million in emergency rental assistance funding for Idaho

Idaho Senate votes to eliminate use of student IDs for voting

Dems call budget ‘roadmap for stronger America’, Republicans say ‘spending binge must stop’

Idaho House passes drag show, abortion trafficking bills

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