INL scientist plans run for Congress

POCATELLO, Idaho – An eastern Idaho Democrat who works at the Idaho National Laboratory has announced plans to run for the U.S. Congress seat currently held by Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho.

Craig Cooper, 35, an oceanographer at INL and a former Indiana University professor, said he plans to focus on luring good jobs to the region, improving health care for working families and education.

“(Idaho State University) is the public university in southeast Idaho,” Cooper told about two dozen people Monday on the steps of the school’s Pond Student Union building. “ISU needs to lead Idaho into the next century. We need to start looking at the federal level at how we fund education.”

Simpson, a four-term Republican, has not yet announced his intentions for the 2006 election.