NW Today: Idaho State Board of Education approves tuition hikes

BOISE — The Idaho State Board of Education has approved tuition increases. The board on Wednesday approved an increase of 4 percent at the University of Idaho and Boise State University. Idaho State University will see a 3.5 percent increase and Lewis-Clark State College a 2 percent increase. The increases mean full-time students at the University of Idaho will pay $6,784 a year and Boise State students will pay $6,640. Idaho State University tuition rises to $6,566, while tuition at Lewis-Clark State College jumps to $5,900. Boise State had asked for a 6.1 percent increase, while UI had asked for a 4.7 increase. But the board said it wanted to hold increases to no more than 4 percent.

Wash. man spots his stolen truck, gives chase

MOSES LAKE — The Grant County sheriff says a man who spotted his own stolen truck and started following it helped officers recover two stolen vehicles and make two arrests. Sheriff Tom Jones said the man called 911 on Tuesday to say he was following a truck stolen on Monday. After several miles, the two people in the truck stopped, took a motorcycle out of the truck bed and drove off across a farm field. The chase continued, across fields and over irrigation canal roads. Soon the truck owner was joined by sheriff’s deputies, Moses Lake police and Warden police. Surrounded by law enforcement officers, the couple crashed the motorcycle in a field and were arrested. They were unhurt. The sheriff says both the motorcycle and the truck had been stolen.

Flowers blooming for Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — Most flower fields near Mount Vernon will be in full bloom this weekend as the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival continues through the month of April. Visitors are drawn to the agricultural valley north of Seattle every year to view acres of brightly colored blooms that stretch in neat rows toward picturesque farmhouses. Bulbs and blooms are available for sale. Various community activities coincide with the festival, including the annual “Tulip Pedal” bike ride this Saturday in nearby La Conner, which offers riders distances of 20, 40, and 60 miles.

Washington auditor questions $17M spent for bridge

PORTLAND — The Washington auditor’s office questions $17 million of the $188 million the state spent on plans to build a new Interstate 5 bridge across the Columbia River before the project was aborted. The audit says most of the money that went to about 30 subcontractors could have been acceptable but they did not submit proper overhead and profit documentation to the general contractor. The Oregonian reports the Washington Legislature called for the audit. Washington backed out of the $3.5 billion Columbia River Crossing project last year. Oregon attempted to keep it going on its own, but the project died when the legislative session ended in March.

University in Bellingham too white, says president

BELLINGHAM — Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard says he’s being deliberately provocative when he says the university in Bellingham will have failed if it’s as white in the decades ahead as it is today. He calls the lack of diversity on college campuses a national crisis. KOMO reports Shepard uses the word “white” to provoke attention. He says most of the email and calls he receives on the issue support diversity but some critics use hate language and racial epithets.