Mendive Pushes Fed Land Takeover

In a sendoff gathering hosted by the Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls chambers of commerce, Rep. Ron Mendive, R-Coeur d’Alene, said his main priority is the transfer of federal lands to the state. “We need to find a way to get off the federal dole,” he said. “For every dollar we send the federal government, Idaho gets $1.37 back.” He said it’s simply a redistribution of wealth, and he doesn’t support that. Mendive said the Legislature decided in 2013 to study the possibility of the state taking back its federal lands. “I grew up in Kellogg and I spent a lot of time in the woods hunting and fishing,” he said. “We grew up thinking these are public lands and it didn’t matter who owned them because they were being mined and logged up until the 1990s”/ Jeff Selle , Coeur d’Alene Press. More here. (Press photo by Shawn Gust: Rep. Ron Mendive, left, and Rep. Eric Redman mingle during a social or of an Idaho Legislative send-off Thursday)