In brief: Idaho Rep. Shannon McMillan files for re-election

BOISE – Idaho Rep. Shannon McMillan, R-Silverton, filed Tuesday to run for re-election, one day after she requested a House ethics investigation into her own conduct under pressure from House leadership.

McMillan asked the House Ethics Committee to investigate her actions when she voted against a bill that ends special protections from debt collectors for elected officials, without revealing that she had personally benefited from that law. Court records show McMillan faces numerous court judgments from debt collectors.

McMillan declined to comment after filing her candidacy papers.

McMillan won re-election in 2012 with 64.9 percent of the vote, defeating Democratic challenger Casey Drews, who had 35.1 percent. But in McMillan’s home county, Shoshone County, she actually lost to the Democratic challenger, who took 2,627 votes to McMillan’s 2,214.

CdA man gets 25 years in sex abuse case

A Coeur d’Alene man will spend at least 25 years in prison for sexually abusing two children.

Justin Shawn Wheeler, 32, was sentenced Monday in Kootenai County District Court. First District Judge Fred Gibler cited Wheeler’s “ongoing predatory conduct” in handing down a sentence that could keep the man behind bars for the rest of his life.

Wheeler pleaded guilty last October to two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct and sexual battery of a minor under 16.

Coeur d’Alene police arrested Wheeler last May on suspicion of lewd conduct with at least five minors. The children ranged in age from 5 to 12.

Gibler described Wheeler as a sexual predator who victimized the children and their families. Several family members testified at the sentencing hearing.

“The sentence guarantees that Mr. Wheeler will not be released from prison until 2039, and only then if the Bureau of Corrections determines he can be released on terms that will adequately protect children,” prosecutor Jed Whitaker said.