When I found out I’d be in the press pool for President Joe Biden’s visit to Boise last week, I, of course, prepared some questions for the president. I didn’t get to ask them. But that’s not unusual; I’ve covered several presidential visits to Idaho, and members of the local press typically…
Joshua Holweger will never forget the two teenage boys crying over the dead body of their 47-year-old father. This situation is not unique, writes Idaho Press reporter Caroyln Komatsoulis. COVID-19 cases are surging in Idaho and so are deaths, with over 150 reported in September alone. The f…
A Caldwell school and community are reeling following the death of an admired administrator, writes Idaho Press reporter Madison Guernsey. Javier Castaneda, the principal and superintendent of Heritage Community Charter School, died Wednesday as an “unexpected result” of falling ill with COV…
The Idaho Department of Corrections saw a spike in applications after it boosted pay and offered hiring and retention bonuses to correctional officers, writes Idaho Press reporter Ryan Suppe. Now the department is looking to the Idaho Legislature to assist in its ongoing retention and hiring…
Twenty years ago, a tech millionaire with space travel ambitions approached an engineer from a small North Idaho town to craft an engine for a privately funded rocket launch, writes Idaho Press reporter Ryan Suppe. “At the time, conventional wisdom was countries do that, big companies...
Bells rang throughout the city of Boise on Friday at 2 p.m. in honor of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, which is celebrated annually on Sept. 17. Friday also kicked off Constitution Week, which runs Sept. 17-23, writes Idaho Press reporter Jordan Unger. Together, the day and week are m…
St. Luke's and Saint Alphonsus are temporarily extending the compliance deadline for staff COVID-19 vaccination requirements in response to the activation of crisis standards of care.
While most of the nation has seen growth taper off during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Idaho has experienced the opposite phenomenon, writes Idaho Press reporter Jordan Unger. Between 2019 and 2020 the Gem State had the fastest-growing population in the country, according to data from the …
Boise State University students must provide proof of partial or full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to be admitted into Saturday's home football game against Oklahoma State, write Idaho Press reporters B.J. Rains and Madison Guernsey. School president Dr. Marlene Tromp announced th…
Treefort 9, scheduled for Sept. 22-26, will proceed as planned with the addition of extra COVID-19 safety measures, including limited attendance, writes Boise Weekly reporter Tracy Bringhurst. With that said, the music festival held in downtown Boise announced Friday morning that tickets to …
Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, and the top GOP leaders of the Idaho House and Senate have released a new letter sent to President Joe Biden threatening legal action over the president's newly announced vaccine requirements, which could affect 100 million Americans.…
It’s unusual, if not unheard of, for a newspaper publisher to publish a letter to the community on the front page, but it happened today in the Idaho Press. “I wrestled with this one,” said Idaho Press Publisher Matt Davison. “I wanted to try to inspire some civility. … .I was hoping it woul…
Gov. Brad Little and Boise Mayor Lauren McLean proclaimed Hispanic Heritage Month in the state and the city of Boise respectively, as Idaho's celebrations kicked off with awards, dancing and more at the state Capitol this week, writes Idaho Press reporter Carolyn Komatsoulis.
Large events permitted by the city of Boise or utilizing city-owned property will be required to mandate patrons prove they’ve received a COVID-19 vaccine or recently tested negative for the coronavirus, Mayor Lauren McLean announced Tuesday. Idaho Press reporter Ryan Suppe writes that event…
Idaho will welcome around 400 Afghan refugees starting in fiscal year 2022, writes Idaho Press reporter Carolyn Komatsoulils, according to International Rescue Committee in Boise Executive Director Julianne Donnelly Tzul.
While I was off yesterday, there was big news: The state of Idaho expanded crisis standards of care throughout the state early Thursday, including in the Treasure Valley. Health systems are straining under increased demand from people needing care for COVID-19 as well as those needing care f…
Idaho's citizen redistricting commission is holding public hearings across the Treasure Valley this week to gather public input on how new legislative and congressional district lines should be drawn; the hearings kicked off today in Caldwell and Nampa and continue Thursday...
Just 15 of the 70 members of the Idaho House gathered in their chamber on Wednesday, in what some far-right legislators billed as an attempt to gather enough lawmakers to convene the House to oppose vaccine mandates.
An attempt by far-right lawmakers Wednesday to form a quorum at the Statehouse that they say would have allowed them to force the Legislature to reconvene and pass laws to prohibit vaccine mandates fizzled when only 16 of the 70 House members showed up, writes AP reporter Keith Ridler. Twelve Republicans held a rally on the Statehouse steps in front of about 150 vocal supporters before they were joined by four others on the House floor...
Gov. Brad Little, Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder and House Speaker Scott Bedke have issued a joint statement on President Joe Biden’s plan for nationwide COVID-19 vaccine requirements on large employers: "As elected leaders in Idaho state government, we are in agreement that government should stay out of decisions involving employers and their employees as much as possible...
Dr. Ryan Cole, the newly appointed Central District Health board member, spoke to a full Lincoln Auditorium at the state Capitol this afternoon, writes Idaho Press reporter Ryan Suppe. Cole, who was recently the target of complaints to Idaho’s Board of Medicine over his unorthodox views on C…
Several of the 15 House GOP lawmakers who gathered in the House chamber today took turns speaking to the group, presenting their ideas for proposed new laws against vaccine mandates or on related issues. They ranged from Rep. Tammy Nichols’ proposal to revive her failed HB 63, a personal bil…
The 12 House members and one senator who rallied on the Statehouse steps at noon have now made their way to the House chamber, where they're visiting and readying their proposals for legislation against vaccine requirements. Among those who weren't at the rally but are now on the floor is Re…
Thirteen Idaho GOP lawmakers, joined by Tyler Kelly from the Idaho GOP, gathered on the Statehouse steps at noon today to rally against vaccine mandates. The group said they wanted to reconvene the Legislature to pass legislation against vaccine mandates, but the Legislature currently is rec…
Idaho's public health officials say crisis standards of care are imminent for the state's most populated region as hospitals continue to be overrun with unvaccinated coronavirus patients, the AP reports. The southwestern and southern Idaho regions that include Boise and Twin Falls may get official authorization to begin rationing health care...
For the past half-century, Ada County, the state’s largest population center, has been split between the state’s two congressional districts, diminishing its residents’ influence in any individual congressional race. But what if that were to change?
A proposed meeting Wednesday by far-right Idaho House members to form a quorum at the Statehouse and force the Legislature to reconvene to prohibit vaccine mandates is grandstanding and illegitimate and has no chance of succeeding, key lawmakers said. The AP reports that far-right lawmakers say they will hold the meeting anyway...
Northern Idaho has a long and deep streak of anti-government activism that has confounded attempts to battle a COVID-19 outbreak overwhelming hospitals in the deeply conservative region, writes AP reporter Nick Geranios. A deadly 1992 standoff with federal agents near the Canadian border helped spark an expansion of radical right-wing groups across the country...
President Joe Biden came to Boise on Monday for a briefing on wildfires at the National Interagency Fire Center, the first presidential visit to Idaho since then-President Barack Obama visited Boise State University in 2015.
Here are reactions from some Idaho political leaders and candidates to the president’s visit on Monday, from House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel to GOP candidate for governor Ed Humphreys to Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder...
Gov. Brad Little has issued the following statement on President Joe Biden's visit to the National Interagency Fire Center today: “Two-thirds of Idaho is public land managed by the federal government, and it is imperative we keep lines of communication open with our federal partners – right …
At a roundtable briefing with federal and state fire officials and Idaho Gov. Brad Little in Boise today, President Joe Biden said climate change is driving the nation's catastrophic wildfires. “It’s not a Democrat thing, it’s not a Republican thing. It’s a weather thing," he declared. "It’s…
Air Force 1 has just landed in Boise; it is taxing up for President Joe Biden's visit to the National Interagency Fire Center to discuss wildfires... We will have full coverage later today.
About two dozen NIFC officials, tribal representatives, and prominent Idaho Democrats are gathered at the National Interagency Fire Center awaiting President Joe Biden's arrival. "We're just going to be here to welcome the president and hear him say a few words," said state Sen. Janie Ward-E…
Several hundred anti-Biden protesters, many with Trump flags and "Don't Tread on Me" flags, have lined the streets leading to the National Interagency Fire Center this morning ahead of the the president's visit, according to Idaho Press reporter Carolyn Komatsoulis, who is on the scene. Said…
President Joe Biden will make his first official trip to Idaho today, attending a wildfire briefing at the National Interagency Fire Center as part of a western swing that also will include stops in Sacramento, Calif.; an aerial tour of the Caldor Fire in the Sierra Nevada mountains; a campa…
In my Sunday column this week, I write about how Idaho’s state budget surplus has grown by even more, and depending on how you count it, is either nearly at or well over $1 billion. Also in this week's column, Idaho's grim COVID news continues to worsen; and redistricting hearings kick off t…
Since the U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued an official health advisory Aug. 26 against using ivermectin, an anti-parasite drug, to prevent or treat COVID-19, Idaho has seen warnings from officials, but no new rules about prescribing or using the drug.
A day after President Joe Biden announced COVID-19 vaccine or testing requirements for employers with more than 100 workers, Idaho business leaders were uncertain how to respond, writes Idaho Press reporter Ryan Suppe, and many are concerned about how the mandates will be implemented.
The impacts of drought are already here, and experts say Idaho is facing down a future with less water, write Idaho Press reporters Erin Banks Rusby and Carolyn Komatsoulis. Already, the effect of the drought and warm summer weather is being felt across the region’s agricultural sector.
