Since the violent overrun of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 that left seven people dead, Greg Casey has been thinking a lot about what went wrong. Casey, now retired and living in Star, was the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms and chair of the three-member Capitol Police Board overseeing security at the …

Idaho Fish & Game has issued a fish salvage order below the Magic Reservoir after the current drought forced the canal company to halt irrigation months earlier than usual, writes Post Register reporter Jerry Painter. The Magic Dam was shut off Thursday because of low snowpack and low wa…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $2.4 million in American Rescue Plan Funds for Emergency Housing Vouchers in Idaho, Idaho Press reporter Carolyn Koumatsoulis reports. In Idaho, the awards are going to the Housing Authority of the City of Pocatello (aka Housing Al…

Josh Haynes had a simple explanation for what he was doing below the surface of the Silver Mountain ski hill on an April afternoon, at the dead end of one of the countless tunnels that comprise the historic and, perhaps, future Bunker Hill Mine, writes Spokesman-Review reporter Ted McDermott…

Two large parcels of state-owned agricultural land in Caldwell sold together for $36.6 million during an auction on Friday afternoon, writes Idaho Press reporter Erin Banks Rusby. Endurance Holdings, LLC, a Meridian-based company, offered the winning bid, according to Emily Mueller, an admin…

Treasure Valley residents in the market for a car may have noticed fewer new models available on lots, writes idaho Press reporter Ryan Suppe. That’s because a global shortage of semiconductors is forcing manufacturers to keep mostly finished cars on factory floors.

Idaho's newest federal magistrate judge, Raymond Patricco Jr., was sworn in during a brief ceremony Friday morning at the federal courthouse in Boise, the AP reports. A more formal swearing-in ceremony with “pomp and circumstance” will be held at a later date, Chief District Judge David Nye said, but Friday's event allowed Patricco to get right to work presiding...

Median home prices in the Treasure Valley increased again in May, with the Ada County's rising above $500,000 for the first time, according to data from the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service. Idaho Press reporter Erin Banks Rusby writes that in Ada County, the median price for a single-…

Interfaith Sanctuary is pausing its plans for a controversial new homeless shelter on State Street, writes Idaho Press reporter Ryan Suppe. In a video posted Thursday, Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said Interfaith Sanctuary leaders agreed to pause their city permitting application at the mayor’s…

The Boise School District is responding to a public records request filed by the co-chair of the Lieutenant Governor's Indoctrination Task Force,  reports CBS2 News, but if she wants to see everything she requested, it will cost more than $150,000, the district said in its response on Thursd…

Idaho spent about $3 million on college coursework and scholarships for students who didn’t end up pursuing college, writes Idaho Education News reporter Kevin Richert. And that was just in one year, according to legislative researchers. The $3 million is just a fraction of what Idaho spends…

Idaho was awarded $30.7 million in federal coronavirus relief funds Wednesday to address health disparities during the coronavirus pandemic. The money awarded Wednesday is part of the $2.25 billion in supplementary funding previous approved by Congress. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the money is intended to improve COVID-19 testing and contact tracing for at-risk populations, improve state and local health department services and address health disparities related to the pandemic, The Lewiston Tribune reported...

Republicans in Congress are alarmed by the leak of confidential IRS data to the investigative news organization ProPublica, the AP reports, enabling it to reveal that famous billionaires including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg paid little in U.S. income tax at times. A senior IRS official said Thursday that a federal criminal investigation into the leak has been requested. Taking a detour from the debate over President Joe Biden’s tax overhaul plan, the GOP lawmakers are demanding...

Idaho started doubling camping fees for out-of-staters at its five most popular state parks today, as required by a new law passed by the Legislature this year, but it will be at least a year before we see if it helps Idahoans get spots in the popular parks — because all five, including Pond…

Idaho’s state tax revenues in May not only beat forecasts by more than $580 million — they marked the biggest revenue month ever for the state. That means Idaho’s economy is officially booming as the state emerges from the pandemic. The state’s projected year-end surplus when the fiscal year…

U.S. House Democrats’ highway funding bill is poised to include roughly three out of five transportation projects submitted by members, as legislators vie for their share of federal dollars through the resurrected congressional earmarks process, the Idaho Capital Sun reports today. The 1,473…

A suction-dredge gold miner who operated in an Idaho river containing federally protected salmon and steelhead without required permits is facing what could be substantial fines, the AP reports. A U.S. District Court judge last week ruled Shannon Poe of Concord, California, violated the Clean Water Act on the South Fork of the Clearwater River when he suction dredge-mined 42 days in 2014 and 2015. Suction dredge miners use...

Idaho’s few COVID-19 cases currently being reported are almost all in unvaccinated people, writes Post Register reporter Kyle Pfannenstiel, and in the first six months of 2021, the rate of seniors being hospitalized for COVID has drastically declined, sparing some of those most vulnerable to…

In a rare bipartisan vote following weeks of haggling and delays, on Tuesday the Senate passed a roughly $250 billion bill aimed at boosting the U.S. technology sector's ability to compete with China, the Spokesman-Review reports, a priority shared by the Northwest's Democratic and Republican senators alike. The 68-32 vote Tuesday evening came nearly a month after...

On Tuesday, the Idaho Innocence Project at Boise State University and volunteer attorneys from Stoel Rives secured a certificate of innocence for Charles Fain, a man who spent 18 years on Idaho’s death row. Fain was wrongfully convicted for the rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl in Nampa, …

Idaho's four public college and university presidents won't be getting raises this year, but that isn't because the State Board of Education is displeased with their performances, writes Lewiston Tribune reporter Bill Spence. During a short board meeting Thursday, board President Kurt Liebich said he was impressed with how the four higher education institutions responded during last year's pandemic. "While many institutions across the country weren't open, ours were," Liebich said. "That was due to the tremendous leadership from the four presidents, as well as their entire leadership teams and faculty...

A Republican lawmaker in North Idaho is in trouble with some county GOP leaders in his district in a sign of growing tension in conservative Idaho politics, writes Spokesman-Review reporter Laurel Demkovich. The alleged transgression, according to the Bonner County Republican Central Committee? Siding with the incumbent Republican governor...

Ada County Commissioner Ryan Davidson’s March conversation with Magistrate Judge David Manweiler, in which Davidson asked the judge to reverse his decision to issue a bench warrant for anti-government activist Ammon Bundy, did not violate Idaho laws, according to an investigation by the Idah…

The Boise City Council wants to resurrect a passenger railroad route that once connected Boise to Salt Lake City, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, writes Idaho Press reporter Ryan Suppe. Amtrak’s Pioneer line, discontinued in 1997, carried passengers from Salt Lake City through southern Idaho,…

The dream world for Idaho’s ascendant far right is one where state lawmakers run a sovereign nation-state free of federal oversight. It would be a place where they can outlaw all abortions, dictate what is taught in schools, have complete say over public health rules and gun laws, and take control of federal public lands, which make up more than 60% of the state, writes AP reporter Keith Ridler, and many believe they’ve never been closer to achieving their goals in what is already one of the most conservative states in the country. Mainstream Idaho Republicans, who have dominated the state for three decades and would be considered far right in many states, have themselves become targets...

Mike and Tammy Johnston of Dayton, Minnesota, a suburb near Minneapolis, have spent much of their cross-country road trip searching the internet for the lowest gas prices, which have steadily increased along the way, writes Idaho Press reporter Ryan Suppe. “All of the sudden we’re now buried…

As the White House and Republican senators make a final push to strike a deal on a bipartisan infrastructure package, two veteran Northwest senators are at the center of what may be the biggest sticking point: How to pay for more than $1 trillion of investments in the nation's roads, bridges and more, The Spokesman-Review reports. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, lead their respective parties on the influential Senate Finance Committee, which is tasked with tax and revenue issues. In interviews with The Spokesman-Review, they laid out dramatically different visions...

Two large parcels of state-owned agricultural land in Caldwell are going on the auction block Friday, and are expected to draw competitive bidding for potential residential development and sell for more than $6 million.

Two bats have tested positive for rabies in Payette and Bonneville counties, the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare reports, marking the first two rabid bats detected this season. While most bats do not carry rabies, an average of 15 rabid bats are confirmed in Idaho each year; no area…

There’s been quite a bit of news in the past week while I’ve been off, from politics to public records to parks and more; here’s a catch-up on some of the highlights, starting with today (Sunday) and working backward in time back to last Saturday: ISBA rep leaves indoctrination task force, decrying ‘partisan campaigning’: Idaho School Boards Association President-elect Jason Knopp withdrew from the “Task Force to Examine Indoctrination in Idaho Education” Friday, a week after the committee’s first meeting, writes Idaho Education News reporter Blake Jones. The Melba School Board trustee objected to the task force’s composition and the way it carried out its inaugural meeting last week. “Some of the comments made by committee members towards the end of the last meeting made it clear that the lack of education professionals...

My mom and I had a great week of sharing Boise together; I'm so glad we were able to do it! Some of our highlights: Yoga in the Park with Marisa of Sage Yoga; swimming at the Y and at my friend Marni's community pool; walks in Kathryn Albertson, Esther Simplot and Julia Davis parks; lunch on…

I’ll be off for the next week, as my mom is coming to visit – her first break from full-time caregiving for my 96-year-old stepdad in two years. She's tried to schedule a couple of other trips, but COVID got in the way. She needs a break, and so do I. I’m looking forward to sharing Boise wit…

This year’s Idaho legislative session, the longest in state history, was marked by dissension and bitter debates over hot-button issues, yet it yielded some startlingly major accomplishments — including the biggest transportation infrastructure investment in state history — along with a slew…

What a week of political news this has been in Idaho! It’s well worth catching this week’s “Idaho Reports” on Idaho Public Television, where host Melissa Davlin wraps up the events of the week and Logan Finney interviews Rep. Lauren Necochea, D-Boise, on taxes and policy. On the pundits pane…

Gov. Brad Little has reversed Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin’s executive order banning mask requirements by Idaho local governments, state agencies or schools, calling it “an irresponsible, self-serving political stunt” and an “abuse of power.” Little had never issued a statewide mask mandate dur…

In honor of Memorial Day, the New York-based Tunnel to Towers Foundation has paid off the mortgages on the homes of 20 military families, including the homes of Idaho National Guardsmen and Chief Warrant Officers Jesse Anderson, Matthew Peltzer, and George Laubhan Jr., who were killed in a F…

In March, when Boise State University announced it was suspending dozens of diversity courses after receiving a complaint that a professor shamed a student for being white, state Rep. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg, posted on Facebook that the move amounted to an admission of “systemic Social Justice/C…

As the holiday weekend — and unofficial start of summer — approaches, officials are warning outdoor recreators of fire dangers. Memorial Day weekend will come with an uptick in visitors on public land, writes Idaho Press reporter Paul Schwedelson, and this summer, a more dangerous fire seaso…

Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin’s “Task Force to Examine Indoctrination in Idaho Education Based on Critical Race Theory, Socialism, Communism and Marxism” is holding a five-hour meeting in the Capitol’s Lincoln Auditorium this afternoon; you can watch live here. The meeting, which runs from…