Wed., Oct. 18, 2017, 9:14 a.m.
Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney complimented legislative staffer Kristin Ford for her work to compile the various changes that lawmakers on a legislative work group and his office have suggested. He told the Legislature’s campaign finance and ethics work group this morning that the...
Wed., Oct. 18, 2017, 9 a.m.
As the Legislature’s campaign finance and ethics work group opens its day-long meeting today, it’s being presented with two alternative drafts for major changes in the state’s campaign finance reporting laws. One removes all limits on campaign contributions in Idaho, while also making other changes...
Tue., Oct. 17, 2017, 9:17 p.m.
The latest campaign finance reports in the 1st District congressional race, filed yesterday, show a race that’s shaping up, with an open seat up for grabs in 2018. Former state Sen. Russ Fulcher loaned his campaign $35,000 on Sept. 30, the final day of the...
Tue., Oct. 17, 2017, 8:13 p.m.
A former Idaho Fish and Game employee is charging that during the course of her employment she was consistently subject to sexual discrimination, a hostile work environment and retaliation, the Idaho Statesman reports. Danielle Dorsch filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, saying she was...
Tue., Oct. 17, 2017, 3:33 p.m.
Idaho has to be vigilant monitoring the federal government's creation of a new sage grouse conservation plan because of federal employees who worked on the previous plan that's too restrictive, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter said Tuesday. "You have to know and you have to realize that there are a lot of prior administration folks still in those bureaus...
Tue., Oct. 17, 2017, 1:16 p.m.
Former Idaho state Sen. John Andreason, R-Boise, who also was the longtime director of the Legislative Budget Office, died Monday night, the Idaho Statesman reports; he was 88. Andreason was the legislative budget director from 1971 to 1994, and represented West Boise’s District 15 in...
Tue., Oct. 17, 2017, 1:11 p.m.
The city of Idaho Falls is investigating allegations that a city council candidate failed to disclose an in-kind campaign contribution from his father. The Post Register reports Doyle Beck, the father of city council candidate Dan Beck, flew his helicopter with a sign saying "Dan Beck for City Council" onto the field of a high school football...
Tue., Oct. 17, 2017, 1:07 p.m.
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's guilty plea to charges of endangering comrades in Afghanistan has set up a dramatic sentencing hearing that could land him in prison for life. Bergdahl, who was captured and held by the Taliban for five years after leaving his remote post in Afghanistan in 2009, pleaded guilty Monday in North Carolina...
Tue., Oct. 17, 2017, 1:01 p.m.
This year marks the first in several years music and physical education are at all Bonneville Joint School District 93 elementary schools. The Post Register reports the district cut funding for the two programs at its elementary schools in 2011, when the state was reducing education funding due to the economic downturn. Voters...
Tue., Oct. 17, 2017, 12:52 p.m.
Idaho Democratic Party Chairman Bert Marley is speaking out against a move by a new PAC to persuade independents and Democrats in Idaho to register as Republicans so they can vote in the May GOP primary; the new PAC, formed by former state Rep. Kathy...
Tue., Oct. 17, 2017, 11:30 a.m.
Bogus Basin, Boise’s non-profit, community-owned ski resort, is planning to hire 500 employees for the upcoming winter season, and has scheduled a job fair this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at its Boise office, 2600 N. Bogus Basin Road. “We have a range...
Tue., Oct. 17, 2017, 9:56 a.m.
As a “#metoo” social media uprising mobilized thousands of women to say they, too, have been sexually harassed or assaulted, Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo today sent out his own message, with the hashtag “#MeTooEndsWithMe.” “For those who have experienced any form of sexual assault or...
Mon., Oct. 16, 2017, 4:01 p.m.
Before the LDS Church’s 158th temple is dedicated in Meridian Nov. 19, more than 200,000 people are expected to tour it, from its baptistry fashioned after descriptions of King Solomon’s temple to its cream-colored sealing rooms, where marriages are performed for a kneeling couple dressed in white under a sparkling crystal chandelier...
Mon., Oct. 16, 2017, 8:13 a.m.
The Attorney General's Office says a northern Idaho sheriff's office did not violate any laws when it concealed records to unsuccessfully hide an ongoing murder investigation. The Bonner County Daily Bee reports that the Idaho Press Club filed a public corruption complaint with the Attorney General's Office earlier this year after the newspaper...
Mon., Oct. 16, 2017, 8:08 a.m.
Idaho Transportation Board officials have approved more than $100 million to expand a major interstate corridor in southwestern Idaho. The Idaho Press-Tribune reports that the board approved the funding during a Thursday meeting. The money will be used to expand the Interstate 84 corridor from Nampa to Caldwell...
Mon., Oct. 16, 2017, 8:03 a.m.
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told a military judge on Monday that he's pleading guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. "I understand that leaving was against the law," Bergdahl said. "At the time, I had no intention of causing search and recovery operations," Bergdahl added, saying that now he does understand...
Sun., Oct. 15, 2017, 10:36 p.m.
As the buildup to the 2018 election begins to accelerate, Idaho's 30-year-old ethics laws are facing scrutiny as top candidates wrestle with how much of their finances they should disclose to voters. Idaho is one of just two states that don't require elected officeholders to disclose any of their personal financial information. This means the...
Sun., Oct. 15, 2017, 10:18 p.m.
In my Sunday column this week, I wrote about how Gov. Butch Otter passed over both the first and second choices of the District 33 GOP committee when he named a replacement for longtime Sen. Bart Davis, instead choosing property manager and RV salesman Tony...
Fri., Oct. 13, 2017, 1:45 p.m.
The Idaho Fish & Game Commission voted today to open a belated catch-and-keep season for steelhead on Sunday, but to reduce the traditional daily bag limit from three fish to two, amid other restrictions. Only hatchery fish less than 28 inches long may be kept;...
Fri., Oct. 13, 2017, 1:29 p.m.
The family of an Idaho rancher who was fatally shot by two deputies has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. Jack Yantis was killed two years ago after one of his bulls was hit by a car and deputies shot the animal. Yantis arrived with a rifle just as deputies decided to put down the animal. Authorities have said there was an altercation...
Fri., Oct. 13, 2017, 12:52 p.m.
Close the Gap Idaho, a broad coalition of health care stakeholders in Idaho, issued a statement today decrying President Trump’s announcement last night that he’ll cut off funding for cost-sharing reimbursements under the Affordable Care Act, and his Thursday executive order on health care. “While...
Fri., Oct. 13, 2017, 8:46 a.m.
Idaho's new U.S. Attorney Bart Davis says he believes a new offshoot of the street and prison gang Surenos is close to being eradicated after a series of indictments in state and federal court. During a press conference Thursday, Davis said five people believed to be members or associates of the Sureno Mob Trece gang were indicted in...
Fri., Oct. 13, 2017, 8:17 a.m.
President Trump’s executive order on health care is unlikely to have much impact on Idahoans, according to state Insurance Director Dean Cameron. “My initial read is that honestly, I am somewhat disappointed it didn’t go further,” Cameron said Thursday. “Idahoans are hurting because of the...
Thu., Oct. 12, 2017, 11:42 a.m.
Idaho Republican Party Chairman Jonathan Parker is calling it “alarming and disturbing” that a former GOP state representative has launched a PAC urging independents and Democrats to register as Republicans so they can vote in the closed GOP primary; former Rep. Kathy Skippen’s PAC is...
Thu., Oct. 12, 2017, 11:06 a.m.
The Idaho Transportation Department is refinancing the state’s GARVEE bonds for highway improvements for a second time, and says the state will save $13.1 million in interest costs as a result. The first time the GARVEE bond debt was refinanced to a lower interest rate,...
Short takes and breaking news from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.