A Trip To The Salmon River With A Local Fishermen: Steelhead Trout Declining In Idaho Continue Reading A Trip To The Salmon River With A Local Fisherman: Steelhead Trout Declining In IdahoRead More
Nez Perce Tribal Police Chief Harold Scott on April 21, 2021 in the Northwest Public Broadcasting studios. In this episode of Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella, Nez Perce Tribal police chief Harold Scott talks about his childhood in Lapwai, Idaho and how the racism and disrespect placed on him and his community lead him to… Read More
“Wildfire is presenting an imminent threat to life, property, and the environment, and we need all hands on deck,” Gov. Brad Little said in a statement. “I appreciate our firefighters and fire managers for working so hard under such challenging conditions, and I am grateful that our guardsmen are able to step in once again to support Idaho communities.” Read More
As education culture wars consumed the Statehouse this spring, the running joke was that Idaho educators were scrambling to Google to figure out what “critical race theory” is. Things aren’t much different now. So, think of this as summer school. Read More
The “Task Force to Examine Indoctrination in Idaho Education” reconvened Thursday — in a meeting marked by a rocky start, a tense middle and a slow end. Continue Reading Idaho Lt. Governor’s Ad-Hoc, Voluntary Read More
Idaho’s public colleges and universities have lost more than 5,000 students since the pandemic. t’s not worst-case scenario stuff. The 18-month dropoff was 8.7%, but administrators feared a 20% decrease. Continue Reading Read More
Idaho’s ever-growing budget surplus is trending toward a record-shattering and mind-boggling $800 million. The big reason: Individual income tax collections are ahead of forecasts by a whopping $452.2 million. We’ll know the exact surplus sometime after June 30, when the state closes the books on the 2020-21 budget year. Read More
A national expert on race and extremism said a recent spate of attacks on “critical race theory” in Idaho are part of a growing effort by conservative Republicans to exploit anxiety and engage voters in upcoming elections. Read More
Mainstream Idaho Republicans, who have dominated the state for three decades and would be considered far right in many states, have themselves become targets, including protests at lawmakers’ homes. They fear disinformation and intimidation is driving the changes in the rural Western state. Read More
For anyone who somehow missed last week’s news, the lieutenant governor made the most of her brief stint as acting governor. With Gov. Brad Little in Nashville, Tenn., for a Republican Governors Association conference, McGeachin issued an executive order rescinding local mask mandates. McGeachin said she wanted to keep kids from being forced to wear a mask — at least in Read More
Idaho Governor Overturns Mask Ban From His Own Lt. Governor, Calls It ‘Self-Serving Political Stunt’
Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Friday issued an executive order repealing a mask mandate prohibition put in place while he was out of the state by the lieutenant governor, describing her actions as a tyrannical abuse of power and an “irresponsible, self-serving political stunt.” Read More
The university will offer a three-year revenue guarantee to Alaska Airlines, under a contract that could bring back flights between Boise and Pullman, Wash. Under the agreement, approved by the State Board of Education Thursday, the flights could resume as early as Aug. 8. Read More
While acting as governor in Gov. Brad Little’s absence on Thursday, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin issued an executive order prohibiting mask mandates issued by the state or its “political subdivisions,” including public schools, counties, cities and public health districts. It also extends to state boards, commissions, departments and divisions. Read More
Wildlife advocates are pressing the Biden administration to revive federal protections for gray wolves across the Northern Rockies after Republican lawmakers in Idaho and Montana made it much easier to kill the predators. Read More
Five counties voted in favor of leaving Oregon in Tuesday elections, the latest push by a coalition that wants a large chunk of Oregon to join Idaho instead. That border shift is not likely to happen anytime soon. Read More
Ending months of speculation, Republican Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin officially entered the governor’s race Wednesday. McGeachin’s entry into the gubernatorial race sets up a potential showdown, and clash of ideologies, in the May 2022 GOP primary. Read More
A group of scientists urged the Biden administration Thursday to restore legal protections for gray wolves, saying their removal earlier this year was premature and that states are allowing too many of the animals to be killed. Continue Read More
The longest ever Idaho legislative session has been filled with unusual events and ended in uncharted ground shortly before midnight Wednesday. The Idaho Senate voted to officially adjourn while the House voted to recess up to Dec. 31. Read More
Two competing guns-in-schools bills will not get a hearing in the waning days of Idaho's 2021 legislative session. They've been in the Legislature for months, but the timing ran out following a shooting this week in Rigby, Idaho, where a sixth grade student shot two other students and a school staff member. Read More
Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed into law a measure that could lead to killing 90% of the state’s 1,500 wolves in a move that was backed by hunters and the state’s powerful ranching sector but heavily criticized by environmental advocates. Read More
Do transgender women and girls have a constitutional right to play on women's sports teams? That question will be argued before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday. Continue Reading Idaho’s Transgender Read More
The 2021 Idaho Legislature took its ugliest turn on its 108th day, when the House Ethics Committee weighed a sexual assault complaint against first-year Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger. Continue Reading Analysis: A Bad Week And A Rough Read More
Nearly 30 retired state, federal and tribal wildlife managers sent a letter Wednesday to Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little asking him to veto a bill backed by agricultural interests that could cut the state’s wolf population by 90%. Read More
Idaho Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger resigned from the Legislature Thursday. It came several hours after the House Ethics Committee recommended suspension and possible expulsion of the Republican lawmaker from Lewiston amid an investigation into a rape accusation from a 19-year-old staffer. Read More
The number of wolves in Washington state rose strongly last year, according to an annual report from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife released Friday. The rate of increase was more than double what Oregon reported earlier in the week for its wolf population in 2020. Read More
Voters will get the chance to decide whether lawmakers in the part-time Idaho Legislature will be able to call special sessions, a power currently limited to governors. Continue Reading Idaho Voters Will Read More
The Boise Police Department is investigating a rape allegation made against an Idaho lawmaker. A police spokeswoman confirmed Monday that the department has an open investigation into the allegations made by a legislative staffer against Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, a Republican from Lewiston. Read More
The state’s K-12 teacher salaries budget fell Tuesday on a 34-34 tie vote after more than an hour of volatile debate — ranging from anecdotes about good teachers and “bad actors” to accusations that educators are being forced to include critical race theory in their coursework. Stories from teacher-lawmakers on both sides of the issue focused on the content’s presence — or Read More
Idaho legislators gave a sympathetic ear Monday to an Oregon group that wants to redraw state lines so that conservative eastern and southern Oregon would become part of the expanded state of "Greater Idaho." A separate group formed by Washington state farmers is pursuing the same idea for eastern Washington. Read More
Legislation making it more difficult to get initiatives or referendums on ballots is heading to the governor, who has hinted of a possible veto. The House voted 51-18 on Wednesday to approve the measure backers said is needed because the current process favors urban voters. It passed the Senate 26-9 last month. Those numbers are enough to overcome a veto. Read More
Lawmakers convened for the first time in 18 days — after calling a sudden and historic recess in an attempt to slow a Statehouse coronavirus outbreak. The first sessions were brief: The House reconvened at about 12:05 p.m., and stayed on the floor for about 25 minutes. The Senate went into session at about 12:25 p.m., and was in session for just 10 minutes. Read More
An Idaho House panel on Tuesday approved legislation intended to give lawmakers veto power over federal government actions and federal court decisions. The House State Affairs Committee on a voice vote sent the bill to the full House for possible amendments after the bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Sage Dixon, said it needed several changes. Read More
While states across the U.S. have picked up a version of the bill this year, U.S. District Court Judge David Nye issued an injunction last summer putting Idaho’s law on hold while a lawsuit over the constitutionality of the law plays out. Read More
No one seems to know what will happen starting April 6, when legislators return to the Statehouse after an 18-day pandemic recess. Fitting, isn’t it? Shouldn’t an unprecedented session culminate in an unpredictable finish? Continue Read More
On Friday morning, the Idaho Legislature recessed until April 6, following a week in which at least six House members tested positive for coronavirus. “We need to emphasize that none of the things will be left undone, it just presses pause,” House Speaker Scott Bedke said Friday morning, minutes after the House voted to go on recess. Read More
The increasing number of lawmakers out sick with the coronavirus has legislative leaders in the conservative state worried they may not be able to finish business in a timely fashion. Continue Reading Idaho Read More
The Idaho House State Affairs Committee voted 10-2 along party lines with both Democratic representatives opposed to advance the measure that’s a reworked version of previous legislation that banned mask mandates at medical facilities. The new bill allows hospitals and other healthcare facilities to require masks. Read More
Residents of the Northwest will have to set their clocks ahead by an hour this weekend to move onto daylight saving time. The Oregon and Washington legislatures voted nearly two years ago to stay on daylight time year-round -- joined later by Idaho and British Columbia -- but still the biannual time change ritual and associated grumbling persists. Read More
This year, state legislators have introduced 35 bills restricting transgender girls and women — that is, girls and women who were not assigned as female at birth — from playing on girls' and women's sports teams, according to LGBTQ advocacy group Freedom for All Americans. That's up from 29 bills last year and only 2 in 2019. Read More
Idaho lawmakers fearing foreign participation in the Powerball lottery killed legislation on Wednesday that would have allowed the game with huge jackpots to continue in the state after a run of more than 30 years. Continue Read More
An Idaho House panel approved legislation Monday making it more difficult to get initiatives or referendums on ballots in what is widely seen as a rural vs. urban issue. Continue Reading Idaho Lawmakers Move Closer To Making It Read More
The timing of the Wisconsin hunt was bumped up following a lawsuit that raised concerns President Joe Biden’s administration would intervene to restore gray wolf protections. The group behind the suit has close links to Republican political circles including influential donors the Koch brothers and notable Trump loyalists — Kris Kobach, a former U.S. Senate candidate from Read More
Idaho House Bill 249 would require parents to sign permission slips for youth to learn about human sexuality. The bill passed the House of Representatives Friday, March 5, 2021 on a party-line vote of 56-12. It heads next to the Senate for consideration. Read More
A decision by Idaho lawmakers to reject a $6 million federal grant to improve early childhood education — and comments from one lawmaker who said mothers belong at home — raised the ire of women across the state. Continue Reading Idaho Read More
An Idaho Senate panel of lawmakers on Monday approved a new version of a constitutional amendment allowing the part-time Idaho Legislature to call itself into s3ession. But several Republicans in the super-majority joined Democrats in opposing the measure amid concerns the Legislature could become a fulltime operation. Read More
Lawmakers are angry that Republican Gov. Brad Little took some of those actions to slow the coronavirus. Those actions included a temporary lockdown starting in March when the virus overwhelmed some hospitals with patients and threatened to do so at others. Hospital workers were also getting sick and said they were in danger of running out of protective equipment. Read More
The University of Idaho’s teacher preparation program is among the nation’s best at maintaining high admissions standards while still establishing a racially diverse student body, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank says. Continue Read More
Legislation to make permanent changes in Idaho’s absentee ballot counting procedure passed the Senate on Thursday and is headed to the House. The state Senate voted 35-0 to approve the bill intended to speed absentee vote counting. It was used in the last general election and spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. Read More
The COVID-19 vaccines are here, but if it's your turn to get vaccinated, how are you supposed to sign up? The answers vary by place, so NPR created a tool to help you understand how things work in your state and connect you with local resources. And we're sharing guiding principles and advice for navigating the process below. Read More
Fishing and hunting license sales jumped in 2020 across the Pacific Northwest as more people flocked to outdoor activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Total license purchases rose even though part of last spring was crimped by stay-home orders and in some states by the suspension of non-resident permits. Read More
