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Challis awarded $3 million loan from Idaho DEQ to rebuild water system
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality awarded a $3 million low-interest loan to Challis in Custer County to fund the construction of a new well, well house, booster station, transmission line and to perform leak detection on waterlines, according to a Department of Environmental Quality press release. Challis qualified for a disadvantaged loan, with payment […]
Idaho Department of Lands sells 10 Priest Lake lots for $24.6 million
The Idaho Department of Lands announced on Aug. 16 that the state sold 10 endowment-owned lakefront lots on the shores of Priest Lake for almost $24.6 million during a public auction that allowed for remote bidding, according to a Department of Lands press release. The price of the lots added up to $14 million over […]
Exploding population boom in Idaho is affecting domestic water supply
As more people migrate to Idaho, counties like Ada and Kootenai are seeing the effects of the rising population on the areas’ already diminishing water sources. Whether water is coming from groundwater sources like aquifers or surface water sources like rivers and reservoirs, local officials say Idaho’s water is being used faster than it can […]
Nearly $17.8 million granted to two Idaho transportation improvement projects
A total of nearly $17.8 million was granted to two transportation improvement projects in Idaho through President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law. The law invested $1.66 billion in grants toward low and no emission public transportation across the nation, according to the Federal Transit Administration. The majority of the funding for Idaho was granted to […]
Central Idaho’s Mackay Dam is an ‘accident waiting to happen,’ officials say
The over 100-year-old Mackay Dam in Idaho’s Custer County needs repairs and poses a risk to the town of Mackay just downstream and the Idaho National Laboratory about 30 miles further, according to the Idaho Department of Water Resources and the Environmental Defense Institute, an Idaho nonprofit focused on nuclear energy issues. Mackay Reservoir, owned […]
Over 600,000 seedlings planted in Idaho’s Packer John State Forest
After receiving nearly $300,000 from a grant through the Arbor Day Foundation, the Idaho Department of Lands was able to plant 610,300 new trees over 2,000 acres in the Packer John State Forest in Valley County. Years of insect infestations and drought had already damaged the forest, but the ruined lumber was sold for salvage […]
Fire wardens limit number of burn permits as Idaho faces dangerous fire conditions
Rising temperatures over the past few weeks have placed all of Idaho in high or very high fire danger conditions, according to an Idaho Department of Lands press release. Now, fire wardens across the state are limiting state burn permits through the department, which are being issued until Oct. 20 this year, according to the […]
Idaho’s lumber industry is more consolidated than ever, and making billions in sales
In Idaho’s nearly 150 years of history with the lumber industry, the trade has transformed from a wide scattering of communities built and centered around logging and mills, to the more consolidated forestry seen today. After the forests around the Great Lakes were depleted in the early 1900s, there were two places for the timber […]
Scott Bedke named president of National Conference of State Legislatures
Idaho House Speaker Scott Bedke was named the president of the National Conference of State Legislatures on Wednesday at the Legislative Summit in Denver, Colorado. He is the 49th president of the national conference, a bipartisan group that provides research and opportunities for policymakers. Before becoming president-elect in November, Bedke had served as the conference’s […]
Minidoka director Kurt Ikeda wins Idaho Humanity Council’s highest honor
The Idaho Humanities Council awarded Kurt Ikeda the 2021 Outstanding Achievement in Humanities Award, the organization’s highest honor, awarded annually to recognize achievements that encourage a better understanding of the humanities. Ikeda serves as the Minidoka National Historic Site’s director of education and interpretation and previously worked as an education specialist for southern Idaho parks. […]
New book on democracy, media, free expression published by ISU professor
Idaho State University associate professor Zac Gershberg has co-authored a book on democracy, partisan politics and misinformation titled “The Paradox of Democracy: Free Speech, Open Media, and Perilous Persuasion.” Gershberg’s collaboration with Vox writer Sean Illing examines the impact of modern communication technology on public dialogue and considers the relationship between free expression and democracy. […]
Over 200 Idaho firefighters sent across the West this wildfire season
As of Friday, the Idaho Department of Lands and Timber Protective Association have sent 221 employees to other Western states to assist fighting fires in the field, according to a press release from IDL. Firefighters have been deployed to New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Alaska, California, Washington, Arizona, Montana and Wyoming. They’re also assisting the U.S. […]