Author

Audrey Dutton, senior investigative reporter, joined the Idaho Capital Sun after 10 years at the Idaho Statesman. Her favorite topics to cover include health care, business, consumer protection issues and white collar crime. Dutton hails from Twin Falls. She attended college at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and received a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York City. Before coming home to Idaho, Dutton worked as a journalist in Minnesota, New York, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Dutton's work has earned dozens of state, regional and national awards for investigative reporting, health care and business reporting, data visualization and more.
Why did Idaho licensing boards sanction one person for alleged sex offenses, but not the other?
By: Audrey Dutton - October 3, 2022
Editor’s note: This story includes descriptions of alleged sex crimes. A longtime orthopedic surgeon in Boise was back in the operating room last week, despite criminal charges that allege he sexually abused patients. A chiropractor in Boise, who faces criminal charges of sex offenses against his patients, had his license immediately suspended. Why the different […]
Former Idaho attorney general to give presentation critical race theory in Twin Falls
By: Audrey Dutton - October 3, 2022
Jim Jones, a former Idaho attorney general and former Idaho Supreme Court chief justice, will give a presentation Wednesday in Twin Falls on “Defining and Understanding Critical Race Theory.” The event runs from 7-8:30 p.m. Oct. 5 at the First Presbyterian Church, 209 Fifth Ave. N. in Twin Falls. It is hosted by the Magic […]
‘We can’t wait any longer’: Idaho health care group wants action on climate change
By: Audrey Dutton - September 29, 2022
Ethan Sims and his two daughters went to Washington, D.C., last week. The girls, ages 13 and 14, spent the afternoon telling aides for Idaho’s all-Republican congressional delegation how climate change affects their lives. One example: their coaches are forced to cancel practices because of unsafe air quality. Sims is an emergency room physician for […]
They’re women. They’re LDS. And they’re speaking their minds on politics.
By: Audrey Dutton - September 28, 2022
Women from across Idaho joined a Zoom call on a Wednesday evening in mid-September. There were teachers. A school board member. One woman who is running for office, and one who ran in 2018. They gathered virtually from their corners of the state to talk about public schools — and how they, as members of […]
As wildfires become common, Idaho’s smoke season becomes a public health hazard
By: Audrey Dutton and Clark Corbin - September 23, 2022
Ethan Sims and Wesley Pidcock know what to expect when fire season arrives. As doctors who specialize in helping people breathe, they see what happens when wildfire smoke spreads into communities throughout Idaho. Every time there is a spike in the air quality index — a rating for hazardous air — there is a spike […]
More than 200,000 student debtors in Idaho to benefit from loan forgiveness, White House says
By: Audrey Dutton - September 22, 2022
Almost all Idahoans with federal student loans will qualify for some student loan forgiveness under a Biden administration program rolling out this fall, according to data released Tuesday by the White House. An Idaho Capital Sun analysis of federal loan data shows that the forgiveness program also would wipe out the federal student debt of […]
Long COVID is costing Idaho thousands of full-time workers, data suggest
By: Audrey Dutton - September 12, 2022
An estimated 7.8% to 10.5% of all Idaho adults were suffering from the aftereffects of COVID-19 infections this summer, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Those estimates are based on Idahoans’ self-reported experiences with COVID-19 and “long COVID,” in a new round of surveys the bureau rolled out between June and August. […]
Multiple Boise Pride Festival sponsors withdraw participation after criticism from Idaho GOP
By: Clark Corbin and Audrey Dutton - September 8, 2022
At least five companies or organizations sponsoring this weekend’s Boise Pride Festival have withdrawn their participation from the event as Idaho Republican Party Chairwoman Dorothy Moon called on supporters to contact the festival’s sponsors and remove their financial support of those sponsors. Zions Bank, Idaho Power, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Idaho Central […]
Here’s where you can get the omicron COVID-19 boosters in Idaho
By: Audrey Dutton - September 7, 2022
For Idahoans who have received their initial round of COVID-19 vaccines, the omicron-targeting booster is here. Where can you get it? The same places you usually get your annual flu shot. Major pharmacy chains such as Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid and Albertsons pharmacies are booking appointments and administering the booster dose. Same-day appointments are available. […]
Bundy, Rodriguez fail to show up for court hearing — again — in St. Luke’s lawsuit
By: Audrey Dutton - September 6, 2022
Ammon Bundy and Diego Rodriguez seemed to be testing the limits of the judicial system Tuesday, as they continued to ignore a judge’s order and didn’t show up in court for the second time in a lawsuit brought by St. Luke’s Health System. Gesturing to an empty defendant’s bench Tuesday afternoon, an attorney for St. […]
Idaho brought hundreds of Afghans to safety. Will they be allowed to stay?
By: Audrey Dutton - August 25, 2022
Toddlers and young children skipped through the hallways of the Hispanic Cultural Center of Idaho in Nampa the evening of Aug. 18. They came and went from a packed banquet room, where their parents and families shared dinner, fresh baklava and tea, and talked about their former home, Afghanistan, and their current home, Idaho. Most […]
It’s not just growth. Idaho is also losing residents and changing fast.
By: Audrey Dutton - August 22, 2022
He kept hearing and reading the same claim: Californians were moving to Idaho. Some claimed the newcomers were changing the state and bringing cash to buy homes for astronomical prices. But University of Idaho professor Jaap Vos wanted to know if it was true. So, he looked for the data. He settled on a mix […]