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‘Remarkable ability to persevere’: Idaho unveils monument to women’s right to vote
Idaho was the fourth state in the country to grant women the right to vote, in 1896, and the first to do so by enshrining that right as an amendment to the state constitution. It is also the only state with a state seal that was designed by a woman. And now it’s one of […]
Report: Deaths among pregnant women in Idaho more than doubled in 2020
Idaho women who died from pregnancy-related problems doubled between 2019 and 2020, according to the latest Maternal Mortality Review Committee report published Friday by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. The review committee, which includes obstetricians, nurses, midwives, medical examiners and other professionals from across Idaho, identified 11 maternal deaths in 2020. That’s up […]
Clean energy advocates plan education day for Idaho legislators in January
A group of clean energy advocates from across the state have formed a new advisory council that plans to host an education day for the Idaho Legislature on Jan. 18, according to a press release. Idaho Energy Freedom is a group formed in September with a stated goal of educating Idahoans about the economic benefits […]
North Idaho Republican committee will host U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as keynote speaker
The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee announced U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, will be the keynote speaker for its Lincoln Day Dinner in February, one of the committee’s largest fundraising events. Since she was first elected in 2020, Greene has promoted antisemitic and white supremacist conspiracy theories, along with the QAnon conspiracy theory that […]
Former Idaho Democratic legislator dies from heart attack
Former state Rep. Hy Kloc, a Democrat who represented Boise in the Idaho Legislature from 2013 to 2018, died Tuesday night from a heart attack, according to an announcement from the Idaho House and Senate Democrats. He was 75. Kloc was born to Polish parents in Essen, Germany, in 1947 in a camp for people […]
Seven Idaho companies receive USDA loans to help expand services, create jobs
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Tuesday that the department has allocated $981 million for 242 projects to help create new and improved market opportunities and expanded essential services for rural communities and businesses across the country, according to a press release. Seven of those projects are located in Idaho. The funding will […]
New coalition seeks tax rebate stories from Idaho families to help craft legislation
Organizations working on a tax rebate proposal for the upcoming legislative session beginning Jan. 9 are asking Idaho families to submit their stories about how state tax rebates have helped them, according to a press release. The Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy has partnered with PODER of Idaho and several other community organizations to create […]
Idaho parents frustrated by Empowering Parents grant program delays
Boise resident Shannon Orr and her three children are exactly the type of people the Idaho Legislature intended to help through the Empowering Parents Grant Program. She has been homeschooling her children for nearly three years, her family’s income is below $60,000 and she needed more educational materials for her lesson plans. But nearly two […]
Idaho Secretary of State’s office seeks information to upgrade election management systems
The Idaho Secretary of State’s office is soliciting market information from interested vendors who offer software solutions for election management and campaign finance reporting, according to the office’s website. A request for information typically precedes a request for proposal, when vendors submit bids to secure a contract with the state to provide a product. The […]
Idaho DEQ awards more than $59 million to municipalities for water improvements
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality announced grant awards of more than $59 million from federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to improve 11 drinking water and wastewater systems across the state, according to a press release. The $59.1 million in construction grants are part of $300 million distributed through the State Revolving Loan Fund […]
New Idaho House representatives fill committee rosters leading up to session
The Idaho House of Representatives announced its full slate of committee assignments Friday morning, with many changes to committee chairmen and membership. Nearly half of the Idaho Legislature’s membership is new on the House side, making many of the committees almost unrecognizable from the previous legislative session. Speaker of the House Mike Moyle, R-Star, said […]
Idaho Democrats lose one of two seats on powerful budget-setting committee
In a historical departure, Idaho House Democrats will have half as many members on the Legislature’s powerful budget-setting committee in the 2023 legislative session, after Republican leadership cut the Democratic seats from two to one. The House announced its committee assignments during a short floor session Friday morning. The Appropriations committee, which is a joint […]