Commentary

transgender flag illustration

Idaho’s House Bill 71 would make it harder for parents to give children the best chance to thrive

BY: and - February 28, 2023

Being a parent is hard. Everyone can agree on that. Every day we, as health care providers, bear witness to parents dealing with really hard things, trying to do the best they can for their kids. Everyone wants their kids to be happy, to contribute meaningfully to their family and community, and to thrive. That’s […]

Transgender Flag

Idaho legislators are weaponizing government against transgender kids and their doctors

BY: - February 23, 2023

Idaho’s legislative culture warriors are at it again, weaponizing the government against families with transgender kids and criminalizing their doctors. House Bill 71, which passed the House of Representatives on Valentine’s Day, now goes to the Senate. If it is enacted into law, it might result in a few suicide attempts by stigmatized transgender kids […]

Sunrise at Yellowstone Lake

First geological map of Yellowstone National Park stands test of time

BY: - February 22, 2023

The volcanic character of Yellowstone has long been known. An indigenous map drawn on a bison pelt indicating a volcano on the Yellowstone River was described by the governor of Louisiana Territory in an 1805 letter to Thomas Jefferson. The first formal geological studies of the region, however, were not undertaken until the 1870s. In 1871, […]

Michigan State University students

What we owe our children after the horror at Michigan State

BY: - February 21, 2023

Michigan State University’s sprawling campus has been home to thousands, like my daughter, during some of the most exciting and demanding years of their lives. It can feel like just about everyone in the state has a connection to the school in one way or another. And so, there are countless personal stories about the […]

door to the chambers of the Idaho House of Representatives

Idaho House votes in favor of sticking its head in the sand on OPE issue

BY: - February 16, 2023

The Idaho Legislature took a bold step to improve the efficiency of state government in 1994. Tired of being blindsided by poorly performing programs, the Legislature established an independent, nonpolitical Office of Performance Evaluations to evaluate the effectiveness of governmental operations. The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee, with bipartisan membership, directs the work of OPE. It […]

Japanese-American signs up for military service in Idaho Falls

Teaching all history is important

BY: - February 14, 2023

 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is discouraging teaching Black history in state high school classrooms. Why? DeSantis said it “pushes a political agenda” which lacks educational standards. He is also proposing banning state universities from teaching diversity and inclusion theories. What they are really saying is the work of Black Americans – or any minority group […]

What an Idaho school funding lawsuit might look like

BY: - February 13, 2023

It is not inevitable that the Idaho Legislature will invite a school funding lawsuit, but legislators appear at the present time to be heading toward provoking legal action. Three factors will play into a decision as to whether or not to sue the state for violating provisions of the Idaho Constitution: (1) whether the Legislature […]

Healthcare worker giving support and love to a patient

I came to provide care for complicated pregnancies; I’m leaving because of Idaho’s abortion bans

BY: - February 10, 2023

A couple suffers the loss of their unborn baby and are sent to me for help. In the clinic room the emotional pain is palpable. As a maternal-fetal medicine physician I’m here to help them through this unimaginable circumstance. At the end of our time together they’re hopeful for another child someday. They tell me […]

Ian Tyson performs at Stagecoach in California

Farewell to Ian Tyson, the finest chronicler, in song, of the North American West

BY: - February 9, 2023

Ian Tyson died Dec. 29, age 89, at his ranch near Longview, Alberta. I think he is the finest chronicler, in song, of the North American West.       Mr. Tyson learned guitar in a hospital – his ankle got between a rodeo bronc’s hoof and hard ground — and started out in the late `50s in […]

Wendy and Mark Pratt from Blackfoot, Idaho

Carbon sequestration in Idaho’s rangelands: An introduction to good stewardship of our landscape

BY: - February 8, 2023

BLACKFOOT — Blackfoot rancher Mark Pratt digs a hole in a mountain meadow to check on the soil and look at the roots of plants. It’s been a wet spring, so the meadow is quite green and brimming with life. Pratt and his wife Wendy have been testing the soil in regular intervals to check […]

Lava Ridge Wind Project map

Southern Idaho’s Lava Ridge Wind Project deserves your mental energy

BY: - February 7, 2023

As an Idaho based energy attorney representing consumers, and small renewable energy developers for the last 40 years, I have, as the cliché goes, seen it all (or at least a lot of “it”). What I have learned over the last four decades is that energy development in Idaho, when done right, benefits all of […]

Idaho Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke at the Inauguration

Idaho Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke: ‘I will not misuse the office’

BY: - February 4, 2023

A lieutenant governor strolling in to talk with the governor or chief of staff is hardly a shocking development – unless you consider how life was before former House Speaker Scott Bedke took the job a few weeks ago. He provides a marked contrast from his predecessor, Janice McGeachin, who spent much of her term […]