News
Board of Examiners sends $321,000 lawsuit bill to Idaho Legislature
This story was first published by Idaho Reports on Aug. 16, 2022. The Board of Examiners has approved a $321,224 payment to plaintiffs who sued the state over its process for changing gender markers on birth certificates. During its Tuesday meeting, the board sent the bill to the Legislature, rather than paying it immediately through […]
Idaho AG’s office takes responsibility for calculations error in Quality Education Act initiative
Officials with the Idaho Attorney General’s Office are taking responsibility for a typographical error in the inflation calculations mistakenly attributed to the Quality Education Act that will be on Idaho voters’ ballots in November. The inflation calculation error, which involved switching a numerator with a denominator, appeared to indicate that when inflation went up, the […]
With Oregon hospitals in crisis, state will seek ‘significant’ funds for stopgap measures
The hospital crisis in Oregon is playing out in emergency rooms around the state. Patients in pain wait in lobbies for hours. Some end up on gurneys in hallways while waiting for a room. After they’re treated and ready to leave, they can end up stuck in the hospital for days because rehabilitation and other […]
Judge partially grants Idaho Legislature’s motion to intervene in DOJ abortion law case
A judge partially granted the Idaho Legislature’s motion to intervene in the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against the state of Idaho over its abortion trigger law, allowing the Legislature to submit a brief and present arguments at a hearing later this month. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill issued the decision on Saturday, two days […]
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 […]
Farm bill season arrives: What’s the outlook for 2023?
WASHINGTON — Over the course of the next year, lawmakers on the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture committees will draft a new federal farm bill that will shape food, farm, conservation and nutrition programs across the country for the next five years. The omnibus law that began 90 years ago as crop supports now has […]
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 Supreme Court allows trigger law banning nearly all abortions to take effect
Idaho’s trigger law banning abortion in nearly all cases will go into effect on Aug. 25, and the heartbeat law allowing civil lawsuits against medical providers will go into effect immediately following an opinion from the Idaho Supreme Court on Friday evening. The opinion did not make a determination regarding the law banning abortion after […]
U.S. House Democrats send sweeping climate, health and tax legislation to Biden
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Friday cleared Democrats’ long-sought climate, health care and tax package, sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature. The roughly $750 billion measure is much smaller than the $2 trillion reconciliation package the House originally sent to the Senate in November. The final product left out dozens of […]
Search warrant shows Trump under investigation for possible Espionage Act violations
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday unsealed the warrant that allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to search former President Donald Trump’s property at Mar-a-Lago in Florida earlier this week, revealing he’s under investigation for possibly violating the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice. The seven-page document, which includes a brief description of everything […]
Idaho Legislature moves to intervene in DOJ abortion lawsuit
The Idaho Legislature filed a response brief in Idaho’s District Court on Tuesday stating it should be a named party in the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice because the Idaho Attorney General’s office will not offer a “full, zealous, thorough-going defense” of the state’s abortion trigger law. Kriss Bivens Cloyd, a spokesperson […]