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Tackling infrastructure needs could get harder, as Congress considers President Donald Trump’s proposal to nearly entirely defund a federal program that funds low-interest grants for local governments to finance water infrastructure projects. #idpol #idleg
“It is agonizing and unthinkable to say goodbye to a patriot whose heart still had so much to give,” Trump said.
The CDC’s own data showed that COVID-19 vaccines reduced serious disease and emergency department visits among both children and adults.
Democrats blocked a seven-week stopgap spending bill that had passed the House just hours earlier, refusing to aid Republican leaders in getting the 60 votes needed to advance the legislation.
At least four states with Republican chief election officials have offered public data but not the sensitive information — driver’s license and partial Social Security numbers — sought by the Justice Department.
U.S. House Republicans passed a seven-week stopgap government funding bill Friday, sending the legislation to the Senate, which needs to approve it before Oct. 1 to avoid a shutdown.
COMMENTARY | The act aims to alleviate barriers by offering long-term policy solutions that strengthen our housing system for the future, writes guest columnist Cole Lancaster.
In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, the Idaho State Museum in Boise will host a community day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Sept. 27, featuring music, dancing, food and family-friendly activities.
The directive makes the budget holdbacks that Gov. Brad Little ordered for the current fiscal year permanent. #idleg #idpol
“But that explanation crumbled like a house of cards about a week later,” he wrote in his opinion. “There is no evidence before the Court that the parents of these children sought their return.”
Congress taking action to extend the enhanced tax credits before the end of September would lead 2026 premiums to decrease by 2.4% compared to previous projections, Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip L. Swagel wrote.
COMMENTARY | Our nonprofit leaders dedicate their lives to solving real-life problems, and don’t wait for the government to take action, writes guest columnist Chuck Malloy.
Environmental organizations in Idaho are looking for volunteers who want to help protect America’s public lands by cleaning up the Sawtooth National Recreation Area this month.
Usually, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office legally represents state government agencies. But in 2024, the Legislature and Gov. Brad Little approved a law to carve out the Idaho Department of Lands as an exception, directing the agency to have its own attorney that is independent of the AG. #idleg
Monarez testified that during a meeting in late August, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told her she needed to commit to approving upcoming recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices without reviewing any data or research.
A federal appeals court will consider whether Idaho’s recent voting laws unconstitutionally target voters based on age. #idpol #idleg
A coalition of public school advocates announced Wednesday that it’s filing a lawsuit seeking to block House Bill 93, Idaho’s first private school choice program. From our friends at @idahoednews.bsky.social: #idleg #idpol
COMMENTARY | Words are often the first step in normalizing division and paving the way to violence, write guest columnists Jess Westhoff and Christina Bruce-Bennion.
The Idaho State Board of Examiners voted unanimously Tuesday to give the Idaho State Department of Agriculture the authority to pay unexpected and unbudgeted expenses to fight quagga mussels after the invasive mussels were again detected in the Snake River near Twin Falls.
The 91-page stopgap spending bill also includes $30 million in additional funds to bolster safety and security for members of Congress following an increasingly violent year.
The suspect has been charged with multiple crimes, including one count of aggravated murder, which is a capital felony. If convicted, he could face the death penalty — a sentence that Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said he plans to pursue.
The finding is the sixth time this year the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has determined the Trump administration violated the Impoundment Control Act, which lays out a legal process for the president to request Congress cancel previously approved spending.
COMMENTARY | Idaho counties have established agreements with ICE to house detainees as they await their fates, writes guest columnist Liz Cartwright.
Now two months into the 2026 fiscal year, Idaho state revenues continue to lag behind state forecasts, but the state is no longer projecting to end the year with a budget deficit, according to a monthly budget report released last week by the Idaho Legislative Services Office. #idleg #idpol
A decline in international travel has hit border communities in the U.S. from New York to Washington. North Dakota estimated Canadian visitors spent about $14.4 million less in the first half of the year compared with last year, as the number of personal vehicles crossing the border declined by 30%.
The Women in Wildfire Boot Camp program was established in 2011 and continued for more than a decade before it was terminated in February because of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government.
An Idaho judge dismissed a whistleblower lawsuit against the Idaho Attorney General’s Office by a fired attorney, preventing the case from a jury trial. #idpol
Northwest states, tribes and environmental groups are moving to restart litigation against the federal government over its hydroelectric dam operations in the Columbia River Basin that have harmed endangered native fish species.
Officials with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture say the amount of the river in which quagga mussel larvae were detected this year, about 3.5 river miles, is 51% lower than last year’s range, which was 7.2 river miles.
COMMENTARY | It is our solemn duty to commemorate Flying Officer Audrey Allen Ayres and to honor his lasting legacy, writes guest columnist John Dekhane.
Louisiana had the highest poverty rate in 2024 (18.7%) followed by Mississippi (17.8%) and the District of Columbia (17.3%). The lowest rates were in New Hampshire (7.2%), Utah (8.3%), Vermont (9%), Maryland (9.1%) and New Jersey (9.2%).
A suspect in Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting is in custody, federal and state officials announced Friday morning.
In its budget request released this month, the department said the supplemental budget request is needed to pay providers on time — because Medicaid expenses are forecasted to go above the agency’s set budget for fiscal year 2026, which ends in June 2026. #idpol #idleg
"Peacemakers are needed in every corner of our society, especially in our politics,” the group wrote. “Our children are watching. They desperately need us to show them a better way.” #idpol
COMMENTARY | All of this is unbelievably bad news for public schools, which are heavily dependent on federal funding, writes guest columnist Rod Gramer. #idpol #idleg
Both organizations serve veterans and also have services for spouses of activity duty members and veterans. Those married to service members face even more unique challenges, with an unemployment rate around 22%, five times higher than the civilian population.
We are gathering Idaho officials' reaction to Kirk's death at the bottom of this story, reported by our fellow @statesnewsroom.com outlet, the @utahnewsdispatch.com. #idpol
COMMENTARY | Data suggests that about 100 Idaho children will be diagnosed with cancer this year – most likely leukemia or lymphoma, writes guest columnist Brian Whitlock.
The heightened focus on prop bets comes amid a rapid rise of legal sports gambling, which is operational in 38 states and the District of Columbia.
The public can submit input to shape Idaho’s application to the program online through a survey until Sept. 30.
The Rural Health Transformation Program, created in the tax and spending bill, could be an opportunity to grow residencies in rural Idaho. The fund will establish $50 billion that can go to states over the next five years. #idpol
The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led by Kentucky Republican James Comer, obtained the drawing via a subpoena for records in the government’s 2019 federal sex trafficking case against Epstein.
COMMENTARY | Earlier this year, the #idleg passed a law, despite record-breaking calls urging the governor to veto it, that uses $50 million in taxpayer dollars to subsidize private school tuition with little to no accountability for how those funds are used, writes guest columnist Luke Schroeder.
A watchdog report, by the Office of Performance Evaluations, recommended the Idaho Legislature consider updating state law “to include regulations on confidentiality of information gathered by coroners in a death investigation." #idpol #idleg
The Trump administration on Monday asked the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling and allow it to withhold $4 billion in foreign aid that was previously approved by Congress.
President Donald Trump’s aim to shutter the Education Department faces steep hurdles in Congress, where Republicans’ legislative efforts to abolish the agency remain stalled and appropriators have rejected many of his proposed cuts to education spending.
COMMENTARY | Today, the aviation industry needs new talent more than ever, writes guest columnist Sarina Larson.
COMMENTARY | Zoning code changes would effectively ban large-scale solar development on most land, even if it has never been in ag production, writes guest columnist David Garman.
In a letter to state employees on Friday, officials with the Idaho Office of Group Insurance said the change will cut the rising costs of health insurance premiums by $30 million to $50 million each year.
Just before Trump signed the order in the Oval Office late Friday afternoon, he and Pete Hegseth, the secretary in charge of the department, who stood next to Trump during the signing, said the renaming reflected their intention to return to a more aggressive mindset for the military.
COMMENTARY | Idahoans are already competing with one another in a literal health care abyss. Adding veterans who receive care through the VA would be catastrophic, writes guest columnist Raymond O’Dell.
More than a dozen employers — in government and private business — plan to attend the hiring event on Thursday.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is accepting public comments on recent pay rate cuts for health care providers who treat Medicaid patients.
As part of the major tax and spending bill passed by Congress in July, many refugees and asylum seekers in Idaho have immediately lost access to food assistance and will lose access to medical coverage from Medicaid next year. #idpol
The Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA, program is run independently of the state health agency and the courts, and the volunteer and staff CASAs are children’s advocates throughout their entire case.
Idaho state government agencies’ budget requests for the next fiscal year are now publicly available. #idleg #idpol
Idaho state government agencies’ budget requests for the next fiscal year are now publicly available. #idleg #idpol
The new homeless campus is envisioned to be a “comprehensive hub where individuals experiencing homelessness can access the support and treatment they need to move from homelessness to stability and long-term self-reliance,” the Utah Office of Homeless Services said.
Despite the assistance of armed troops in U.S. cities, federal immigration officials recorded fewer daily arrests in August than in July.
COMMENTARY | Livestreaming and archiving public meetings is the cheapest insurance policy for trust in government, writes guest columnist Chris Cargill. #idpol
A federal appeals court found there is no “invasion or predatory incursion” by a foreign government, blocking President Donald Trump from invoking the wartime law to quickly expel Venezuelan nationals without due process.
Nobody from the state gave fifth-generation Idaho rancher Nick Beard a heads up that state officials were considering auctioning off the state endowment rangeland his family has leased for grazing since the 1990s. #idpol
President Donald Trump’s move to send National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to quell immigration protests in Los Angeles this summer violated a federal law against military members conducting domestic law enforcement, a federal judge in California ruled early Tuesday.
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is implementing new fees at some of its day-use parks and raising fees for some of its busiest overnight camping parks.
Today, the descendants of the Northwestern Band the Shoshone Nation who survived the Bear River Massacre are working to reclaim the site as their home — and restore its natural ecosystem.
Republican leaders will need the support of several Democratic senators to approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1, since lawmakers have once again failed to complete the dozen full-year bills on time.
COMMENTARY | Eliminating mail-in voting would disenfranchise many qualified voters, including those living in rural areas, write guest columnists Kendal Shaber and Elinor Chehey. #idpol
“The openness of the people and the attendance growing signifies there is a lot of public support for our mission. I just think that on the corporate end, there was a disconnect politically this year,” Boise Pride Marketing Director Davis Hilton said.
The task force members questioned family law experts on ways to improve financial inequality in cases, boost enforcement of court ordered custody plans, and appeal or provide oversight over judges making these decisions. #idleg #idpol
COMMENTARY | That public lands should remain public is a sentiment shared across both Democratic and Republican parties, writes guest columnist Don Vernon. #idleg #idpol #publiclands
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, parent agency of the U.S. Forest Service, announced it is moving ahead with plans to rescind a rule that has restricted logging and construction on millions of acres of federal lands in the American West for more than two decades.
Native Americans have some of the lowest rates of homeownership in the country, and updating the law is the single most important way to boost home construction and homeownership among Native Americans, the housing leaders said.
Federal immigration officials in Washington state arrived on the scene of the largest wildfire in the state on Wednesday and arrested two firefighters who had been working to contain the blaze.
COMMENTARY | We need a fundamental change to how Wilderness is administered and safeguarded across the land, write guest columnists Kevin Proescholdt and George Nickas of @wildernesswatch.bsky.social. #publiclands
Nationally, unemployment was at 4.2% in July, the same as July 2024 but up from recent lows of 3.4% in April 2023, with the largest increases in Mississippi, Virginia and Oregon.
Sometimes, a parent or guardian can get on the phone, according to Idaho 988 Director Lee Flinn, “but in most situations, the minor hangs up because they tell us they feel like they can’t do that.” #idleg #idpol
More CDC reporting from our @statesnewsroom.com D.C. Bureau: Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy — chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee — posted on social media late Wednesday that the “high profile departures will require oversight by the HELP Committee.”
Among kindergarteners, nonmedical exemptions have increased each year since 2020, from 1.9% in the first year of the pandemic to 3.4% in the 2024-25 school year, the latest CDC data show. Exemptions increased in 36 states and Washington, D.C. Seventeen states reported exemption rates over 5%.
Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, sued President Donald Trump Thursday, calling his move to fire her an “unprecedented and illegal attempt” that jeopardizes the independence of the board.
COMMENTARY | Idaho Reading Indicator improvements show when communities, educators and families work together, our youngest students benefit, writes guest columnist Paula Kellerer.
“We the Public” is being filmed on a variety of public lands across the Western United States, including Idaho’s Bruneau Canyon and the Boundary Waters of Minnesota. #publiclands
The U.S. Senate voted along party lines to confirm Monarez to the post in late July, giving her just weeks in one of the nation’s top public health roles.
COMMENTARY | In Idaho, more than 9,000 K–12 students experienced homelessness during the 2023–24 school year, writes guest columnist Jordan Downey.
A major limiting factor in Idaho’s effort to expand medical education is the lack of available physicians willing to take on medical students in addition to their patient workload. The solution to this problem may likely require more money and designated time for those providers doing the training.
Idaho’s average hourly wage grew to $28.10 from 2023 to 2024, increasing by $1.35 per hour, the Idaho Department of Labor announced.
If approved as requested, the average residential customer’s bill would increase by about $21.66 each month, or about $260 per year.
President Donald Trump’s administration demanded Tuesday that dozens of states remove from sex education materials any references to a person’s gender departing from their sex assigned at birth, or lose federal funding.
The cuts — coupled with another Medicaid program set to end soon — could push some doctors’ offices to stop accepting Medicaid, one health leader says. State health officials say the cuts are meant to reduce rapidly rising Medicaid costs, but more cuts could come. #idleg #idpol
COMMENTARY | Risch creates a whole new category of ‘career politician’ in Idaho, writes guest columnist Larry LaRacco. #idpol
The free event is focused on foster, kinship and adoptive families, according to a press release from the state agencies hosting it, but all families are welcome.
One outside estimate indicates federal tax conformity could cost the state of Idaho another $167 million that is not calculated into the projected $80 million budget deficit. #idleg #idpol
The task force plans to review state laws to repeal, based on feedback from agencies required under a new state law. The panel also plans to look into hundreds of tips from the public on government inefficiencies. And Idaho’s DOGE panel might also explore cutting Medicaid expansion. #idleg #idpol
COMMENTARY | These are men and women who put their lives on the line to fight the most vicious of natural disasters, writes guest columnist Chuck Malloy.
Local and state officials throughout the country are keeping a close eye on the Trump administration’s review council, wary of the implications a loss in federal disaster response would have on local and state governments.
“Children in foster care deserve the ability to have the same opportunities and privileges afforded to every other child in our state, including receiving funds that they are federally entitled to for their own benefit, not the state’s,” Idaho Health and Welfare Director Alex Adams wrote.
Idaho has significantly reformed its public defense system since 2022. Now, the state Supreme Court will weigh whether the changes are enough to show the state is meeting its constitutional obligation to provide adequate representation or if it’s too soon to decide. #idleg #idpol
FBI agents raided the home and office of former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, a one-time adviser to President Donald Trump who has become a frequent critic of the president, to investigate Bolton’s handling of classified documents.
“I look forward to sharing this tradition with the good people of Cassia County so we can discuss what’s on their minds when it comes to good government and how we can better serve them,” Little said.
The U.S. Supreme Court set aside a lower court’s ruling, allowing the Trump administration to cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in National Institutes of Health grants that addressed diversity, equity and inclusion issues.
COMMENTARY | Public and political awareness of the fishes’ dire condition is not optional if the Snake River is to be restored, writes guest columnist Pat Ford.