In their official holiday greeting card this year, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter and First Lady Lori Otter feature “A Cowboy’s Christmas Prayer,” the work by New Mexico cowboy poet Squire Omar Barker, who was known for signing his letters and books with his brand, “The…
Believe it or not, there’s an organization that puts together a list called the “Naughty Nine,” honoring “the year’s naughtiest Americans.” And this year, Idaho’s senior senator, Larry Craig, topped the list at No. 1. Craig even beat out Britney Spears (No. 3). The list…
OK, I have to admit, when I saw this image on Huckleberries Online last week – showing a rather odd slogan being displayed on the graduation program for the POST academy – I thought, like several of the commenters, that it must be a hoax,…
Former Idaho Congressman Richard Stallings has resigned as chairman of the Idaho Democratic Party, and the party’s central committee will hold an election to replace him at its next meeting on Jan. 4. The party said Stallings made the decision “after weeks of wrestling with…
Idaho’s State Board of Education this afternoon voted 5-1 to amend its $22 million contract with a private testing contractor to eliminate funding for 9th grade ISAT tests, and voted unanimously to waive its rule requiring ISAT testing for 9th graders for this spring only.…
Idaho’s State Board of Education has called a special meeting for tomorrow afternoon to formally cancel the 9th grade Idaho Standards Achievement Test. The board earlier announced it was cancelling the test, which 3rd through 10th graders now must take at least twice a year,…
Boise’s local ski resort, Bogus Basin, announced today that it’ll open the No. 5 Bitterroot chair as well as the front-side lifts tomorrow, it’ll start night skiing on Friday night and it’ll open the No. 6 Pine Creek chair on Saturday. That’s the high-speed quad…
It’s been raining in Boise and snowing in the mountains, and now comes the news that Boise skiers have been waiting for weeks to hear: Bogus Basin will open (finally!) on Thursday. The resort will have its front side open from 10 a.m. to 4:30…
Bob Moore, pollster for Idaho Gov. Butch Otter’s campaign and head of Portland-based Moore Information, says his firm ran a recent poll just on its own, tacking questions about Otter’s job approval onto another survey his company was conducting in Idaho in late November. The…
I couldn’t help but wonder if a double meaning was intended in this opening line from an ITD press release: “Keep your holiday season merry, just don’t overdue it.” Was it urging people to renew their car registrations, perhaps? Or their driver’s licenses? Return their…
Idaho congressional candidate Larry Grant was endorsed today by the United Transportation Union, the largest railroad operating union in North America. Grant is in a three-way race for the Democratic nomination for the congressional seat now held by Republican Bill Sali. Local UTU business representative…
U.S. Senate candidate Larry LaRocco, a former two-term Idaho congressman, released some favorable poll results today, offering a sunny view of his Democratic bid for the Senate seat now held by Larry Craig and his chances against current GOP Lt. Gov. Jim Risch. Though Risch…
PETA, the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, has given a surprising first-place ranking to Idaho, a state that few would consider an animal-rights state given its distinction as one of just two where dog fighting still isn’t a felony. But in this case, it’s…
Does it matter if the State Board of Education violated the Idaho Open Meeting Law when it decided to end ISAT testing for thousands of 9th graders all across the state? Of course it does. The open meeting law is one of the most important…
Two Idaho prison inmates who are being housed in a private lockup in Texas assaulted a guard last night, prompting 10 to 15 other Idaho offenders to refuse to return to their cells, according to the GEO Group Inc., the company that operates the prison.…
In case you were wondering about the “North Idaho Governor’s Ball” that took place at the Coeur d’Alene Resort last week, it was not a state event, but instead was a fundraiser for Gov. Butch Otter’s campaign fund, modeled after similar events he held when…
Idaho's new state tourism director says she's seen a "seismic shift" in the perception of the state overseas. "People are starting to place us in the mountains, which is where we belong, versus we grow potatoes and we're somewhere in the Midwest, one of those…
Young victim Shasta Groene won’t have to testify in federal court against Joseph Duncan, under an agreement reached by both sides in the case. “Her testimony will be presented by statements she made to law enforcement officers in July 2005,” federal prosecutors wrote in documents…
Idaho’s next legislative session still will be cramped in its temporary quarters, but lawmakers have decided to add some relief – in the form of eight flushing porta-potties. Otherwise, the session would have pitted lawmakers, lobbyists, citizens, reporters, visiting schoolchildren, staffers and others in competition…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter sat down for an interview with AP reporter John Miller yesterday, and said he’s ready to ask for higher fees for car owners to fund needed road improvements, now that the ITD has supplied him with detail on how it can…
This morning’s Idaho Land Board meeting was punctuated by something unusual – a big round of applause at the end, complete with hoots and cheers. The reason: The Land Board had just voted unanimously to freeze its rents for state-owned cabin sites at Payette Lake…
Joseph Duncan, his voice low and sometimes cracking slightly, said “guilty” 10 times in response to questions from U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge about each of the 10 federal charges against him, three of which carry the death penalty. First, the charges were read, and…
I only took one day off work – just one – to head to a family gathering in California on Friday. But I returned on Sunday afternoon to find that a big pile of news broke as soon as I left town, including a major…
Idaho Congressman Bill Sali proposed 16 amendments to the mining law reform bill that recently passed the House, ranging from one to strike a section doing away with “patenting” of mining claims, to one to “sunset” the bill in two years if it results in…
Here’s a link to my full story in today’s Spokesman-Review on the court hearing yesterday in federal court in which a group of Idaho school districts is suing five Idaho Supreme Court justices. The districts say the justices violated the U.S. Constitution by declaring Idaho’s…
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