On the turbulent border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, an Idaho soldier who's serving on a multi-national security force now has a new Spuddy Buddy figure, a box of Idaho candy and a Senate medallion, after his home-state senator came by on an international tour. Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, the first Idaho senator in nearly three decades to serve on the Senate foreign relations committee and Senate intelligence committee, recently returned from a six-nation tour through the Middle East, which included meetings with the heads of state of Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Dubai and Afghanistan. Along the way, he met with Idaho troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Sinai Peninsula, and handed out "Idaho trinkets" he'd brought along for them. He was surprised to find an Idahoan, Sgt. Samuel Manifold of Grangeville, among the 650 U.S. troops serving on the force keeping peace on the Israel-Egypt border.

Risch, along with three other U.S. senators, went on the trip on behalf of the Senate and the State Department. "In Afghanistan, we met with President Karzai, but we also met with the opposition at the request of the State Department," he said, to demonstrate that the United States is neutral in the Afghan elections. Risch, who also serves on the Energy and Natural Resources committee, said, "What happens around the world affects every Idahoan."