Mike Ferguson, chief economist for Gov. Butch Otter, shared some of the most recent data on states' recovery from the recession with the Legislature's Joint Economic Outlook committee just now. Though Idaho was hit early and hard by the current recession, it appears to have hit bottom, he said. "Things do look as though they've turned a corner," Ferguson said. "Now, it'll take time ... but the data is what it is, and it's showing these positive indications. ... Idaho has swung into positive territory, according to this measure. ... This is that indication that we may well have seen a bottom."

Some evidence of economic improvement has been seen already, he said, in the high-tech and energy sectors. "There are some positive signs," Ferguson said. "I wouldn't start popping champagne corks necessarily, but this is a really, really important development."

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