Rep. Mark Patterson’s House seat will be vacant when Idaho’s legislative session opens next week, Idaho Statesman columnist Dan Popkey reports, because of Patterson’s decision to make his resignation effective at midnight on Jan. 5. Patterson, R-Boise, was urged to resign by his GOP legislative…
Idaho has reported its first flu death of the season, an elderly south-central Idaho resident. “Our condolences go out to the family of the person who died from complications of the flu,” said Dr. Leslie Tengelsen, deputy state epidemiologist with the Idaho Department of Health…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: KETCHUM, Idaho (AP) — An 8-year-old boy survived a 38-foot fall from an Idaho chairlift with no visible injuries after ski patrollers moved a lift-tower pad beneath him to break the force of the impact. KTVB-TV (http://tinyurl.com/mjhxrla…
The FAA has announced the six states it’s chosen to be test sites for drone technology, and Idaho’s not among them, nor is Washington. Instead, the six states are Alaska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Texas and Virginia. Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise, who sponsored legislation…
Freshman Idaho Rep. Brandon Hixon, R-Caldwell, has defaulted on his home mortgage and hasn’t paid a house payment since June of 2012, four months before he was elected to the Legislature. The news, first reported by the Caldwell Guardian and detailed in a Sunday article…
There’s not usually a lot of news over the holidays, but there was some last week while I was gone. Here’s a quick roundup: Wolf derby: A federal judge on Friday declined to block a “Predator Derby” scheduled over the weekend in Salmon targeting wolves…
Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d'Alene, who had been considering running for Idaho Secretary of State - in part because there's currently no one from North Idaho among the state's top elected officials - has decided against a run. Here's his statement: After careful consideration over…
Skis whispering through untouched snow, fog drifting in and out, snow falling lightly but persistently, the delighted whoop of a happy skier – that was me, actually. Bogus Basin did something today that granted a holiday wish for lots of area skiers and snowboarders: It…
Bethine Church, Idaho Democratic icon and widow of the late Idaho Sen. Frank Church, died Saturday at age 90; this campaign photo shows Frank and Bethine Church in 1962. Her son, Chase, posted this announcement on Facebook: My mother Jean Bethine Church 2-19-1923 to 12-21-2013…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Rep. Mark Patterson said he'd resign by the end of this week in the wake of revelations that he'd pleaded guilty to a sexual assault charge in 1974. But when Gov. C.L.…
Gov. Butch Otter has appointed Rep. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise, to the Idaho Senate, to replace former Sen. Branden Durst, D-Boise, who resigned to move to the Seattle area; Ward-Engelking was the top choice of the Democratic Party committee for the legislative district. “Rep. Ward-Engelking was…
An outfit called the Idaho New Years Commission has announced plans to lower a 16-foot-long glowing potato from the US Bank Building in downtown Boise to commemorate New Year’s Eve and Idaho’s sesquicentennial. The event will include live music in the Grove and along 8th…
It’s become something of an endorsement war this week among the GOP candidates for Idaho Secretary of State, with Mitch Toryanski introducing Freda Cenarrusa, widow of longtime Secretary of State Pete Cenarrusa, as his campaign chair; Evan Frasure touting endorsements from an array of lawmakers…
Chuck Malloy, a former editorial writer at the Idaho Statesman and former aide to the House Republican Caucus from 2007 to 2010, has announced he's seeking the appointment to serve out the remainder of the House term of Rep. Mark Patterson, R-Boise, the embattled freshman…
Unemployment in Idaho dropped to 6.1 percent in November, posting the largest one-month decline on record; it was 6.7 percent in October. The Idaho Department of Labor reports that the drop in jobless numbers in Idaho was twice the national drop; the national seasonally adjusted…
At the east end of Coeur d’Alene, bald eagles swoop and dive over the lake as excited onlookers snap pictures or watch with spotting scopes, and others stroll by on the Centennial Trail with their dogs, enjoying the winter wildlife show. This is where a…
Chris Mathias has been hired as the new chief academic officer for the Idaho State Board of Education, replacing Selena Grace, who left in September for a post at Idaho State University. Mathias was policy manager in the office of the president at Boise State…
Idaho’s State Board of Education has approved the “material terms” of employment for Bryan Harsin, the new head football coach at Boise State University; further details will be brought before the board in February for final approval. The terms approved by the board today include…
More than 1,000 laid-off workers at Simplot Corp. potato processing operations in Nampa, Caldwell, Aberdeen and Heyburn are now eligible for special assistance in finding new jobs, under a union petition approved by the federal government under the Trade Adjustment Assistance program. The benefits, similar…
Idaho borrowers will get mortgage principal reductions or, for some, cash payments under a legal settlement announced today by Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden. Ocwen Financial Corporation of Atlanta, Georgia, and its subsidiary, Ocwen Loan Servicing, agreed to the $2.1 billion settlement with Idaho, 48…
Idaho ranks third in the nation for volunteerism, according to the latest research by the Corporation for National and Community Service and the National Conference on Citizenship, while Washington ranks ninth. Only Utah and Minnesota beat Idaho, where more than one in three residents volunteered…
Idaho's two senators both were in the minority today, as the Senate voted 64-36 in favor of a bipartisan budget deal that President Barack Obama is expected to sign into law. The deal, brokered by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sets…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A 450-ton shipment of oilfield equipment that's been rumbling toward Idaho for days should enter the state sometime Thursday night or Friday morning. The "megaload," bound for the Canadian tar sands oil development,…
There likely won’t be a governor’s yard sale, but Idaho is quietly moving to liquidate the furnishings that filled its never-occupied governor’s mansion before the hilltop home was handed back to the Simplot family on July 1. “The basic supposition really is that there’s no…
Brundage Mountain Resort has announced that it will open for skiing on Friday, with three of its five chairs running and lift tickets discounted to $36. The McCall ski resort said, “Favorable temperatures have allowed us to pack our snow base and open three of…
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