Idaho's two GOP senators joined with Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden today to launch a new bipartisan push to use the fall budget negotiations in Congress to reform the way the nation funds wildfire prevention. “In my view, the fires that are ripping their way…
Idaho’s state health insurance exchange now has a web address: Yourhealthidaho.org. The website was unveiled at a news conference today by Gov. Butch Otter and Idaho exchange executive director Amy Dowd; it’s the site where residents and small businesses can shop for health insurance coverage…
Political fireworks flew at the state Land Board this morning, as, for the second time in five years, state schools Superintendent Tom Luna sought to increase the endowment distribution to public schools beyond the recommendation of the Endowment Fund Investment Board. The board is recommending…
Idaho’s fire season on state lands is now at about 50 percent of the 20-year average both for the number of fires and the number of acres burned, the state Land Board was told this morning. “But it is a very active fire season and…
Gov. Butch Otter noted another impact of the wildfires in Idaho this year: The Elk Complex fire has left behind about 100 head of cattle and 100 head of sheep that were burned up in the wildfire. “Have we notified Fish & Game about those…
Firefighters have turned the corner on the Beaver Creek fire near Sun Valley and Ketchum, the Idaho Statesman reports today, with a combination of a massive aerial assault and several thousand firefighters working on the ground cooling hot spots and allowing pre-evacuation orders to be…
The Idaho Press-Tribune reports today that a Canyon County judge has upheld collective bargaining law for Idaho teachers, ruling that the Nampa School District can’t skirt the local teachers union to sign contracts with individual teachers calling for unpaid furloughs. The Nampa Education Association, not…