Tonight’s “Idaho Reports” travels to Lewiston, to look at issues in Legislative District 6, which had two very close races in the last legislative election two years ago and has contests again this year for the same two seats. On the pundits panel, I join…
A military judge has rejected arguments that Sen. John McCain improperly swayed the prosecution of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl with negative comments about the soldier who walked off his post in Afghanistan. Defense lawyers for Bergdahl argued that McCain exerted unlawful command influence by telling a reporter in 2015 that the Senate committee...
A utility company says two crows triggered a power outage in mid-July that knocked out service to about 100,000 customers in three Western states. Rocky Mountain Power spokesman David Eskelsen tells the Post Register newspaper that an investigation shows the crows touched a capacitor bank at an Idaho substation...
Is it time to remove the four Lower Snake River dams? People across the region will have a chance to weigh in on the controversial question this fall as three federal agencies hold public hearings to discuss the creation of a new plan for saving…
I’ve had some questions from readers about HJR 5, the constitutional amendment on Idaho’s November ballot, noting that the issue is obscure and the ballot explanations complex. Here’s a simple explanation: Currently, all administrative rules issued by state agencies are reviewed by the Legislature; they…
As a record TV audience tuned in for the first presidential debate this week, Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo and his Democratic challenger, Jerry Sturgill, both launched new TV campaign commercials. Here's my full AdWatch story, examining their claims.
Gov. Butch Otter sent a guest opinion out to Idaho newspapers today touting recent moves by the state to use partnerships to prevent wildfires on public lands. He points to this week’s first-ever auction of a federal timber sale by the Idaho Department of Lands,…
Idaho’s all-GOP congressional delegation split down the middle yesterday as the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed a continuing resolution to fund the government – avoiding a government shutdown by just two days. Sen. Mike Crapo and Rep. Mike Simpson voted in favor of the measure;...
The Nez Perce Tribe has issued a statement sharply critical of the Idaho Transportation Department’s proposed rulemaking on megaloads in the scenic Highway 12 corridor in North-Central Idaho, saying the move was inappropriate, mediation is ongoing as part of a lawsuit that banned such shipments…
As part of the settlement yesterday between the state and Idaho artists and art and theater venues, the 20-day suspension of the liquor license for the Visual Arts Collective in Garden City will be erased and the $8,000 fine it paid will be returned. The…
Arts venues licensed to serve alcohol during live performances depicting sexual acts will no longer face consequences from Idaho State Police under a newly reached agreement. The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, along with several other Boise attorneys representing artists and artistic venues, said Wednesday's lawsuit settlement marks...
In the final discussions between members of the Legislature’s working group on the state’s health coverage gap this afternoon, Co-Chair Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, said he believes the case has been made that Idaho should tap federal Medicaid funds at least for mental health services....
It’s more than an hour past the time the Legislature’s committee on the health coverage gap had been scheduled to wrap up this afternoon. Ten more people are on a waiting list to testify if there were time; Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, asked the committee’s…
More testimony to lawmakers from this afternoon: Dr. Jeremy Monroe of Pocatello told of seeing a patient who was making her third emergency-room visit in a week. She had gall bladder disease and needed surgery. She had been referred to a surgeon on both previous…
Marilena Delgado told lawmakers she’s a 51-year-old from Orofino, a mother of four adult children. “I’ve been uninsured for the better part of the last 25 years,” she said. “The only way I have access to health care is to visit the ER. I’ve been...
As testimony continues this afternoon, representatives of groups endorsing closing Idaho’s coverage gap have included AARP, the Idaho Sheriffs Association and the Idaho Association of Counties. Francoise Cleveland of AARP Idaho said coverage is needed to “prevent those in need from getting sicker at taxpayer…
More of today’s testimony: Dr. Marshall Priest, a cardiologist and medical director at St. Luke’s Heart, said, “Every day approximately 78,000 Idahoans face the challenge of living without the stability of health care coverage, forcing them to utilize emergency departments, or go without care until…
Sen. Steven Thayn, R-Emmett, noted that the U.S. has higher medical costs than most countries. He asked Dr. Steven Dunn, a longtime family doctor in Sandpoint, who was testifying to lawmakers by phone, “Why should we trust medical professionals to solve this problem if they...
Here’s more of the testimony from this afternoon’s health coverage gap legislative hearing: Dr. Jonathan Miller, an emergency medicine specialist at St. Alphonsus hospital and with the Air National Guard, said, “I’m here to voice my concern over the 78,000 of our neighbors that lack…
Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston, told Dr. Bruce Belzer, president of the Idaho Medical Association, that she’s concerned about the high cost of medical care overall, including for those who have costly insurance. “The cost is so expensive that nobody, nobody can really afford it,”...
Here’s more of the testimony at today’s health coverage gap hearing: Clella Steinke, mother-in-law of Jenny Steinke, an eastern Idaho woman who died of complications from asthma while she had no health coverage, told the lawmakers, “No one wants to die at 36 years. No...
Dr. Leanne Rousseau of Post Falls told lawmakers that people who “are indenturing themselves for the CAT fund” don’t do so for primary care, but for advanced conditions. “I really feel that primary care for this population is important,” she said. Sen. Maryanne Jordan, D-Boise,…
Among those testifying to lawmakers on the health coverage gap this afternoon: Susan Souvenir, who is medical office manager for her husband, Dr. David Souvenir, in Coeur d’Alene, said he is the only board-certified infectious disease specialist in the Idaho Panhandle. They frequently see patients...
Close to 50 people have signed up to offer public testimony to lawmakers this afternoon on Idaho’s health coverage gap. “A word of caution to those who speak to us today,” said Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, co-chair of the legislative panel on the gap. “This…
Jim Baugh, executive director of Disability Rights Idaho, speaking on behalf of the Consortium for Idahoans with Disabilities, told lawmakers this afternoon that thousands of Idahoans with disabilities fall into the state’s health coverage gap, and would be covered if Idaho accepted Medicaid expansion funds....
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
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