Idaho Reports

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced this week that the Delta variant of COVID-19 is now the most prominent variant in Idaho. Delta is nearly twice as transmissible as the original virus. Primary Health Medical Group reported a test positivity rate of 20% while Saint Alphonsus reported a test positivity rate of 17% on Wednesday. The state’s goal was to be below 5%. With the rise of...

This week, the House Ethics Committee unanimously found that Rep. Priscilla Giddings behaved in a manner unbecoming of a representative, and voted to recommend she be censured by the House and removed from her post on the Commerce and Human Resources Committee. Two complaints asserted that Giddings, R-White Bird, acted inappropriately when she disseminated the identity and photo of an individual w...

The state’s positivity rate has climbed to eight percent, and the number of confirmed cases with the Delta variant is now at 70, which is more than twice what it was last week. Every one of the state’s public health districts has seen an increase in the percentage of tests coming back positive, with the north central region seeing the highest positivity rate last week at 12.7 percent. Right now, t...

We know that Idahoans ages 18-24 make up 11 percent of Idaho’s population, but people in their late teens and 20s account for the plurality of COVID-19 cases so far during the pandemic, and it isn’t even close. This week, Melissa Davlin discusses efforts to get college students vaccinated with Chris Owens, Associate Vice President of Kasiska Division of Health Sciences at Idaho State University in...

In the last two weeks, nearly every COVID metric has worsened in Idaho, matching nationwide trends as the Delta variant spreads throughout the country. On Tuesday, officials with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare told reporters that hospitalizations and new cases continue to increase, and almost every single one of those patients is unvaccinated. ICU admissions have doubled since the begi...

Idaho is growing rapidly, and those growing pains aren't confined to Boise and the Treasure Valley. Last week, Logan Finney spoke with Madison Hardy of the Coeur d'Alene Press to get an update on the state of politics in Kootenai County, from a commissioner who's distancing himself from the local Republican party to a study group that's looking into restructuring the government of the state's thir...

Don’t expect lawmakers to come back to Boise to prevent employers from requiring vaccinations as a condition of employment. Idaho Senate Republicans announced Friday they would rather work out disagreements without passing new laws, at least for the time being. Last week, three of Idaho’s largest health care providers announced they would require all employees to get vaccinated by this fall. Idaho...

Idaho authorities are stressing the need for people to recreate responsibly, as Idaho is already seeing more than double the number of fires than the previous record. “Idaho is experiencing severe drought and unprecedented fire conditions across most of the state,” said Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller. “Extreme fire conditions are at an all-time high and weather forecasts indicate...

Three of Idaho’s largest health care providers announced this week they are requiring employees, volunteers and contractors to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by this fall. In a Friday media call, St. Luke’s President and CEO Chris Roth said nearly 80 percent of St. Luke’s employees are already vaccinated, and with the uptick in cases nationwide related to the Delta variant, hospital leadership fel...

Last year, Idaho's three branches of government combined their efforts to address mental and behavioral health issues in the state through the formation of the Behavioral Health Council. Last week, they released a strategic action plan outlining recommendations for 2021-2024. Producer Ruth Brown joins Logan Finney to give an overview of the issues under consideration including substance use disord...

Sunny Shaw, executive director of the Housing Alliance and Community Partnership in Pocatello, sat down with Idaho Reports to talk about the CDC’s eviction moratorium which will expire at the end of July. The moratorium was issued to help slow the pandemic by keeping people in their homes and out of crowded or congregate settings like homeless shelters. Shaw also discussed rental and home affordab...

Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has announced that Idaho’s laboratories will soon be able to test every positive COVID-19 sample for variants. The news comes as the Delta variant continues to spread throughout the nation. So far, Idaho has just one confirmed Delta case, but nationwide, the strain has accounted for 20 percent of new positives in the last week, almost all among unvaccinated p...

This week, Idaho Voices for Children director Christine Tiddens joins Melissa Davlin to talk about the new KIDS COUNT Data Book, an annual report that examines child wellbeing state by state. This year's edition explores how families with children fared during the pandemic and broader trends since the Great Recession. "What we've seen is that the number of Idahoans struggling to get by has really...

As of Friday, half of Idaho adults have had at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and three fourths of Idahoans ages 65 and older have been fully vaccinated. Nearly 703,000 Idahoans ages 12 and older have received at least one dose. The statewide test positivity rate continues to drop, with 3.6 percent of COVID tests coming back positive last week. The seven day moving average incidence ra...

This week on the Idaho Reports podcast, producer Ruth Brown sits down with Reclaim Idaho co-founder Luke Mayville to discuss his organization's new education funding initiative and their lawsuit against the state over increased ballot initiative requirements. Visit the Idaho Reports blog at http://blog.idahoreports.idahoptv.org to read more about the initiative as well as the confusion surrounding...

The state’s positivity rate, or percent of tests that come back positive, has fallen to 3.9 percent, the lowest Idaho has seen since June 2020. That’s down from a high of 19 percent in December. The seven day moving average incidence rate is also at its lowest point since last summer, at 5.6 cases per 100,000 people, down from a high of 90 in December. As of Friday, the state has administered 1,27...

Idaho hit another grim milestone Friday, surpassing 2,100 deaths due to COVID-19-related causes. As reported on Thursday, 6 of the deaths were people between the ages of 18 and 29, 11 deaths were people in their 30s, and 37 deaths were people in their 40s. The statewide coronavirus test positivity rate increased mildly this week, but continued to hover around 5 percent. Kootenai, Canyon and Ada co...

Governor Brad Little’s actions during the pandemic were the subject of some of the most contentious debates during the legislative session this year. This week, he joins us to give us his take. The Idaho Reports broadcast schedule is ending for the summer, but we're still reporting on the statewide stories that matter to you. Find our reporting on the Idaho Reports blog, the Idaho Reports YouTube...

The statewide incidence rate continues to drop, with the moving 7-day average incidence rate hitting 7.5 cases per 100,000 people. The highest incidence rates in the state are in north and north-central Idaho with Lewis, Clearwater, Shoshone, Kootenai and Idaho counties at the top of the list. The state’s test positivity rate, or percentage of tests that come back positive, rose slightly to 5 perc...

In the midst of headline-grabbing news this week, cities, counties, and homeowners across the state are currently trying to wrap their heads around a sweeping new property tax reform law that, among other things, caps local government budget growth, increases the homeowner’s exemption to $125,000, and makes changes to the circuit breaker program. Logan Finney sat down with House Assistant Minority...

A surprise executive order from Janice McGeachin while she was acting governor and a strongly worded rebuke from Brad Little just gave us a preview of how the coming Republican gubernatorial campaign is going to look. In the midst of headline-grabbing news this week, cities, counties, and homeowners across the state are also trying to wrap their heads around a sweeping new property tax reform law....

New daily cases continue to be much lower than they were most of last year and this winter, with the statewide rolling average 7-day case rate staying steady at 8.7 new cases per 100,000 people. That’s down from a high of 90 in December. Test positivity is also steady at 4.3 percent. But, a few regions have seen notable upticks in the past week. According to the Coeur d’Alene Press, COVID 19 admis...

This last legislative session saw plenty of toussling among Republicans who make up the supermajority in the Idaho legislature. Democrats called it the worst legislative session in Idaho’s history. House Republicans said last week they disagree, hailing transportation funding and income tax cuts as major accomplishments. On Thursday, House Speaker Scott Bedke sat down to give us his take. On Tuesd...

After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said vaccinated people can safely go without masks this week, some health districts, school districts, and cities across the state are reevaluating their public health advisories and mandates. The status varies by location: Boise lifted its mask order on Friday, while Moscow’s remains in place. Be sure to check with your local officials. Also th...

Clark Corbin of Idaho Capital Sun, Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News, and Ruth Brown of Idaho Reports discuss an unprecedented end to the record-breaking legislative session, constitutional uncertainties surrounding an indefinite recess, and tensions between the House and the Senate, as well as the scheduled execution of Gerald Pizzuto Jr.