Idaho Reports

Gov. Brad Little signed an executive order last week directing the Idaho Department of Lands to collaborate with the U.S. Forest Service in support of the Trump administration's goals of increased timber production and improved forest health. Associate producer Logan Finney sat down with Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller to ask what that relationship will look like.

Over the course of three fiscal years starting in 2022, the legislature appropriated a total of $160 million to improve Idaho’s state parks, with $95 million coming from state surplus funds, and another $65 million coming from the American Rescue Plan Act. On Thursday, the Idaho Reports team headed to Bruneau Dunes State Park to catch up with Director Susan Buxton and find out how that money was p...

Idaho has 30 state parks, and word is getting out that they’re great places to visit. This week, we head to Bruneau Dunes State Park to catch up with Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation Director Susan Buxton and look into the status of record investments made into Idaho’s state parks over the last few years. Plus, the latest on a lawsuit over abortion ballot initiative language.

Bruneau Dunes State Park is home to the tallest single-structure sand dune in North America, but it's also a certified dark sky area with a notable astronomy facility. Associate producer Logan Finney sat down with manager Bryce Bealba and ranger Greg Harman to talk about the park.

The legislative session may be over, but debates about government spending are still going strong across the state and the country. This week, we look at national political figures like U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Turning Point USA activist Charlie Kirk making their case to Idahoans. Then, Speaker of the House Mike Moyle joins Logan Finney to discuss lawmakers’ spending and policy priorities.

After hosting Sen. Bernie Sanders this week at the largest political rally in state history, what's next for the Idaho Democrats? Party chair Lauren Necochea joins associate producer Logan Finney to discuss the "Fighting Oligarchy" tour and what's next on the national and local front.

The "Fighting Oligarchy Tour" on Monday featuring U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, drew a full venue of roughly 12,500 people to the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. Speakers included former Idaho state Rep. Nate Roberts, D-Pocatello; family physician Dr. Penny Beach; House Minority Caucus Chair Rep. Todd Achilles, D-Boise; American Federation of Government...

The session is over. Time to talk about what passed, what didn’t, and the lawsuits already underway. This week, professor Geoffrey Heeren with the University of Idaho College of Law discusses questions around an Idaho immigration bill, as well as the revocation of visas for international college students. Then, Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News and Dr. Jaclyn Kettler of Boise State University’...

One of the bills signed into law this session will make three changes to urban renewal in Idaho: allowing cities to dissolve an urban renewal agency, allowing extensions for districts with a single industrial user, and allowing fire districts to opt out of inclusion in an urban renewal district. BoiseDev reporter Margaret Carmel joins Logan Finney to break down the changes.

Lawmakers are wrapping up work for the year with debates over medical treatments and diversity, equity, and inclusion. This week, producer Ruth Brown interviews Senate Health and Welfare Committee Chair Julie VanOrden about changes to Medicaid spending. Then, Senate Majority Caucus Chair Ben Toews talks about competing bills on medical freedom and what it takes to finally adjourn the session.

Reps. Heather Scott and Barbara Ehardt, Unplanned Good executive director Terri Marcroft, and Sens. Julie VanOrden and Tammy Nichols join associate producer Logan Finney to discuss their mission to make sure women with unplanned pregnancies know adoption is an option. The group reviews Idaho's safe haven laws which enable baby boxes where parents can anonymously surrender newborns safely, as well...

The Legislature missed its target adjournment date, with budgets dominating the debates. So as we head into April, what’s next? This week, Sen. David Lent and Rep. Dustin Manwaring give us an update on medical education arrangements in Idaho. Then, House Assistant Majority Leader Josh Tanner and Senate Assistant Minority Leader James Ruchti discuss budgeting and end-of-session negotiations.

Sen. Jim Woodward sits down with associate producer Logan Finney to discuss progress on budgets and funding for public schools, as well as power companies' liability for wildfire damages and a few issues specific to Boundary and Bonner counties in Legislative District 1.

Idaho becomes the only state with the firing squad as its primary method of carrying out the death penalty. Producer Ruth Brown sits down with House Judiciary chairman Rep. Bruce Skaug to talk about use of the firing squad and other criminal justice issues. Then, Melissa Davlin interviews East Idaho farmer Brian Murdock about legislative investments in water recharge projects.

Sen. Tammy Nichols is working this year on a bill that would allow all Idahoans, even those that live in communities with covenants or HOA rules, to raise chickens on their property. She sat down with associate producer Logan Finney to discuss the bill and its path through the statehouse.

This week, we discuss the winding road through budget-setting with the co-chairs of the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee, Rep. Wendy Horman and Sen. Scott Grow. Committee member Sen. Melissa Wintrow outlines her concerns with this year’s budget setting process. Finally, Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News joins us to discuss the state’s proposed changes to its medical education agreement.

Legislative strategist Amy Dundon with the ACLU of Idaho joins associate producer Logan Finney this week to survey a wide range of bills under consideration this year touching on the rights of immigrant, transgender, and indigent people.

With the tax credit for private education costs now signed into law, and the future of the federal Department of Education up in the air, where does Idaho go next when it comes to public school policy? We talk to policy makers and Idaho's Secretary of State shares his goals for campaign finance legislation. We walk you through what legislators got up this week, including for those on death row.

Gov. Brad Little has indicated that the state of Idaho will cooperate fully with federal immigration enforcement efforts under President Donald Trump. Associate producer Logan Finney sat down with reporter Rachel Spacek of InvestigateWest to discuss what that state cooperation entails, policy changes that state lawmakers are considering, as well as the influence of the ag industry.

This week, Gov. Brad Little signed a high-profile $50 million tax credit for private education costs. Kyle Pfannenstiel of Idaho Capital Sun brings us up to speed on efforts to contain Medicaid costs. Associate producer Logan Finney visits the Donnelly Public Library for an update on the library law. Then, Reps. Brent Crane, Jeff Ehlers, and Todd Achilles join us for a roundtable on the session.

Vapes are largely unregulated in Idaho, and Rep. Jerald Raymond is intent on keeping them out of the hands of minors. He's been working for several years to craft an updated taxing scheme and write regulations for vaping products, and he sat down Tuesday with associate producer Logan Finney to review four bills in the hopper.

Idaho has no medical school and currently relies on the multi-state WWAMI agreement to educate and place Idaho medical students. This week, Dr. Mary Barinaga and Dr. Joseph Holmstead discuss a legislative proposal that might undo that medical education agreement and why doctors are concerned. Then, Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News brings us up to speed on the latest education bills.

On Presidents' Day, across the state Idahoans protested federal budget cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration. Hundreds showed up at the statehouse in Boise, while others protested in Salmon, Stanley, Twin Falls, Idaho Falls, and McCall. Those protests coincided with news that late last week, thousands of federal workers across the country received word that they had lost their jobs. On T...

Senate Bills 1042 and 1043 would reorganize Idaho's landlord-tenant code and require that landlords only charge application fees for a vacant unit to two prospective tenants at a time, as well as that those application fees must be related to the actual costs of a criminal background check and processing the application. Bill sponsor Sen. Ali Rabe spoke with associate producer Logan Finney after t...

This week, Lieutenant Governor Scott Bedke discusses managing fire and water issues alongside the federal government. Then, Rep. Jordan Redman and Rep. Megan Egbert share their views on Medicaid Expansion and its future in Idaho. Two things can be true at once: Medicaid Expansion was a lot more expensive than anticipated, and a lot of Idahoans depend on the program for their healthcare. So what’s...