Idaho Reports

2024 was a rough fire year in Idaho. This week, Melissa Davlin sat down with Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke to ask about Gov. Brad Little’s recommendations to improve the state’s firefighting capabilities moving forward. Last year also saw the culmination of a long-simmering water fight in eastern Idaho. A looming water shortage prompted senior water right holders to threaten to withhold the ability of juni...

Each new legislature brings at least a couple of new faces to the capitol building. First-term state Sen. Camille Blaylock of Caldwell sat down with associate producer Logan Finney to reflect on her first six weeks representing Legislative District 11 in the Senate.

Lawmakers have made a concerted effort to return budget surpluses and provide tax relief to Idahoans. But how much can the Legislature cut before affecting vital services? This week, Christine Pisani of the Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities discusses concerns about the trajectory of Medicaid. House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel and Majority Leader Jason Monks examine spending priorities.

Christine Pisani of the Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities spoke with producer Ruth Brown about possible federal and state level changes to the Medicaid program that have members of the disabilities community concerned about their coverage.

On Monday, the House passed a bill to reduce state income taxes to the tune of about $253 million, with Republican leaders hailing it as the largest income tax cut in state history. House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel sat down with associate producer Logan Finney to share her thoughts.

Rep. Chris Mathias is sponsoring school safety legislation that would require local districts to notify parents of serious bullying, intimidation and harassment that involves their children. He sat down with associate producer Logan Finney to discuss the bill and his approach to legislating from the minority party at the capitol.

Some lawmakers have made it clear they want to see deep cuts to Medicaid spending. This week, producer Ruth Brown sits down with House Health and Welfare Committee Chairman John Vander Woude to discuss the future of Medicaid Expansion. Then, Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News, James Dawson of Boise State Public Radio, and Dr. Stephanie Witt of Boise State University’s School of Public Service j...

Many states around the country are exploring ways to create digital driver's licenses that could be accessed through an app on our mobile phones. Associate producer Logan Finney sat down with Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen to discuss how Idaho might do so and what she learned from other states.

This week, Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield joins Melissa Davlin to share her views on public dollars going toward private education. Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog and Rep. Wendy Horman discuss their bill to provide tax credits to families to help pay for private education costs, and House Assistant Minority Leader Steve Berch walks through his concerns.

The big education news from this year’s State of the State address was Gov. Brad Little setting aside $50 million of public money for private education. Not everyone is a fan of the idea. House Assistant Minority Leader Steve Berch discusses his concerns.

The big education news from this year’s State of the State address was Gov. Brad Little setting aside $50 million of public money for private education. On Wednesday, Rep. Wendy Horman and Sen. Lori Den Hartog introduced a bill that would provide tax refunds for qualifying private education expenses.

The big education news from this year’s State of the State address was Gov. Brad Little setting aside $50 million of public money for private education. Like the governor, Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield has previously expressed reservations about sending public money to private school. On Friday, she discussed what she’d like to see in a bill.

Gay and transgender Idahoans have asked lawmakers for years to protect them from discrimination under the state's human rights act. Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow and activist Nikson Mathews reflect on the ten years since the one and only legislative hearing on the "Add the Words" bill in 2015.

Wildfire season is getting longer, and home insurance companies are noticing. Department of Insurance Director Dean Cameron discusses how wildfires are changing the home insurance industry. Boise State University’s Dr. Matthew May and Dr. Lantz McGinnis-Brown discuss this year’s public policy survey, and Whitney Bryen of Investigate West discusses Idaho’s high female incarceration rate.

The annual State of the Judiciary address to the Idaho Legislature discusses the work of the courts and maintaining the state’s court system. Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Bevan urged lawmakers to increase judicial compensation to help with challenges in recruiting and keeping judges in Idaho’s state courts. "Judges are elected officials, but taking that office requires the new judge t...

We get an update from producer Ruth Brown on the state of emergency medical services in Idaho. Mario Pile, associate director of student involvement at University of Idaho, shares his thoughts on the State Board of Education’s DEI resolution that led to the closure of the Black and African American Cultural Center. House Education Chairman Doug Pickett discusses proposals to use public funds for p...

The 2025 legislative session kicked off this week and the high-priority policy issues are already coming into focus. Legislative leaders and Gov. Brad Little touched on school choice, tax cuts, and Medicaid Expansion.

Gov. Brad Little delivers his 2025 State of the State Address with commentary from Idaho Reports guests Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News, Dr. Stephanie Witt of Boise State University's School of Public Service, and Lori Wolff of the Division of Financial Management.

With the 2025 session just days away, we have a good idea of what’s at the top of the priority list. This week, Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News and Dr. Jaclyn Kettler from Boise State University School of Public Service join the show to discuss what we learned at Friday’s Idaho Press Club Legislative Preview, where Gov. Brad Little and legislative leaders gave a sneak peek of their prioritie...

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter passed away Sunday, December 29 at age 100. The Georgian served as the 39th president from 1977 to 1981. Carter and his family visited central Idaho in August 1978 on vacation, a three-day raft trip down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River with the family of then-Interior Secretary Cecil Andrus. The Idaho Reports team this week tracked down and got in touch with...

This week, Don Day of BoiseDev catches us up on the unsuccessful merger between Kroger and Albertsons and how it might affect Idahoans. Producer Ruth Brown examines foster care concerns with Cadence Wright, a woman who aged out of Idaho’s foster system. Then, Rep. Lance Clow of Twin Falls and John Robison of the Idaho Conservation League discuss approval of the Lava Ridge Wind Project in Magic Val...

Melissa Davlin sat down to discuss the Lava Ridge Wind Project with Rep. Lance Clow of Twin Falls and John Robison, Public Lands and Wildlife Director at the Idaho Conservation League. The project will include 241 wind turbines and related infrastructure on federal and state land in Jerome, Lincoln and Minidoka counties. The final plan is only about half of what was originally proposed, but it sti...

Idaho lawmakers were unable to reach an agreement last year on legal protections for in vitro fertilization, or IVF. Associate producer Logan Finney discusses how the procedure works and the legal landscape around fertility with Dr. Emily Jungheim, Chief of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medici...

The people of Idaho had their say on legislative representation, and now lawmakers have elected their own leadership. We discuss the new legislative assignments and the potential implications on public policy with Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News and Drs. Stephanie Witt and Jaclyn Kettler of Boise State University’s School of Public Service.

House Speaker Mike Moyle sat down with associate producer Logan Finney at the annual Associated Taxpayers of Idaho conference to discuss tax policy and his priorities for the new legislative session.