The Connector: Idaho Daily News

Bills on the move at the statehouse include this year's attempt to ban mask mandates, a tax credit for private school expenses, the right for medical professionals to refuse treatment based on personal or religious preference and a likely end to voter-approved medicaid expansion in Idaho. Plus, positive changes to mental health trends in the Boise School District.

The non-partisan Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy scores four bills on education and taxation, lawmakers freeze legislation blocking sweets and soda from federal food benefit eligibility, and the city of Boise continues to push to get more food waste out of your kitchen and into the compost pile.

The coldest temperatures of the season are here, and the state senate stays busy with a new bill giving Idaho cops the ability to enforce U.S. Immigration law and legislation that would establish a $300 minimum penalty for marijuana possession. And, a respite from the winter blues might be just above your head.

House lawmakers' school tuition tax credit bill is headed to the state Senate, which has its own voucher bill under consideration, parents would need to opt-in for their students to receive sex-ed, and what's next for Boise State football legend Kellen Moore? (episode updated at 8:30 am MT to fix an audio issue)

A bill prioritizing execution by firing squad advances to the state senate, Caldwell's police sued by a female subordinate and the city of Boise wants to change city code governing conditional use permit appeals following a state supreme court ruling which ruled against the city.

A $50 million tax credit plan that would subsidize private school tuition for families in Idaho barely passed out of committee on Wednesday. State officials are being sued over book laws. And an an Idaho immigrant rights organization speaks out against recent Idaho Bills.

State legislators will get another look at a bill that could repeal Idaho's Medicaid expansion program if certain restrictions are not met. Plus, Tax season is officially upon us, and instead of shelling out money to paid software programs like TurboTax or H&R BLOCK, some Idahoans can now use a free online filing system for both their state and federal returns. Editor's note: An earlier versio...

A Boise Democrat was the deciding vote to advance a bill opening the state's Empowering Parents grant program to fund private school tuition, House lawmakers are moving forward with a plan to elevate the firing squad as the state's preferred method of execution, and a newly expanded youth crisis support center in Nampa will serve kids as young as 5.

Billions of dollars tied to Idaho's economy are about to be wrapped up in a brewing trade war between te U.S., Canada and Mexico, some State Senators want to block banks from refusing customers because of certain views, and ACHD looking for answers after rapid deterioration forced an emergency closure of the Eckert Road Bridge in east Boise Friday.

Some state lawmakers want to remove the constitutional requirement that every kid in Idaho get an education. Others are working toward repealing voter-approved medicaid expansion in the state, and advocates are pushing back. And in Blaine County, Sheriff Morgan Ballis says rumors of immigration enforcement sweeps are 'unsubstantiated fear mongering.'

Schools react to nervous parents after Trump Administration guidance that churches and schools are no longer to be considered 'sensitive' places for immigration enforcement actions, one Idaho lawmaker thinks the Governor should have veto power over citizen initiatives, and a fourth attempt to ban mask mandates in Idaho has arrived in the state senate.

Boise festival-goers could get boozy in city parks this year - but only for this year, more property tax relief proposed at the Idaho statehouse, and lawmakers advance a bill restricting what flags can be displayed in Idaho schools. 

Idaho House lawmakers approved a resolution calling for an end to federally-protected same-sex marriage, an Idahoan recently pardoned by President Donald Trump was among those testifying in favor of a bill blocking mask mandates, and updates on two Boise natives on the big stage: now-former U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, and cyclist Matteo Jorgensen.

Idaho Republicans launched a new effort to repeal voter-approved Medicaid expansion, schools in our region react to no longer being considered 'safe havens' from immigration enforcement, a UTV is at the bottom of Payette Lake after falling through thin ice, and a Boise State professor studying data from Mars uncovered new details about weather on the red planet.

A pay hike for lawmakers is likely to take effect by the end of the month, right about the time a newly introduced income tax cut bill could be working its way through the statehouse. Plus, more legislation restricting flags is introduced, and the Twin Falls Animal Shelter needs help as its battles a ringworm outbreak.

Idaho lawmakers advance a bill aimed at convincing the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the national right to same-sex marriage, Idaho's Supreme Court rules the Boise City Council was wrong to permit the new Interfaith Sanctuary location, and it will be easier to scrap those kitchen scraps into Boise compost carts, after the city expanded what's accepted in the blue bins.

A flurry of activity at the statehouse includes another attempt to ban mask mandates, now nearly five years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Plus, could firing squad become the default execution method in Idaho? No state has gone that route in decades. And a recent survey shows Idahoans have a growing hope for the future.

Seven Idaho defendants are among those pardoned Monday by President Trump for their roles in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Two were still serving federal prison sentences. The President also blocked central Idaho's Lava Ridge Wind Energy project from moving forward. In the Idaho Statehouse, teachers, administrators and school board members came together to urge lawmakers to...

Across our region, workers and families are worried about the incoming Trump administration’s promises to crack down on illegal immigration. A three-part series from the Mountain West News Bureau explores the issues through the eyes of workers, economists, politicians and sheriffs.

Idaho businessman and Custer County landowner Michael Boren was named USDA Undersecretary by President-Elect Donald Trump. Plus, an effort to give state workers a raise stalled at the statehouse, and we'll preview Boise State's MLK Living Legacy Committee's celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. day on Monday.

Idaho's House Speaker wants the state to get 'DOGE'd' and lawmakers want you to pay if you get caught getting high. Plus, more reaction to the new lawsuit from St Luke's Medical System over Idaho's abortion ban, and a long-time local actor and educator has died. Tom Willmorth was a fan favorite for decades at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival.

Two unsuccessful bills from last session have been revived at the statehouse: one restricting the types of flags allowed for display in Idaho schools, the other broadening police power to detain suspected non-citizens. Plus, Albertsons shrinks its corporate workforce while promising to grow shareholder dividends, and Idaho's largest health system picking up where it thinks the federal government m...

How public is the state capitol? Ammon Bundy's attorney argues it's a "monument to free speech.' Plus, home sales in the Treasure Valley surged to end 2024, Bank of Idaho is sold to a Montana banking conglomerate and a win at the U.S. Supreme Court for our region's public lands advocates.

Anti-government provocateur Ammon Bundy will argue his pandemic trespassing convictions before the Idaho Supreme Court, a local restaurant trucking donated supplies to California to help wildfire victims and environmental advocates' concern that a second Trump administration could threaten our region's public lands.

Today on The Connector, Idaho's state employees could see about a 5% pay raise this summer, that's a recommendation from a legislative committee. Plus, Idaho's Congressional delegation trying again to get the state a third federal judge, a Blaine County employee is prepared to sue the county and a record number of weapons found at Idaho's airport security checkpoints last year.