An Idaho woman worried a year ago what might happen to her family if she needed an abortion after the state’s ban took effect. That fear came true. Now, the Caldwell woman is suing.Read More
“Wildfire is presenting an imminent threat to life, property, and the environment, and we need all hands on deck,” Gov. Brad Little said in a statement. “I appreciate our firefighters and fire managers for working so hard under such challenging conditions, and I am grateful that our guardsmen are able to step in once again to support Idaho communities.”Read More
Idaho’s ever-growing budget surplus is trending toward a record-shattering and mind-boggling $800 million. The big reason: Individual income tax collections are ahead of forecasts by a whopping $452.2 million. We’ll know the exact surplus sometime after June 30, when the state closes the books on the 2020-21 budget year.Read More
Idaho Governor Overturns Mask Ban From His Own Lt. Governor, Calls It ‘Self-Serving Political Stunt’
Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Friday issued an executive order repealing a mask mandate prohibition put in place while he was out of the state by the lieutenant governor, describing her actions as a tyrannical abuse of power and an “irresponsible, self-serving political stunt.”Read More
While acting as governor in Gov. Brad Little’s absence on Thursday, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin issued an executive order prohibiting mask mandates issued by the state or its “political subdivisions,” including public schools, counties, cities and public health districts. It also extends to state boards, commissions, departments and divisions.Read More
Ending months of speculation, Republican Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin officially entered the governor’s race Wednesday. McGeachin’s entry into the gubernatorial race sets up a potential showdown, and clash of ideologies, in the May 2022 GOP primary.Read More
Voters will get the chance to decide whether lawmakers in the part-time Idaho Legislature will be able to call special sessions, a power currently limited to governors.Read More
An Idaho Senate panel of lawmakers on Monday approved a new version of a constitutional amendment allowing the part-time Idaho Legislature to call itself into s3ession. But several Republicans in the super-majority joined Democrats in opposing the measure amid concerns the Legislature could become a fulltime operation.Read More
Lawmakers are angry that Republican Gov. Brad Little took some of those actions to slow the coronavirus. Those actions included a temporary lockdown starting in March when the virus overwhelmed some hospitals with patients and threatened to do so at others. Hospital workers were also getting sick and said they were in danger of running out of protective equipment.Read More
The legislation stems from lawmaker dissatisfaction with a temporary lockdown and other restrictions that Republican Gov. Brad Little put in place last March to reduce coronavirus infections and deaths. The Republican-dominated Legislature had adjourned for the year by then and was powerless to do anything.Read More
Lawmakers in the Idaho state House on Thursday initiated a third attempt to pass legislation to trim the governor’s powers during an emergency such as a pandemic.Read More
Idaho Gov. Brad Little says his state will move from Stage 2 to Stage 3 in its coronavirus reopening protocol. Little announced Tuesday that groups of up to 50 may now gather, as long as they take precautions with masks and physical distancing.Read More
Gov. Brad Little issued a new executive order Thursday that will require vaccine providers to publicly report additional data as part of an effort to inject more transparency in the vaccine rollout.Read More
Gov. Brad Little vigorously defended the statewide emergency order Friday, accusing members of the Legislature of pushing misinformation about the coronavirus and endangering Idahoans’ lives.Read More
With at least 11 pieces of legislation already in the pipeline — all addressing some aspect of Little’s coronavirus response, and the Legislature’s role during an emergency — this issue is a long way from settled. And it could be a fascinating, defining debate of the 2021 session. Separation of powers, once the stuff of a “Schoolhouse Rock” segment, is all a bit more real Read More
Idaho Gov. Brad Little called for reversing budget holdbacks, increasing teacher pay, cutting taxes and fighting the coronavirus virus pandemic during a historic, remote State of the State address Monday. In conjunction with the 30-minute speech, Little unveiled a budget proposal that would increase K-12 general fund spending beyond $2 billion for the first time in Idaho Read More
“I don’t know that there’s been anyone who’s a bigger advocate for changing behavior,” Gov. Brad Little said Thursday. “What I want is compliance. And we’re just having an issue (with compliance).” Read More
Idaho public health officials abruptly ended a meeting Tuesday after the Boise mayor and chief of police said intense protests outside the health department building — as well as outside some health officials’ homes — were threatening public safety.Read More
New case numbers peaked again, for the seventh consecutive week. Deaths hit another weekly peak. And on Tuesday — the same day Idaho reported single-day peaks in cases and deaths — 404 Idahoans were hospitalized with COVID-19. That too was a single-day peak.Read More
The governor's executive order activated 100 National Guard troopers to assist with mobile testing support, medical facility decontamination, COVID-19 screenings, logistical support and more. He also signed a public health order moving Idaho back to a modified version of Stage 2 of the state’s four-stage reopening plan, effective Saturday.Read More
Gov. Brad Little says he has been reluctant to issue a mask mandate “because the rest of the state thinks that anything that comes from Boise is a mandate from big government.”Read More
Idaho is moving backward. That was the announcement Monday from Gov. Brad Little. He said the entire state will move back to its previous stage of reopening: Phase 3. Read More
The $49.4 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act money will only go so far on Idaho’s college campuses. It won’t cover all of the schools’ COVID-related losses — or the revenue the schools have lost to the pandemic.Read More
Gov. Brad Little announced a plan Friday to pump another $150 million of CARES Act money into supporting schools. If approved, that would push education-related CARES Act spending past the $300 million mark.Read More
After three unusual days in a special session, the Idaho House and Senate passed a civil liability immunity bill designed to protect school officials from lawsuits amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.Read More
Large crowds of protesters and onlookers descended on the Statehouse Monday as legislators convened for a rare special session. The House and Senate met in person to address three issues that Gov. Brad Little outlined when he called the special session, which is officially referred to as an extraordinary session.Read More
A federal judge has put Idaho’s controversial transgender athletics ban on hold. The injunction will allow Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye to review the myriad constitutional questions surrounding the law, which bans transgender women and girls from participating in women’s and girls’ sports.Read More
The Education Working Group requested the Legislature take up the issue of school closure authority when Gov. Brad Little convenes an extraordinary session of the Legislature the week of Aug. 24. Currently, health districts do have the authority to issue quarantine orders or close schools.Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court has put a halt to the Reclaim Idaho K-12 initiative drive. Thursday’s ruling represents a legal victory for Gov. Brad Little and Secretary of State Lawerence Denney, who requested a stay of a lower court ruling allowing Reclaim Idaho to gather online signatures for its “Invest in Idaho” initiative. Read More
Gov. Brad Little still wants to see Idaho schools reopen next month — but he’s not sure that can happen in the state’s coronavirus hotspots. “I think the answer is, it depends,” Little said during a news conference Thursday morning, one day after the state reported its highest one-day death toll from the coronavirus outbreak.Read More
Idaho's case count has quadrupled since mid-June, and about half of the more than 15,000 confirmed cases in the state have come in the past two weeks. Read More
State And Governor Question Security Of Reclaim Idaho’s Signature Gathering For Education Initiative
It will be up to the Ninth Circuit to decide whether Reclaim Idaho can continue gathering online signatures in a final attempt to get its K-12 initiative on November’s ballot. Reclaim Idaho suspended face-to-face signature gathering on March 18 — a few days after the state reported its first cases of coronavirus.Read More
Idaho Gov. Brad Little wants the U.S. Supreme Court to stop Reclaim Idaho from gathering signatures online, as the group tries to get its education funding initiative on November’s ballot.Read More
Reclaim Idaho hopes to put its initiative on the November ballot. It would require the state to raise state income taxes for corporations and people who make more than $250,000 a year. The money would be routed to public schools.Read More
Two new laws went into effect in Idaho recently that target transgender residents. The enactment comes on the heels of a major U.S. Supreme Court decision in June, which greatly expanded LGBTQ rights.Read More
“Well, none of us like to wear masks. I don’t particularly like to wear a mask,” Moscow Mayor Bill Lambert says. “But I have for the past two months, and I will in the future because I think it’s an easy thing for us to do.” Read More
A coalition of organizations — including the John Birch Society and Health Freedom Idaho, an anti-vaccination group — are organizing what they are calling a “special session” of the Legislature Tuesday. It’s unclear how many legislators will show and whether legislators can even convene a special session in the first place.Read More
Idaho Gov. Brad Little has announced his state will move to the final phase of its reopening strategy, beginning Saturday. Visitors can go see loved ones in those facilities. Night clubs and large sporting venues can reopen. Non-essential travel can continue to areas that are accepting visitors and which don’t have coronavirus transmission problems.Read More
Idaho’s signature gathering window was interrupted in mid-March due to coronavirus restrictions. Now, Reclaim Idaho hopes to put a public school funding initiative on the November ballot by asking a federal judge for extra time to collect signatures.Read More
Idaho Governor Brad Little announced Thursday his state is ready to move on to the next phase of its coronavirus reopening plan, beginning Saturday, May 30.Read More
In Idaho, the divide between Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin is something we all could see coming — grounded, in part, by the fact that Idaho elects its governors and lieutenant governors independently. Little has no more say in this matter than any individual Idaho voter. Read More
Idaho Gov. Brad Little says the Gem State will move to the second phase of state’s four-part coronavirus recovery plan on Saturday. That means businesses such as gyms and hair salons will be able to reopen with the appropriate precautions. Little made his announcement Thursday and threw in a surprise as well.Read More
Facing the threat of coronavirus-driven state budget cuts, the University of Idaho is considering mandatory employee furloughs. The proposed furlough plan would cut about $3.3 million in spending, U of I President C. Scott Green said in a memo to staff and faculty Monday.Read More
Idaho Governor Brad Little kicked off the process Thursday of “re-opening” the state after five weeks of “stay home, stay healthy” measures to help stem the spread of coronavirus.Read More
Idaho Gov. Brad Little has announced a four-stage plan for re-opening the state’s businesses and communities after closures due to the coronavirus. The first stage is scheduled to take effect May 1.Read More
Little’s extended stay-at-home order, running through April 30, spells out a few small steps to reopen the economy. Some businesses, previously deemed “nonessential,” will be able to reopen for curbside or delivery service.Read More
Idaho’s statewide stay-at-home order has been extended through the end of April, Gov. Brad Little announced Wednesday. Little said the extension was necessary to ensure the state continues to slow the spread of the coronavirus, prevent health care facilities from being overwhelmed and hopefully hasten the end of the pandemic.Read More
Idaho has one of the highest coronavirus rates in the nation, according to a state epidemiologist. But infection rates can vary widely from county to county. And Idaho’s daily case reports fluctuate too.Read More
Gov. Brad Little signed the bill Monday, March 30, with no explanation for his vote — governors occasionally, but do not always, post transmittal letters outlining their decision. No letter was posted. The most hotly debated education bill of the 2020 legislative session, House Bill 500 would ban transgender girls and women from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.Read More
By the numbers, Little’s decision will cut state spending by $40 million, from a state general budget of close to $4 billion. State agencies will have to move quickly, imposing the spending cuts over the final three months of a budget year that ends June 30.Read More
