Idaho Archives - Page 7 of 8 - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Idaho Gov. Brad Little Orders Statewide Budget Cuts In Face Of Widening Coronavirus Fallout

By NWPB News March 28, 2020

In the face of rising unemployment and shriveling tax revenues, Gov. Brad Little cut state spending by $40 million Friday. “We know this number is going to be necessary.” CREDIT: Sami Edge/Idaho EdNews

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

Are Gun Stores ‘Essential’ During Coronavirus Outbreak? Different States Have Different Answers

By NPR News March 27, 2020

Andrea Schry (right) fills out the buyer's part of legal forms to buy a handgun as shop worker Missy Morosky fills out the vendor's parts after Dukes Sport Shop in New Castle, Pa., reopened on Wednesday. Keith Srakocic/AP

Governors and mayors in some parts of the country are requiring them to close like many other businesses. Other officials are letting gun sales continue. Gun rights groups are on the defensive. Read More

Northwest States See Unprecedented Surge In Unemployment Claims

By NWPB News March 26, 2020

File photo. Porter Hahn makes an iced coffee drink in November 2019 in a Seattle coffee shop. U.S. services companies grew at a faster pace in February 2020 than the previous month. Then the coronavirus outbreak in the region shut down much of the service industry. CREDIT: Elaine Thompson/AP

Mirroring the national trend, Washington, Idaho and Oregon are experiencing an unprecedented spike in unemployment claims caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.Read More

First COVID-19 Deaths Reported In Idaho, 1 Day After Governor Issues 21-Day ‘Stay-At-Home’ Order

By Nicholas Deshais March 25, 2020

Idaho Gov. Brad Little, left, announces stricter guidelines for social interactions to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, and also livestreaming the discussion, at his office in Boise on March 18, 2020. CREDIT: Keith Ridler/AP

Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued a 21-day stay-at-home order Wednesday. Little had resisted issuing the order even as neighboring states were taking more drastic measures. On Thursday, the state officially announced three deaths from COVID-19.Read More

Distanciamento Social Continuará Después Del 4 De Mayo, Según Inslee

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa March 25, 2020

In an April 28, 2020, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said residents should prepare for current social distancing restrictions to continue past May 4. CREDIT: Austin Jenkins/N3

Northwest Public Broadcasting ha creado esta página para mantener a lectores hispanohablantes al tanto de recomendaciones y medidas gubernamentales para combatir el coronavirus, también conocido como COVID-19. Esta página será […]Read More

Idaho Education Board Orders Closure Of All Public Schools, Among Last States To Do So

By NWPB News March 24, 2020

The Moscow School District decided earlier in March to close schools after its spring break, after Idaho Gov. Brad Little declined a statewide closure. CREDIT: Architect21c at the English Wikipedia / GFDL gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html

During what the board called a “soft closure,” schools will be closed to students. At least for now, the shutdown runs through April 20. The shutdown is designed to provide some guidance for school administrators, as a global pandemic shakes the foundation of Idaho education.Read More

Yakima County Gets Stay-At-Home Order As President Trump Declares Emergency For Washington

By NWPB News March 22, 2020

Jess White, a registered nurse at UW Northwest, demonstrates to another nurse how to properly remove a mask on Thursday, March 12, 2020, at UW Medicine's drive-through testing clinic in Seattle. CREDIT: Megan Farmer/KUOW

Coronavirus continues to spread in Washington and Idaho. As of Sunday, March 22, Washington had nearly 2,000 confirmed cases, with at least 95 deaths since the outbreak began. Idaho’s official number stood at 47 cases, with most in Blaine County. Read More

Coronavirus In Idaho: Moscow Closing Bars And Restaurants As Cases Grow Statewide

By NWPB News March 20, 2020

There may not be enough beds for coronavirus patients in Idaho, if even the most conservative estimates from state epidemiologists are accurate.Read More

Inslee Gives Washingtonians Eviction Protection; Little Asks Idahoans To Avoid Large Crowds

By NWPB News March 18, 2020

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, left, gives an elbow touch to American Sign Language interpreter Terry Dockter after a news conference about the coronavirus outbreak Monday, March 16, 2020, in Seattle. Inslee ordered all bars, restaurants, entertainment and recreation facilities to temporarily close to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced a slate of measures Wednesday to help the state’s workers, businesses and renters. In Idaho, Gov. Brad Little urged his state’s citizens to impose more discipline on themselves to keep COVID-19 from spreading. Read More

Rural Hospitals Brace For Coronavirus Impacts. Here’s How Grangeville, Idaho Is Preparing

By NPR News March 16, 2020

Michelle Schaeffer, director of Syringa Clinics in Idaho, says her facility and an adjoining hospital have about a month's supply of masks left. CREDIT: Kirk Siegler/NPR

There is no intensive care unit at Grangeville, Idaho's Syringa Hospital. So when they do get a critically ill patient or trauma victims, it's standard protocol to stabilize and transfer them to a large regional hospital in western Montana or Spokane, Wash. But what if ICUs in those places become overwhelmed with coronavirus patients?Read More

March 10 Idaho Election Much More Than Presidential Primary: 41 School District Levies Up For Vote

By NWPB News March 10, 2020

Voters wait in line as the polls open at Pierce Park Baptist Church in Boise, Idaho, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. CREDIT: Otto Kitsinger/AP

For some districts, the stakes are particularly high. A year ago, after a failed levy, Kamiah was forced to close its middle school. In other districts, the proposals are familiar, reruns of levies voters have approved for years. But the Nampa School District is taking a second run at a levy, four months after a proposal fell a scant 11 votes short of passing.Read More

Washington, Idaho And 4 Other States Vote: Your Guide To ‘Big Tuesday’

By NPR News March 9, 2020

The 2020 Washington presidential primary ballot requires voters to select a party, which is new, and many people don't care for it. CREDIT: Scott Leadingham/NWPB

Tuesday's contests offer 352 delegates among six states. Michigan is the biggest prize, and it could be another pivot point in this Democratic primary.Read More

In Gun-Friendly Idaho, Dispute Over Sandpoint Festival Pits 2nd Amendment Against Property Rights

By NWPB News March 6, 2020

A "No Firearms" sign outside of the Bonner County Courthouse in Sandpoint, where the case, Bonner County v. City of Sandpoint, is being heard. CREDIT: Nick Deshais/N3

A gun ban at a popular music festival in North Idaho is splitting the community, leading to a lawsuit between Bonner County and its largest town, Sandpoint. Read More

Idaho Attorney General Says Proposed Transgender Athlete Ban Could Be Unconstitutional

By NWPB News February 25, 2020

The Idaho state flags hangs in the rotunda of the statehouse in Boise

The Idaho Attorney General’s office says a bill that would ban transgender women from competing on sports teams that align with their gender identity could be “constitutionally problematic” and “likely vulnerable to a court challenge.”Read More

Welcome To … Greater Idaho? Oregonians Could Be Asked To Join Proposal For Shifting State Lines

By NWPB News February 18, 2020

Proponents of the "Greater Idaho" proposal want to add eastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as northern California, to the existing boundaries of Idaho.

The “Greater Idaho Movement” is the latest separatist initiative to have some regions leave Oregon. If successful, the movement would rope in some parts of Northern California as well.Read More

Idaho Rep., A Former Basketball Player And Coach, Seeks To Bar Transgender Girls In School Sports

By NWPB News February 13, 2020

Rep. Barbara Ehardt outlines her “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” designed to ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports. The House Education Committee introduced the bill Wednesday. CREDIT: Sami Edge/Idaho Education News

On Feb. 12, the Idaho House Education Committee gave its initial approval to a bill designed to keep transgender students from competing in girls’ sports. That means the bill could come back at a later date for a full hearing.Read More

Legal Betting On The Super Bowl Was A Big Draw In Oregon. Washington Could Be Next

By Tom Banse February 9, 2020

Legal betting on the recent NFL Super Bowl was a winner for the state of Oregon and a handful of Oregon tribal casinos. This comes as legislators in Washington state ponder whether to legalize sports betting too.Read More

Trailer

By Kanale Rhoden February 6, 2020

Find out what we'll tackle on this season of HOW WE ENDED UP HERE. Listen or subscribe to this podcast.Read More

FCC Proposes $13M Fine For Idaho White Supremacist Over Racist Robocalls

By NWPB News January 31, 2020

File photo. A 2018 poster for then-missing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts hangs in the window of a local business in Brooklyn, Iowa. Regulators are proposing a nearly $13 million fine against Scott Rhodes, who they say illegally hid the origin of automated phone calls that used the slaying of Tibbetts, and election campaigns in other states to promote white nationalist and anti-Semitic messages. CREDIT: Charlie Neibergall / AP

The Federal Communications Commission said in a news release Thursday that Scott Rhodes violated the Truth in Caller ID Act that bars the manipulation of caller ID information so calls appear to come from local numbers — a technique called “neighbor spoofing.Read More

Idaho Schools Superintendent Emphasizes Importance Of Improved Outcomes For English Learners

By NWPB News January 31, 2020

Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra. CREDIT: Idaho Education News

Idaho’s schools have some 16,000 English language learners, and the majority speak Spanish as a primary language. Yet English language learners make up only 25 percent of Idaho’s Hispanic students, the vast majority of whom speak English.Read More

What Time Is It Here? That Question Could Surface In Border Towns Thanks To Idaho Legislature

By Tom Banse January 29, 2020

"What time is it here?" is a question few people feel the need to ask when crossing state lines in the Northwest. But a committee vote Wednesday in the Idaho Legislature raises the possibility that border cities in the Inland Northwest may observe time differently than their close neighbors as soon as next year.Read More

Northwest Salmon And Steelhead In Peril, And Efforts To Save Them Scale Up In Idaho

By NPR News January 23, 2020

Morning on the Clearwater River near Orofino, Idaho. This past fall, Idaho officials closed the Clearwater to steelhead trout and salmon fishing due to extremely low runs. CREDIT: Kirk Siegler/NPR

With Northwest salmon and steelhead on the brink, there are new efforts being brokered to save the famed fish.Read More

University Of Idaho President Says Staff And Program Cuts Are Inevitable

By NWPB News January 21, 2020

University of Idaho President C. Scott Green presents budgetary outlook before the Idaho Legislature on Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. Courtesy of Idaho Education News

The University of Idaho will have to cut employees and cut programs in order to erase tens of millions of dollars in budget shortfalls, President C. Scott Green said Monday. Green didn't go into details about where the cuts might come — but he said he is committed to getting the university’s budget back in line by 2022.Read More

What’s In Your Wallet? It’s Time For Travelers To Get Real About Getting Real ID

By Tom Banse January 20, 2020

You will need Real ID-compliant identification to go through TSA screening beginning Oct. 1, 2020.

Effective this October, a standard Washington, Oregon or Idaho driver's license won't pass muster with the Transportation Security Administration to board a domestic flight.Read More

Power Struggle Within Idaho’s GOP-Led Legislature Means Delayed Retirement For Obscure Employee

By NWPB News January 13, 2020

Idaho Administrative Rules Coordinator Dennis Stevenson in his office in Boise. A power struggle between the Republican-dominated Idaho House and Senate has had big ramifications for Stevenson, who for three decades has toiled in an agency most people didn't know existed. CREDIT: Keith Ridler/AP

A power struggle between the Republican-dominated Idaho House and Senate turned out to have big ramifications for a relatively unknown state employee who has toiled for three decades in an agency most people didn’t know existed.Read More

3rd Deceased Victim Identified In North Idaho Avalanche At Silver Mountain Resort

By NWPB News January 9, 2020

Search and rescue team members search for victims Tuesday, Jan. 7 at Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg, Idaho. Courtesy of Hank Lunsford via Spokane Public Radio

Searchers have located the body of a third person killed in an avalanche Tuesday at Silver Mountain Ski Resort in Kellogg, Idaho. Six people were found in the initial search Tuesday, two of whom died.Read More

At Least 2 People Killed At Silver Mountain Ski Resort In Idaho, Search Continues For At Least 1 More

By NWPB News January 8, 2020

The avalanche occurred on an area of the mountain called Wardner Peak. It’s a popular spot for expert-level skiers that can only be accessed by traversing from the top of a nearby chair-lift. It’s significant because the area is relatively easy to access and is considered in-bounds for the ski area, meaning it’s patrolled and has avalanche control done on it.Read More

All-Day Kindergarten Takes Off In Idaho. Is Pre-K Next?

By NWPB News January 2, 2020

Pre-K students at Boise’s Garfield Elementary School work on writing their names. CREDIT: Sami Edge/Idaho Education News

While schools struggle to find ways to fund and maintain pre-K, advocates face another challenge: selling a skeptical Legislature on the value of early education. Pre-K is a values debate and a policy debate. Critics say the state should focus on K-12 spending, assert that young children are best taught at home, and dismiss research on the lasting value of pre-K.Read More

Idaho’s Four-Year Schools Agree On ‘Momentous’ Tuition Freeze

By NWPB News December 12, 2019

Idaho’s four college and university presidents — Idaho State University President Kevin Satterlee, University of Idaho President C. Scott Green, Boise State University President Marlene Tromp and Lewis-Clark State College President Cynthia Pemberton — had discussed a possible tuition freeze since spring. Sami Edge/Idaho Education News.

For the first time in at least four decades, Idaho is freezing college and university tuition. The one-year freeze will go into effect next school year — and it covers in-state undergraduate students at Idaho’s four-year institutions.Read More

Idaho Community Mourns 9 Members Of Extended Family Killed In South Dakota Plane Crash

By NWPB News December 2, 2019

In this Dec. 2, 2019, photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board, an NTSB investigator begins the examination of the wreckage of the Pilatus PC-12 that crashed in Chamberlain, S.D., on Nov. 30 shortly after departure from Chamberlain Municipal Airport. CREDIT: NTSB via AP

An Idaho community is in mourning after nine members of one extended family were killed in a Thanksgiving weekend plane crash. Jim Hansen Sr. was killed in the crash that also killed his son, grandchildren and other relatives. Three generations of his clan ran a petroleum business called Conrad & Bischoff. They were returning from a pheasant-hunting trip in South Dakota Read More

Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Idaho Initiative Process

By NWPB News October 31, 2019

Amy Pratt personally collected more than 1,000 signatures to help get Proposition 2 on the ballot. It's the first time she's been politically active and she has no plans of stopping. CREDIT: JAMES DAWSON / BSPR

A federal lawsuit challenging Idaho's ballot initiative process as unconstitutional because it requires signatures from multiple legislative districts has been dismissed.Read More

University Of Idaho Settles Lawsuit From Law Student Victim Of Sexual Assault

By NWPB News October 25, 2019

The University of Idaho has reached a settlement in a lawsuit brought by a woman who said school officials told her to transfer to another campus if she didn't want to continue attending classes with a student who sexually assaulted her.Read More

All Aboard! Northwest Rail Buffs Get Steamed Up To Return Oregon Trail Amtrak Route To Boise

By Tom Banse October 22, 2019

Union Station in Portland could see lapsed train service to Boise revive if rail buffs can drum up enough support. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

The old Amtrak route started in Seattle, went south to Portland, then east through the Columbia River Gorge to Boise, and then to Salt Lake City, with an onward connection to Chicago. A volunteer-led nonprofit called the Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates (AORTA) proposes to revive at least the Portland to Boise segment.Read More

Moscow Voter Forum Is 7 PM Wednesday; See 6 Candidates For 3 City Council Seats

By Scott Leadingham October 22, 2019

Election officials across the country have worked hard to prioritize security ahead of November's midterms, but some strategies could have the unintended effect of sometimes making voting harder. CREDIT: JUSTIN SULLIVAN

Moscow voters will have the opportunity to hear from candidates running for city council Wednesday, Oct. 23. The civic group League of Women Voters is sponsoring a forum for the six candidates running for three city council seats. The format will include questions asked of candidates by a moderator.Read More

Idaho Lawmakers Consider Changes To Property Tax And Allocation Ahead Of 2020 Legislative Session

By NWPB News October 21, 2019

File photo. The Idaho statehouse in Boise. CREDIT: Keith Ridler/AP

A panel of lawmakers is examining property tax options amid complaints that taxes are going up with rising property values, while also hearing on Monday concerns from cities and counties that they’re operating on tight budgets.Read More

Federal Wildlife Agency Announces Protections For Caribou Habitat In Washington And Idaho

By NWPB News October 2, 2019

two caribou in northwest Montana knock their antlers together. On Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019, U.S. federal officials finalized protections for caribou habitat in the lower 48 states.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated the southern mountain population of woodland caribou as endangered and confirmed 47 square miles in Idaho and Washington as critical habitat requiring special protection.Read More

Where Did Idaho Get Its Execution Drugs? A State Supreme Court Case May Reveal Hidden Records

By NWPB News September 23, 2019

File photo of Idaho Supreme Court chamber. CREDIT: JAMES DAWSON/BSPR

The Idaho Supreme Court is expected to decide next year whether prison officials must reveal the past source of their execution drugs. A University of Idaho professor's public records request is at the center of the case.Read More

Federal Government Could Keep Three Mile Island Radioactive Waste In Idaho For 20 More Years

By NWPB News September 17, 2019

Radioactive waste shipped to Idaho from a Midwestern nuclear weapons facility during the Cold War has been compacted and sent out of state for permanent disposal. A U.S. Department of Energy contractor on Wednesday said nearly 26,000 cubic yards of waste contaminated with plutonium-238 has been sent to a storage facility in New Mexico. CREDIT: KEITH RIDLER/AP

The partially melted reactor core from the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history could remain in Idaho for another 20 years if regulators finalize a license extension sought by the U.S. Energy Department, officials said Monday.Read More

Numbers Of Imperiled Sage Grouse Tumble Even Lower Across The West

By NWPB News September 12, 2019

Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming and other states are reporting population declines for the birds in 2019. CREDIT: Jerret Raffety/The Rawlins Daily Times via AP

Grouse numbers also continued to drop in 2019 in Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming. Weather can affect populations from year to year, and wildlife officials say those short-term cycles are most directly responsible for the recent declines.Read More

Research Suggests Climate Change Is Reducing Snowfall In The Northwest

By NWPB News September 11, 2019

A snow-machine rider takes a snowpack reading as part of Community Snow Observations, a NASA-sponsored citizen science project. CREDIT: OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

New research says climate change is decreasing the amount of snow in the Pacific Northwest. And that has implications for water resources in the region.Read More

Could Relocating Sage Grouse Save The Birds In Washington?

By Courtney Flatt September 3, 2019

A male greater sage grouse struts its stuff on Bureau of Land Management land in this April 21, 2012, photo. CREDIT: BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT/FLICKR

Moving imperiled sage grouse from one spot to another can be hard on the birds. But research from Washington State University suggests that after a restless adjustment period, the birds eventually get used to their new homes.Read More

Public Can Comment On Killing Of Sea Lions In Columbia River Until October 29

By NWPB News September 2, 2019

Sea lions have been eating steelhead and other fish at Willamette Falls in ever greater numbers.Photo courtesy of ODFW

Three Northwest states’ request to lethally remove sea lions from the Columbia River is now open for public comment. Read More

Court Says Idaho Must Provide Gender Confirmation Surgery To Transgender Inmate

By NPR News August 23, 2019

Court orders that the state of Idaho pay for gender confirmation surgery for Adree Edmo, a transgender inmate who was incarcerated at the Idaho State Correctional Institution, pictured above.

Friday a panel of judges ruled that in denying a transgender inmate gender confirmation surgery, the state violated the Eighth Amendment.Read More

Campus Police Will No Longer Store Guns For WSU Students After New Legal Interpretation

By Scott Leadingham August 15, 2019

Reflecting on the glass door of the WSU Public Safety Building, a sign on the door announces the gun storage policy change Aug. 14, 2019. CREDIT: SCOTT LEADINGHAM/NWPB

Firearms are not allowed on the Washington State University campus in Pullman. But now students will no longer have that option, due to a new interpretation of state law applying to university police forces like WSU’s.Read More

Idaho Group That Pushed For Medicaid Expansion Seeks Input On Citizen Initiatives

By Doug Nadvornick July 30, 2019

The group that sponsored Idaho’s successful Medicaid expansion initiative last year is now working on a new project. Reclaim Idaho is trying to preserve the rights of citizen groups to propose initiatives and collect signatures to put them on the ballot.Read More

Radioactive Waste Shipped From Idaho To New Mexico For Permanent Storage

By NWPB News July 17, 2019

Radioactive waste shipped to Idaho during the Cold War has been compacted and sent out of state for permanent disposal, officials said Wednesday.Read More

BLM Says They Won’t Kill Wild Horses In Western States To Control Growing Population

By NWPB News July 12, 2019

This July 25, 2007 file photo, shows wild horses being herded by the Bureau of Land Management in a field, at the Black Mountain and Hardtrigger Herd Management Areas in the Owyhee Mountains southeast of Marsing, Idaho. CREDIT: Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman via AP

The federal Bureau of Land Management will not pursue lethal measures such as euthanasia or selling horses for slaughter to deal with what officials say is an ecological and fiscal crisis caused by too many wild horses on rangelands in the U.S. West, an official said Thursday.Read More

Judge Says Work Can Begin On Contested Central Idaho Hiking-Biking Trail

By NWPB News June 17, 2019

The Sawtooth National Recreation Area near Stanley, Idaho. A federal judge has ruled that work can go forward on a trail crossing private land that connects the popular central Idaho tourist destinations of Redfish Lake and Stanley. CREDIT: Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman via AP

Work can go forward on a trail crossing private land that connects the popular tourist destinations of Redfish Lake and Stanley, a judge has ruled. U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Dale late last week rejected a request by the owners of Sawtooth Mountain Ranch to halt construction of the 4.4-mile trail for pedestrians, cyclists, horseback riders and snowmobilers.Read More

Timeline: A History Of Grizzly Bear Recovery In The Lower 48 States

By NWPB News June 10, 2019

A sow grizzly bear spotted near Camas in northwestern Montana. Wildlife officials endorsed a plan in August to keep northwestern Montana's grizzly population at roughly 1,000 bears as the state seeks to bolster its case that lifting federal protections will not lead to the bruins' demise. CREDIT: MONTANA FISH AND WILDLIFE AND PARK

At their peak, grizzly bears numbered more than 50,000 in the Lower 48. Facing threats from habitat loss, hunting and conflicts with people and livestock, their numbers dwindled to fewer than 1,000 in the lower 48 by the time the Endangered Species Act was implemented in 1975. Here's a timeline of the management actions, court cases and notable events that have shaped Read More

USDA Says States Can’t Block Hemp Transports. Idaho State Police Begs To Differ.

By NWPB News May 30, 2019

Samples of hemp sit on a table in the conference room at Andrew Ross' office in Denver on Friday, March 22, 2019. Ross, a Marine who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, is facing 18 years to life in Oklahoma if he is convicted after he was arrested in January while providing security for a load of state-certified hemp from Kentucky. Federal legalization for hemp has created a quandary for police as authorities lack the technology to distinguish marijuana from agricultural hemp at a roadside stop. CREDIT: THOMAS PEIPERT/AP

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says states can’t block the interstate transportation of hemp, but law enforcement in Idaho says it won’t follow those guidelines.Read More