A federal judge in Idaho issued an 81-page ruling Thursday that expands the circumstances under which abortions may be legally performed in the state, allowing the procedure when a pregnancy poses serious risks to the mother’s physical or mental health — including cases where a woman faces a high risk of self-harm. U.S. District Court […]
Justice Robyn Brody will become chief justice of the Idaho Supreme Court on Oct. 1, the Idaho Judicial Branch announced Thursday. She succeeds Chief Justice G. Richard Bevan, who is set to retire Oct. 30 after leading the court since 2021. A Historic Appointment Brody will be only the second woman to hold the chief […]
A Crisis by the Numbers Southern Idaho is confronting its most severe water shortage on record this summer, with state calculations showing spring water demand reached nearly 140% of the historical average — a figure the Idaho Department of Water Resources has never previously recorded. The strain is falling hardest on agricultural users who depend […]
As Idaho voters prepare to weigh in on Proposition 1 — a citizen-led initiative to repeal the state’s strict abortion ban — a Christian advocacy group and several Republican state legislators are promoting licensing data they say disproves a peer-reviewed study finding Idaho lost 35 percent of its OB-GYNs since 2022. Medical professionals and their […]
A legislative working group examining health insurance practices in Idaho heard testimony this week that accepting a Pocatello hospital’s reimbursement rate demands would have driven up costs for the roughly 65,000 state employees and family members covered under the state’s health plan. Working Group’s First Meeting The Idaho Legislature’s Health Insurers Working Group held its […]
A New Civics Standard for Idaho High Schoolers Idaho high school students will soon face a revamped civics exam that supporters say sets a higher bar for civic knowledge. The new test, created under Senate Bill 1366, takes effect during the 2027-28 school year and replaces an older 100-question citizenship test with a more focused […]
A federal proposal that would tie public housing assistance to employment conditions is drawing a cautious, uneven response from Idaho’s public housing authorities, with some signing onto a voluntary coalition supporting the framework while others hold off. The Federal Proposal The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development earlier this year unveiled the Work and […]
A new fiscal policy analysis has found that Idaho lawmakers steered significantly more money toward incarceration infrastructure during the 2026 legislative session than toward programs aimed at reducing the prison population in the first place — a pattern the report’s author describes as prioritizing prisons over prevention. The Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy released the […]
A standing-room-only crowd packed the Caldwell City Council chambers on July 6, with attendees spilling into hallways and out the door — a turnout that reflected growing public unease over automated license plate reader technology deployed by police departments across Idaho. The gathering centered on the Caldwell Police Department’s use of Flock Safety automated license […]
Idaho’s Republican legislative leaders have established a new interim working group to examine health insurer practices across the state, with the effort prompted by a contract breakdown between Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello and the Regence health insurance network. Origins of the Task Force House Speaker Mike Moyle and Senate President Pro Tempore Kelly Anthon […]
Federal authorities have charged three people from different states with making threats against a judge, a witness, and other officials connected to the investigation into the death of Nolan Xavier Wells, an 18-year-old Mississippi man whose body was recovered following a July Fourth boat trip to an uninhabited island off the state’s Gulf Coast. None […]
Idaho’s Judicial Branch on Tuesday launched a new court records search interface at county courthouses statewide, giving the public a more accessible way to look up case information and hearing details without needing a party name or case number to get started. Statewide Rollout All 44 county courthouses in Idaho now have at least one […]