Starting Tuesday, Idaho stands alone among U.S. states in designating the firing squad as its primary means of carrying out the death penalty. The shift, enacted through House Bill 37 signed by Gov. Brad Little in March 2025, took effect July 1, 2026, marking a significant departure from the lethal injection protocol the state had […]

A federal judge in Idaho heard nearly two hours of arguments Friday over whether to block a new state law requiring restroom use based on biological sex, with a ruling needed before the measure takes effect on Tuesday. The Case Before the Court Chief U.S. District Judge Amanda Brailsford presided over the hearing in Jackson-Edney […]

Idaho’s state revenue came in $21.1 million below forecast in May, a shortfall driven largely by underperforming individual income tax collections — though officials say the fiscal year as a whole remains on solid footing heading into its final weeks. Total May collections reached $367.1 million, falling 5.4% short of projections. Individual income tax receipts […]

A pair of investigative news outlets filed suit against two Idaho agencies in June, alleging that state officials deliberately cut off access to police employment records after prior reporting exposed widespread sexual misconduct among prison guards. InvestigateWest and the Invisible Institute filed their lawsuit on June 16 in Ada County District Court, naming the Idaho […]

Two Idaho abortion restrictions enacted in August 2022 are facing fresh constitutional scrutiny in court, with a maternal-fetal medicine specialist serving as the lead challenger — though courtroom admissions have raised questions about the strength of his case. The Laws at Issue Idaho’s Heartbeat Law and Defense of Life Act both took effect in August […]

The U.S. Forest Service’s Northern Regional office in Missoula has released an eight-page emergency logging plan covering more than 5 million acres across Montana and the Idaho Panhandle, responding to widespread wind damage that struck the region in December 2025 and April 2026. Scope of the Project The plan targets forest land across a broad […]

Idaho recorded the second-lowest payment error rate in the country for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during fiscal year 2024-2025, according to federal data — a ranking that places the state far ahead of most others as new national penalties for high-error states loom on the horizon. The state’s error rate came in at […]

Convention Delivers Broad Policy Agenda Idaho Republican Party delegates approved 18 resolutions at the party’s recent convention, covering topics ranging from property taxes and election integrity to nuclear energy and marijuana policy. The resolutions emerged from committee review and floor debate, representing the party’s formal position-taking process that occurs every two years at the convention […]

A federal judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of key portions of Idaho’s new transgender bathroom law, halting criminal penalties tied to certain restroom access provisions just days before the measure was set to take effect on July 1. The preliminary injunction will remain in place while the underlying lawsuit works its way through federal court. […]

Idaho state agencies have been told to keep their budgets flat for the coming fiscal year, following a directive from the state’s top financial officer after lawmakers approved roughly $143 million in spending cuts for fiscal year 2027. Lori Wolff, director of the Division of Financial Management, sent a memo to agency heads late last […]

The Idaho Republican Party wrapped up its state convention last week with a newly updated party platform that takes a bold stance on two significant policy fronts: a call to eliminate property taxes entirely and a push to sever the state’s reliance on accrediting organizations deemed too progressive for Idaho’s K-12 schools and colleges. Property […]

The Idaho Republican Party made history at its 2026 state convention, electing an all-female executive committee while returning Dorothy Moon to the state chair position for an unprecedented third term. Moon secured the chairmanship with 306 votes, or 51.4 percent — just above the 51 percent threshold required under party rules to avoid a runoff. […]