A privately developed microreactor reached a milestone at Idaho National Laboratory on Thursday when Antares Nuclear achieved a zero-power fueled criticality demonstration of its Mark-0 reactor — the first such achievement for a privately developed non-light-water reactor in the United States in more than four decades. A Historic Milestone at INL Energy Secretary Chris Wright […]

Employers Scrambling as Enforcement Date Approaches With less than a month until Idaho’s new bathroom law becomes enforceable, many of the state’s private business owners remain uncertain about what compliance actually looks like — and what liability they might face if they get it wrong. The law, which takes effect July 1, 2026, makes it […]

Federal Agency Publishes Implementation Guidance for Medicaid Work Rules The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week released an interim rule spelling out how states must document employment status for adults enrolled in Medicaid, establishing a hard deadline of January 1, 2027, for full compliance. The guidance covers roughly 20 million adults who gained […]

Two Executive Orders Dating to the 1970s Eliminated President Donald Trump last Friday eliminated a pair of executive orders that had shaped federal land management policy for over fifty years, removing longstanding requirements for how agencies handle off-road vehicle use on public lands. The move prompted immediate criticism from conservation organizations operating across Idaho and […]

Two Republican Challengers Will Face Incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson in Idaho’s May 19 Primary BOISE, Idaho — U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, who has held Idaho’s 2nd Congressional District seat since 1999, will face two Republican primary challengers on May 19: Brian Keene of Twin Falls and Perry Shumway of Rexburg. Simpson is seeking his […]

Data Center Debate Moves From Statehouses to Capitol Hill as Congress Eyes Energy Costs, AI Growth A Local Fight Goes National What began as a series of contentious local disputes over electricity costs and land use has grown into a full-scale policy battle in Washington. Data centers — the massive facilities that power artificial intelligence, […]

Five Takeaways From the 2026 Idaho Republican Primary Overview With results still filtering in from rural counties on primary election night, the 2026 Idaho Republican primary produced a series of notable outcomes that will shape the Legislature’s ideological composition heading into the 2027 session. Federal incumbents held firm, the governor’s political network produced mixed results, […]

Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit Program Reopens May 21 With More Than $7 Million Still Available The Idaho State Tax Commission will reopen applications for the state’s Parental Choice Tax Credit program beginning Wednesday, May 21 at 8 a.m. MDT, giving eligible families another window to access funding for private and alternative education expenses. The […]

Idaho Advocates Push Ten-Year Plan to Eliminate Property Taxes Without Raising Other Levies A Deep-Rooted Tax Under Scrutiny Property taxes in Idaho trace their origins to before statehood itself, when the Idaho Territory established them as a primary revenue mechanism beginning in 1863. Now, some fiscal policy advocates are arguing that the tax’s longevity is […]

Trump Drops IRS Lawsuit as DOJ Creates $1.7 Billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, Drawing Democratic Condemnation President Donald Trump and his family voluntarily dismissed a multi-billion-dollar federal lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service on Monday, the same day the U.S. Department of Justice announced the creation of a $1.776 billion settlement fund for individuals the administration says […]

Idaho Secretary of State McGrane Touts National Election Administration Awards Ahead of May Primary Idaho’s elections office claimed four national awards this year from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, a recognition that Secretary of State Phil McGrane says reflects the state’s growing reputation for innovative election administration. The commission distributed 46 Clearinghouse Awards — known […]

Idaho’s Most Expensive Legislative Primary Pits Sen. Jim Guthrie Against Challenger David Worley in District 28 Half a Million Dollars and Counting The Idaho Senate primary contest between incumbent Jim Guthrie and challenger David Worley in District 28 has surpassed $503,000 in combined spending, making it the costliest legislative primary matchup in the state this […]