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 […]

U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) issued a statement Friday urging passage of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, as the Senate prepares to begin formal consideration of the legislation on September 15. The Clarity Act would establish a federal framework governing digital assets, with the stated goals of protecting consumers and investors, deterring bad actors, […]

U.S. Representative Mike Simpson is defending a proposal to site a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus at Idaho National Laboratory, arguing that Idaho’s long history as the nation’s nuclear research leader makes it the natural home for new technologies aimed at reducing and recycling used nuclear fuel. Idaho’s Nuclear Roots Idaho National Laboratory has served as […]

A campaign opposing a proposed abortion ballot measure in Idaho released its first television advertisement on August 6, targeting voters with claims that the measure goes further than its supporters have acknowledged. The ad, titled “Not What It Seems,” runs two minutes and was produced by Stop Prop 1, a campaign organized by the Too […]

A bipartisan bill co-authored by Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo cleared a key Senate hurdle Wednesday, with the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously advancing the measure aimed at cutting through government red tape that has long slowed efforts to account for missing American military personnel. The legislation, formally designated S. 3226 and titled […]

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador is pressing Congress to close a gap in federal law that prevents states from pursuing Medicaid beneficiaries who fraudulently enroll in the program. Labrador co-led a multi-state letter urging passage of the STOP FRAUD in Medicaid Act, which would expand the scope of what state investigators are legally permitted to […]

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 […]

Steve Johnson, a retired educator and longtime Bonner County farmer, formally entered the race for the District 1 Idaho Senate seat last week, launching his independent campaign at an event in Sandpoint on August 4. Johnson will face Republican nominee Scott Herndon in the November 3 general election. Running without party affiliation, Johnson is positioning […]

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 […]