McDaniel wins ITD award

The Idaho Transportation Department said Heather McDaniel received the Vanguard Award for her work ethic, attitude and leadership on the ITD communications team.

She handles external and internal communications for D1 and for her first two years with ITD, Heather retained her communications role on the North Idaho DUI Taskforce and earned a $30,000 grant for the program.

McDaniel's creation of Operation Clean Sweep, a one-day weekday event where members of the public are invited to join D1 crews in trash collection, sparked by the seasonal high-volume of complaints about trash on Interstate 90 and U.S. 95. 

Last year, 928 people registered to attend the course across Idaho. 

Now in its second year, registrations have reached 1,853 for 2025/2026, an increase of nearly 100%.