Faith-healing: Parent's religious right or felony?

BOISE (AP) — After several recent child deaths, an Idaho lawmaker wants to follow Oregon's lead and require parents to seek medical help for kids suffering from potentially fatal conditions — even if their religion frowns on it.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

21 coyotes, no wolves shot in disputed Idaho derby

BOISE (AP) — Organizers of a disputed weekend predator derby in central Idaho's mountains say 21 coyotes but no wolves were shot by more than 230 hunters who participated.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Idaho had a few downers in 2013

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

GOP senator wants review of 'Connecting Idaho' highway program

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Idaho Romanians face removal for immigration fraud

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Stress-less southbound songbirgs

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 12 MONTHS AGO

A lonely distinction

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS AGO

Denney wants to target real estate expansion

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS AGO

Lawmakers: Exchange deal 'indefensible'

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS AGO

Idaho rep questions legality of same-sex tax rules

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

FEC seeks $140K fine from Craig in bathroom case

BOISE - Federal election regulators want former U.S. Sen. Larry Craig to pay $140,000 in fines and return nearly $217,000 to his campaign, arguing he misused the money to fund his legal defense after his 2007 arrest in an airport bathroom sex sting.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Ready or not...

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Amid fear, feds pledge privacy for Idaho exchange

BOISE - Federal officials insisted Wednesday that people seeking coverage via Idaho's online health insurance exchange starting next week shouldn't fear for their privacy, despite last-minute concerns among foes of President Barack Obama's health overhaul that more should be done to protect personal information.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Environmentalists, tribe seek to halt megaloads

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Labrador: Syria, debt drama to upstage immigration

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Dubious and doubtful

BOISE - U.S. Sen. Jim Risch voted against President Barack Obama's proposed strike against Syria's chemical weapons infrastructure, underscoring skepticism among Idaho's representatives in Congress about the plan.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

1,600 homes evacuated as Idaho wildfire burns

BOISE - Sheriff's deputies Friday expanded evacuation orders to 1,600 homes near the Idaho mountain resort community of Sun Valley as a wind-driven wildfire burned its way through sage and pine trees.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Justices: Idaho can regulate tribal cigarette shipments

BOISE - The Idaho Supreme Court on Thursday bolstered the state's power to regulate cigarettes shipped to Indian-owned businesses with a ruling that concludes Native American sovereignty does not pre-empt state law in the matter.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Fighting fire with fire

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Ex-prosecutor Bujak may run for governor

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Insurance exchange plans extended closed meeting

BOISE - The board overseeing Idaho's health insurance exchange plans a 3-hour, 40-minute meeting behind a downtown Boise law office's closed doors where citizens will be barred Thursday - nearly twice as long as a public meeting scheduled later that day.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Idaho tax revenue up for 3rd straight year

BOISE - Idaho tax revenue exceeded forecasts for a third year as the state's economy slowly recovered - enough to add millions to rainy day reserve accounts, though they're just half record levels of more than $400 million before the recession began five years ago.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Creditors agree to delay sale of Tamarack assets

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Company hopes to test Russian wildfire plane in Idaho

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Toddler dead after central Idaho plane crash

BOISE - Two small planes collided in central Idaho on Friday morning at the site of a backcountry fly-in, killing a 2-year-old boy and injuring three other people.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Taliban offer adds urgency to Idaho POW rally

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

GOP panel rejects plan to vet candidates

Republican leaders in Idaho on Saturday dumped a plan calling for party officials to vet GOP primary election candidates.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Lawsuit: Growers skewed spud prices

BOISE - A battle between grocers and potato growers has been silently hitting shoppers' pocketbooks, according to a U.S. wholesaler accusing America's spud farmers of driving up prices while spying on farmers with satellites and aircraft fly-overs to enforce strict limits on how many tubers they can grow.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Crapo shifts focus to policy, not problems

BOISE - Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo surrounded himself with weapons and Republican allies Thursday to promote the merits of a federal bill to help law enforcement agencies deal with mentally ill criminals, redirecting his focus to policy and away from his recent personal and campaign miscues.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Judge trims Idaho school fees suit to 1 district

BOISE - An Idaho judge dismissed dozens of public school districts from a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of forcing students to pay fees, saying the plaintiff in the case doesn't have standing to sue them all.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Genetically engineered fries?

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Idaho: No plan to shift part-timers to exchange

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Governor wins with exchange, tax repeal plan

BOISE (AP) — After the 2013 session ended, Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter joked that he grew confident his proposal for a state-based health insurance exchange would succeed only “when that bill hit my desk.”

BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Idaho lawmakers adjourn, settle education budget

BOISE (AP) — The 2013 Idaho Legislature adjourned Thursday, nearly a week later than expected, after lawmakers finally completed the $1.3 billion education budget.

BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Idaho lawmakers adjourn

BOISE - The 2013 Idaho Legislature adjourned Thursday, nearly a week later than expected, after lawmakers finally completed the $1.3 billion education budget.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Idaho contracts under scrutiny amid ruling, report

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Battle over the education budget

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Senate to consider Idaho's demand for federal land

BOISE - The full state Senate will consider a measure demanding that the federal government cede millions of acres of public forests, backcountry and rangeland to Idaho, on grounds the state can manage it better.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Idaho Senate rejects education budget

BOISE - State senators voted 18-17 against the $1.3 billion public schools budget Wednesday, extending the session beyond Friday after an insurrection of lawmakers who concluded the proposed spending plan for fiscal year 2014 infringed too severely on state education policy.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Idaho Senate votes 35-0 for personal property tax cut

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Bickering over education budget last 2013 hurdle

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Lawmakers won't tackle Medicaid this session

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

House votes 35-33 for break for private schools

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

House backs personal property tax cut

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Gaining control

BOISE - The state House on Wednesday approved an Idaho-based, nonprofit insurance exchange, a provision of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul that inflamed passions of lawmakers during seven hours of debate.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Idaho House panel backs state insurance exchange

BOISE (AP) — The House Health and Welfare Committee backed a state-based, nonprofit insurance exchange Thursday, conceding that it wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was better than merely accepting a version run from Washington, D.C.

BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Idaho property taxpayer promises to invest savings

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Bill would punish shepherds who go on the lam

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Senators back exchange plan

BOISE - Idaho senators voted Thursday to back the governor's plan to create a state-based nonprofit insurance exchange, rather than defaulting to an exchange run by the federal government, as many other Republican-led states have done.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Otter floats personal property tax cut plan

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Legislators to debate gun bills Monday

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Fishing for data

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Not lost in translation

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Correction nixes planned mental health prison

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Union limits, charter schools focus of hearing

BOISE - A pair of themes - charter school funding and proposed new limits on teachers unions - dominated a two-hour "listening session" where House and Senate Education Committee members Friday got an earful from the public.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Luna proposes 3 percent hike for education budget

BOISE - Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna on Thursday proposed a 3 percent hike to public-school funding for 2014, including a small pay increase for teachers that restores funding he shifted from salaries starting last year to help finance his now-failed education reforms.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Telecoms to lawmakers: Lift cold-call restrictions

BOISE - Idaho land-line phone companies contend a 13-year-old law forbidding them from cold-calling existing customers is crippling their ability to market high-speed Internet.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Lawmakers agree on revenue forecast

BOISE - In a rare move since the Great Recession hit the state, Idaho lawmakers decided Gov. Butch Otter's tax revenue forecast for the coming fiscal year wasn't too optimistic.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Otter gives State of the State address

BOISE - Gov. Butch Otter on Monday proposed eliminating Idaho's personal property tax, a move that would cost $141 million in tax revenue but provide a boost to business leaders who say the tax is a drag on the economy.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Senator Crapo won't fight drunken driving charge

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Michael Crapo, the Idaho Republican arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, doesn't plan to fight the charges when he appears in court in January, a spokesman said Friday.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Keeping it local

BOISE - Gov. Butch Otter said Tuesday a state-built health insurance exchange is the best option for Idaho under the federal government's health care overhaul, but left the final decision up to lawmakers who return to Boise in January.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Otter's exchange choice at Idaho lawmakers' mercy

BOISE - Gov. Butch Otter's decision next week on what kind of insurance exchange the state should adopt remains at the mercy of lawmakers who return to Boise on Jan. 7 for the 2013 session, Republican legislative leaders said.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Skiers, snowmobilers go to court in powder struggle

BOISE - Early-season snow just dusts the peaks above Idaho's capital, but a courtroom battle down in the valley could have a big impact on who gets to ride where on the accumulating white powder.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS AGO

Despite defeat, Luna plans to push merit pay in 2013

BOISE - Public schools chief Tom Luna suggested Monday he'll ask the 2013 Idaho Legislature to adopt another pay-for-performance program for teachers, arguing that voters' rejection of merit bonuses isn't a sign that they favor the existing way of compensating educators.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS AGO

Where is the money coming from?

BOISE - The idea seemed simple: Create a nonprofit, collect cash and send more than $200,000 for TV ads promoting an education overhaul by schools chief Tom Luna.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS AGO

Ysursa lawsuit back in court

BOISE - A lawsuit to force a group touting public schools chief Tom Luna's education overhaul to reveal its still-secret financiers was returned to state court after Secretary of State Ben Ysursa argued a ploy to move the matter to federal court was a desperate delay tactic.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS AGO

Pro-Luna Laws group won't disclose donors

BOISE - A group promoting Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna's education overhaul refused Friday to disclose its donors, instead suggesting it be allowed to take back its money.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS AGO

Police investigate Idaho St. coach after complaint

POCATELLO - Idaho State head football coach Mike Kramer is being investigated by police and the university for allegedly shoving a player to the ground two weeks ago in an incident caught on video.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS AGO

Swiss bank cleared to pursue resort sheriff's sale

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Renewables crisis?

BOISE - An Idaho alternative energy fight is sending out international shockwaves, with a Greek company saying utilities' demands to skirt their obligations to buy power from wind farms are a threat to its business.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Hotshot team cites safety issues in deadly Idaho fire

BOISE - An elite federal firefighting team declined to join efforts to douse a deadly northern Idaho wildfire last week, citing safety concerns on the day before a 20-year-old firefighter was killed.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Firefighter killed in north-central Idaho

BOISE - A 20-year-old U.S. Forest Service firefighter died after she was struck by a falling tree in north-central Idaho, highlighting the dangerous job crews face as at least a dozen blazes continue to burn across the state.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Craig: Airport bathroom trip was official business

BOISE (AP) — Former Republican U.S. Sen. Larry Craig aims to scuttle federal campaign charges against him by arguing his infamous July 11, 2007 Minneapolis airport bathroom visit that ended in his sex-sting arrest was part of his official Senate business.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

States seek federal help fighting mussel scourge

BOISE - Regional energy planners for four Western states are asking Congress for help building a stronger line of defense against what some officials call an unfolding environmental disaster - an invasive mussel that is clogging Colorado River reservoirs like Lake Mead outside Las Vegas after ravaging the Great Lakes …

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Portland union dispute hits Port of Lewiston

LEWISTON - A union-on-union fight over whose members should plug in refrigerated shipping containers in Oregon has sent economic ripples 360 miles upstream to an Idaho port, where some customers have ditched river barges for trucks rather than wait out the uncertainty.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Idaho GOP lawmakers decry health care ruling

BOISE (AP) — Ever since a Democratic-controlled Congress revamped America’s health insurance system in 2010, the notion of government-mandated coverage has vexed most Idaho Republicans.

BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Idaho to negotiate for laptops after too few bids

BOISE (AP) — Citing insufficient competition, Idaho officials have abandoned their original bidding process meant to equip public school teachers with laptop computers starting this fall.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Peterson elected Republican chair

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

GOP convention will check tea-party pulse

BOISE (AP) — Libertarian-leaning delegates made a show of force at the last two state Republican conventions, where raucous Ron Paul acolytes pushing limited government stamped their image on Idaho's dominant political party.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Idaho: Five Wives Vodka offensive to residents

SALT LAKE CITY - Five Wives Vodka was named in bad taste and won't be stocked or special ordered at stores operated by the state of Idaho, regulators said.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Is the tea party over?

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Keep it closed or open it up?

BOISE - Gov. Butch Otter expects Republican leaders in June at the GOP convention in Twin Falls to debate the merits of the party's new closed primary election after Tuesday's record-low turnout.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Vote ... or stay home?

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Despite odds, LeFavour says this is a race to win

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Heileson renews libertarian bid to oust Simpson

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Businesses fund GOP incumbents

BOISE (AP) — Since last week, pro-business groups like the Idaho Association of Realtors have pumped some $30,000 into campaigns of Republican incumbents facing libertarian-leaning rivals in the May 15 primary.

BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Idaho case shows midwife tension with hospitals

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Tamarack tie-up

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Ultrasound legislation dies

BOISE - Idaho's Republican-controlled Legislature is backing away from a bill requiring women seeking an abortion to get an ultrasound first, capping weeks of Capitol demonstrations, a live Senate ultrasound exhibition on pregnant women and threats against at least one lawmaker.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Medical theater

BOISE - The Idaho Capitol was part medical clinic, part reality TV show and all cultural battlefield on Wednesday, as an anti-abortion advocate secured a basement meeting room to conduct live ultrasound procedures on six women before a mostly female audience of 150.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Romney takes Idaho caucus

BOISE - Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on Tuesday won Idaho's first-ever Republican caucus, capturing all 32 delegates after besting rivals Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Senate panel approves gas industry-backed measure

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Idaho vote to privatize liquor might be illegal

BOISE - Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said Tuesday a proposed voter initiative to privatize Idaho's lucrative hard liquor business might be illegal because the state constitution says such decisions are the Legislature's purview.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

States attack 'Obamacare' with birth control bills

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Senate won't consider protection for gays

BOISE - Tears of outrage erupted from a near-capacity crowd numbering around 300 in the Capitol auditorium after Senate Republicans rejected even considering updates to Idaho's Human Rights Act to protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Wild rides defined a wild Micron leader

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Cd'A rep is Capitol's last cigarette smoker

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Lake looks to cut retirement perks

BOISE - Rep. Dennis Lake advanced his all-out push Tuesday to trim retirement benefits for Idaho elected officials, telling lawmakers they should dump an "unconscionable" law he says allows former legislators to pad their pensions.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Dealing with claims of asbestos

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

A new map of Idaho

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Idaho redistricting panel resumes work

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Justices nix GOP leaders' redistricting lawsuit

BOISE (AP) — The Idaho Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by state Republican leaders seeking to boot two redistricting commissioners, freeing the panel to reconvene without threat of interruption by a bitter internal GOP dispute.

BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Otter backtracks on Medicaid claim

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Otter suggests tax cuts

BOISE - Gov. Butch Otter laid out his plan for boosting Idaho's economy with his State of the State address Monday, suggesting up to $60 million in tax cuts and a pay raise for state workers and teachers.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Otter backs tax cut in speech

BOISE (AP) — Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter laid out his plan for boosting Idaho’s economy with his State of the State address Monday, suggesting up to $60 million in tax cuts and a pay raise for state workers and teachers.

BONNER COUNTY DAILY BEE | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Otter backs tax cut in State of State

BOISE(AP) - Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter laid out his plan for boosting Idaho's economy with his State of the State address Monday, suggesting up to $60 million in tax cuts and a pay raise for state workers and teachers.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Ex-Otter aide lobbies for Idaho Power

BOISE - Idaho Power Co. gained more lobbying might from inside government, as another of the governor's former chiefs of staff registered to become a paid lobbyist for the state's biggest utility.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Exchange debate starts early

BOISE - Ideological objections to federal health care reform clashed Thursday with the more pragmatic interests of business as Gov. Butch Otter joined lawmakers, industry and the state's top insurance regulator in the debate over whether Idaho should establish its own insurance exchange.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Idaho debates growing $31M cash stash

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Struggling solar plant fears power cutoff

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Going green proves too costly

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Treasurer: Relatives who raise trip costs must pay

BOISE - Relatives who accompany Idaho government officials on business trips to New York City should repay the state if their presence adds to ground transportation cost, Treasurer Ron Crane said Tuesday.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS AGO

Redistricting: Idaho looks a little less country, more suburban

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS AGO

Panel approves congressional map

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS AGO

Redistricting panel adopts legislative map

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Idaho tea party leader lands government job

BOISE (AP) - In the conservative crucible of Idaho's far north, a tea party leader aiming to slim down government has a new title: Government employee.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Federal agency investigates Tamarack suitor

BOISE - The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating complaints over how the would-be buyer of Tamarack Resort oversaw retirement plans for investors who say they don't know where their money is.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Teachers union loses lawsuit

BOISE - An Idaho state court on Friday upheld the portion of public schools chief Tom Luna's education reforms that weaken teacher negotiating power, ruling against a legal challenge from the Idaho Education Association.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Activists say they set fire at fur seller

BOISE - Animal rights activists said they pumped fuel into an Idaho fur and fireworks retailer before setting the place ablaze early Monday, and federal agents said they were taking the claim seriously.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Boise State football gets three years' probation

BOISE - The NCAA placed Boise State on probation for three years and imposed other sanctions Tuesday for major violations by the football program and other sports.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

10 years later, Patriot Act vote still defines Otter

BOISE - Despite nearly 30 years in government, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter in many ways has come to be defined by a single vote he cast on Oct. 24, 2001.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Auditors: Pharmacist's $358K deal is excessive

BOISE - Every time the pharmacist at the State Veterans Home in Boise dispenses an over-the-counter or prescription medication to one of the residents, he's due $11.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Idaho expects $179M surplus

BOISE - Idaho is expecting a second straight year of budget surpluses when the 2012 fiscal year ends, but conservative Idaho lawmakers and Gov. Butch Otter say it's much too early to count on the money.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Idaho to spend nearly $2M to study proposed dam

BOISE - State water managers have voted to spend $2 million to study building a big new dam on western Idaho's Weiser River.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Idaho's next governor?

BOISE - Idaho schools chief Tom Luna was at dinner with his wife, Cindy, after his "Students Come First" education reforms cleared the 2011 Legislature, when a stranger stopped by his table.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Sagle company gets $750k for solar parking lot

SAGLE - A North Idaho company that aims to transform U.S. highways into a vast energy-producing network is getting $750,000 from the federal government for the next phase of its project: A solar parking lot capable of sending electricity back to the power grid.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Judge blocks new Idaho anti-union law

BOISE - A federal judge has blocked a new state law that sought to strip labor unions of power, ruling the measure passed this year during a flurry of anti-union zeal in the Idaho Legislature likely conflicts with federal law.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Road rage conviction tossed

BOISE - State Supreme Court justices have thrown out the second-degree murder conviction of a North Idaho man, citing prosecutorial misconduct and the likelihood that an Idaho State Police officer committed perjury during the 2006 trial.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Idaho school overhaul foes clear referendum hurdle

BOISE - Organizers of a bid to dump the education and teachers union overhaul that passed the 2011 Idaho Legislature say they've gathered enough signatures to put all three repeal measures on the November 2012 ballot.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Dredging up controversy

BOISE - As a recreational suction dredge miner, Michael Emerson has encountered numerous obstacles in his small-time bid to hit big-time pay dirt: Angry property owners trying to boot him off an impromptu claim in the Owyhee Mountains, a 4 1/2 day stranding deep in the forest near Grangeville, even …

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Father of captured soldier seeks Pakistan's help

BOISE - The father of the only U.S. soldier held captive in the Afghan war appealed to the Pakistani military for help in freeing his son in a video posted on YouTube on Friday.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Rescuers alter search operation

Rescuers trying to reach a trapped Idaho silver miner on Tuesday were forced by dangerous conditions to shift their efforts to a new route, more than quadrupling the distance that officials say workers must dig through to reach him.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

GOP continues conservative march in 2011

BOISE - From new limits on abortion to rapid-fire salvos targeting Congress' health care reforms, Idaho's conservative Republican-led Legislature shifted further right during the 2011 session - just as voters mandated last November.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

'Slowdown showdown' battle continues

BOISE - As the spat that's becoming known around the Capitol as the "Slowdown Showdown" hit its second day, Democrats and Republicans again went after each other in a style that befits siblings in the family car's backseat.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Zealous budget cutters stymied cigarette tax hike

BOISE - In recent days, Rep. Cameron Wheeler has fielded numerous phone calls from voters in his eastern Idaho district that took him a little off-guard.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

House OKs final $162M Connecting Idaho installment

BOISE - House lawmakers marked the end of an era Monday, voting 42-28 for the final installment of the $855 million "Connecting Idaho" road-building program whose debt provisions made it one of the most disputed programs in state history when it was begun six years ago.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Idaho Senate panel passes 20-week abortion ban

BOISE - Idaho could follow Nebraska in banning abortions once a fetus has reached 20 weeks, despite a state attorney general's opinion the bill is unconstitutional - and doctors' concerns that it could force women to deliver babies suffering from rare-but-deadly diseases that leave them little chance of survival outside …

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Idaho students protest reform

BOISE - About 150 students at the Idaho Capitol on Monday engaged in a wandering protest of proposed public school reforms, moving from the rotunda to nearby state education offices and back before state police troopers shooed them from the building to a park across the street.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Labrador: Engine vote shows frosh power

BOISE - First-term U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador said he and his freshman Republican comrades passed their first big test last week by helping dump funding for a supersonic jet engine that had become a symbol of provincial politics leading to bloated federal budgets.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Republicans push through two union-busting bills

BOISE - House Republicans pushed through two bills aimed at undermining union influence in Idaho, sending the measures to Gov. Butch Otter for signing into law.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

House: Nullify health reform

BOISE - House Republicans voted Wednesday in favor of nullifying the federal health care overhaul, despite an Idaho attorney general's opinion and Democratic objections that the measure is unconstitutional.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

ATV-riding hunters want backcountry trail access

BOISE - Some Idaho hunters who prefer to mount all-terrain vehicles to pursue their big-game quarry are chafing at Department of Fish and Game restrictions on where they can ride.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Hundreds flock to nullification hearing

BOISE - More than 200 people crowded into the Idaho Capitol on Wednesday for a hearing on a bill to void President Obama's health care overhaul, an effort that invokes the spirit of a 200-year-old state's rights doctrine championed by federal government foes but found unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme …

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Idaho PUC tightens limits on wind, solar projects

BOISE - State regulators tightened rules governing the price that big utilities must pay for electricity generated by small wind and solar energy projects, a victory for Idaho Power Co. and PacifiCorp that contend the current system was being abused and hiking costs for customers.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Idaho schools, Medicaid face $100M more in cuts

BOISE - State lawmakers wrestling with an ever-changing budget deficit have been told to identify new cuts to public schools and Department of Health and Welfare programs that could top $100 million.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Bill seeks to weaken unions

BOISE - A bill aimed at weakening union influence in Idaho could keep state and local governments from requiring contractors bidding on public works projects from paying workers predetermined wages and benefits.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Idaho GOP gets ready to nullify health care reform

BOISE - After leading the nation last year in passing a law to sue the federal government over the health care overhaul, Idaho's Republican-dominated Legislature now plans to use an obscure 18th century doctrine to declare President Barack Obama's signature bill null and void.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Failed US House hopeful wades into dispute

BOISE - Eight months after his 2010 U.S. House campaign imploded, Vaughn Ward has re-entered the fray of public debate.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Budget will rule 2011 session

BOISE - The struggle to craft Idaho's budget amid a drastic tax revenue shortfall will yet again set the 2011 Legislature's tone.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Idaho Tax Commission chairman resigns

BOISE - Idaho Tax Commission Chairman Royce Chigbrow resigned Friday after agency employees said he intervened in cases involving his son's accounting firm as well as on behalf of a friend and political supporter.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Employees say tax commish helped pal

BOISE - Idaho Tax Commission Chairman Royce Chigbrow tried to use his position to help a friend embroiled in a dispute with a former business partner, agency employees allege in records obtained by The Associated Press.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

The quality of Idaho water

BOISE - State regulators, environmentalists and cities are pushing for Gov. Butch Otter and the Legislature to restore $350,000 in funding to resume monitoring pollution in Idaho's lakes and rivers, saying eliminating the cash for a third straight year could add to regulatory hurdles for business and dent the economy.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

GOP schism plays out on Internet

BOISE - Towns like Moyie Springs and Coolin on Idaho's northern panhandle are separated by miles of winding forest highway, so residents rely on the blessings of technology like the Internet to bring them together.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS AGO

Micron hopes diversification short-circuits losses

BOISE - Chipmaker Micron Technology Inc. vowed to shareholders for a decade to broaden products to boost its share price and avoid those stomach-churning profit-to-loss swings that have dominated its 32-year history.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS AGO

Bank working to help pay Tamarack lease

BOISE - Idaho officials said a Credit Suisse Group-led lender consortium is among those working on a plan to pay Tamarack Resort's tardy lease to use state land, as jockeying continues over the failed ski area's future.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS AGO

Top job pairs fed critic, conflict mediator

BOISE - In Boise's downtown, Gov. Butch Otter stared down a bank of TV cameras and tore down Washington, D.C. Wolves were the target of his ire this time, but it could easily have been health care reform or wilderness or the U.S. Forest Service.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS AGO

Idaho won't manage wolves

BOISE - After talks with the federal government over a public wolf hunt collapsed, Gov. Butch Otter ordered Idaho wildlife managers Monday to relinquish their duty to arrest poachers or to even investigate when wolves are killed illegally.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS AGO

Gem State terminator

BOISE - A vocal gadfly who convinced the Idaho Supreme Court to stop Boise from building an airport parking garage is now fighting to kill three proposed constitutional amendments aimed at undermining his efforts.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Lawmakers: More budget cuts coming

BOISE - Idaho legislators are preparing for more scrounging when the 2011 session starts in January.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Otter, Allred square off in governor forum

BOISE - Republican Gov. Butch Otter and his Democratic rival Keith Allred couldn't quite bring themselves to compliment each other at Wednesday's debate in Boise. Asked to say something nice about the other, both seemed so deeply embroiled in their 2010 race that there was no room for heartfelt pleasantries, …

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

After Virginia Tech lost again, Broncos' 'big' win got smaller

BOISE - Boise State coach Chris Petersen says it's up to his team to answer any lingering questions about whether the Broncos are good enough to be ranked No. 3 in the country.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Winds of change?

BOISE - The wind always seems to blow on the Snake River plain, keeping this high-desert landscape of sage, potatoes and sugarbeet plants forever in motion.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Family ties

IDAHO FALLS - A reporter for a news website funded by a conservative think tank is covering the 2010 Idaho State Republican Convention where his father and brother are delegates.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

EPA concerned about Monsanto pollution control dam

BOISE - Federal regulators are concerned that a dam built by Monsanto Co. earlier this year to trap phosphate mine runoff may be stopping more than just pollution.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Bases aim for new combat jets

BOISE - The new F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter is tardy, billions over budget and the roar of its jet engine could eclipse the older planes it's due to replace.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Tea party helps dump Idaho Senate incumbents

BOISE - With the tea party's help, the Idaho Senate may turn more conservative after Tuesday's primary.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Tea party helps dump Idaho Senate incumbents

BOISE - With the tea party's help, the Idaho Senate may turn more conservative after Tuesday's primary. Right-leaning Republican candidates ejected four incumbents whose stances on issues including states' rights, taxes and even wolves put them at odds with newly active tea party voters eager to make their presence felt.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Otter, Allred win primaries

BOISE - Republican Gov. Butch Otter won Tuesday's primary, advancing to face Democrat Keith Allred in November.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

GOP foes: Otter vulnerable after 2009 gas tax duel

BOISE - Republican Gov. Butch Otter has been called plenty.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

GOP foes: Otter vulnerable after 2009 gas tax duel

BOISE - Republican Gov. Butch Otter has been called plenty.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Ward fails to disclose assets, vows to fix error

BOISE - Republican congressional hopeful Vaughn Ward didn't disclose all his family's assets in a U.S. House of Representatives filing last year, as is required, but vowed to fix it.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Idaho enlists skunks, badgers to control pelicans

BOISE - It's badger and skunk versus pelican in the latest round of Idaho wildlife managers' fight to control these big birds that they blame for eating too many fish.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Idaho Legislature adjourns for 2010

BOISE - Idaho lawmakers Monday passed a flurry of disputed measures to close out the 2010 Legislature, underscoring the deep rift between majority Republicans and the Democrats who make up just a quarter of the Legislature.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

House: No 2010 hearing on Idaho land sale amendments

BOISE - The House won't hold hearings on proposed amendments to Idaho's Constitution that would have given Department of Lands officials more flexibility to sell large parcels of state- or university-owned land without holding a public auction.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Idaho House says no to conservation permits

BOISE - A divided House voted 43-25 Thursday to kill a measure aimed at charging non-hunters to set foot on Idaho's 32 state-owned wildlife management areas.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Idaho GOP makes its point

BOISE - Idaho took the lead in a growing, nationwide fight against health care overhaul Wednesday when its governor became the first to sign a measure requiring the state attorney general to sue the federal government if residents are forced to buy health insurance.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Idaho to weigh in on debt amendments

BOISE - The man who four years ago scuttled Boise's plan to finance a new airport parking garage without a vote said he's angry about the Legislature's push to change anti-debt provisions in the state constitution to allow such projects to move forward.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Cruel to your school

BOISE - Idaho lawmakers aim to give schools $128 million less in 2011 while allowing more freedom in how districts spend what they do get, an effort to make the worst budget year for public education as palatable as possible.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Senator tries to balance Humane Society support

BOISE - An Idaho senator is walking a tightrope on poultry-related legislation.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

GOP reverses course, intervenes in pension hike

BOISE - A Republican-led House panel approved a measure Thursday to block Idaho government retirees from getting a raise from their pensions, reversing course from a day earlier when they dumped the same bill.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

The gift that keeps on taking

BOISE - It's the gift that keeps on taking.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Idaho budget committee adopts lower revenue figure

BOISE - Idaho agencies should brace for deeper cuts this year and next after legislative budget writers took a more pessimistic view of tax revenue over the next 18 months than Gov. Butch Otter predicted just a month ago.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Otter to support more cuts as revenue tanks

BOISE - Gov. Butch Otter will support deeper cuts to Idaho's 2010 and 2011 budgets than he proposed in January after the state missed its tax revenue collection targets by a combined $25 million over the last two months.

COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 14 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO