A Rancher, A Logger, And Economic Fate In Rural Idaho
In Idaho, the timber and ag industries are heavy hitters. They play big roles in the state’s history and identity. But the recession has dealt them different hands, dividing rural Idaho into winners...
View ArticleIdaho Housing Market Shows Steady Improvement
RealtyTrac’s midyear foreclosure report gives emphasis to the mantra we’ve been hearing all year about Idaho’s housing market: it’s improving.
View ArticleRepublican House Leaders Reject Medicaid Expansion While Retired Man Launches...
Last week, Boise resident Will Cavanaugh, 77, found an email in his inbox. It was from left-leaning political action group MoveOn.org. Would he like to write a petition about anything? “Sure,” he...
View ArticleHow Traditional Japanese Homebuilding Reversed The Fortunes Of One Idaho Sawmill
Before the recession hit, the sawmill in the North Idaho town of Laclede was known for its reliability. It had never seen a shutdown, not in Steve Spletstoser’s nearly 30 years of working there. Then...
View ArticleSome Idaho Farmers Pray, Others Turn On The Water
In the West, in Idaho's arid, high desert, the drought has a mixed effect. There's a big divide between farmers with deep wells and irrigation and those without. Hans Hayden is a rare find: a talkative...
View ArticleSome Idaho Farmers Suffer, Others Succeed In Summer’s Drought
In Idaho’s arid, high desert, the drought has a mixed effect. There’s a big divide between farmers with deep wells and irrigation, and those without. Hans Hayden is a rare find: a talkative farmer....
View ArticleOne Drought, Two Idaho Farmers, Very Different Outcomes
Some of Idaho’s most fertile farm ground has been hit by the drought that’s crippling crops nationwide. Farmers who have deep wells and irrigation are faring well. Those who don’t aren’t. It’s one...
View ArticleIdaho Aims For Job Growth Through Gun Manufacturing
A few years ago, state leaders got the idea to promote Idaho to the outdoor industry, including gun manufacturers. After all, Idaho is a more firearms-friendly place than most. More than half of...
View ArticleRelieved Featherville Residents Return Home
Firefighters have made substantial gains against the Trinity Ridge Fire, burning northeast of Boise. After a two-week evacuation, residents of the small town of Featherville were allowed to return...
View ArticleAfter The Wind Boom, A Fight Over Idaho’s Energy Future
If you look at a map of where wind development has taken off in Idaho, you’ll notice an area near American Falls. There, surrounded by rolling agricultural land, Edith Kopp stands on a high hillside....
View ArticleFrom Idaho’s Liberal Stronghold Come Diverse Views Of November Election
There aren’t many places in deep red Idaho where you’re likely to hear the kind of proud introduction Gini Ballou offered up not long after we met. “I’m Gini Ballou,” she said. “My mother stopped to...
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NYC’s Mayor Bloomberg, Albertsons’ Heir Donate To Pro-Props 1, 2, 3 Campaign
Enlarge image Credit Adam Cotterell / Boise State Public Radio Propositions 1,2 and 3 have emerged as the focal point of the November elections in Idaho.A group fighting in favor of Idaho’s...
View ArticleHow Obamacare Creates An Insurance Industry Ad Blitz
One of Blue Cross of Idaho’s new television commercials opens with a chirpy jingle. “You’re protected in the sun, you’re protected when it rains,” the song begins. The pitch is clear: this is the...
View Article“Jobless In Idaho” Comes Full Circle: After A Long Search, A Single Mom Finds...
At this time last year, StateImpact Idaho began a series called “Jobless in Idaho.” Through those interviews we met Kelly Barker, a single mom from Meridian who was struggling to find work after...
View ArticleIdaho County And City Leaders Brace For Personal Property Tax Debate
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and prominent state legislators have lined up behind the idea of eliminating or scaling back Idaho’s personal property tax. The issue was high on the agenda as local...
View ArticleRepublican Gov. Otter Opts For An Idaho-Based Health Insurance Exchange
Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter is opting for a state-based health insurance exchange.The Republican governor’s office distributed that news late this afternoon in a release that criticizes Obamacare,...
View ArticleThe Gender Pay Gap In Idaho’s State Workforce: Why Do Women Earn Less?
Year after year, Idaho gets slapped with an unwelcome designation: It's one of the states where women earn the least compared to men.A recent study of the “gender wage gap” came from the National...
View ArticleMap: Who Benefits Most If Idaho’s Business Personal Property Tax Is Eliminated
In 2011, more than 53,000 Idaho companies paid the business personal property tax. Half of those businesses paid less than $90.
View ArticleExplaining Idaho’s Personal Property Tax, With A Little Help From A Boise...
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and many of the Idaho Legislature’s Republican leaders are in agreement: something has to happen on the personal property tax this session. And by “something,” they mean a...
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