WASHINGTON -- Legislation to extend and improve federal county payments programs today passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee on bipartisan votes. Sens. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and James Risch, R-Idaho, wrote and backed bills to continue the Sec…
Winter Home & Harvest is a publication of The Idaho County Free Press featuring articles…
Although wheat and barley continue to be the mainstays of North Central Idaho’s farm scene, …
This year, Jungle Gym's Indoor Play Center and Cafe, which was voted Best Business by our re…
North central Idaho features hundreds of miles of whitewater, as well as lakes, reservoirs a…
Cigarette smoking and bullying rates are down among Idaho high school students, but vaping rates are up compared to two years ago, while the rate of students seriously considering suicide remains at the highest level in a decade.
Senate Education Committee Chairman Dean Mortimer hopes his final legislative session will be his busiest and most productive.
KAMIAH -- With winter weather comes snow, ice, winds … and sometimes power outages.
If you have a 5th or 6th grader who loves to ski or snowboard or one who'd like to learn, you'll want to take advantage of the free skiing program offered by the Idaho Ski Areas Association, a.k.a. Ski Idaho.
WASHINGTON – Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, is calling on Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) and Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) programs, which are of great importance to Idaho’s rural communities. In recent years, SRS and PILT funding has become unreliable, creating financial…
Vehicle owners will need to provide proof of insurance for two consecutive months or risk having their registration suspended beginning in 2020.
More than five years after the Legislature passed the career ladder as a revamped salary allocation model, more Idaho schools and districts are using it to pay their teachers.
BOISE, Idaho - Wildfires are a threat in the West, but their smoke is even more deadly, researchers say.
The parent company of one of Idaho’s largest milk producers has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Gov. Brad Little said he will protect public schools from the new spending and budget reductions he is asking of other state agencies.
Milk prices are good today, but five years of low prices have taken a toll on the dairy industry. The Gem State is America’s No. 3 dairy producer.
After five months of work and 28 meetings, Gov. Brad Little’s K-12 education task force voted Monday to approve five recommendations that touch on topics from increasing teacher pay to all-day kindergarten.
Teachers, doctors and other Idaho professionals took a vacation day Tuesday to help gather signatures in hopes of placing an initiative to increase funding for Idaho schools on next year’s ballot.
Idaho’s K-12 public schools continue to add thousands of students every year, preliminary State Department of Education numbers show.
KAMIAH -- Idaho Gov. Brad Little proclaimed October as “Next Steps” month in Idaho, encouraging Idaho juniors and seniors to start thinking seriously about plans for life after high school.
Washington, D.C. – In honor of Veterans Day Nov. 11, U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), member and former chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, announced the recognition of a different veteran-owned small business for each of the ten days the Senate is in legis…
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will meet in Pocatello on Nov. 13-14, with the public hearing starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13 in the Southeast Regional Office at 1345 Barton Rd. People can address the commission on any matters related to Fish and Game at that time.
WASHINGTON-- Earlier this month, Congressman Russ Fulcher co-sponsored H.R. 2423, the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin Act. Recently, he voted for the bipartisan bill and it passed through the House of Representatives.
BOISE, Idaho – Open Enrollment for 2020 health insurance coverage begins Nov. 1 and runs through Dec. 16. During this time, Idahoans can shop, compare, and enroll in a plan through the state health insurance exchange, Your Health Idaho.
Idaho’s scores on the ACT improved slightly in 2019, and topped national averages.
In a new episode of “Conversations From the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference” that premieres Friday, Nov. 1, at 8 p.m. on Dialogue, host Marcia Franklin talks with award-winning novelist Emily Ruskovich. An assistant professor in the Department of Theatre, Film and Creative Writing at Boise St…
The House Education Committee still doesn’t have its flow chart. But the band is getting back together for a rare, out-of-session meeting.
The email, sent at 10:55 a.m. on Aug. 28, was succinct yet significant.
Gov. Brad Little’s K-12 education task force spent two hours debating school accountability during its second-to-last meeting Wednesday.
“The [Idaho] Land Board is sitting on an estimated $150 million, and it has a decision to make,” said Seth Grigg, executive director, Idaho Association of Counties (IAC). “Divert some of those funds to the endowment where it can be invested in the market, or acquire more lands?”
GRANGEVILLE – Mountain View School District 244 held a brief, special board meeting Thursday, Oct. 17. Negotiations were supposed to continue that night; however, due to a death in the family of trustees Lot and Casey Smith, this did not occur.
Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 2.9 percent in September for the third consecutive month.
Two months after the school year began, the State Board of Education has approved a new rule outlining how school leaders are supposed to report full-time student enrollment numbers to the state.
In a potential preview of the 2020 legislative session, State Board of Education members applied heavy scrutiny to schools chief Sherri Ybarra’s K-12 budget proposal Wednesday.
Elizabeth Smart didn’t talk about what happened to her for a long time after her kidnapping.
On Tuesday night, Gov. Brad Little moderated a “fireside chat” with college and university presidents during Boise Startup Week. The very nature of the program flipped the normal script. The chance to watch Little ask the questions — as opposed to answer them — surely attracted some of the d…
Shawn Keough wasn’t the only late — and under-the-radar — applicant for two State Board of Education vacancies.
Idaho has always required registered vehicles to carry valid liability insurance, but the only check of proof when registering the vehicle was the signature of the owner on the registration stating that the vehicle had coverage.
One year ahead of the federally mandated deadline, the DMV continues to raise awareness of the importance of obtaining a Star Card, Idaho’s Real ID.
Former Grangeville resident, David Hayes, is currently exhibiting his artwork in the Student Union Trueblood Gallery at Boise State University. The exhibit of natural and wilderness-themed art, Trueblood Memories, is Hayes’ homage to the inspiration of Ted Trueblood, award-winning author, co…
For the second consecutive year, Idaho missed all of its yearly benchmarks in math and English for vulnerable student populations.
A second conservative legislator is pushing colleagues to defund Boise State University.
BOISE, Idaho - The public comment period is open on Idaho's application to the federal government to add work reporting requirements to its expanded Medicaid program.
The first year of the master educator premium program is in the books — and state superintendent Sherri Ybarra isn’t talking.
MOSCOW — After nearly five months of work and 25 meetings, Gov. Brad Little’s K-12 education task force began narrowing its focus Tuesday.
Kayla Green wandered through rows of elementary students sitting on the floor of the Wilder Elementary School gym last Thursday, mic in hand, trying to explain to the youngsters when they should report that they – or their friends – need help.
The calendar is barely a week into fall, but winter storm watches and warnings are up in four states, including Idaho, as a potential blizzard threatens to deliver an early wintry blast.
(This online story was corrected to clarify the agencies involved in the Lankford brothers’ arrests.)
GRANGEVILLE – “It’s time for a statewide citizen movement around education,” Rebecca Schroeder told a room of 15 at the Soltman Center Thursday night, Sept. 19.
BOISE, Idaho - Idaho has seen little change in the number of children living in concentrated poverty since the Great Recession a decade ago, despite a long period of economic expansion, according to new data. The Annie E. Casey Foundation looked at neighborhoods where poverty rates are 30% o…
Idaho’s class of 2019 was slightly less prepared for college and the workforce than graduates from the previous year, according to an analysis of SAT results.
Idaho’s Professional Standards Commission disciplined 25 of the state’s 22,000 certified educators last year for ethics issues such as breach of contract and sexual misconduct with students.
A second K-12 education task force subcommittee wrapped up its work Monday after putting its weight behind a recommendation for greater access to all-day kindergarten.
KAMIAH – Conditions permitting, fire managers on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest plan to begin fall prescribed fire operations immediately and continue until project completion or conditions change and are no longer optimal for achieving objectives. Ignitions will take place on days…
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