News

State wildlife officials have confirmed that wolves killed 31 sheep on a south-central Idaho ranch over the weekend. 

Carey-area rancher John Peavey tells the Idaho Mountain Express that the ewe, one lamb and two that weren't born were also killed Sunday morning.

Idaho Wildlife Services State Director Todd Grimm says the final mortality count for kills on May 10 and May 12 was 13 ewes and 18 lambs.

An Uzbekistan national pleaded not guilty on three federal counts of terrorism Friday morning in Boise. Fazliddin Kurbanov was arrested Thursday at his Boise apartment. Adam Cotterell was in the court room and described Kurbanov to All Things Considered host Samantha Wright.

Transcript

Cotterell: I don’t think he’d stand out on the streets of Boise or on the Boise State campus for that matter. He’s 30 but looks a bit younger. A little taller than average. Stocky. Olive skin, short black hair, dark eye brows with maybe a couple weeks growth of beard.

Federal authorities say a "spice" smuggling operation has been taken down in Boise.

A federal grand jury in Boise has indicted five Boise and Meridian residents on a laundry list of charges. They include conspiracy to smuggle goods into the U.S., conspiracy to sell and transport drug paraphernalia, and conspiracy to launder money.

You may see more people riding their bikes to work today. It’s Bike to Work Day, and here in the Boise area, it caps off a week of festivities all focused on cycling.

The Treasure Valley Cycling Alliance (TVCA) is behind Boise Bike Week. Rick Overton sits on the Alliance's board. He says Boise’s cycling culture has become more active in the past ten years and that, he says is part of a national trend.

An Uzbekistan national living in Idaho has made his first court appearance on charges he gave support, cash and other resources to help a recognized terrorist group in his own country.

Thirty-year-old Fazliddin Kurbanov pleaded not guilty Friday morning during a brief hearing in federal court in Boise and was formally charged with three federal terrorism counts.

He was arrested Thursday during a raid at his Boise apartment.

Today, groups around the world are celebrating the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (I.D.A.H.O). Started in 2005 in Paris, the annual May 17 celebration has the acronym “IDAHO”. But this is the first year that the day is being celebrated in Idaho.

A Boise man appears in federal court at 8:30 Friday morning on terrorism charges.  He was arrested Thursday in Boise at an apartment complex near Borah High School.

Wendy Olson is the U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho. She says the suspect is a national of the central Asian nation of Uzbekistan and legally in the U. S.

Federal officials say an Uzbekistan national has been arrested on federal terrorism charges. According to a press release, 30-year-old Fazliddin Kurbanov was arrested Thursday morning in Boise, Idaho. 

Kurbanov was living legally in Boise at the time of his arrest.

The warden of the privately-run Idaho Correctional Center has quit, one month after his company acknowledged falsifying staffing records for much of 2012.

Timothy Wengler, who works for Corrections Corporation of America, lasted three years as warden of the prison south of Boise.

The Nashville, Tenn.-based company with the contract to run the prison through 2014 says Wengler's last day is May 31.

CCA spokesman Steve Owen says Wengler had been thinking about quitting for a year and described his departure as a "personal decision."

The automaker Nissan says sales of its fully electric Leaf compact surpassed all other Nissan models at dealers in the Seattle and Portland areas this spring. Wednesday's announcement runs counter to the prevailing wisdom that adoption of plug-in cars has been sluggish.

Tall, noisy wind turbines may not go over well in some urban areas. A northwest company has developed residential-sized turbines to push renewable energy to cities. The portable turbines could also generate power during disasters.

During southern California’s hot summers, people ramp up air conditioners and use more power than normal. That forces utilities to conserve energy and shut off power at specific times and places.

The Nampa School District voted Tuesday night to eliminate 27 teaching positions next fall. That’s the  latest cost cutting measure to overcome a more than $5 million deficit blamed on accounting errors.

But the state’s third largest school district has a way to go before it reaches a balanced budget next year. Adam Cotterell covers education and has covered Tuesday's  meeting. He talks with Samantha Wright about what’s next for Nampa schools.

Transcript

Wright: Adam I understand it was no ordinary school board meeting.

Idaho will resume paying a $4,500 monthly governor's housing stipend to C.L. "Butch" Otter in June as it clears furniture from the governor's mansion in Boise in preparation for returning the home to the Simplot family.

The state decided this year to give back the hilltop mansion.

That's after Otter declined to live in it and $180,000 annual charges for watering the lawn and maintaining the home threatened to drain a $1.5 million fund to cover housing expenses for the state's chief executive.

That's been cut in half.

The U.S Energy Information Administration studied the amount of carbon dioxide that was pumped into the atmosphere between 2000-2010. Idaho contributes a low amount, respectively, compared to other states. Only California, Vermont, New York and Washington D.C. have smaller carbon footprints per capita.

But Ben Otto at the Idaho Conservation League says this report doesn’t show the full picture.

The Nampa School Board voted Tuesday night to leave 27 teaching jobs unfilled next fall (15 secondary and 12 elementary.) The jobs are opening due to retirements and resignations. It’s the latest step in a year-long effort to overcome a $5.1 million budget deficit blamed on accounting errors. The cuts will result in larger class sizes. In fourth grade for example, average class sizes will increase from 26 students to 32 students.

A bird of prey can get so stressed out by city noise, it will abandon its nest – with eggs still in it. That's according to a new study by researchers at Boise State University. The study suggests human disturbances affect the American kestrel more than previously thought.

Idaho has the largest percentage of minimum wage jobs in the country. That’s been the jumping off point for StateImpact Idaho’s series examining wages; we’re calling it Bottom Rung.

As in many states, Idaho’s minimum wage hasn’t changed since 2009, when the hourly minimum was boosted by the federal government.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found 31,000 hourly Idaho workers earned the minimum wage, $7.25, or less in 2012. That’s a 63 percent increase from 2011.

About 30-40 percent of garbage collected at the Ada County landfill in the spring and summer is yard waste. That’s according to Catherine Chertudi, Boise’s solid waste programs manger. But come July 1, that percentage could change.

The Nampa School Board meets Tuesday to discuss the next steps in overcoming a $5.1 million budget deficit.