News

A state committee will move forward with inspecting two Salmon schools to determine whether a state fund can be tapped to repair or rebuild the schools. 

Salmon School District 291 is looking for new revenue after local voters have rejected seven separate bond levies since 2005.

The battle over the future of public education and ballot box rejection of the 2011 education laws has been chosen as the top story in Idaho for 2012 by The Associated Press.

It's the second straight year public debate over the future of schools has dominated state headlines.

The highlight of 2012 came in November when voters rejected laws limiting collective bargaining, a teacher merit pay plan and giving high school students laptop computers.

U.S. Senator Mike Crapo was arrested and charged with driving under the influence outside Washington, D.C. early Sunday morning.

Crapo, a Republican from Idaho Falls, issued this statement:

Tonight marks the longest night of the year.  Advocates chose this night to remember the homeless who have died in 2012.  The National Homeless Person’s Memorial happens in more than 150 cities, including Boise. 

Jayne Sorrels is the Executive Director of Interfaith Sanctuary Housing Services. “We gather together as a community and recognize and honor, remember those who have died in the last year who were homeless, formerly homeless and those who were homeless advocates.”

Earlier this month, we were reporting a story about increased gun sales in Idaho following President Obama’s re-election.  That took us to a gun store in Mountain Home, where we met 65-year-old Peter Humm.

Sleet falls in Ann Morrison Park on a recent Sunday afternoon.  A few people mill around picnic tables, shivering.

Denie Tackett hauls boxes and bags of food from her car.

Tackett heads up Mosaic Street Ministry, a non-profit group that ministers to the homeless in Boise.  She’s been bringing food to local parks for the last five years. 

Students and adults at schools across Idaho have been on edge this week in the wake of Friday’s shooting at a Connecticut elementary.  Rumors are keeping law enforcement busy in several parts of Idaho.

In Meridian two high schools have canceled or postponed annual assemblies scheduled for Friday. A district spokesman says administrators at Centennial and Mountain View high schools became aware early this week that students were afraid.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that a plan by St. Luke's Health System to buy Saltzer Medical Group can move forward for now.

The Idaho Statesman reports that U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill on Thursday denied a request for a preliminary injunction by Saint Alphonsus Health System and Treasure Valley Hospital.

The two entities filed a federal lawsuit in November seeking to halt the deal, contending it would allow St. Luke's to dominate the market in Nampa and block referrals to St. Alphonsus.

U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador's chief of staff is exiting the Idaho Republican's office.

John D. Goodwin, Jr., has worked for Labrador in Washington, D.C., for two years, but Thursday was his last day on the job.

Labrador's office didn't immediately say why Goodwin was leaving.

Goodwin had worked as a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association and worked for Republican representatives from Illinois and Connecticut.

He'd also worked for groups including the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association and the National Marine Manufacturers Association.

Nampa’s school board met in a special session Wednesday night to continue work on fixing the district’s $4.5 million budget shortfall. The board decided to continue efforts to borrow money. It also agreed to move toward a spring levy but stopped short of committing to the idea.

That’s in part because they want to see how successful the loan effort is. The district has a month to meet the deadline to put a levy on the March ballot.

The U.S. Army will seek the death penalty against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales. The Army announced Wednesday the Washington-based soldier will face a general court-martial for allegedly killing 16 Afghan civilians – mostly women and children – earlier this year. 

The Army’s decision to put Bales before a court-martial that has the authority to impose capital punishment follows the recommendation of a pre-trial hearing officer. Bales is charged with 16 counts of premeditated murder as well as other crimes.

This week school districts across Idaho have reached out to parents to reassure them their children are safe at school under the shadow of the mass shooting Friday at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

Democrats in Washington, D.C. have said they plan to introduce new gun control legislation in Congress, following last Friday’s shootings in Connecticut. Bans on so-called assault-weapons and on high capacity magazines have been discussed.

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — U.S. government officials are rolling out a Native American land buyback program as part of a $3.4 billion settlement over mismanaged royalties.

The 10-year, $1.9 billion program is meant to purchase individual allotments from willing Indians and turn over the consolidated parcels to tribes.

Program manager John McClanahan said Tuesday it could be up to a year before the first land sales are completed.

Last week the Nampa School District mandated four furlough days for all classified staff. That’s part of the district's plan to overcome a budget deficit of about $4.5 million. The district says teachers don’t have to take furloughs but, some say that’s not what they’re hearing.

In November 2011, the New York-based Greek yogurt maker Chobani announced plans to build a multimillion dollar manufacturing facility in Twin Falls, Idaho, with plans to hire 400 people.

Today, 13 months later, Chobani’s Twin Falls facility hosted its grand opening. New numbers show the yogurt maker hired fewer people than expected, and collected more subsidies than first reported.

Idaho’s Department of Education will reconvene a group that made safety recommendations for Idaho schools four years ago. That’s from a memo that schools’ superintendent Tom Luna sent Monday to district leaders, charter school administrators and school principals. The memo comes in response to Friday’s school shooting in Connecticut.

A federal judge Friday found a Canadian smelter responsible for the millions of tons of pollutants it dumped into the Columbia River.

For nearly 100 years, smelter Teck Metals dumped pollutants into the Columbia River, less than 10 miles upstream from the U.S.-Canada border.

Over the years, close to 10 million tons of waste poured into the river. The waste, also called slag and slurry, contained mercury and other toxics.