By Christina Lords | Editor-in-Chief
“This staggering figure just underscores the importance of not only a robust fuels mitigation program … but also a solid prevention program.” - Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller, on 80% of wildfires on state lands in 2026 being human caused
The Idaho Department of Lands managed the Tyson Fire, which firefighters responded to in Benewah County in July 2023. (Photo courtesy of the Idaho Department of Lands)
ENVIRONMENT
More than 80% of Idaho wildfires caused by humans this year
By Clark Corbin
Through the end of September, the state’s wildfire costs on state land were a little over $47 million, of which an estimated $19.8 million could be reimbursable from other agencies the state partners with.
The groups opposing and supporting Prop 1, the proposed abortion rights initiative, collected more than $2.5 million total in just under two weeks. (Photo by Getty Images)
ELECTION 2026
PACs for and against Prop 1 raised more than $2.5M million in the last two weeks
By Laura Guido
The political action committee opposing Idaho’s Proposition 1 abortion rights initiative collected nearly $1.5 million since the end of September, buoyed by two large donations from churches.
The Too Extreme for Idaho PAC, reported the previously announced $1 million donation from the Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Oct. 8. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise donated another $300,000 to the PAC opposing the initiative the next day.
A recent court decision on voter rolls marks the latest rebuke of the Trump administration during more than a year of legal confrontations with dozens of states and voting rights groups. (Photo by Will Steinfeld/New Hampshire Bulletin)
GOVERNMENT + POLITICS
Trump pressed states for info on millions of voters in the midterms. It’s mostly failed.
By Jonathan Shorman
Three weeks before Election Day, the Trump administration’s sprawling project to send sensitive personal information on millions of voters to the Department of Homeland Security has been declared illegal by a federal judge.
The blistering court decision comes after the Department of Justice pressured or sued states for their voters’ information and then, according to court records and federal documents, turned over the data it obtained to Homeland Security Investigations — a sub-agency of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
MORE IDAHO NEWS FROM US
Idaho Supreme Court to hear cases in Idaho Falls and Pocatello | Kyle Pfannenstiel
MORE NATIONAL NEWS FROM US
ICYMI
Shining a light on other Idaho politics reporting
Note: Some links may lead to stories behind a news organization's paywall
Boise State Public Radio: State predicts continued job growth in Idaho
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