By Christina Lords | Editor-in-Chief
“This guidance will expand access to quality, affordable health coverage to farmers, ranchers, and agricultural tenants and landowners, across Idaho and may be used by other groups across America.” - Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security Daniel Aronowitz
Workers weed a field of peppers on a farm in Fruitland, Idaho. (Photo by Kirsten Strough/U.S. Department of Agriculture)
HEALTH
Idaho farmers can band together to buy cheaper health insurance through Farm Bureau deal
By Kyle Pfannenstiel
The plan lets Idaho farmers who are part of the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation to band together to buy cheaper health insurance by acting as one association of businesses, rather than thousands of separate small businesses.
The approval came months after a common health insurance option for farmers — that was deeply subsidized by the federal government — is getting more expensive.
Construction workers build a 575-unit apartment complex combined with retail in Paramus, N.J. The state lags in providing housing for new residents, according to a Stateline analysis. (Photo by Tim Henderson/Stateline)
GROWTH + AFFORDABILITY
New construction reduces housing shortage in most states
By Tim Henderson
The improvement in affordability is especially dramatic in the South and Midwest, while affordability is lagging but improving in the West and Northeast.
Poll workers help voters register to vote for the primary election on May 21, 2024, at Thunder Ridge High School in Idaho Falls. (Photo by Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun)
COMMENTARY
Primary election voters have a unique chance to determine Idaho’s future
By Rod Gramer
Which candidates voters choose on May 19 will determine the direction our state takes over the next two years, writes guest columnist Rod Gramer.
MORE IDAHO NEWS FROM US
Today is the deadline to early vote in Idaho ahead of 2026 primary election | Kyle Pfannenstiel
MORE REGIONAL AND NATIONAL NEWS FROM US
In Utah, still a national hotspot, measles cases hit 663 | Katie McKellar
Shifting attitudes on menopause drive lawmakers to push for new protections | Kelcie Moseley-Morris
ICYMI
Shining a light on other Idaho politics reporting
Note: Some links may lead to stories behind a news organization's paywall
Lewiston Tribune: Chain saws get green light in Church Wilderness
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