By Christina Lords | Editor-in-Chief
Most PAC spending poured into legislative primary contests between a hardline conservative candidate and a candidate considered to be a more mainstream or traditional Republican. (Photo by Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun)
ELECTION 2026
Idaho PACs spent more than $4.2M on primary races
By Laura Guido
Most of the money generally poured into legislative primary contests between a hardline conservative candidate and a candidate considered to be a more mainstream or traditional Republican. Money from large, well-funded organizations — with sometimes difficult-to-track individual donors — went to both mainstream and hardline candidates.
The Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind headquarters in Gooding, Idaho. Paula Mason was appointed permanent executive director of the agency in April. (Photo courtesy of IESDB)
EDUCATION
‘Sky’s the limit’: Paula Mason wants to raise the bar for deaf and blind education in Idaho
By Abigail Gerstein
The new director of Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind is intent on strengthening the services IESDB offers — including finding more avenues to prepare Idaho’s deaf and blind population for the workforce. But her goals are complicated by a reliance on state funding, a source that is increasingly limited after the Idaho Legislature instituted nearly across-the-board cuts for the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years.
Snow in Idaho, western Montana, the Washington Cascades and Snake River Basin melted two to five weeks earlier than normal in 2026, and in parts of the Oregon Cascades, mountain snowpack melted two months earlier than normal, according to Washington’s state climatologist. (Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard)
ENVIRONMENT
Northwest potentially in for ‘one of the strongest El Niños we’ve had,’ climatologists say
By Alex Baumhardt
Warming temperatures at the equator could paradoxically bring the Northwest a wet fall and high winter snowpack, according to climatologists.
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ICYMI
Shining a light on other Idaho politics reporting
Note: Some links may lead to stories behind a news organization's paywall
Idaho EdNews: New Idaho education laws set to go in effect July 1
Idaho Statesman: Here’s what Idaho is sending to Trump’s Great American State Fair
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