Innocence Center picks up Idaho cases + Officials sprint to award rural health funding + Column: 1 in 7 Idahoans is food insecure

By Christina Lords | Editor-in-Chief

“It would be a desperate situation if these projects didn’t exist. And when I heard that the Idaho Innocence Project was shutting down, I was really, really worried for the state of Idaho, because who else is going to do it?” - Amanda Knox, who spent four years in an Italian prison for murder before appealing her sentence and was released

Charles Fain, who in 2001 was exonerated and freed from prison after 16 years, speaks at a Sept. 17 event in Boise to announce a new nonprofit taking up the work of trying to overturn wrongful convictions in the state. To his right are retired founder of the Idaho Innocence Project Greg Hampikian and The Innocence Center Executive Director Mike Semanchik. (Photo by Laura Guido/Idaho Capital Sun)

COURTS + POLICING

Nonprofit takes up work to overturn wrongful convictions after closure of Idaho Innocence Project

By Laura Guido

Charles Fain says his three favorite letters in the alphabet are D-N-A.

In 2001, Fain was exonerated and released from an Idaho prison after nearly 20 years on death row for a rape and murder he did not commit, using DNA analysis spearheaded by the Idaho Innocence Project.

That project has been shuttered for more than two years because of a lack of funding. However, on Sept. 17, Fain joined Innocence Project founder Greg Hampikian and fellow exoneree Amanda Knox to usher in a new group continuing the work of overturning wrongful convictions.

The Idaho Rural Health Transformation Program Implementation Task Force meets on Sept. 23, 2026, in Boise. (Photo by Laura Guido/Idaho Capital Sun)

HEALTH

Idaho state, healthcare, tribal leaders meet to advise process for millions in rural health grants

By Laura Guido

The state is nearing an Oct. 30 deadline to award all of the $186 million received for the first year of the program.

“It is going to be a very, very tight timeline coming up to the end,” Idaho Department Health and Welfare Director Juliet Charron said.

An employee helps move food in the Idaho Foodbank’s Lewiston warehouse. (Photo courtesy of the Idaho Foodbank)

COMMENTARY

1 in 7 Idahoans experiences food insecurity. SNAP, food charities must work together to help.

By Randy Ford

SNAP and charitable food assistance are both essential parts of the safety net that addresses food insecurity across our state, writes guest columnist Randy Ford.

MORE IDAHO NEWS FROM US

2026 Idaho general election voter guide: The candidates, the ballot measures, and the tools you need to cast your vote. | Idaho Capital Sun staff

MORE REGIONAL AND NATIONAL NEWS FROM US

Pacific Power to charge new Oregon data centers for all costs associated with growing energy need | Alex Baumhardt
More Americans lose SNAP as Congress weighs food stamps’ future | Kevin Hardy

ICYMI

Shining a light on other Idaho politics reporting

Note: Some links may lead to stories behind a news organization's paywall

BoiseDev: Meridian council considers how city uses automated license plate cams, drones
Boise State Public Radio: Idaho Secretary of State issues guidance for church political spending
Coeur d’Alene Press: Hayden rejects Kootenai County Sheriff's Office contract
Idaho EdNews: Threatened, bullied, blindsided: District leaders speak out on benefit trust’s ‘systemic silence’
Post Register: Local groundwater districts among recipients of Idaho Water Resource Board infrastructure grants

Thanks for reading The Sunrise. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.