Little touts wildfire preparedness as fund hits $0 + Transgender bathroom law partially blocked with preliminary injunction

By Christina Lords | Editor-in-Chief

“I want Idahoans to know that Idaho is prepared.” - Idaho Gov. Brad Little, on the state’s 2026 wildfire season

A group of Idaho Department of Lands firefighters join Gov. Brad Little, center, during a fire season press conference June 16, 2026, at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. (Photo by Clark Corbin/Idaho Capital Sun)

ENVIRONMENT

Idaho Gov. Little says state is preparing for challenging wildfire season as fund drops to $0

By Clark Corbin

Idaho Gov. Brad Little says the state is fully staffed and prepared to take on what could be one of the most challenging wildfire seasons in years – even as wildfire suppression funding provided by the Idaho Legislature runs out.

A men’s bathroom sign as seen on March 16, 2026, at the State Capitol Building in Boise. (Photo by Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun)

COURTS + POLICING

Federal judge partially blocks Idaho trans bathroom ban law with preliminary injunction

By Laura Guido

A federal judge in Idaho on Tuesday partially blocked enforcement of a new law that would’ve criminalized transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity.

The law was set to go into effect July 1. The portion of it that prohibits people from entering changing rooms that don’t align with their biological sex will still go into effect.

CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk speaks last year at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland. Last week’s SpaceX IPO, which made Musk the world’s first trillionaire, is an illustration of wealth concentration in the United States, which has been accelerating since 2022. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

GROWTH + AFFORDIBILITY

Surging stock market, Trump policies boost wealth for top 1%

By Tim Henderson

The richest 1% of Americans held nearly a third of the country’s total wealth at the end of 2025, the largest percentage the Federal Reserve Board has recorded since it started monitoring the numbers in 1989. In 1990, the share was 22.5%.

The latest percentage, 31.9%, is likely the largest since the end of World War II.

COMMENTARY

Student loan changes may kill some majors and hurt Idaho universities | Rebecca Tallent

MORE FROM IDAHO EDNEWS

‘Today is about the future:’ Boise State University presidential finalist named | Kevin Richert

MORE REGIONAL AND NATIONAL NEWS FROM US

Housing starts sink to pandemic levels as builders worry about inflation | Tim Henderson
Paris Hilton comes back to Utah to support families suing teen treatment center | Annie Knox
Special ed, civil rights to be shifted out of Trump’s shrinking Department of Education | Shauneen Miranda

ICYMI

Shining a light on other Idaho politics reporting

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

FāVS News: In anti-LGBTQ+ Idaho, an Episcopal camp offers queer Christians a haven
Idaho Press: Commissioners vote to ban fireworks in areas of Ada County
Lewiston Tribune: Group seeks ESA protections for two local plants | Only small fragments of native habitat remain for wildflowers native to the Inland Northwest
Moscow-Pullman Daily News: City Council reverses board’s vote vs. Olps
| Panel says OK to conditional use permit downtown

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