Medical marijuana initiative hits snag + Ranchers cheer grazing changes + Column: Building community in Pocatello

By Christina Lords | Editor-in-Chief

“Contrary to the representations contained in your letter, the County’s security camera footage clearly shows (the Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho’s) representatives arriving in the Minidoka County parking lot at approximately 5:05 p.m. on May 1, 2026 — after the statutory filing deadline and after the close of business.” - Minidoka County Clerk Tonya Page, in a letter to the the Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho

David Burr displays the bud on a growing marijuana plant at Essence Vegas’ 54,000-square-foot marijuana cultivation facility on July 6, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

ELECTION 2026

In rural Idaho, medical marijuana ballot initiative hits setback after signatures turned in late

By Kyle Pfannenstiel

The encounter was detailed in a lawsuit that unsuccessfully tried to get a judge to require the county to count the signatures.

A cowboy drives cattle toward summer grazing pasture on U.S. Forest Service land on June 22, 2020, along the Green River near Cora. (Photo by Ryan Dorgan)

ENVIRONMENT

Western stockgrowers cheer loosened grazing regs on public land as feds slash rangeland staff

By Mike Koshmrl

Producers who run livestock on 240 million acres of public land in the American West are largely welcoming a series of reforms to grazing regulations governing their cattle and sheep that have been proposed by the Trump administration.

Changes to the rules are being sought by both the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, which together administer roughly 23,000 grazing permits and leases.

Residents celebrated World Refugee Day with dancing, food and music on June 20, 2026, at Lookout Point Park in Historic Downtown Pocatello. (Photo by Liz Cartwright)

COMMENTARY

Doing the work for Pocatello’s World Refugee Day event creates ties that bind our community together

By Liz Cartwright

The group really formed strong bonds with one another over those months of meeting and organizing, writes guest columnist Liz Cartwright.

MORE REGIONAL AND NATIONAL NEWS FROM US

Southern Utah faces rare, ‘particularly dangerous’ wildfire warning | Annie Knox
Oregon lawsuit could upend federal management of public lands | Alex Brown
Montana DEQ determines Big Hole River is ‘impaired’ | Jordan Hansen
2 years after Grants Pass, 14 states, 350 cities have tougher laws on street homelessness | Robbie Sequeira

ICYMI

Shining a light on other Idaho politics reporting

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

Coeur d’Alene Press: Cd'A, KCFR firefighters coming to terms with tragedy of one year ago
BoiseDev: St. Luke’s $1.1 billion Boise expansion reaches milestone, with years still to go
Local News 8: Supreme Court rules for Roundup: Monsanto decision impacts Idaho farmers
Spokesman-Review: ‘Think about what it took’: Northwest tribal leaders reflect on complicated history as America’s anniversary approaches

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