Jury finds Idaho faith leader guilty of trespassing at protest + Column: Action needed to combat drought

By Christina Lords | Editor-in-Chief

“The jury found me guilty of staying in the governor’s office after being told to leave. I didn’t dispute those facts. But someone going to the bathroom now has a higher sentence, and that just feels so disproportionate and so wrong.” - The Rev. Sara LaWall, on Idaho’s criminal transgender bathroom law

An Ada County prosecuting attorney and an Idaho State Police trooper watch body cam footage leading up to the arrest of the Rev. Sara LaWall on trespassing charges at her trial in Boise on Sept. 1, 2026. (Photo by Kyle Pfannenstiel/Idaho Capital Sun)

COURTS + POLICING

Jury finds Idaho faith leader guilty of trespassing in protest of anti-trans bills

By Kyle Pfannenstiel

Months after protestors wouldn’t leave the lobby of the Idaho governor’s office in an attempt to meet with him over anti-transgender bills, a jury on Tuesday convicted a local minister on a misdemeanor trespassing charge.

Elk rest in the snow at the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming in this 2011 photo. (Photo courtesy of Lori Iverson/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

ENVIRONMENT

National Elk Refuge plan calls for feeding Jackson Hole elk, even if CWD transmission skyrockets

By Mike Koshmrl

A long-range plan for the National Elk Refuge released Friday afternoon proposes continuing to feed elk for the long haul in the Jackson Herd, even as deadly chronic wasting disease propagates across the landscape.

Long-awaited, the refuge’s draft environmental impact statement includes a “proposed action” calling for a “range of strategies” to reduce the number of overwintering elk on the 24,700-acre U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service property to 5,000 animals over the next 10 years.

Adam Young is a third-generation barley, wheat, and alfalfa grower. His family operates 2,600 acres of irrigated farmland in Bingham County. (Photo courtesy of Adam Young)

COMMENTARY

Idaho’s long-overdue approach to water management now demands action

By Adam Young

Some suggest the solution to our challenges is to dry up more groundwater-irrigated farmland. Here’s why that approach falls short, writes guest columnist Adam Young.

MORE REGIONAL AND NATIONAL NEWS FROM US

USPS whistleblower predicts ‘catastrophic’ effect on elections under Trump vote-by-mail order | Jacob Fischler
9 justices on the Supreme Court or 13? Numbers battle revived in Congress | Ashley Murray
US House clears spending stopgap backed by Trump that averts government shutdown | Jennifer Shutt
SNAP cuts could lead to kids losing free school breakfast and lunch | Kevin Hardy

ICYMI

Shining a light on other Idaho politics reporting

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

Boise State Public Radio: Churches can fund anti-Prop 1 campaign without revealing donors, AG says
Idaho EdNews: Critchfield requests high-needs budget cut, focuses instead on K-12 funding formula
KMVT: Jerome Police Department seeks funding to bring back K-9 unit
Valley Lookout: Valley Co. eyes decision this fall on ‘new city’ near McCall

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