By Christina Lords | Editor-in-Chief
“I’ve said from the beginning: We’re not going to try to balance the budget on the back of the tribes. These are trust and treaty responsibilities we’ve got with our Native American brothers and sisters, and we’ve got to keep those.” - U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho
A panel of women testifying on Nov. 20, 2024, to the House Appropriations Committee oversight hearing, chaired by Idaho U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, on Investigating the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women listen as Maulian Bryant (left) spoke about the challenges her Penobscot Nation faces in accessing resources to find missing people. From left to right: Mary Jane Miles, Cheryl Horn, Abigail Echo-Hawk and Eugenia Charles-Newton. (Screenshot via YouTube/House Appropriations Committee)
GOVERNMENT + POLITICS
Idaho US Rep. Simpson hopes to increase resources for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons crisis
By Laura Guido
Idaho Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson this year is looking to boost federal funding for tribes to address the ongoing Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons crisis.
Simpson chairs the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. The subcommittee in June advanced a budget with a 26% increase to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which includes an additional $142 million for criminal investigations and police services.
“While the Idaho Legislature has created a taskforce in 2020 and a report 2021, state-tribal collaboration remains very limited,” said Marco Ovando, spokesman for the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes. “… We have a case as recent as this spring where the investigation has produced very little resulting in families without closure, frustrated leadership, and a community left on edge. We hope Congress will appropriate more funding to address these shortfalls because our people are tired of the pain and sorrow and lack of help.”
Melanie Folwell, lead organizer for the ballot initiative in Idaho to restore abortion access, speaks to supporters at the Idaho Capitol in July. The nonprofit she leads, Idahoans United for Women and Families, is suing the state over a final segment of ballot language that will also appear in the statewide voter pamphlet. (Photo by Kelcie Moseley-Morris/Stateline)
COURTS + POLICING
Abortion initiative group sues Idaho state officials over ‘misleading’ ballot language
By Kelcie Moseley-Morris
The group leading the effort to restore abortion access by ballot initiative in Idaho has filed a lawsuit against state officials over proposed language that will appear on the ballot and in a state-issued voter pamphlet.
The Idaho State Correctional Institution Veterans Group started a new vegetable garden and partnered with Kuna Food Bank to provide fresh, healthy food for local families. (Photo courtesy of Idaho Department of Correction)
COURTS + POLICING
Veterans incarcerated in Idaho support local food bank through new vegetable garden
By Clark Corbin
Members of the veterans group spent the year learning about crops, planting vegetables and caring for the garden, Case Manager Steve Mitchley said.
MORE REGIONAL AND NATIONAL NEWS FROM US
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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
Boise State Public Radio: To prevent destructive blazes, Idaho community bands together to fund wildfire mitigation job
Moscow-Pullman Daily News: Moscow voters to decide on school changes |
Levy would fund new location for high school, upgrades at Russell
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