BOISE — The State of Idaho issued a record number of tax refunds this year, totaling more than half a billion dollars.

Tuesday, Governor Brad Little announced that the state issued 826,370 refunds to Idaho taxpayers this year, amounting to $579,108,938 in refunds since the tax season began. This is a 25% increase in the number of Idaho taxpayers receiving a refund, with a 17% increase in the amount of refunds issued over the last year, Gov. Little said in a press release.

“We have delivered record tax relief over the last eight years, and we continue to lower the tax burden on hardworking families, keeping more money in their pockets and helping make life more affordable,” Gov. Little said.

The Board of Examiners subcommittee is considering a request from the Idaho State Tax Commission to add funds to the state’s tax refund account in response to the record refunds.

The board will consider action during its regular meeting on June 16.

Gov. Little’s press release notes that the Idaho State Tax Commission’s request is required by law. The state’s refund fund is monitored with checks and balances to ensure that money is available to process refunds, but any remaining balance is transferred to the General Fund.

I was living in Caldwell then, but a year after the flood I traveled to the dam site and the hard-hit communities. My strongest impressions were both of how sweeping the flood had been — in some places, you could see all soil had been scraped by the water — but also the speed of reconstruction. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in particular, poured enormous resources into helping the area recover, and it worked. Today, little evidence of the flood remains.

For all that success, the wreckage of those days shouldn’t be minimized. In his book, “Idaho for the Curious,” Cort Conley quoted some doggerel from a man who lived in the area then: “If I sound a little bitter, it’s for certain that I am; because right now the Upper Valley isn’t worth a Teton Dam.”

And why should this echo from 50 years ago be a story to ponder today?

This year, all of Idaho either is in or soon faces severe drought. The national water maps developed for the state look drier overall than I can recall seeing them in decades.

When that hits, people in need of water will go looking for answers. And sometimes the obvious answer isn’t the best one.

There aren’t any very easy answers. History tells us as much.

Stapilus, of Carlton, Ore., is a former Idaho newspaper reporter and editor whose writings may be found at ridenbaugh.com and stapilus.substack.com. He may be contacted at stapilus@ridenbaugh.com.