The Idaho Legislature’s new-look budget committee conducted an orientation Tuesday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise to help new members prepare for the upcoming legislative session.
Rather than debating budgets, the meeting served as a sort of orientation for the nine new legislators who will serve on the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee during the 2025 legislative session.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, or JFAC for short, is a powerful legislative committee that meets daily during the legislative session to set all of the budgets for every state agency and department.
Although the committee’s two co-chairs – Sen. Scott Grow, R-Eagle, and Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, are retaining their chairmanships, there are multiple changes coming to the committee for the 2025 legislative session.
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Nine of the 20 JFAC members did not serve on the committee during the 2024 legislative session, due to a combination of factors including legislators who lost re-election bids this year, and legislators who were reassigned to other committees for the upcoming legislative session.
JFAC did not consider any budget proposals or vote on any budgets Tuesday.
The 2025 legislative session kicks off Jan. 6. JFAC members plan to conduct their first meeting of the year Jan. 7.
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2025 Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee members
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5 Star Draw: 8 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
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GENESSE – The Avista planned power outage for Friday, April 24 in Genesee has been cancelled and rescheduled due to weather. Approximately 337 Avista electric customers in Genesee will experience a planned power outage on Tuesday, April 28. The planned outage will start at 8:00 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m.
All affected customers will be notified in advance. Traffic control will be in place from Laurel Street north of Chestnut Street.
During this time, Avista crews will be replacing aging infrastructure, including power poles and equipment, in the area. These updates are part of Avista’s ongoing efforts to enhance the safety and reliability of its infrastructure.
GARDEN CITY – A Boise-area girl is competing in the 2026 Junior Ranger Competition, and she needs your vote to advance.
Eleven-year-old Cali Lindsay of Garden City is currently in the top 10 in her age group. The first place contestant in each group will advance to the semi-finals, which will wrap on July 17.
The final round concludes on July 24. The winner will be awarded $20,000 and be featured on the cover of Ranger Rick Magazine. They’ll also win a trip with Jeff Corwin.
Cali’s mom, Emily Edginton, tells EastIdahoNews.com how the competition works.
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“You’re allowed one free vote every 24 hours. People can also pay (to vote),” Edginton says. “The contestants have challenges every week to learn about animals and share what they’ve learned. People vote for the answer they like best. If you have enough votes, you move to the next round.”
Cali needs to secure enough votes by Thursday in order to advance to the next round.
The competition is a fundraiser for the National Wildlife Federation, the largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization in the United States.
Edginton says they recently moved to Idaho from San Bernardino, California. Her daughter acquired a love of wildlife living in Lytle Creek, a community near the San Gabriel Mountains and San Bernardino National Forest.
“She’s already like a junior ranger. We picked up trash (in the forest) for fun,” Edginton says. “We try to keep it clean because we get a lot of visitors up there in the summertime and they trash the place. It affects the animals.”
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Edginton says they moved to Idaho in February to be closer to family.
She’s grateful her daughter can be part of what she feels is a great cause, and hopes to see her advance, and even win the tournament.
“It’s a good cause, plus it’s a learning experience,” says Edginton.
To vote for Cali or learn more, click here.
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