Idaho
A 5% raise could be coming to most Idaho state workers
Most Idaho state employees could see about a 5% raise come July in a recommendation approved by a legislative committee Thursday.
Specifically, the proposal calls for a $1.55 hourly pay bump. That works out to at least a 5% raise for those earning less than $64,500 annually.
Democrats on the Change in Employee Compensation Committee, like Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking (D-Boise), voted against the measure, saying it didn’t go far enough – especially for higher paid workers.
“I’m worried that they’re not even going to keep up with the cost of living and that’s really a problem for me,” Ward-Engelking said.
After experiencing some of the highest rates of inflation in the country in 2022, prices in the Mountain region rose just 1.7% from November 2023 to November 2024.
The latest data from an Idaho Department of Human Resources labor market study show state workers here, on average, earn 15.1% less than the median wage of public and private sector employees in the region.
That’s also factoring in healthcare and retirement benefits, which are more generous than the private sector.
Base salaries across Idaho state workers are 25.1% below average compared to the median regional public and private sector employees.
The CEC Committee approved an 8% pay raise for Idaho State Police troopers to help retain and recruit more officers.
“It takes years of training and expense to produce a trooper with the experience to handle all the things that a trooper has to handle and this has become, in my opinion, a public safety issue,” said Sen. Dan Foreman (R-Viola).
Nurses and healthcare staff would get a 3% raise under the plan, with IT workers earning up to 4.5% pay hikes.
The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee will consider the recommendation before finalizing a bill.
Copyright 2025 Boise State Public Radio
BLACKFOOT — A large contingent of Blackfoot Police officers has cordoned off an area near the Taco Bell on Parkway Drive in Blackfoot.
Police responded around 5 p.m., according to multiple witnesses who contacted EastIdahoNews.com.
EastIdahoNews.com has reached out to Blackfoot Police for details.
We will update this story as we learn more.
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MISSOULA, Mont. — An Idaho Falls angler is back in the Idaho record books after landing a record-setting lake trout at Payette Lake.
Idaho Fish and Game said Dylan Smith caught and released a 43.25-inch lake trout on May 2, setting a new state catch-and-release record for the species. The fish surpassed the previous record of 42 inches.
The catch marks Smith’s second appearance in Idaho’s record books. He previously held the state catch-and-release lake trout record after landing a trophy fish in 2018 before that mark was later broken.
According to Fish and Game, Payette Lake has become one of Idaho’s premier lake trout fisheries thanks to years of management efforts aimed at improving both lake trout and kokanee populations.
Pride Month looks different this June along Boise’s Harrison Boulevard, where a long-standing tradition of hanging Pride flags on lamp posts has been put on hold after a new state law restricted which flags can be flown on government property.
For several years, Pride flags lined lamp posts along Harrison Boulevard in Boise’s North End neighborhood. But Idaho House Bill 561, signed by Gov. Brad Little in March, restricts which flags can be flown on government property, including the City of Boise’s Harrison lamp posts.
In response, a group of neighbors formed Pride North End and launched a distribution effort to help residents show support from their own front yards. The group has been making Pride flags and yard signs available to people who want to display them at home.
“I thought that I would…be a personal example of ‘yes, this is what I do.’ This is what I believe in,” said Edna Schochat, a North End resident.
Pride North End has already distributed more than 900-yard signs and 250 flags. The group’s original donation goal was around $2,000 to order 100 flags and 200 yard signs, but it has exceeded that GoFundMe goal, reaching $10,000 worth of donations.
The group plans to continue holding public flag and sign distributions through the end of the month.
“We cannot just say something without doing something that proves that we mean what we say,” Schochat said.
Pride North End said any leftover funds after materials are distributed will go to local LGBTQ+ nonprofits. A link to the group’s GoFundMe can be found here.
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