Idaho
A Possible Post-Roe Idaho Is Redrawing Battle Lines
Idaho state politicians are prone to go an abortion legislation if Roe is overturned, however each side of the dialog are nonetheless pushing for his or her trigger.
The Roe v. Wade Supreme Courtroom leak has turn out to be what psychologists name a “flashbulb reminiscence” — a second in historical past so shocking and surprising that you simply keep in mind precisely what you have been doing and the place you have been if you heard the information.
In Idaho, the place a set off legislation would criminalize abortion 30 days after the Supreme Courtroom overturns Roe v. Wade, that flashbulb second continues to be uncooked.
“I took the night to simply cry and let loose all my frustrations,” Mistie Dellicarpini-Tolman mentioned.
Dellicarpini-Tolman is the Idaho state director for Deliberate Parenthood Alliance Advocates. Deliberate Parenthood not too long ago appealed Idaho’s newest state abortion legislation, modeled after the six-week Texas ban, to the state’s Supreme Courtroom. She says this second state ban mixed with Idaho’s present set off legislation and the Supreme Courtroom’s imminent ruling on Roe v. Wade just about seals the destiny of abortion’s future in Idaho.
“It truly is the worst of the worst,” Dellicarpini-Tolman mentioned. “It is like we have been getting ready for quite a lot of completely different outcomes, and we’ve quite a lot of completely different contingency plans, and what we noticed leaked was the worst final result that we have been planning for.”
On the opposite facet of city, Blaine Conzatti, who heads the Idaho Household Coverage Heart, had a really completely different response to the information of the Supreme Courtroom leak.
“I used to be sitting on this room right here,” Conzatti mentioned. “It was late at night time, and I used to be extremely excited as a result of, you already know, a long time of exhausting work on the a part of pro-lifers — all of that arduous work lastly paying off.”
Conzatti authored the latest abortion invoice, which imposes civil versus prison penalties. He says it was supposed as a backstop in case Idaho’s set off legislation — handed in 2020 — is challenged in state courts. However he says the massive takeaway from the Supreme Courtroom leak for him is that the choice to criminalize abortion will now be as much as particular person states, not the federal authorities.
“And that enables us to reside in concord with one another whereas having legal guidelines that replicate our values within the communities that we reside in,” Conzatti mentioned.
The Guttmacher Institute, which helps abortion rights, initiatives 26 states are poised to ban abortion utterly within the months after Roe v. Wade is overturned, dividing America in half on the difficulty.
However even in states like Idaho, assist for banning abortion is way from common. The newest ballot from 2019 confirmed 65% of Idaho voters imagine it is necessary for ladies to have entry to all reproductive well being care choices, together with abortion.
An estimated 5,000 abortion rights supporters rallied in entrance of the state capitol in Might after the Supreme Courtroom leak.
Alexa Roitman was one of many audio system.
“One thing I like about myself is that I’ve had the expertise within the act of selecting to have an abortion,” Roitman mentioned.
Roitman says she’s happy with making her non-public choice public if it helps the trigger.
“It is simply painted on a regular basis that it is only a wretched expertise, that everyone who leaves there may be damaged,” Roitman mentioned.
Roitman had an abortion when she was 23 years previous and dealing as waitress. Within the decade since, she’s traveled, been an AmeriCorps volunteer and has turn out to be the primary in her household to graduate from faculty.
“So there’s life afterwards,” Roitman mentioned. “There may be, and that life is simply as necessary because the cells that are being eliminated.”
Roitman is now engaged and contemplating a household or her personal, however she questions whether or not she’ll be capable of stay in a state that immediately threatens her reproductive well being care.
For Caitlin Copple Masingill, leaving Idaho is not a risk. She’s a fourth era Idahoan and owns a PR agency in Boise.
“It is actually troubling,” Copple Masingill mentioned. “I imply, dwelling in Idaho, rising up in Idaho as a queer individual, it isn’t misplaced on me that our state’s politics do not align with my very own. However as any person with the privilege of proudly owning a enterprise and using proper now completely a feminine group, I needed to ensure that we did one thing that was aligned with our values.”
After the Supreme Courtroom leak, Copple Masingill introduced on TikTok that her agency, Full Swing PR, would cowl all journey bills for her workers looking for out of state abortions.
“We’re primarily based in Idaho, the reddest of pink states, and that is the precise factor to do” Copple Masingill mentioned. “It is aligned with our values as an organization and as a ladies owned enterprise, and it is simply important that we communicate up.”
The publish, together with a follow-up, acquired greater than 150,000 views, and Chobani and Starbucks have since introduced comparable insurance policies. However Copple Masingill says there’s solely a lot the Idaho enterprise neighborhood can do.
However Idaho’s state politicians are unlikely to budge on the difficulty. At a current Republican unification rally, organizers mentioned abortion wasn’t on the agenda as a result of it was a difficulty they have been already unified on.
Blaine Conzatti says past the abortion ban he hopes to go laws that makes abortion the equal of homicide, in addition to further bans on emergency contraceptives and IUDs. For him, he says the battle to finish abortion is identical because the battle to finish slavery.
“You realize, in each circumstances, abortion and slavery, a whole class of residents have been denied their constitutional rights, their pure rights that authorities is obligated to guard, and we want to discover a means to make sure that there’s equal justice for preborn kids,” Conzatti mentioned.
The irony of that analogy is not misplaced on Dellicarpini-Tolman.
“Individuals who maintain marginalized identities have been coping with this kind of of dystopian actuality their complete lives,” Dellicarpini-Tolman mentioned. “So now I really feel like a majority of parents are being clued into what this looks like and what this seems like.”
She says Deliberate Parenthood is doing every thing it could to make sure ladies proceed to get the reproductive care they want even when it means helping them to get these providers in different states, making a sort of underground railroad for ladies’s well being.
“The truth that we’re having these conversations in 2022 actually does really feel like a devastating step backwards within the historical past of our nation, and I believe that it will likely be appeared again on as such,” Dellicarpini-Tolman mentioned. “I do not suppose that is the tip I do not suppose that is the tip for abortion in Idaho.
Dellicarpini-Tolman says there is a groundswell of assist for abortion in Idaho now that is it is threatened. She says the battle could have shifted from defending these rights to reclaiming them however that it is a battle that is removed from over.
Idaho
This Idaho Theme Park Ranked as One of the Best in the U.S. — and It Has Wild West Vibes, an Earthquake-themed Coaster, and Free Water Park Admission
With its rugged Western landscapes, Idaho attracts visitors who want to immerse themselves in the peace, quiet, and charms of the great outdoors. But now there’s another great — and thrilling — reason to visit the Gem State.
A recent study conducted by casino sweepstakes comparison site Casinos Sweeps revealed the top 50 highest-rated theme parks in America. The site analyzed over 300 amusement parks across the country — including favorites like Dollywood, Silver Dollar City, and Disneyland — using Tripadvisor and Google reviews. And landing in the top 30, with a solid ratio of 70 percent five-star reviews, is Silverwood Theme Park in Athol, Idaho.
The Wild West-themed park, located less than 20 miles north of Coeur d’Alene, opened in 1988 and has transformed from a local amusement park to a regional destination. With over 70 rides and attractions, it’s the largest theme park in the northwest.
For thrill-seekers, Silverwood has an impressive array of seven rollercoasters. There’s Aftershock, an inverted, boomerang-style roller coaster as well as the Stunt Pilot, a unique, single-rail attraction, designed as a homage to the daily air shows that used to take place in the park. For those with little ones, there are also family-friendly rides, including the spinning Krazy Koaster, which runs on a figure-eight track. And don’t miss out on Tremors, an award-winning, earthquake-themed roller coaster that takes riders through four underground tunnels.
But for those interested in gentler excitement, Silverwood has several classic amusement park attractions, including a Ferris wheel, carousel, log flume, and drop tower. Be sure to make time to ride the Silverwood Central Railway, which takes riders on a scenic 30-minute ride around the park aboard a 1915 steam engine with views of northern Idaho.
Summertime temperatures in Athol can sometimes reach the high 80s, and a visit to Boulder Beach is an ideal way to cool off. Best of all, access to the water park is included with standard admission (prices start at $74 per person for a day pass). Guests can relax in one of two wave pools at Boulder Beach Bay or take on the 925-foot-long Eagle Hunt, the longest dueling water coaster in the country. The truly brave will want to conquer Velocity Peak, a high-speed water tower with three slides that can send riders careening off at 55 miles per hour.
Silverwood’s seasonal events are also a fan favorite, including the annual Halloween Scarywood Haunted Nights. The nighttime celebration embraces the spooky season with haunted scare zones and immersive mazes.
As for other highly rated theme parks across the West, properties such as Epic Discovery in Breckenridge, Colorado; Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park in Maricopa County, Arizona; and Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington, Utah also made Casinos Sweeps’ list.
Idaho
Legislative committee introduces bill to address DEI programs at colleges and universities in Idaho
BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho legislative committee is reviewing a draft bill titled the “Freedom of Inquiry in Higher Education,” presented by Republican Senator Ben Toews. The proposal aims to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices from state-funded colleges and universities and redirect those resources to academic support programs for all students.
“My goal is to work together with our higher education partners to move us in the right direction of guaranteeing the freedom of speech and freedom of thought, which I actually believe we all desire to have on our college campuses,” Toews said.
The drafted bill would prohibit public universities from funding or supporting identity-based DEI offices, with the exception of tribal centers. It would also prevent schools from requiring students to take DEI courses unless they are part of a chosen academic program.
Toews said the bill is modeled after policies in other states.
“We’re looking for what’s worked in other places to attempt to make sure that our universities and higher education institutions have that freedom of thought that we want,” he said.
However, Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, a Democrat, criticized the proposal, saying the committee’s focus is misplaced.
“It doesn’t feel like a productive working group. And in fact, it’s really troubling that we’re spending this amount of time and resources on talking about something that the government really shouldn’t have a role in,” Wintrow said. “We should really be focusing on what’s important to students—and that’s affordability, making sure they can pay for school, get to school, find a place to live and study and thrive.”
Josh Whitworth, executive director of the Idaho State Board of Education, said it’s important to support all students without isolating specific identity groups.
“The question is, as an institution, we want to make sure that the services that they need are not focused down on their identity, but focused on what they need,” Whitworth said. “The idea is don’t just create little groups. How do you give the support of all students to engage together and really create that holistic environment?”
The committee will continue reviewing the draft bill in the coming weeks.
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
-
Business1 week ago
These are the top 7 issues facing the struggling restaurant industry in 2025
-
Culture1 week ago
The 25 worst losses in college football history, including Baylor’s 2024 entry at Colorado
-
Sports1 week ago
The top out-of-contract players available as free transfers: Kimmich, De Bruyne, Van Dijk…
-
Politics1 week ago
New Orleans attacker had 'remote detonator' for explosives in French Quarter, Biden says
-
Politics1 week ago
Carter's judicial picks reshaped the federal bench across the country
-
Politics6 days ago
Who Are the Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
-
Health5 days ago
Ozempic ‘microdosing’ is the new weight-loss trend: Should you try it?
-
World1 week ago
Ivory Coast says French troops to leave country after decades