Idaho
Former lawmaker from Idaho Falls was one of 3 brothers to hold public office – East Idaho News
IDAHO FALLS — At the conclusion of the 48th Idaho Legislative Session, Reed Hansen was listed among the standout lawmakers.
That’s what was reported in an April 1985 newspaper column. The Idaho Falls Republican — who died in 2009 at age 79 — was one of two freshman legislators that year. He served a total of 16 years in office, from 1984 to 1992, and then again from 1994 to 2000.
Hansen’s brother, Orval, had represented Idaho in Congress from 1969-1975. His other brother, John, stepped down as a state legislator in 1998 after 12 years in office.
The Idaho Legislature passed 311 bills in 1985, including a package of six water rights bills, the creation of the Department of Commerce, and a bill providing $304 million for public education and $88 million for higher education.
Reed and a young Mike Crapo — who currently represents Idaho in the U.S. Senate — had “stamped themselves as lawmakers to watch” because of “their performances and the influence they exert on their colleagues.” Hansen, who the report characterizes as a “progressive” Republican, had voted for the creation of the Department of Commerce.”
“He was also a leader in pushing for more education funding and took a leading role in approval of the Swan Falls water rights adjudication measure,” the paper wrote.
Reed’s 94-year-old widow, Marilyn Hoff Hansen, recalled her husband’s time in office during a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com. He’d gotten his start in politics decades earlier as a member of the Bonneville County Planning and Zoning board. Marilyn started calling him “Hotseat Hansen” because he often dealt with contentious situations.
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Reed loved to debate issues with lawmakers and constituents “with great fervor,” according to written family records. Marilyn says he always treated people with respect and valued honesty. He enjoyed the camaraderie, regardless of the outcome, she says.
Marilyn says it was his ability to put people at ease during heated debates that made him an effective leader.
“He had a keen sense of humor and a keen sensitivity about people. When things got tense, (he lightened the mood) and broke up the tension,” Marilyn says.
There was one time when Reed went to Salmon to help clarify an issue at a public meeting. He walked into a room full of “very hostile” women and started telling them about his sourdough bread.
Marilyn says Reed had started making sourdough bread years earlier after meeting some sheep herders from Spain. They’d brought a sourdough starter to share that was more than 100 years old.
Reed also made bread to share with others and show at the fair. It often won awards. As he told the women in attendance about this, Marilyn says it helped ease the tension.
“Soon, they were laughing. The tension was dissipated, and they could discuss the issues,” she says.
In 1974, Gov. Cecil Andrus appointed Reed to the Idaho Water Resources Board. It’s a position he held for the next 10 years.
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Getting elected to the Idaho House of Representatives in 1984 was a thrill for Reed, according to Marilyn. She says her husband’s time in the Legislature is where he felt most at home, and was a natural extension of what he’d been taught as a kid.
“(Serving in the Legislature) was his cup of tea,” she says.
Hansen’s early life
Hansen was born in 1929 to Farrel and Lily Hansen. They owned a 480-acre farm that included land where the Idaho Falls Regional Airport now sits. A red barn that occupied the space still exists, but has been relocated. Farrel later became the original owner of what is now Broadway Ford.
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Although farm life kept the family busy, Marilyn says the family was politically involved from the beginning.
“They were weaned on politics at the kitchen table,” Marilyn says. “Current affairs were always discussed in the Hansen home. The children were taught that public service was their obligation.”
Marilyn says Lily Hansen was a historian and followed the daily agenda of the Idaho Legislature and the United States Congress.
Farrel Hansen was well-liked in the community and was asked to run for governor at one point. He died at a young age before he got the chance, but three of his sons went on to serve in public office.
“To Reed, (running for office) was the natural thing to do,” says Marilyn.
Reed began young, serving as president of the Future Farmers of America in high school. He attended college at the University of Idaho and later served two years in the Army.
Reed began his tenure with Bonneville County Planning and Zoning in 1964.
“The kitchen table became his desk because the telephone was right there (and he’d get continuous calls),” Marilyn says. “The table was always covered with papers.”
Her husband eventually became the planning and zoning chairman, she said. After 10 years, he was appointed to the state water board.
The battle of the falls
During this time, Reed played a role in preventing Mesa Falls near Ashton from becoming a power plant, which Marilyn considers his greatest achievement. It began sometime in the early 1980s and overlapped with his inauguration as a legislator.
Marilyn’s second husband, Monte Later, who was then a board member for the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, says Mesa Falls was owned by Montana Power at the time. Its president wanted to divert the water down a penstock to a powerhouse at the base of the falls.
The IDPR proposed implementing a minimum stream flow in response, which required involvement from the Idaho Legislature. As a board member for the Idaho Department of Water Resources, Reed was familiar with the Mesa Falls proposal. As Later wrote in a book several years ago, Reed “picked up the cause … and began to steer legislation.”
“To the people who argued that a dam could be built to serve a powerhouse at the base of the falls … Representative Hansen had this to say: ‘Let’s take the Grand Teton Peak. If a commercial body of ore was discovered on that magnificent peak, would it be alright to just lop off the top third of it?’” Later wrote.
The argument resonated, and the legislation passed. To this day, Later says Mesa Falls is the last free-flowing falls on the Columbia River system.
Another important piece of water legislation that helped define Reed’s political career was the Swan Falls Agreement of 1984. Remembered as one of the most contentious water battles in state history, it settled a lawsuit between Idaho Power Company and 7,500 upstream water users. In the lawsuit, IPC, which held senior water rights to the Swan Falls Hydroelectric Dam near Murphy in western Idaho, claimed the junior rights of irrigators impaired its ability to store water and produce electricity.
Ultimately, it was settled through the creation of the Swan Falls Trust, which gave the state control of the water to allocate future water rights to IPC and water users.
“IPC agreed to subordinate its hydropower rights at Swan Falls and 10 other facilities to all upstream uses existing as of Oct. 25, 1984,” longtime Rexburg attorney Jerry Rigby told EastIdahoNews.com last year. “The state secured minimum flows to protect instream values and IPC’s generation capacity.”
Reed voted to approve the measure during the 1985 Legislative session and helped codify it in Title 42, Idaho’s primary law dealing with water rights and water usage.
‘A beautiful legacy’
During his years in the House, Marilyn says Reed’s farming sensibilities became a hallmark of his service. At the beginning of the Legislative session, he’d put a potato on his desk as a time-keeper for fellow lawmakers.
“When this potato sprouts, it’s time to go home,” Reed said, according to Marilyn.
In 1992, after eight years in office, Reed was not reelected. He lost the race that November to Jack Barraclough, a 33-year veteran of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Reed’s son, Bruce, says the state had changed the boundaries of the voting district to include a large number of employees with what is now Idaho National Lab. Barraclough appealed to voters because of his long history at the site and Bruce says he ran a strong campaign.
“The Republican Party didn’t like my dad because he (was moderate) and didn’t like to answer to them. They were always trying to put somebody up (against him), and this one was a success for the party,” Bruce recalls.
Reed didn’t stay out of politics long. He ran for the same seat two years later and was reelected. He remained in office for another eight years.
Reed was 71 when he retired in 2000. He died nine years later.
Nearly 20 years after his death, family members say Reed exemplified through his actions what a legislator ought to be. They use words like “fairness” and “honesty” to describe him.
“He treated the farmhand with the same respect as the governor,” says Marilyn. “Status isn’t what he cared about. Who you were as a person is what mattered to him.”
“He had a high regard for the little people … those who didn’t have a voice,” Later adds.
Bruce runs the family farm today, which is now 700 acres.
Although no one else in the family has ever run for public office, they remain politically involved as citizens behind the scenes.
Marilyn speaks favorably of her husband’s service and says she appreciates the legacy he left behind.
“He left a beautiful legacy and a mighty challenge for his children and their children to live up to,” Marilyn says in family records.
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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.
July 1 isn’t just the start of a new fiscal year for Idaho public schools. It’s also the effective date for many new education-related laws.
From mandatory moments of silence to restrictions on taxpayer funding for teachers’ unions, the Legislature enacted a slew of new policies affecting public schools during this year’s session.
Here’s what educators, parents and students should know:
School trustees, administrators and teachers
Here are the new laws that will affect school trustees, administrators and teachers:
Union activities. Public schools can no longer use taxpayer resources to accommodate teachers’ unions — including by giving teachers paid time off for union “activities” or by using payroll systems to deduct union dues.
The list of union “activities” in House Bill 516 is long. Among other things, it includes:
- Supporting or opposing candidates for office
- Influencing legislation
- Promoting union membership
- Participating in the “administration business or internal governance” of a teachers’ union
- Preparing, conducting or attending a union event
- Distributing union communications
- Speaking on the union’s behalf
- Engaging in union negotiations
- Filing a grievance on behalf of the union
A school district can’t give teachers paid time off to participate in these activities, unless the union reimburses the district.
HB 516 was based on a report from the Washington-based Freedom Foundation, an anti-union think tank, which alleged that public schools have spent more than $1 million subsidizing teachers’ unions.
The bill also prohibited districts from:
- Deducting union dues through payroll systems.
- Increasing teacher pay to cover union dues.
- Requiring that teachers meet with the union.
- Sharing employees’ contact information with the union.
- Communicating on the union’s behalf.
Civics instruction. Public schools must now ensure that their civics instruction aligns with a law aimed at cultivating the “virtue and knowledge necessary for self-government.”
Senate Bill 1336 codified nearly four pages of requirements for civics instruction. By the time public school students graduate, they must exemplify the virtues of “prudence, justice, fortitude, moderation and patriotism” while understanding the “fundamental principles of the nation’s republican form of government” along with the “history, meaning, significance, and effect of key historical documents.”
Click here to read the list of principles and texts that students must understand.
The bill also required that high school students complete two credits in American history and two credits in American government. These classes must include instruction on the American Revolution and founding along with instruction on the incompatibility of totalitarianism with the principles of American government.
The bill also “encouraged” public schools to display historical portraits of George Washington “in a conspicuous place” in each classroom where civics is taught.
Public charter schools can request an exemption from many of the new requirements. Traditional public schools cannot.
Lastly, the bill pushed back the implementation date for a new civics test that the Idaho Department of Education is writing. The new test will be required in 2027-28, rather than during the upcoming school year.
High-needs funding. Public schools are now eligible to receive up to $100,000 in state funding for “high-needs” special education students.
Senate Bill 1288 set aside $5 million for students who require full-time staff support or specialized equipment. Districts can apply for the state funds to cover students whose individual education program-related costs exceed $30,000 annually.
The state will fully reimburse costs between $30,000 and $80,000. Costs above $80,000 will be reimbursed at 80%, and reimbursement is capped at $100,000. Forty percent of the state funds are reserved for rural schools.
Sexual abuse reporting. School districts are no longer allowed to conduct an internal investigation of abuse in lieu of reporting an incident to law enforcement.
Sen. Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton, proposed the law in response to sexual abuse complaints against Gavin Snow, a former special education assistant in the Boise School District.
Senate Bill 1412, which passed with unanimous support, also requires that school districts ask job applicants for sworn statements disclosing pending or prior investigations, resignations during investigations or disciplinary action stemming from misconduct. An applicant who lies in the disclosure is no longer eligible for the job.
Funding flexibility. Public school districts and charter schools are now eligible for flexibility in how they spend state funds — if they meet performance benchmarks.
To qualify for the “earned autonomy,” districts would have to post high marks on test scores and graduation rates while charters would be graded on academics and financials.
House Bill 883’s sponsors estimated that about 10 districts and 15 charters would qualify.
Parents
Here are the new laws that parents should be aware of:
Social transition reporting. Parents will now have a right to be notified if their child identifies as a different gender at school. Schools could face a six-figure penalty for failing to comply.
House Bill 822 requires that public school officials notify parents within 72 hours if their child requests help with “social transitioning.” This includes when a student asks to go by a different pronoun or use a bathroom or participate on a sports team that doesn’t align with their birth sex.
Sponsored by Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, the law gives parents the right to sue a school or healthcare provider for relief and monetary damages if they aren’t notified within the 72-hour window.
The attorney general can also seek a civil penalty up to $100,000.
Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa
Virtual school policy. Parents of virtual-school students will have new restrictions on money they receive to cover the costs of home learning.
After a state report last year found examples of taxpayer money being misused, lawmakers added limits on “supplemental learning funds.” According to House Bill 624, this money can only be spent on “eligible educational expenses, including:
- Computer hardware, internet access or other devices used to meet a student’s educational needs.
- Textbooks, curricula or other instructional materials, including educational software.
- Fees for standardized tests, advanced placement exams, certificate exams or college admissions exams.
- Therapies, including behavioral, physical, speech-language and audiology therapies, along with other State Board of Education-approved services.
In addition to the rules around supplemental learning funds, HB 624 added reporting requirements for private vendors that contract with virtual schools. Vendors must disclose the costs and services they provide while demonstrating a “clear relationship between the public funds received and the services provided.”
Military preference on charter waitlists. Active-duty military parents could be eligible for preference on charter school waitlists.
Lawmakers passed a bill that allows charter schools to place children from military families third among categories of students given preference on waitlists. It’s up to each charter school whether they implement the change.
Students
Here are the new laws that students should know about:
Moment of silence. Public school students will now have to start each school day with a moment of silence.
They can use the 60 seconds however they want — to reflect, meditate or pray — but they must be silent, and “no other activities shall take place,” according to House Bill 623.
Sponsored by Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, the law requires that a moment of silence occur “at or near the beginning of each school day.” It prohibits teachers from instructing students on the “nature of any reflection” they might engage in.
School leaders also must notify parents about the moment of silence and “encourage” them to “provide guidance” to their children on how to use it, according to the law.
Idaho Launch cuts. Less state aid will be available for students going to college after they graduate in 2027.
For the current fiscal year and next fiscal year starting July 1, state lawmakers — with Gov. Brad Little’s approval — cut $10 million from Idaho Launch. The program offers high school graduates $8,000 to spend on an in-state higher education degree or workforce training certificate.
While the award amounts will remain the same, the state now has $65 million in scholarship money to dole out, compared to $75 million in previous years.
IDLA cuts. Fewer students are eligible to take discounted courses through the state’s online learning platform, the Idaho Digital Learning Alliance (IDLA).
House Bill 940 cut funding for IDLA’s elementary program, limiting the platform to students in grades 6-12. The bill also cut driver’s education, and eliminated state funding for students attending all-virtual schools and non-public schools — although private- and home-schoolers can pay IDLA’s full course fee and seek reimbursement through the Parental Choice Tax Credit.
HB 940 also set new fees for courses that are eligible for state funding. Courses that satisfy a graduation requirement are $40, while courses that don’t meet a graduation requirement are $100.
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POCATELLO – Learn physics and have some fun at the same time at a community event this weekend.
On Saturday and Sunday, Idaho State University’s Department of Physics will hold its annual Water Rocket Festival at Tydeman Park — North 8th Avenue and East Young Street. The first 100 kids who arrive get to build and launch their own bottle rockets.
“The hope is to sneak some science into the summer,” said Steve Shropshire, the physics professor helping to organize it.
It’s free to the public and held in conjunction with the Kiwanis Club of Pocatello’s Bing Hong Pancake Breakfast fundraiser.
A competition will be held both days. The kid who builds the rocket that goes the furthest will be awarded with their own water-rocket launcher.
Shropshire, who’s been running events like this for nearly 40 years, started the Water Rocket Festival around 16 years ago. As a new member of the Kiwanis club, Shropshire noticed that the fundraiser only took up half of the park.
“I kind of piggybacked onto them, saying, ‘hey, you know, you’re not using this whole field over here. We could sneak some science into this,’ and I think it works well,” Shropshire said.
A student will greet each individual or group, and spend about 15 minutes explaining the physics behind building a rocket.
The kids will build their rockets, with some guidance and tips from students. All basic materials are provided.
Students will help fill the rocket with water and bring it to the launch pad, where Shropshire handles the countdown and launch. Once it’s finished, they can do it all over again.
“The kids are welcome to redesign, rebuild and launch again and again and again, or just keep launching until the thing falls apart,” Shropshire said.
The initial appeal of the event can be summed up by a short statement from Shropshire.
“Rockets are really cool. It certainly captivates the kids’ interest,” Shropshire said.
But beyond that, Shropshire says learning basic principles of physics and then applying them could spark a long-term or lifelong interest.
“The best way to learn is by doing. You understand the principles the best if you actually end up applying them, and seeing them in operation,” Shropshire said.
And Shropshire said the event goes even better when adults get involved.
“I would encourage parents and grandparents to get actively involved in helping their kids build the rockets because that’s kind of a bonding experience … ad I think the kids put better rockets together if they’ve got some parents to help them out,” Shropshire said.
But regardless of whether it sparks a child’s interest in physics or rocket-building, Shropshire said it’s still a worthwhile activity.
“There’s lots of fun, rewarding things that folks can do that are related to science and engineering, and having some awareness of that as the kids go through their schooling is a good thing,” Shropshire said.
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