Idaho
Gov. Little touts legislative victories, highlights water and education – East Idaho News
Gov. Brad Little addressing media about the past legislative seasons and what the state is doing for its residents | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.com
IDAHO FALLS — After announcing his Keeping Promises plan earlier this year, Gov. Brad Little touted what he said was a successful legislative season in meeting his agenda to promote education, farmers and families at a news conference Thursday at the Upper Snake Regional Office in Idaho Falls.
Little’s statements revolved around water and education.
RELATED | Gov. Little makes a stop in eastern Idaho to highlight 2025 priorities
Education
“Education has been my top priority since day one, strong public school support for families and communities,” Little said. “It’s both our constitutional and our moral obligation to the next generation that we increase funding, and more importantly, have better outcomes in our public schools.”
Little said rural schools would see a boost in funding, from $25.5 million to $50.5 million as part of House Bill 338.
RELATED | Rural school facilities funding bill heads to House
Other investments made this year included an increase in teacher pay by $85 million, and improvements in literacy statewide, with $78 million being paid annually.
Regarding concerns over who the state will oversee private education, Little answered that the state will monitor it.
“We negotiated with sponsors to have more people at the tax commission to make sure that those monies were spent effectively,” Little said.
RELATED | Private education tax credit heads to governor
Little said the state will monitor students whose parents put them in private school to ensure they receive a quality education, as the state did with charter schools.
He also addressed cuts within the federal government, such as President Trump’s plan to close the Department of Education.
He said state officials have to wait and see how that plays out.
If the department does close, Little said the state will need to monitor tests, like the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and see where Idaho can get funding to ensure Idaho students are meeting their educational goals.
Water
Just a little over a year ago, eastern Idaho experienced water curtailments that nearly shut down the state’s agriculture industry.
RELATED | Gov. Little celebrates ‘Idaho Water Day’ in Idaho Falls, recognizing historic, new water agreement
Little said during his discussion that since then, new mitigation plans have been made and funding has been invested in recharge projects along the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer.
“After a tough year of negotiations, we owed it to our farmers and communities to follow through on commitments to ensure the updated mitigation plan is successful,” Little said.
He said the state’s reservoirs are full to support this year’s growing season.
RELATED | How does this year’s surface water supply look for eastern Idaho?
Looking at other states that are experiencing water shortages, Little said he’s grateful that farmers and other stakeholders are on the same page to manage the state’s resources.
Overall, Little said many of his promises were passed this legislative season to promote education and other polices vital to Idaho’s future.
“We will continue to make Idaho the best run state in the country, promote policies that support public schools, farmers and families,” Little said.
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Idaho
Idaho is home to the nation's first DarkSky Reserve. Now it's home to the nations first DarkSky Certified Resort
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – A controversy is brewing as the City of Idaho Falls reviews its alcohol ordinance.
The goal is to consolidate four existing ordinances for beer, wine and liquor into a single law and ensure compliance with state code.
However, at its meeting last Thursday, the Idaho Falls City Council unanimously voted to remove the proposed ordinance from its agenda, in order to receive and consider additional public comment.
The proposed ordinance would:
1. Require commercial establishments selling, dispensing or permitting consumption of alcohol – including beer, wine or liquor – to have an alcohol license, alcohol catering permit or a charitable event permit.
2. Business events with 20 or less employees consuming alcohol at the business would be allowed.
3. Require alcohol servers to complete training every three years.
4. Individuals who violate the law could be charged with a misdemeanor.
Idaho Falls City Council President Jim Francis said the changes were the culmination of months of collaboration between law enforcement, business owners and city attorneys.
“We wanted to provide a safe environment – the primary point here – for public gatherings,” Francis said. “We recognize that certain antiquated elements of the current code are overly restrictive and needed to be addressed. We wanted to make the code more accessible to the public. We needed to address over-pouring issues. We wanted to reduce penalties where possible for violations, particularly the first offenses, and yet make the code clear enough to be enforceable consistently by law enforcement.”
But City Council Member John Radford said the changes represent an overreach by city government.
“I believe it’s a bad policy. What problem are we solving in the name of trying to solve a non-problem?” Radford said. “We’re becoming big brother around alcohol in your private property. I’m concerned that landlords will be at risk of being charged with a misdemeanor if they knowingly, which I made sure that was in there, because that is what we’ve been talking about, allowed people to drink in our business. We will be outside the norm of Idaho cities. This is a big step, and I don’t think the public has weighed in on this.”
At a City Council Work Session on June 1, Idaho Falls Chief of Police Bryce Johnson cited an increase in alcohol-related crime – particularly downtown – as a reason for the changes.
“DUI is there, but this would include sexual assaults, assaults, batteries, disturbances, urination, public vandalism, shooting – all sorts of crimes,” Johnson said.
But business owners are concerned about the potential impact on commercial enterprises.
“The ordinance doesn’t address the real problem – which is people drinking … at one event and then showing up in a bar or restaurant already hammered and causing problems anyway,” ” said Terri Ireland, representing the Idaho Falls Downtown Merchants Association. “The industry is really well-regulated by state and local laws already.”
The City of Idaho Falls began the process of updating its alcohol ordinance in January 2026, seeking input from community stakeholders.
Multiple community members spoke out about the ordinance.
For more in-depth information, you can read the full 39-page proposed alcohol ordinance here.
BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — A simmering dispute between Idaho’s top elections official and the U.S. Department of Justice escalated this month after federal officials warned Secretary of State Phil McGrane about possible prosecution tied to non-citizens voting in Idaho.
The Justice Department sent a letter earlier this month threatening McGrane with prosecution. The warning came amid a broader conflict between the Trump administration and McGrane, whom the administration has sued over his refusal to provide unredacted voter rolls to the federal government.
Idaho’s chief of civil litigation, James Craig, responded on July 10. In a letter first reported by the Idaho Statesman, Craig pushed back on the federal warning, writing, “Insinuations of criminal violations of the federal election laws are not well taken,” and asking the department to “stop threatening your friends in Idaho.”
Craig also requested that the lawsuit against McGrane be dismissed and criticized the Justice Department for sending its letter directly to McGrane rather than to the Idaho attorney general’s office.
The attorney general’s office said the state has already referred 15 cases of possible non-citizen election violations to the Justice Department but is not aware of any of them being prosecuted. Craig’s letter ends by asking the department to do so.
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