Idaho
Idaho bill that would require children to opt in to vaccine registry heads to House floor – Idaho Capital Sun
Idaho legislators advanced a bill on Monday that would require parents to opt in to the state’s vaccine registry, rather than Idaho’s existing policy that lets them to opt their children out.
Legislators on Idaho’s House Health and Welfare Committee on Monday advanced a bill that would require medical providers to only share the vaccination status of Idaho kids in a state-run database if their parents or caregivers say so.
Currently, Idaho’s immunization database, called the Immunization Reminder Information System, lets patients not be part of the database by opting out. If passed, the bill would take effect July 1, 2024.
Some health care professionals said the switch could leave Idaho medical offices with millions more in administrative costs.
Idaho’s children immunization rates, which have been among the lowest in the nation for years, fell in recent years as more people opted out of vaccines required for school, Idaho Education News reported last fall. Before the pandemic, 86.5% of Idaho kindergartners, first- and seventh-grade students were vaccinated. By 2021-22, only 80.2% were, Idaho EdNews reported.
House Majority Leader Megan Blanksma, R-Hammett, who is sponsoring House Bill 397, said she worried that Idahoans vaccination data — including for adults — is in Idaho’s vaccine database without them knowing. She referenced own experience finding out that her children’s and mother’s vaccine records were in the state database without their permission, after she opted out for her children. She also said Idaho’s vaccine database originally was “opt in” based.
As she closed debate on her bill, Blanksma said many Idahoans who received vaccines “don’t know that the government was collecting your data on that vaccine” because they weren’t given an informed consent form.
“That’s what should scare us more than anything else … that there’s data collection that people don’t know about, are completely unaware of. And that’s what this bill fixes,” Blanksma said. “It makes sure everyone knows where their medical data is going.”
Blanksma also said in the hearing that Idaho’s opt-out rate was low because it is difficult to opt out, and the bill would ensure that medical “providers don’t opt you in.”
“It’s become more complicated, and less transparent,” she said. “… Anytime the government is collecting your data, it should be transparent.”
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How would the opt-in changes affect medical providers?
The change should not require more state and federal funds, the bill’s fiscal note estimates. Blanksma also told the committee that she doesn’t expect increased costs for providers. She said under Idaho’s current opt-in model, “they are already providing the data to the government.”
But Rebecca Coyle, who said she was an expert on immunization registries, said if you assume that this would cost $10,000 to update each system, it’d cost over $10 million across the more than 1,000 clinics connected to Idaho’s vaccine registry. The medical system today is built for an “opt-out system,” she said, and adding consent files to those systems would be costly.
“It’s going to push a cost over $10 million in costs back to citizens of this state,” Coyle said, “for fewer than 1,000 people who have opted out since 2010.”
Many rural clinics would likely “fail to comply” with the bill because of the high costs of changing the reporting system, said Dr. Cristina Abuchaibe, a doctor in eastern Idaho who represented the Idaho chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“In order for every single potential patient to be given the choice, it will require extra staff and it will require fancier electronic medical record systems. To be perfectly honest with you, the rural areas don’t have the capacity to support,” Abuchaibe testified. “We’re barely surviving now with a lot of the physicians also doing a lot of the staff work and working as a team to be able to keep up.”
Idaho Family Policy Center Policy Associate Grace Howat, the only member of the public to testify in support of the bill Monday, said Idaho’s current opt-out practice “intrudes on the privacy of Idaho parents and intrudes on parental rights.”
“Parents are responsible for raising their children, not the state,” Howat testified.
Heather Gagliano, an Idaho mom and registered nurse, testified against the bill. She said she’s been fully informed of her rights to participate in Idaho’s vaccine registry for her two children over the years.
And as a public health professional who’s given thousands of vaccines, she said she’s seen the benefits of Idaho’s vaccine system’s ease of use for medical providers. But when kids immunization records are incomplete, or hand-written and often illegible, she has to delay care, Gagliano said.
Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene, made a motion that the committee send the bill to the House floor and recommend that it pass. Only the committee’s three Democrats opposed the vote, after a failed motion by House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, to hold the bill in committee.
House Bill 397 now heads to the House floor, where lawmakers could debate it before sending it through to the Idaho Senate.
What is the Immunization Reminder Information System, or IRIS?
Idaho’s IRIS system is similar to those used by other states. It helps health care providers remind people when they, or their children, are due for vaccines. Child care providers can access it to verify a child’s vaccine status. It also maintains a record so that, for example, a patient with a short memory doesn’t get a tetanus booster shot every year.
The records are stored securely and made accessible only to health care providers, child care providers and schools. Individual patients also can request their own records, or opt to have their records excluded from IRIS.
Idaho Republican leadership sent a letter to former Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden in 2021 accusing the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare of unlawfully using the state’s vaccine-record keeping system, calling for the agency to destroy its records on adult immunizations. An attorney for the Idaho Office of the Attorney General replied later that year that the department wasn’t unlawfully using the system and that lawmakers were wrong.
The vastness of the American West offers plenty of space to store old cars and a dry environment that keeps rust at bay. But this week, car enthusiasts got an unfortunate reminder that large salvage yards are vulnerable to another threat: wildfires.
L&L Classic Auto in Wendell, Idaho, claims to have over 8,000 cars on site ranging from the 1920s to the 1980s. Most are parts cars that are considered beyond saving, but that still makes them a valuable resource for keeping other cars on the road or, for those willing to make the trek to rural Idaho, a neat history lesson. Earlier this week, a wildfire dubbed the Median Fire descended on Wendell and the salvage yard.
Exploring the LARGEST CLASSIC-CAR JUNKYARD with Freiburger, a D/F Extra
On Wednesday, David Freiburger, who has visited L&L numerous times for video shoots over the years, posted on Facebook that the fire had reached the trove of vintage cars, citing reports from sources on the ground. A later update said that “all the people are okay,” but that “the junkyard took a big hit.”
The Median Fire is estimated at 8,600 acres in size, according to Idaho News 6. As of late Wednesday, Bureau of Land Management officials said the fire’s forward progress had stopped. The fire was burning in grass and brush and driven by wind, moving east after being initially reported about four miles northwest of Wendell at 11:55 a.m. on Wednesday, and crossing State Highway 46, along which L&L is located.
Median Fire Destroys Salvage Yard, Scorches 8,600 Acres in Magic Valley
A full assessment of the damage will have to wait until after the fire is put out, but photos accompanying Freiburger’s Facebook post showing burning cars and clouds of smoke enveloping the salvage yard do not look good.
At risk is a collection of cars as varied as it is numerous. During a visit in early 2025, Freiburger spotted plenty of ’60s classics, lots of decommissioned work vehicles with fantastic hand-painted lettering, plus more esoteric stuff like a 1972 AMC Matador fastback, an International slant-four engine (essentially half of a V8), and a Checker Aerobus. That’s a stretched, eight-door wagon designed for airport transportation in the days before E-Series shuttle buses. The important thing is that nobody was hurt, but hopefully some of this stuff survived the fire as well.
Idaho
‘Land back’ gift to Boise Valley tribes celebrated during annual Return of the Boise Valley People
BOISE, Idaho — A celebration of culture, healing and history took on new meaning Friday as descendants of the Boise Valley’s original Indigenous inhabitants gathered at Eagle Rock Park to honor a three-acre land gift that tribal leaders say will preserve their heritage for generations.
The announcement was celebrated during the 15th annual Return of the Boise Valley People gathering, an event that reunites descendants of the Boise Valley’s original tribes to reconnect with their ancestral homeland while sharing their history, traditions, and culture with the public.
WATCH | New land gift gives Boise Valley tribes a future home for cultural education
Land gift to Boise Valley tribes celebrated during Return of the Boise Valley People
“We honor the relationship between this land and the generations of the original Boise Valley people, their ancestors, their descendants, and those yet to be born,” organizers said during the ceremony.
Among those celebrating was Lance Dick Jr., a member of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes Tribal Council who grew up on the Duck Valley Reservation. He joined the Duck Valley Singing Group as tribal members marked the return of the land.
“It feels good to come and connect with the people and come back and reclaim ourselves here in the Boise Valley,” Dick said.
He said the land represents more than property—it represents a renewed connection to the Boise Valley.
“It just feels good knowing that there’s people willing to contribute back to our people and give that land, and being able to reclaim ourselves here in the valley,” he said.
The property, located near the Boise Foothills in the North End, will remain home to the Keener family during their lifetime. Afterward, it will become a cultural gathering place where future generations can learn about the Indigenous peoples whose ancestors lived throughout the Boise Valley for thousands of years.
Lori “BirdWing” Edmo, co-founder of the Return of the Boise Valley People gathering, said the vision extends beyond preserving the land.
“Our plan is to use it as a place to educate about our people, our version of our history, and also to educate everyone,” Edmo said. “We’ll grow our traditional foods and have a walking path with information about the original Boise Valley people.”
Ed Keener said his family’s decision to return the land followed years of building relationships with members of the Shoshone-Paiute and Shoshone-Bannock tribes.
“I’ve been working to get to know Native people for 20 years, particularly people from Duck Valley,” Keener said. “I thought this would be really good for folks whose ancestors were here to begin with and had always been here.”
The Return of the Boise Valley People gathering continues through the weekend. Friday’s public cultural celebration featured tribal booths, songs, language demonstrations and educational exhibits. Saturday’s activities include a walk and run at Eagle Rock Park before tribal events move to Gowen Field, while the weekend concludes Sunday with a sunrise ceremony for participating tribes.
The Keener family says they hope their gift inspires other landowners to consider ways to help preserve Indigenous history and strengthen connections between communities.
Idaho
Mountain Home neighbors kickoff Juneteenth celebrations as Idaho marks 25 years of recognition
MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho — Mountain Home neighbors are coming together this weekend to honor Juneteenth, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
June 19 marks the day enslaved people in Galveston Bay, Texas, were freed — more than 2 years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
WATCH | Mountain Home marks 25 years of Juneteenth Celebrations—
Mountain Home celebrates Juneteenth with a weekend of community events
The Mountain Home Juneteenth Committee hosts an annual Juneteenth 5K to honor the holiday. Saturday’s festivities continue at noon at Carl Miller Park with food, live music, games, and more.
Committee Vice President Dylisaly Reed said this year’s event marks an important milestone. 25 years ago, efforts led by former Mountain Home Mayor Joe B. McNeal helped Idaho become one of the first states to officially observe Juneteenth — though the holiday did not become an official state and federal holiday until 2021.
“It took the help and the foresight and the running, and the legacy of Dirk Kempthorne and Joe B. McNeil, who did what they had to do in order to make this happen for us,” Reed said.
RELATED | Idaho Black History Museum commemorates Juneteenth
Many neighbors said they only learned about Juneteenth a few years ago. Purvis Cowens, who attended the Mountain Home Juneteenth 5K, said awareness remains a challenge.
“We don’t talk about it in school. A lot of people of color are really not familiar with it,” Purvis Cowens said. “So it’s a good deal to get it out there and get it in the community.”
To help change that, the committee uses money raised through its events to fund 5 scholarships for local high school seniors, who write essays about what Juneteenth means to them.
Charlotte Cowens, who hosts the Mountain Home Juneteenth 5K, said understanding history is essential.
“It’s nice to know history because you got to know your history to know where you’re going. So if you don’t know where you came from, you never know where you’re going,” Charlotte Cowens said.
Reed said the scholarship has already made a meaningful impact.
“This was a young Caucasian gentleman, and he won, and he said when he did the research for his essay, he found out so many things he absolutely just never knew. And that’s all we want,” Reed said.
The committee said these events and the scholarship funds wouldn’t be possible without their sponsors, including Freer Foundation, Mountain Home Black History Committee, St. Luke’s, A Taste of Texas, and many more local businesses and churches.
To learn more about the Mountain Home Juneteenth Committee and this weekend’s events, click here.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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