Idaho
Idaho Division of Human Resources recommends 4% raises for state employees • Idaho Capital Sun
The Idaho Division of Human Resources is recommending the Idaho Legislature approve salary increases of 4% or $1.25 per hour for all permanent state employees.
Idaho Division of Human Resources Administrator Janelle White made the recommendation Friday during a meeting of the Idaho Legislature’s Change in Employee Compensation Committee meeting at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.
White recommended the 4% salary increase, along with flexibility to distribute the funds for recruitment and retention. She also recommended increasing the salary structure midpoints for positions including public safety and nursing and recommended a 5.5% market-based increase for the salary structure for IT and engineering positions.
White said the Division of Human Resources issued the recommendation after receiving testimony from more than 1,700 state employees.
“Across all pay ranges, employees consistently cite rising cost of living as a major concern with current wages failing to keep pace,” White said. “They are concerned about pay compression, which is where new or less experienced employees earn as much or more than more tenured employees. Turnover and vacant positions are leading to increased workloads and burnout.”
Pay and benefits are important for several reasons. The state is one of the largest employers in Idaho, and these decisions directly affect thousands of Idaho families.
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Additionally, many state agencies struggle with retention because state employees in many fields make far less than their counterparts at private businesses and even at city and county jobs, White said. Last year’s turnover rate was 19.2%.
The situation is exacerbated because of inflation and surging increases in housing costs in Idaho.
“In the last decade, inflation has risen by more than 30% while the average base salary for state employees has only increased by 4.2%,” White said.
“As a result, employees are finding it harder to afford basic expenses such as housing, food, transportation, health care and other essential goods and services,” White added. “As Idahoans continue to rely on the contributions of these dedicated individuals, it is crucial to recognize and appreciate the invaluable role they play in our society and to ensure they can provide necessities for their families.”
Part-time Idaho legislators set to receive larger pay increase than state employees
Meanwhile, Idaho legislators are set to receive a much higher salary increase next year of 25%.
Idaho citizens committee approves legislative salary increases
Last month, a different committee – the Citizens Committee on Legislative Compensation – approved increasing the annual salary for Idaho legislators from $19,913 to $25,000, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. Rather than a full time legislative body, the Idaho Legislature is a part-time, seasonal legislature that generally meets for about 80 to 90 days each year.
Some Republican legislators have vowed to fight their pay raise.
Low pay for Idaho state employees can lead to high turnover
White told legislators there is a high cost to continually recruit and retrain new employees to replace the state employees who quit their jobs to make higher pay doing the same kind of work somewhere else.
State employees make an average of $20,000 less per year than they would doing the same job for a different employer, White said. Over the course of a 30-year career, that would cost an average state employee $600,000 in lost wages to work for the state.
“When employees leave the state, it has a profound and lasting impact on the bottom line and our ability to deliver services,” White said. “The hidden cost of turnover is frequently overlooked, yet its consequences are very costly to the state. A general rule of thumb is that it costs an organization one to three times an employee’s annual salary to replace them.”
Nothing was settled Friday.
The Change in Employee Compensation Committee is scheduled to meet again Jan. 7 and Jan. 9, and the Idaho Legislature will have the final say on pay and benefits for state employees during the upcoming 2025 legislative session.
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Idaho
University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders
A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.
A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.
Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”
“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.
“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”
Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.
Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.
The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.
Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.
Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”
The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.
Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.
In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.
During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.
However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.
She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.
It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.
The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.
With Post wires
Idaho
Gas prices expected to exceed $3 as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages
BOISE, Idaho — AAA is warning Idaho gas consumers that pump prices will likely rise as the conflict in Iran disrupts oil and gas supply chains worldwide.
The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East will likely push the price for a gallon of regular gasoline past the $3 mark over the coming days.
“On one hand, the crude oil market had time to account for some financial risk in the Middle East as forces mobilized, but a supply shortage somewhere affects the global picture,” says AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde. “If tankers can’t move products through the region, there could be ripple effects.”
On Monday, March 2, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.97, reports AAA, which is 12 cents more expensive than it was a month ago but 20 cents less than this time last year.
State / Price: 1 gallon of regular gasoline
- Washington / $4.37
- Oregon / $3.92
- Nevada / $3.70
- Idaho / $2.97
- Colorado / $2.89
- Montana / $2.82
- Utah / $2.74
- Wyoming / $2.73
In terms of the most expensive fuel in the nation, Idaho currently ranks #14. However, buying a gallon of regular gas in neighboring states such as Oregon and Washington could cost a whole dollar more. In contrast, gas prices in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming are anywhere between 15 to 24 cents cheaper than fuel in the Gem State.
Idaho
Idaho Lottery results: See winning numbers for Pick 3, Pick 4 on March 1, 2026
The results are in for the Idaho Lottery’s draw games on Sunday, March 1, 2026.
Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 1.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 1 drawing
Day: 7-2-3
Night: 2-7-6
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from March 1 drawing
Day: 4-7-9-3
Night: 8-7-7-3
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Idaho Cash numbers from March 1 drawing
03-06-07-33-41
Check Idaho Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 1 drawing
10-11-12-35-56, Bonus: 04
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Idaho Lottery drawings held ?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3: 1:59 p.m. (Day) and 7:59 p.m. (Night) MT daily.
- Pick 4: 1:59 p.m. (Day) and 7:59 p.m. (Night) MT daily.
- Lucky For Life: 8:35 p.m. MT Monday and Thursday.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- 5 Star Draw: 8 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Idaho Cash: 8 p.m. MT daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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