Idaho
Idaho Gov. Brad Little says state is well-prepared for uncertain economic future – Idaho Capital Sun
Idaho’s top two statewide elected officials said Wednesday that the state is well-positioned to ride out economic uncertainty created by the collision of inflation and high interest rates with rapid growth officials are still taking stock of.
Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke were among the speakers during the 77th annual Associated Taxpayers of Idaho conference Wednesday in downtown Boise.
Speaking to a politically savvy, influential audience, Little and Bedke highlighted the Idaho Legislature’s efforts to cut property taxes, reduce income taxes, bolster the state’s rainy day savings accounts and spend down a record state surplus through investments in public education, state parks, roads and infrastructure projects.
“We have in recent years offered more tax relief per capita than any other state,” Little said.
Governor touts Idaho Launch program as way to meet the needs of in-demand careers
During his almost 20-minute speech, Little highlighted his Idaho Launch grant program. Idaho Launch provides Idaho high school seniors with up to $8,000 they can use for career-technical education, workforce training programs, two-year colleges or four-year colleges for in-demand careers. The Idaho Legislature expanded the Idaho Launch program during the 2023 legislative session by passing House Bill 24.
“The one limitation on the workforce that I hear is … that we have got to have more skilled workers,” Little said.
“For every single Idaho kid who walks across the podium in May and gets their (high school) diploma, there’s going to be resources for them to go on to become a welder, to become an electrician, to become a lineman, plus all the traditional jobs,” Little added.
Officials highlight Idaho past budget surpluses
During his speech, Bedke highlighted how the Idaho Legislature used the state’s record $2 billion surplus from 2022.
“So what did we do with all that money?” Bedke asked. “We invested back in Idaho. We returned money back to our taxpayers back-to-back-to-back times. We paid off every callable bond that we could. We filled up every savings account that we could. We changed the law to make the savings accounts larger to accommodate more money. We invested back into our roads and bridges and our water systems – all the vital, strategic infrastructure that the state needs going into the future. We invested back into our schools, our kids. And we’ve done that in what I think is a very responsible way.”
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Neither Little nor Bedke unveiled any specific new policy proposals for the 2024 legislative session on Wednesday.
Little did say Idaho’s days of record, billion-dollar surpluses are likely in the past because of multiple rounds of tax cuts that reduce state revenue collections.
Associated Taxpayers of Idaho is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that represents taxpayers’ perspectives to policymakers through research and education.
First held in 1946, the conference attracts a who’s who among Idaho’s business and political leaders. For decades the conference has had a reputation for serving as the unofficial kickoff to Idaho’s annual legislative session, which begins next year on Jan. 8.
Other speakers and panelists at Wednesday’s conference included Little, Bedke, Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, State Controller Brandon Woolf, Ada County Assessor Rebecca Arnold and Speaker of the Idaho House Mike Moyle, R-Star.
Little’s father, David Little, was one of the founding members of Associated Taxpayers of Idaho.
During his presentation, McGrane discussed several new data visualization reports available on the Idaho Secretary of State’s website, including a new report showing Idaho is becoming more conservative based on the party affiliation of voters moving here from other states.
Aside from elected officials, economics and tax experts also spoke during Wednesday’s daylong conference. Several presenters said they were studying mixed economic signals and were unsure whether to expect a mild recession, a significant recession or continued economic growth without any kind of recession in the short-term future.
Idaho
U of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger investigated in 2nd home invasion attack
Idaho
Bryan Kohberger investigated over nearby home invasion year before alleged slayings of 4 University of Idaho students
Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger was once investigated in connection to a chilling home invasion that took place mere miles from where he allegedly slaughtered four college students inside their off-campus housing in 2022, according to a new report.
New information about the accused killer comes after ABC News obtained bodycam footage of police responding to a suspected home invasion in nearby Pullman, Wash., in October 2021 — more than a year before the University of Idaho students were stabbed to death.
“I heard my door open and I looked over, and someone was wearing a ski mask and had a knife,” a frightened woman told police.
“I kicked the s–t out of their stomach and screamed super loud, and they like flew back into my closet and then ran out my door and up the stairs.”
The alleged incident — which took place just 10 miles from the gruesome slayings in Moscow, Idaho — happened at 3:30 a.m., the woman told police, adding that the masked intruder was silent the whole time.
Her roommate immediately called the police, the outlet reported, but the case was left unsolved as police were left without a suspect or evidence at the time.
The terrifying incident shared eerie similarities with the gruesome quadruple University of Idaho murders.
Kohberger, 29, is accused of butchering students Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, around 4 a.m. inside their off-campus house on Nov. 13, 2022.
A surviving housemate later told police she saw a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” fleeing the house after overhearing cries and sounds of a struggle.
Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University, was arrested at his parents’ Pennsylvania home on Dec. 30 and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary — charges he has since pleaded not guilty.
Thirteen days later he was named a person of interest in the Pullman case, ABC reported, but is no longer considered a suspect.
“We have no reason or evidence to believe he was involved in this burglary at this time,” Pullman police told the outlet, citing a height difference between the alleged attackers.
While Kohberger is 6 feet tall, the alleged attacker in the Pullman incident was described as being 5’3′ to 5’5′. The accused stabber was also not yet enrolled at Washington State University at the time of the 2021 incident, the outlet reported.
The case is now closed but remains unsolved, police said.
“My family and I have been frustrated that the case was not investigated more in-depth or resolved,” the victim in the break-in told the outlet.
Kohberger’s highly anticipated trial is slated to begin in August and last through November.
The lengthy trial, which was moved to Idaho’s capital of Boise, will include two phases — one to determine his guilt or innocence, and the other, if he’s found guilty, to determine whether he should receive the death penalty.
Idaho
Bryan Kohberger probed for home invasion year before Idaho student murders
Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the Idaho quadruple murder case, was once investigated in connection with a home invasion in Pullman, Washington. This opens many doors for a flock of questions.
Who is Bryan Kohberger?
Kohberger, a 28-year-old PhD criminology student at Washington State University, was arrested weeks after the Idaho murders at his parents’ home in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He now faces four first-degree murder charges and a felony burglary charge. Prosecutors allege Kohberger meticulously planned the attack, stalking the victims’ off-campus rental home prior to the killings.
The Pullman home invasion occurred in October 2021, just 10 miles from Moscow, Idaho, where four college students were brutally stabbed to death in November 2022. Newly released body camera footage cited by ABC News provides a bodycam footage of the break-in that left a young woman traumatized and fearing for her life.
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“I heard my door open and I looked over, and someone was wearing a ski mask and had a knife,” the woman told officers in the footage, her voice trembling. “I kicked the s*** out of their stomach and screamed super loud. They flew back into my closet and then ran out my door and up the stairs.”
Kohberger named person of interest in Pullman case after Idaho murders
The alleged attack happened around 3:30 a.m. The masked intruder, who carried a knife, entered her bedroom silently. Despite her quick reaction and her roommate’s immediate call to 911, police found no trace of the suspect or any physical evidence.
Just over a year later, on November 13, 2022, the town of Moscow, Idaho, was shaken by the brutal murders of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. Survivors in the home described a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” fleeing after hearing cries and the sounds of a violent struggle.
Thirteen days after the Idaho murders, Kohberger was named a person of interest in the Pullman case. The eerie similarities between the two incidents—both involving a masked intruder, a knife, and nighttime break-ins—drew immediate attention. However, authorities later clarified that Kohberger is no longer considered a suspect in the Pullman case.
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Despite initial suspicions, critical differences between the Pullman and Moscow cases ultimately ruled out Kohberger’s involvement in the earlier incident. The victim of the Pullman break-in described the intruder as 5’3” to 5’5”, while Kohberger stands six feet tall.
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