Hidden away in the Idaho resort area of Sun Valley, amid the affluent Hulen Meadows neighborhood just outside Ketchum, another eye-catching home from the luxury portfolio of Herich & Associates has just popped up for sale. The asking price is a speck under $15.5 million, with the listing held by Delaney Fox of Keller Williams Sun Valley Southern Idaho.

Completed in 2008 by the local design-build firm in collaboration with architect Michael Blash, widely known for his contemporary take on the Craftsman style, the striking wood, glass, and stone structure offers five bedrooms and seven baths in roughly 8,000 square feet on three levels. Rustic and modern interiors feature hardwood floors, Venetian plaster walls, walnut paneling and cabinetry, and soaring exposed-beam cedar ceilings throughout, plus vast walls of glass framing picturesque mountain vistas.

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Introducing the house is a glassy front door that slides open to reveal a stone-clad entry foyer boasting a floating glass and steel spiral staircase. From there, an open-concept great room contains a fireside living room and an adjacent dining area with retractable glass doors spilling out to a covered terrace ideal for alfresco entertaining with a built-in barbecue. An eat-in kitchen around the corner is outfitted with top-tier Cove, Dacor, KitchenAid and Sub-Zero appliances, as well as a large center island and a walk-in pantry secluded behind sliding barn doors.

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Elsewhere is a family room warmed by a fireplace and a posh upstairs primary suite flaunting a deluxe bath spotlighted by a glass soaking tub with an integrated recliner, while other notable features include a lofted office space with wraparound windows, a media room, and a wine cellar. The amenities continue outdoors, where a sundeck-encased pool and a fire pit rest amid an acre of garden-laced grounds sporting more than 500 flowering peonies.

Rounding it all out: a heated cobblestone driveway that passes through a porte-cochère before emptying out at a spacious motor court flanked by an attached five-car garage equipped with surround sound and an elevator traveling to the house. No word on whether the vintage red and white pickup truck parked in the driveway is included in the sale!

Click here for more photos of the modern Sun Valley residence.

BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) Idaho Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow introduced a new personal bill Thursday in the Idaho Senate that seeks to add workforce and housing protections for LGBTQ+ Idahoans.

Wintrow’s new bill, Senate Bill 1004, would amend the Idaho Human Rights Act by adding the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”

The bill’s introduction was intended to send a message and get the proposal in front of the public. Because the bill was introduced by Wintrow as a personal bill – as opposed to following the traditional path of being introduced by a legislative committee – the bill has no chance of advancing.

“For the past 10 years, we have tried to introduce this bill in committee, and every year, the Republican leadership refuses to have a hearing to add the words ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity‘ to the State of Idaho’s Human Rights Act,” Wintrow, D-Boise, said in a written statement.

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Republicans control a 90-15 supermajority in the Idaho Legislature and have blocked similar bills seeking to amend the Idaho Human Rights Act to add the words for 20 years.

“We come back every year, trying to formally introduce the bill to add the words because of our love and respect for our LGBTQ+ constituents and all LGBTQ+ Idahoans,” Wintrow added. “I have deep appreciation for these Idahoans, many of whom have lived here all their lives, whose families and jobs are here, and who continue to stay here despite how hard the Legislature tries to make their lives. They love Idaho enough to stay and fight to live free from government interference in their personal lives. It breaks my heart that we are still fighting for basic dignity under the law in 2025.”

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Meanwhile, Republicans in power are pushing in the opposite direction as Wintrow.

During the first day of committee meetings in the 2025 legislative session, the House State Affairs Committee introduced House Joint Memorial 1, which calls on the U.S. Supreme Court to “restore” the definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman and allow states to enforce laws pertaining to marriage.

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The memorial does not carry the force and effect of law, but it does send a message and makes the Idaho Legislature‘s intentions clear.

In the absence of state protection for LGBTQ+ Idahoans, local cities and towns have passed anti discrimination ordinances, beginning with Sandpoint in 2011.

According to the Idaho Democratic Party, 13 Idaho cities and towns have passed nondiscrimination ordinances since 2011, including Sandpoint, Boise, Idaho Falls, Moscow, Lewiston, Meridian, Ketchum, Hailey, Bellevue, Driggs, Victor, Pocatello and Coeur d’Alene.

However, Nikson Mathews, chair of the queer caucus of the Idaho Democratic Party and a former Democratic legislative candidate, said action by local communities is not enough. Mathews called on the state to take action.

“Idaho’s queer community deserves to be safe and to be seen, no matter where in the state they live,” Mathews said in a written statement.

Rally and protest planned for Jan. 28 at Idaho State Capitol

The organization Add the Words, Idaho is planning a rally and protest to mark the 10th anniversary of the only hearing the Idaho Legislature has held regarding the proposal to add LGBTQ+ protections to the Idaho Human Rights Act, Mathews said.

“Rally and Radiance” events are taking place at noon Jan. 28 at Idaho State Capitol in Boise and 6 p.m. Jan. 28 at the Linden Building, 1402 W. Grove St., in Boise.

Mathews encouraged Idahoans to attend either rally and voice their support for enacting protections for the LGBTQ+ community.

“We want people to come here to this rally and make it very clear that this is not what we want in this state, and we need people to show up so that our community sees this support,” Mathews said in an interview Thursday.

“It is so important for folks to be vocal in this moment,” Mathews added. “We are facing an incoming president who has made very clear what his plans are on Day 1 in response to the LGBTQ community. We have a Legislature who’s actively working to take away our rights and attack our humanity. We need every Idahoan who stands with us to be vocal that this is not what we want.”

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IDAHO FALLS — Amanda Cook knew something was wrong when her daughter Lily fell one day and wasn’t acting like her normal self. She said it wouldn’t usually be a big deal except for the fact that there were “lacerations” on Lily’s backside. 

She and her husband, Steven, live in Idaho Falls with Lily, 2, and Jack, 6. During Thanksgiving, Lily was dancing around.

“She fell. The very next day, after she fell from just standing, she had this large bruise. We got X-rays, but nothing could tell us what was going on,” Amanda explained. “She was tired. She complained that her butt hurt. She couldn’t sit down.”

On Dec. 18, Lily’s pediatrician decided to order a CT scan. It turns out, she had a tumor behind her tailbone and was diagnosed with stage 4 sacrococcygeal cancer, which has metastasized to her lungs. According to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital online, sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT), is a tumor that forms on a fetus’s tailbone.

Amanda said she did prenatal ultrasounds, but the tumor was hidden. There isn’t a history of this in her family. 

Lily started chemotherapy on Dec. 22 at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City and has been a trooper. Doctors and medical staff have given Lily a good prognosis. 

“She is pretty brave,” Amanda said of her daughter. “Now that she is responding well to chemo, we think, because she can sit on her bum now, and she’s not complaining, and she has a ton more energy. Believe it or not … she’s flourishing.”

It’s estimated that Lily could be on chemo for at least six to nine months. Every three weeks, she needs a round of five days of chemo. The Cook family will come home to Idaho for a short time, and then they’ll go back to Utah again. 

Through all of this, the community has shown an outpouring of love. Many people know the family. 

“Everybody loves little Lily. She meets a lot of people. We are very social butterflies, and she has just lit up a lot of people’s world, so it’s pretty cool to see how she has impacted so many other families and kids,” Amanda said. 

Amanda’s sister created an online GoFundMe with an $8,000 goal. As of Thursday afternoon, it had raised over $6,000. 

“We have meals from our neighbors every day. The support has been amazing,” Amanda said. “The way the community has helped us has been so incredible, including our jobs. The lives that we have touched have definitely given back in some way or another.”

Jodi Price is a close friend of Amanda and Steven. She has helped organize a “Love for Lily” benefit dinner and auction on Jan. 24 at the Westbank in Idaho Falls. She wanted to help them during this challenging time. 

“Amanda is a nurse, and she is going to have to take time off work along with Steven, who works out of the INL. So they are going to be looking for a little bit of extra help financially. Just any support that anybody can give … prayers or good thoughts,” Price told EastIdahoNews.com. 

The event will include a pasta dinner, a raffle auction and live auction. All proceeds will benefit Lily’s care. You can buy tickets here.

“They are the sweetest family you will ever meet. They are just the kindest souls. Anybody that knows Steven and Amanda knows little Lily and Jack. They would just do anything for anybody,” Price said. “It’s a terrible thing that happened to good people.”