Idaho

Idaho surveys show public cares about water | Capital Press

Published

2 months ago

February 10, 2026

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Idaho surveys show public cares about water

Published 8:30 am Tuesday, February 10, 2026

The water-focused survey that Bob Mahler began mailing to about 3,000 randomly selected Idaho residents every four to five years starting in 1988 generated an approximately 50% response rate, around twice what was expected.

“To me that means the public really cares about water,” the University of Idaho professor of soil and water systems said.

Survey respondents have long valued water quality and recently pay closer attention to how much is available year to year. Respondents consistently identified soil and water as the state’s most important natural resources.

Mahler kept mailing the survey through its most recent iteration in 2023.

“We stayed with it because we wanted to compare year to year,” he said.

And the method — copied by officials in 42 states and U.S. territories, according to UI — produced a reliable cross-section of respondents and a 2-3% margin of error.

Future surveys

Mahler, who is nearing retirement, expects the next version to be conducted online due to factors such as cost and time, and to include some updated questions.

“We are not going back to mail simply because it’s harder to get addresses nowadays,” he said.

Surveyors in moving the longtime project online would have to take into account desired sample size and audience composition given that an Internet-based survey could generate a much lower response rate and participation weighted toward technology savvy people, Mahler said.

Findings

The state’s population more than doubled since he started the survey. And the population mix changed to include more people who are from elsewhere and “bring perspectives from their states of origin,” he said.

Agriculture “was very important in ’88,” Mahler said. “It is still important to the audience, but not as important because a lot of people that have moved into the state are not very familiar with it and they don’t depend on ag for their jobs or the community they live in.”

Irrigated agriculture is an important cultural aspect of the state according to more than 63% of respondents in 2003, down from 93% in 1988. In-migration by people who lack an ag heritage, and rapid urbanization, are primary factors, he said.

Other findings include that while the typical resident dislikes governmental regulation, he or she approves of voluntary actions that can help improve water quality, including university extension education. Residents who reported taking voluntary steps to improve water quality increased from 26% in 1988 to 80% in 2023. Those who reported taking steps to improve water quantity increased from 16% to 73%.

Between 1988 and 2007, more than 90% of participants considered their drinking water to be safe, compared to about 82% in 2023. Factors in the decline likely include increased awareness of problems such as the Flint, Mich., water crisis, marketing of in-home water filtration systems, and population growth, Mahler said.

Well over 80% of respondents in 2023 said population growth harms water resources, up from over half in 2007 and over 20% in 1988. Growth in the Boise-Meridian area accelerated around 2010, “so there is more concern about population and its impact on our water resources,” he said.

Value

Mahler, who has written about the findings, would like UI Extension to continue surveying the public about water perceptions, he said in a news release.

“Our legislators are interested in anything that improves the quality of water in the state,” he said. “They’re not interested in regulating things more to do that, but they’re interested in programs that give people the ability to take voluntary actions to improve and protect our water resources.”

Name: Robert (Bob) Mahler

Title: University of Idaho professor of soil, water and environmental sciences

Education: B.S. (1976) and M.S. (1978), soils, Washington State University; Ph.D., (1978), soil microbiology, North Carolina State University

Home: Boise

Family: Daughter Claudia teaches math and statistics at the University of Calgary

Hobbies: Hiking, travel

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Idaho

Idaho Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Pick 3 on April 20, 2026

Published

5 minutes ago

April 21, 2026

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The results are in for the Idaho Lottery’s draw games on Monday, April 20, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on April 20.

Winning Powerball numbers from April 20 drawing

09-17-36-47-64, Powerball: 26, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from April 20 drawing

Day: 9-5-5

Night: 1-3-9

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from April 20 drawing

Day: 9-3-4-7

Night: 6-9-2-8

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from April 20 drawing

05-07-31-41-43, Star Ball: 07, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Idaho Cash numbers from April 20 drawing

05-12-27-33-45

Check Idaho Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 20 drawing

19-37-40-41-53, Bonus: 02

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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Idaho

The Camas Prairie is Biblical Idaho

Published

12 hours ago

April 20, 2026

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I remember watching a documentary about Idaho’s wildlands. A narrator said there were probably many parts of the state where no human being has ever set foot. I believe that, but I stay relatively close to the highways. If I were 30 years younger, I would probably enjoy exploring the back country, but today, unless a plane takes me in and out, it’s not happening. I can’t say definitively that there is one spot that I find better than others. We’re surrounded by beautiful terrain, however. One place keeps calling me back.

Like a Scene from a Legendary Movie

When I go over the mountain between Gooding and Fairfield, I take time to stop at the overlook above the Camas Prairie. It reminds me of a scene in Exodus, where the Paul Newman character takes an American woman to look across a flat plain leading to Mount Tabor. He explains that’s the site where Deborah gathered her armies. It makes me feel there is something godly about the Camas Prairie. I keep going back to this spot. Sometimes I take along a folding chair and sit and look at the world below.

Slow Down and See the Work of the Creator

Fairfield may be nothing more than a blip as people speed down Route 20, but it’s their loss. On the other side of the highway is some of the prettiest country in Idaho. It’s going to be a lot less lush this spring, but drought conditions haven’t been nearly as severe in the central highlands. But if I’m granted a few more years by the Almighty, I plan to see the prairie for many more springs.

‘Miserable’: McCall 4th of July Getaway Gets Roasted

What was once a great little summer escape has become a total headache according to the internet

Gallery Credit: Mateo, 103.5 KISS FM

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Idaho

Idaho Lottery results: See winning numbers for Pick 3, Pick 4 on April 19, 2026

Published

1 day ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

The results are in for the Idaho Lottery’s draw games on Sunday, April 19, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on April 19.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from April 19 drawing

Day: 9-5-1

Night: 8-0-6

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from April 19 drawing

Day: 2-7-0-3

Night: 4-3-3-3

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Idaho Cash numbers from April 19 drawing

15-28-31-38-45

Check Idaho Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 19 drawing

32-42-52-53-55, Bonus: 05

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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