Idaho
Idaho Transportation Department takes back control of flood-damaged State Street campus in Boise • Idaho Capital Sun
The Idaho Transportation Board took back control of its flood-damaged former Boise headquarters on Thursday, setting off what could be a years-long and uncertain next chapter for the property.
During its meeting Thursday in Lewiston, the Idaho Transportation Board voted unanimously to pass a resolution that rescinded an earlier 2022 resolution that declared the State Street campus in Boise that the headquarters was previously located at as surplus property.
As part of Thursday’s resolution, the Idaho Transportation Department also took back control of the 44-acre property located at 3311 W. State St.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Taking back control of the building allows the Idaho Transportation Department to use $32.5 million in state funding the Idaho Legislature approved earlier this year to renovate the damaged and contaminated building, state officials said Thursday.
“The funding is contingent upon custody and control of the property coming back to the Idaho Transportation Board,” Idaho Transportation Department Chief AdministratIve Officer Dave Tolman said during Thursday’s meeting. “After discussions with many people, the best approach at this point in time to comply with the House bill, the legislation that did pass and become law, is to request the board to rescind the resolution that was passed in August of 2022.”
Costs to renovate State Street campus in Boise are unclear
The resolution to take control of the property also directs ITD staff to work with the Division of Public Works to develop a cost estimate to make the asbestos-contaminated building suitable for the department to use again. The Idaho Legislature set aside $32.5 million for renovations during the 2024 legislative session, based on rudimentary sight-unseen estimates provided by the Division of Public Works, according to records the Idaho Capital Sun obtained under the Idaho Public Records Act. After reaching out to the state, legislators were given two rudimentary estimates, records show:
Need to get in touch?
Have a news tip?
- $32.5 million for building renovations, asbestos removal and unspecified “soft costs.”
- $63.2 million for asbestos removal, building demolition and construction of a new 100,000 square foot building.
Those estimates were generated in November 2023 and developed sight-unseen, the Department of Administration told the Sun. Those estimates do not take into account the extent of flood damage and HVAC repairs required, the Department of Administration said.
Legislators went with the $32.5 million option.
At the time, Sen. Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls, told the Sun it was more financially responsible to keep the building and renovate it, instead of selling it or tearing the building down and building a new building.
Idaho Transportation Department campus timeline: Understanding the flood, sale and legal fight
There have been several twists and turns in the road for the Idaho Transportation Department administrative headquarters in Boise. Here is a closer look at what happened when.
- Jan. 2, 2022: The State Street property flooded and was contaminated by asbestos. All employees that had been working at the ITD administrative headquarters in Boise were displaced, according to court and ITD records.
- March 22 to March 24, 2022: The Idaho House and Idaho Senate passed House Bill 779, which provides $37 million and includes budget intent language saying the ITD headquarters that had been located at the State Street campus will occupy space at a different state-owned campus on Chinden Boulevard.
- Aug. 5, 2022: The Idaho Transportation Department Board passed a resolution declaring the State Street campus to be surplus property unsuitable for ITD use, ITD records show. Declaring the State Street campus to be surplus property set the property up to be sold publicly to the highest bidder.
- Nov. 10, 2023: Department of Administration Director Steve Bailey told the Idaho Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that the state sold the State Street campus in September to a group of buyers for $51.7 million, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.
- March 1, 2024: the Idaho Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee reversed the state”s course by passing a transportation department budget that blocked the sale of the State Street campus, the Sun previously reported. Instead, the budget called for the state to keep the property and renovate it for $32.5 million.
- April 25, 2024: The would-be buyers of the property – Hawkins Companies, Pacific West Communities and FJ Management – filed a lawsuit in the Idaho Supreme Court seeking an order to conclude the sale of the State Street property to them and throw out the Idaho Legislature’s budget language blocking the sale.
- Aug. 13, 2024: Idaho Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit, ruling the would-be buyers did not have a legally enforceable right to buy the property.
- Sept. 19, 2024: Idaho Transportation Board took back control of the State Street campus and requested a cost estimate to make the property usable again.
PAYETTE — A Payette mom’s bond was revoked Tuesday after she was charged with suffocating her twin children earlier this month and is believed to pose a danger to the life of her newborn child.
The case, which has drawn national headlines, concerns Andrea Renee Shaw, a 23-year-old Payette mother who in May 2025 said her 18-month-old fraternal twins died the same day, after receiving routine childhood vaccinations. In January, Shaw joined as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed by Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with several other plaintiffs claiming vaccine injury or death.
Kennedy, who now serves as secretary of Health and Human Services, is no longer part of the group after taking on the cabinet position, as was reported by the Associated Press.
In Idaho, the twins’ deaths prompted a 14-month investigation by the Payette County Sheriff’s Department. On June 29, the investigation yielded a grand jury indictment of Shaw on two counts of first-degree murder by suffocation. If convicted, Shaw can be punished by up to life in prison or the death penalty, and the court would have the ability to order the penalties be served consecutively, or back to back.
Tuesday’s arraignment at the Payette County Courthouse was primarily attended by Shaw’s relatives and members of the media. Payette County Judge Kiley Stuchlik, who serves Idaho’s Third Judicial District, presided.
A key consideration for Stuchlik on Tuesday was a request from Joseph Filicetti, the legal counsel for Shaw, to have her bond reduced from $2 million to $100,000. Filicetti said this would allow for Shaw to care for a newborn girl, who, according to court documents, was born by caesarean section on June 25, four days prior to Shaw’s grand jury indictment.
State prosecutors objected to the motion for bond reduction, noting at hand was a potential death penalty case and asserting, unlike her husband, Shaw’s story repeatedly changed during questioning. Prosecuting Attorney Mike Duke said releasing Shaw would ultimately put the newborn’s safety at risk.
“That child is the most at risk. We do not think she should be allowed to be anywhere near any children, let alone her own children,” Duke said.
Stuchlik decided to revoke bond entirely, stating Shaw posed a “risk of safety” to the newborn child that was not known to Stuchlik or prosecutors when the $2 million bond was initially set.
Also for consideration Tuesday was a request to have grand jury transcripts of witness testimony provided to prosecutors and defense counsel to prepare their respective cases.
Idaho
Idaho is home to the nation's first DarkSky Reserve. Now it's home to the nations first DarkSky Certified Resort
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – A controversy is brewing as the City of Idaho Falls reviews its alcohol ordinance.
The goal is to consolidate four existing ordinances for beer, wine and liquor into a single law and ensure compliance with state code.
However, at its meeting last Thursday, the Idaho Falls City Council unanimously voted to remove the proposed ordinance from its agenda, in order to receive and consider additional public comment.
The proposed ordinance would:
1. Require commercial establishments selling, dispensing or permitting consumption of alcohol – including beer, wine or liquor – to have an alcohol license, alcohol catering permit or a charitable event permit.
2. Business events with 20 or less employees consuming alcohol at the business would be allowed.
3. Require alcohol servers to complete training every three years.
4. Individuals who violate the law could be charged with a misdemeanor.
Idaho Falls City Council President Jim Francis said the changes were the culmination of months of collaboration between law enforcement, business owners and city attorneys.
“We wanted to provide a safe environment – the primary point here – for public gatherings,” Francis said. “We recognize that certain antiquated elements of the current code are overly restrictive and needed to be addressed. We wanted to make the code more accessible to the public. We needed to address over-pouring issues. We wanted to reduce penalties where possible for violations, particularly the first offenses, and yet make the code clear enough to be enforceable consistently by law enforcement.”
But City Council Member John Radford said the changes represent an overreach by city government.
“I believe it’s a bad policy. What problem are we solving in the name of trying to solve a non-problem?” Radford said. “We’re becoming big brother around alcohol in your private property. I’m concerned that landlords will be at risk of being charged with a misdemeanor if they knowingly, which I made sure that was in there, because that is what we’ve been talking about, allowed people to drink in our business. We will be outside the norm of Idaho cities. This is a big step, and I don’t think the public has weighed in on this.”
At a City Council Work Session on June 1, Idaho Falls Chief of Police Bryce Johnson cited an increase in alcohol-related crime – particularly downtown – as a reason for the changes.
“DUI is there, but this would include sexual assaults, assaults, batteries, disturbances, urination, public vandalism, shooting – all sorts of crimes,” Johnson said.
But business owners are concerned about the potential impact on commercial enterprises.
“The ordinance doesn’t address the real problem – which is people drinking … at one event and then showing up in a bar or restaurant already hammered and causing problems anyway,” ” said Terri Ireland, representing the Idaho Falls Downtown Merchants Association. “The industry is really well-regulated by state and local laws already.”
The City of Idaho Falls began the process of updating its alcohol ordinance in January 2026, seeking input from community stakeholders.
Multiple community members spoke out about the ordinance.
For more in-depth information, you can read the full 39-page proposed alcohol ordinance here.
-
Montana4 minutes agoGovernor Gianforte Announces Montana Ranks as Top 10 State for Job Growth
-
Nebraska10 minutes agoRoanoke County teen heads to national rodeo finals in Nebraska
-
Nevada16 minutes agoNevada’s modern boomtowns are these fast-growing cities, study said
-
New Hampshire22 minutes agoNH Forests: A Story of Revival and the Challenges Ahead: Business NH Magazine
-
New Jersey28 minutes agoNJ Spine Doctor, Daughter, Granddaughter Killed In Plane Crash, Police Say
-
New Mexico34 minutes agoMcCauley Springs Fire Reaches 100% Containment
-
North Carolina40 minutes agoMassive great white shark spotted off NC coast. See where its headed
-
North Dakota46 minutes agoNeighbors, not competitors
