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Idaho transportation leaders spotlight motorcycle deaths

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Idaho transportation leaders spotlight motorcycle deaths


“Mostly what we’re seeing is riders riding above their skill level, also complacency,” Nakashima said. “When you’re riding a motorcycle, it’s probably just a good idea to ride as if you’re invisible — assume that cars can’t see you.”

According to 2024 ITD data, there were 629 motorcycle-related crashes and deaths on Idaho roads. This includes 47 fatalities that represent a 17.5% increase from 2023. Of these crashes, 86% of motorcyclists were injured and 35% of fatal motorcycle crashes involved an impaired rider.

Josephine Middleton, the Idaho Transportation Department’s highway safety manager, said as of Monday there have been 66 lives lost on Idaho roads this year, a value significantly lower compared to this time last year that Middleton noted may be influenced by high gas prices directly impacting the number of trips taken.

Though gas prices are discouraging trips for some, Sunshine Beer, director of the Idaho Skills Training Advantage for Riders (STAR) Motorcycle Safety Program, said motorcyclists are hitting the road earlier with the sparse winter observed in the first quarter of the year.

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Lane Triplett, a member of the Motorcycle Safety Task Force of Idaho (MSTF), said he has used his role to review each motorcycle fatality in the state since 2009 and the myriad ways motorcyclists have lost their lives on Idaho’s roads and highways.

“Animal, road hazards, mechanical issues — all those really pale to rider error itself,” Triplett said. Triplett said his review of fatal crashes has consistently shown about 70% of fatal motorcycle crashes in Idaho have been the fault of motorcyclists while 20% of crashes were the fault of other vehicles. The remaining 10% is spread across various other environmental and vehicular variables.

Of the fatal crashes resulting from rider error, Triplett said about 30% stem from failing to navigate a corner. He said alcohol impairment, an issue observed nationwide, is also a major factor. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 40% of riders who died in single-vehicle crashes across the country in 2024 were impaired by alcohol.



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Idaho leaders mourn the sudden passing of Senator Lindsey Graham

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Idaho leaders mourn the sudden passing of Senator Lindsey Graham


U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo and U.S. Sen. Jim Risch issued statements mourning the sudden passing of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, remembering him as a friend, colleague and influential conservative lawmaker.

“For most of my public service in Congress, I had the privilege of calling Lindsey Graham not only a colleague in both the House and Senate, but a loyal and generous friend,” Crapo said. “He was a formidable public servant who held the line on issues important to him and South Carolinians with unwavering courage.”

Crapo highlighted Graham’s military service and foreign policy work, saying, “As an Air Force veteran and foreign policy hawk, he traveled the world demonstrating America’s strength and resolve. To our nation’s allies, he was a friend. To our adversaries, he was unflinching.”

Crapo also pointed to Graham’s work in the Senate, including his leadership on budget issues and his role on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Lindsey was a staunch conservative, and he shepherded the Senate Budget Committee through the critical steps of the budget reconciliation process,” Crapo said. “His work put more money in Americans’ pockets and kept our homeland safe. On the Senate Judiciary Committee, he safeguarded the federal judiciary and conducted much-needed oversight.”

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“Senator Graham enriched the lives of those of us who knew him,” Crapo said. “He will be deeply missed, and I offer my sincere condolences to his family, staff and other loved ones during this difficult time.”

Risch and his wife, Vicki, also expressed condolences, calling Graham “a dear friend and colleague whose warmth, humor, and unwavering dedication to public service will be deeply missed.”

“He loved America deeply and devoted his life to serving our nation and fighting for what he believed was in its best interest,” Risch said. “We extend our deepest condolences and are praying for his family during this difficult time.”



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Idaho’s Most Unusual Listing: A Pair of Medieval Castles Complete With a Dungeon and Drawbridge

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Idaho’s Most Unusual Listing: A Pair of Medieval Castles Complete With a Dungeon and Drawbridge


Idaho is not a place that’s often associated with Medieval castles, but a pair have just hit the market for $6.25 million. 

The imposing stone structures have towers, turrets, ramparts, arrow-slit windows and even a drawbridge, and might just be the most authentic-looking castles this side of the Atlantic. 

“Who expects to see a castle like this in Idaho?” said listing agent Brenda Burk of Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty, who brought the property to the market last week. They are, she said, “extremely unusual.”

MORE: Late PBS Anchor Jim Lehrer’s Historic Washington, D.C., Home Lists for $5 Million

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Schweitzer Castle and Château de Melusine, as they’re known, stand within Schweitzer Mountain Resort in the Selkirk Mountains and overlook the nearby mountain resort town of Sandpoint. They take in panoramic views of Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho’s largest lake. 

The pair of ski-in/ski-out homes each have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and three stories, Burk explained. They are “so authentic,” she said. “Every single stone was handlaid.”

Schweitzer Castle, she said, wasn’t built for “functionality,” but has been modernized and adapted and now has everything a 21st-century residence requires, along with a dungeon, which for some buyers may also be a requisite. 

MORE: Arizona’s Most Expensive House—With an Indoor Go-Kart Track and Shooting Range—Sells for a Record $40.2 Million

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The chateau, meanwhile, has a hot tub room with mountain views, as well as a garage.  

The property is being sold furnished, and will come complete with the hand-carved statues, armor, mounted swords, stained-glass windows and a host of antiques dating to the 15th and 16th centuries.

The owner, an antique collector who couldn’t be reached for comment, “is always looking for that hidden jewel and he found that here,” Burk said. 

The next custodian is likely to stem from a varied pool of buyers, Burk said, that would include “the trophy-home buyer, someone who can say ‘I own a castle.’” 

The property could also appeal to someone looking for a vacation home, or a multi-generational estate, and beyond that “there’s the dreamers,” she said. “We definitely try to market to people who like Medieval history or maybe do Renaissance fairs.”

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The seller “really wants it to go to someone with the same passion.”



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Idaho Falls fire causes damage to homes and multiple vehicles

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Idaho Falls fire causes damage to homes and multiple vehicles


IDAHO FALLS – A fire in Idaho Falls Saturday afternoon caused $10,000 in damage to a small home. Idaho Falls Fire Department spokeswoman Hayli Egbert tells EastIdahoNews.com it started 1:30 p.m. on West Broadway Street and Trolley Way. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it involved multiple vehicles, outbuildings, fences, trees […]



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