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Idaho’s LEAP Housing to develop affordable housing units in Teton County • Idaho Capital Sun

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Idaho’s LEAP Housing to develop affordable housing units in Teton County • Idaho Capital Sun


LEAP housing is creating affordable housing units in Teton County, and those interested in buying and building their own home can apply to the program now.  

LEAP Housing is an Idaho-based nonprofit whose mission is to develop and preserve affordable housing while providing services to increase housing stability. It has partnered with groups in Boise, Nampa and Mountain Home to build affordable housing. For the first time, the nonprofit is making its way to eastern Idaho. 

The nonprofit is partnering with Sustainable Trades + Housing Partners, an affordable housing organization based in Driggs, to build a housing community of eight homes in Victor.

The selection process for homeowners will begin immediately, and interested individuals can apply on the LEAP Housing website

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Who qualifies for affordable housing units through LEAP Housing?

Applicants must meet income requirements. Only income-qualified homebuyers at or below 80% of the area median income are eligible for the program. For example, a household of four making $68,300 or less would qualify for the homeownership opportunity. 

According to LEAP Housing, the buyers are the builders, meaning those participating in the program will build their own homes through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Mutual Self Help Program. The federal program brings below-market rate interest loans to home buyers and credits them with the sweat equity contributed directly to the project. 

This is the first USDA Mutual Self-Help program project LEAP is working on, LEAP Housing asset manager Becca Mathias told the Sun. 

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Teton Region native Lindsey Love leads Sustainable Trades + Housing Partners and will direct and train each homeowner on building the homes. 

“The development is a beacon of hope for many in the community who have struggled with housing affordability,” Love said in a press release. “These homes will not only provide housing stability in our community but will also empower residents by involving them directly in the construction process. By building their own homes, future homeowners will gain valuable skills and a sense of ownership and pride in their community.”

LEAP Housing will oversee the development of the affordable housing community. They will guide and support homebuyers during the construction process. 

Bart Cochran, CEO of LEAP Housing, said this project is a significant step forward for Victor and Teton County. 

“We are committed to providing affordable housing solutions that are both sustainable and community-driven,” Cochran said in a press release. “These homes represent our dedication to innovative, eco-friendly building practices and the empowerment of residents throughout the state of Idaho.”

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Cochran said this housing model is collaborative, and it serves to inspire other communities to address the affordable housing crisis with innovative and sustainable solutions. 

“Through partnerships, endurance, and unused funding pools, it is possible to create affordable housing in resort and rural communities throughout Idaho,” he said.



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Idaho

Statewide trout stocking highlights for August 2024

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Statewide trout stocking highlights for August 2024


Alturas Lake – 1,740 rainbow trout

This alpine lake is located in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. The lake is approximately 21 miles south of Stanley and 30 miles northwest of Ketchum.

Bayhorse Lake – 2,000 rainbow trout

Anglers will find good catch rates at this drive-in mountain lake. Primitive campsites are available. While you’re in the area, check out Little Bayhorse Lake. The two lakes are connected by a mile-long hiking trail.

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Little Bayhorse Lake – 1,000 rainbow trout

Anglers will find good catch rates at this drive-in mountain lake, either from shore or a small boat. 

Cape Horn Lake #1 – 400 rainbow trout

This is the larger of two picturesque lakes endowed with fish, lily pads, and frogs. Especially well-suited to float tubes or a small boat, this lake offers limited shoreline access. The area is good for wildlife viewing and is Stop #20 on the Idaho Birding Trail. Camping is available at nearby Forest Service sites. No facilities are available here.

Hayden Creek Pond – 800 rainbow trout

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This is a family-friendly fishing area in the high desert along Hayden Creek. Anglers will find ample bank fishing opportunities and a dock for anglers with limited mobility.

Meadow Lake – 1,800 rainbow trout

At over 9,100 feet in elevation, this is the highest mountain lake you can drive to in this region. The snow-melt lake is a beautiful setting for a fishing and camping weekend with unique wildlife viewing opportunities. A Forest Service campground next to the lake offers a stunning view of the surrounding Lemhi Mountains.

Salmon River – Fish will be stocked as follows:

  • Section #6 – Lower Stanley to Sunbeam Hot Springs – 400 rainbow trout
  • Section #7 – Sunny Gulch Campground to Stanley – 400 rainbow trout
  • Section #8 – Decker Flats to Buckhorn Bridge – 800 rainbow trout

Stanley Lake – 1,100 rainbow trout

Here is a large mountain lake you can drive to. This is a popular spot known for its breathtaking views of the Sawtooth Mountains. It offers great camping, fishing, and places for kids to explore nature.

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Valley Creek – 500 rainbow trout

Take a break from the Salmon River and try out your casting skills fishing this creek that offers astonishing views in every direction!



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Green 'Power Rangers' actor wanted in Idaho parking dispute battery case

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Green 'Power Rangers' actor wanted in Idaho parking dispute battery case


Police in Idaho issued a misdemeanor arrest warrant for the actor who played the green ranger in the “Power Rangers” movie franchise in connection with the alleged battery of a man in a dispute over a parking space, authorities said Wednesday.

A truck linked to a man, identified as Hector David Rivera, was parked in a spot for people with disabilities at the District 208 shopping center in Nampa on Friday when a man confronted him, city police spokesperson Carmen Boeger said.

The victim, a man in his 60s who uses a walker, took pictures of the license plate of a pickup truck that was parked in the disabled spot. Video shows a man push the victim to the asphalt and then stand over the victim and utter “harsh words,” Boeger said.

After having pushed the man down, the man left him on the ground and drove away in a four-door truck with Texas license plates, police said on Facebook.

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​Nampa is a city with a population of more than 100,000 people about 20 miles west of Boise, in southwest Idaho.

Investigators were able to identify Rivera through the help of dashcam video of the incident and a request for help from the public, police said.

Rivera has not turned himself in, and authorities have not found him, police said late Wednesday.

Rivera and his representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



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Idaho Secretary of State moves forward on primary ballot measure for Nov. 5 election  • Idaho Capital Sun

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Idaho Secretary of State moves forward on primary ballot measure for Nov. 5 election  • Idaho Capital Sun


Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane is preparing for the open primaries/ ranked-choice voting ballot initiative to appear on Idaho’s Nov. 5 election ballots, even as Attorney General Raúl Labrador advances a lawsuit attempting to block the initiative.

In an interview Wednesday with the Idaho Capital Sun, McGrane said it is his duty to protect Idahoans’ rights to vote and rights to bring a ballot initiative or referendum forward for a vote. Unless or until there is a court order to stop, McGrane said, he will continue to prepare ballots and design the Idaho voters’ pamphlet with the ballot initiative included.

“That’s why we are here, to defend the initiative process and the Constitutional right of Idaho citizens to exercise the initiative. It is not about the contents of the initiative. It is about, this is a right and we are overseeing the process.”

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In Idaho, a ballot initiative is a form of direct democracy where the voters vote on whether or not to pass a law, independent of the Idaho Legislature. 

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On Election Day, the open primary/ ranked-choice ballot initiative will appear as Proposition 1. It would require a simple majority of the votes to pass. 

In addition to the ballot initiative, Idaho voters will also vote on a proposed constitutional amendment known as House Joint Resolution 5, which would add a clause to the Idaho Constitution stating that non-U.S. citizens are not allowed to vote in Idaho elections. The proposed constitutional amendment would also require a simple majority of the vote to pass. 

In a 2021 ruling involving a different case, the Idaho Supreme Court called ballot initiatives and referendums “fundamental rights, reserved to the people of Idaho, to which strict scrutiny applies.”

 

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Idaho AG seeks to block ballot initiative from Nov 5 election

Labrador filed a lawsuit last week alleging that the open primaries/ ranked-choice ballot initiative was deceptively pitched and would violate the Idaho Constitution’s requirement that laws address only one single subject. 

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Labrador is seeking to block the ballot initiative from the election or to force McGrane to invalidate the signatures that were submitted to qualify for the election. Supporters of the ballot initiative, including Reclaim Idaho co-founder Luke Mayville, said Labrador’s lawsuit is a political stunt that was filed because Labrador is afraid of letting Idaho voters vote on the initiative.  

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One of the quirks of the case is that the Idaho Attorney General’s Office is representing multiple parties in the case – Labrador, who filed the lawsuit, and McGrane, who is one of the people Labrador sued attempting to block the initiative. 

On Tuesday, McGrane told the Sun that Idaho law states that state agencies and officers shall not be represented by any attorney other than the attorney general. While the governor, the Idaho Legislature and the judicial branch have the authority to instead hire outside, the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office does not have that authority, McGrane said. 

The Idaho Supreme Court issued an order Monday requiring Labrador to show why his attorneys should not be disqualified from representing McGrane. Labrador’s office responded Tuesday with filings indicating that Labrador himself is not also representing McGrane and that he appointed other deputies to represent McGrane, insulated them from his supervision and established a screening process to keep him and other deputies from learning confidential information about McGrane’s case. 

Idaho Attorney General Raúl R. Labrador at the State Capitol building on January 9, 2023. Before his election in 2022, Labrador served as a U.S. congressman, a state legislator, an Idaho Republican Party leader and a trial attorney. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun)

“This decision rested on careful analysis of the statutes and rules that govern the attorney general’s conduct,” Solicitor General Alan M. Hurst and two other attorneys wrote in a court filing Tuesday. 

Reached Wednesday, a spokedman for Labradr’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit but referred the Sun to Tuesday’s court filings.  

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McGrane told the Sun his office has been working closely with its assigned deputies from the Idaho Attorney General’s Office and feels like their side is being represented fairly. As evidence, McGrane pointed to a motion to expedite the case that his side filed July 24. 

McGrane told the Sun that his office is busy preparing for a major election Nov. 5 that could feature record voter turnout. McGrane said the Idaho voters’ pamphlet that describes that ballot initiative and proposed constitutional amendment must be designed by Aug. 9 in order to meet the deadline in Idaho law to mail the pamphlet to voters by Sept. 25. 

Additionally, absentee ballots must be designed and printed before they are mailed out Sept. 21 so that members of the military may receive and return their ballots on time. 

“We have to resolve this fast,” McGrane said. “We don’t get to hit pause or change Election Day. This is a national election.” 

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How does the Idaho ballot initiative work?

If approved, the ballot initiative would make changes to Idaho’s primary election and general election. 

First, it would end Idaho’s closed party primary elections. Since 2011, Idaho has had a law that says political parties don’t have to allow voters to vote in their primary election if the voters are not formally affiliated with their political party. In Idaho, more than 265,000 of the state’s 1 million voters are unaffiliated voters who are not allowed to vote in closed party primary elections. The closed primary law does allow political parties to instead choose to open their primary elections to outside voters, but only the Idaho Democratic Party has done so, a spokeswoman for the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office previously told the Sun. 

The Republican, Libertarian and Constitution Party primary elections were all closed. 

Under the ballot initiative, all candidates and all voters would be allowed to participate in the primary election, regardless of party affiliation. The four candidates that get the most votes would all advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. 

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The ballot initiative would also change Idaho’s general election to create ranked-choice voting, which is also referred to as an instant runoff system. Under that system, voters would pick their favorite candidate and have the option to rank the remaining candidates in order of preference – second, third and fourth. The candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated and those votes would instead go to the second choice of candidate on those ballots. That process would continue until there are two candidates left and the candidate with the most votes is elected the winner. 

In a July 3 letter to legislative leaders, McGrane wrote that it could cost at least $25 million to $40 million to replace Idaho’s vote tabulation systems to count ranked-choice voting ballots. But supporters of the initiative said the state doesn’t need to replace its voting systems because there is low-cost software available that could be certified for use in Idaho to count ranked-choice ballots.



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