Idaho
Luma challenges prevent Idaho from distributing $101 million in interest earnings – Idaho Capital Sun
The state of Idaho has been unable to distribute more than $100 million in interest payments to state agencies due to issues implementing the new Luma business system, State Treasurer Julie Ellsworth said.
The interest is earned from state funds that are not yet being spent. Typically, the interest is distributed to agencies monthly. But the Idaho State Treasurer’s Office hasn’t distributed the interest payments since July 1 because staff have been unable to verify agencies’ fund balances through the Luma reports, Ellsworth said in an interview at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.
Through the end of December, the withheld interest added up to $101.6 million, Ellsworth said. Once the interest from January is calculated, the total could exceed $120 million, she said.
“I can’t distribute it until I have complete confidence in the fund account amounts in every state agency,” Ellsworth said. “That was where the hiccup is.”
Ellsworth told the Sun the issue only affects state money, not local funds.
Idaho State Controller Brandon Woolf said his goal is to resolve the interest payment issue by the end of this month.
After errors hamper reports, Idaho State Controller’s Office says new Luma system works
Ellsworth told the Sun she was on the verge of “panic territory” in December over Luma, the lack of automation and the amount of reconciliation being done manually. But since then, Ellsworth said her confidence has increased as the different agencies’ staff have worked together and diagnosed challenges.
Ellsworth also emphasized that the state’s funding is secure and in safe keeping – it’s just a matter of verifying fund balances to calculate distributions. Once the fund balances are verified, the interest can be distributed, she said.
Ellsworth said Luma has great promise and can increase the security and resilience of the state’s finance and business systems. But for now, Ellsworth said Luma is not living up to its potential.
“It’s a shiny new spaceship that will take us to soaring heights, however this expensive spaceship is currently parked on a trailer and being hauled out daily just to get the basic tasks in state government completed,” Ellsworth said in an interview. “This is not flying to the moon.”
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What is the State of Idaho’s Luma system?
Ellsworth said her office is facing numerous challenges related to the implementation of Luma, a new statewide business system that all state employees and state agencies are tied into.
State officials launched Luma on July 1, replacing a pair of old state business systems that dated to 1987 and 1988. Those old systems had outlived their useful lifecycles and were more vulnerable to security threats, state officials have said.
Luma isn’t just a computer program or a piece of software. It is a massive, statewide business system that centralizes all of the state’s business, budget, procurement, payroll, financial management and human resources system.
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The Idaho Legislature authorized the creation of Luma in 2018 through House Bill 493, estimating the new system would cost $102 million spread over five years.
Luma is based in the Idaho State Controller’s Office. Woolf, the Idaho state controller, said Luma does work. On Feb. 6, Woolf told the Idaho Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that Luma has processed more than 473,000 invoices worth more than $7.1 billion since July 1.
But when the state went live with Luma in July, fewer than 50% of the state’s employees had completed basic level training on Luma, the Sun previously reported.
Since July, there have been a series of challenges, procedural errors and data entry errors that hampered Luma’s launch.
Some of the challenges included:
There have been enough publicly disclosed errors that Speaker of the House Mike Moyle, R-Star, called Luma a joke during a November meeting of the Legislative Council. On Friday, Moyle and a bipartisan group of eight legislators submitted a letter asking the Office of Performance Evaluations undertake an evaluation of Luma and provide a report to the Idaho Legislature.
In his presentation to JFAC this month, Woolf stressed that Luma is operational, but still has yet to be optimized.
“A massive change like this does take time,” Woolf said. “And it does take time for the dust to settle and to continue to optimize and to make these improvements. Is it where we want it to be right now? I would say no, but I think we have made great progress.”
Rep. Wendy Horman, the Idaho Falls Republican who co-chairs JFAC, expressed her appreciation for Woolf and his team meeting with legislators to identify challenges and create timelines for addressing them. Horman said progress is being made. But she emphasized that setting the state’s budget hinges on accurate, reliable state data.
“As you know we can’t do our business unless we have accurate, verifiable data and I appreciate the work that your office has put in recently to making sure we are verifying the numbers that we are dealing with,” Horman told Woolf on Feb. 6.
What is the latest with Luma’s implementation?
Teams from the Idaho State Controller’s Office and Idaho State Treasurer’s Office have been meeting for weeks to diagnose challenges associated with Luma.
In a joint interview at the Idaho State Capitol on Feb. 8, Ellsworth and Woolf described several ongoing challenges when it comes to sharing data between the Idaho State Controller’s Office and Idaho State Treasurer’s Office using Luma.
The $101 million in withheld interest payments to state agencies was one of the challenges.
According to documents Ellsworth and Woolf provided to the Sun, other challenges include:
- The need for state employees to take extra steps to manually reconcile bank activity that should be automated under Luma.
- The need to manually provide partial payroll transaction data that should be automated to the Idaho State Treasurer’s Office.
- Historical payment details were missing in Luma reports provided to the Idaho State Treasurer’s Office. The Idaho State Controller’s Office has now manually provided the missing information, and a review for missing information is still in progress.
- The need to reconcile historical transaction data. Additional monthly reconciliations cannot be started until the reconciliation process is automated and the historical transaction reconciliation is complete.
In addition to those challenges, Ellsworth told the Sun that the Luma system often “times out” or glitches during lengthy transactions and shuts down.
Idaho
Delicious New Menu Item Expected To Hit Idaho Costcos Soon
There’s something special and timeless about the Costco food court.
Having a Costco Card doesn’t just mean you unlock your grocery shopping there but you now get to go to the best food court known to man: The Costco Foodcourt.
Everyone loves their great prices and great options. Whether you’ve wanted to get a pizza to share with your family or one of their beloved giant hot dogs everyone’s got a good reason to go to the Costco Foodcourt.
Costco has been adding a lot of new menu items recently including fun ice cream flavors. Now they have yet again added something new to their menu.
Idaho Costcos
Where to find Costcos in Idaho.
Gallery Credit: Shannon Buccola
Costco has added a new menu item that everyone is already going crazy for. In a new viral Instagram reel an influencer revealed that Costco food courts around the country would be adding chicken strips to their menu! This feels like the perfect addition to the already extremely popular Costco food court and we can already see everyone going crazy over this new menu item.
Credit: Instagram/costcohotfinds
As of right now it appears the chicken tenders are going to be 6.99 and include 5 chicken strips. They also seemingly have a new sauce that is going to be paired with these chicken strips and it looks delicious!
Credit: Instagram/costcohotfinds
You’ll have to check out all of the local Idaho Costcos for when these hit stores because they just look delicious!
Look at those chicken tenders:
Costco Foodcourt’s New Item
It’s a Caramel Brownie Sundae!!!
Gallery Credit: Shannon Buccola
Change Complete at Costco’s Food Courts
Who would have thought that an age old debate would bring out such a reaction in Costco shoppers!?
Gallery Credit: Mateo, 103.5 KISS FM
Idaho
This is How to Identify an Idaho Christian Nationalist
You’ve heard that our federal Constitution was made for a moral people. The line is attributed to the founding father and second President, John Adams. Notice he said “moral,” not “Christian.” One of my friends was a graduate of Liberty University, a prestigious Christian school. His mission in life was to evangelize, but he always cautioned his listeners that our founders spoke of a Creator, and not Jesus. Some of our early leaders were devout Christians. Many of them were also womanizers, drinkers, and gave religion no more than lip service. They were people who wanted to be left alone, and if they practiced faith, it was personal, and they didn’t believe it was the government’s role to dictate morality.
They Mock Good People of Other Faiths
I’m reminded of a story about the 2024 Republican National Convention. Harmeet Dhillon, a rising star in the party, spoke. She referenced her Sikh faith, and someone in the crowd felt compelled to shout “Jesus is Lord!” Now, maybe a majority believes that, but are you sure He wants you to taunt good and moral people? Or would God prefer a gentler approach? For instance, you could pray for conversions.
Where does the Great Commission instruct you to be rude to people of good moral character?
Idaho’s Glenneda Zuiderveld was an alternate delegate, and when a seatmate said the man was rude, the state senator dismissed the argument. “We’re all going to be judged,” she said. What’s a Senator’s purpose in politics?
The Pot Calling the Kettle Black
A few days ago, a local church had a men-only event for candidates. A group of liberal women demonstrated outside. I don’t know why they can’t organize their own event instead, but apparently, they would rather be confrontational. They’ve accomplished nothing more than preening and making a claim that they’re more virtuous, but the church is within its rights to hold a men-only event. If you want a women’s only event, I’m not bothered. Let me add a caveat. Some of the men involved believe that it’s okay to berate members of the LDS Church as they enter the temple. I wouldn’t say screaming at someone that they’re going to hell is a sign of moral people. Again, if you think they’re wrong, then pray for them.
Some people wonder why they’re called Christian nationalists. Do we need to draw them some pictures?
Brad Little Through The Years
Gallery Credit: Kevin Miller
Idaho
Local non-profit fills Mother’s Day baskets for NICU moms across Idaho
KUNA — A sister-duo is filling baskets with blankets, snacks and handwritten notes to spread some extra love to moms spending Mother’s Day in the hospital with their newborns.
The effort is led by “Helping Hands for NICU Moms,” a nonprofit co-founded by sisters Tiffany and Alyssa Higbee. The organization was born from Alyssa’s own experience spending months in the NICU with her firstborn.
Alyssa’s son was initially in the NICU for about two weeks, then was put back in for about 3.5 months. During that time, several holidays passed, making it especially hard as a first-time mom.
“There was people in companies who would bring us stuff and try and cheer up your day, and it really helped, and so when my son was about 6 months old, we decided that it would be best to try and help moms in the NICU somehow,” Alyssa Higbee said.
That inspiration led the sisters to create Mother’s Day gift baskets filled with items to bring comfort and encouragement to moms facing the same journey.
WATCH: Learn more about “Helping Hands for NICU Moms”
Local non-profit fills Mother’s Day baskets for NICU moms across Idaho
The sisters have a 12-year age gap. Tiffany was fresh out of high school when they started the nonprofit in 2023, which meant she had more time to dedicate to the project. Alyssa noted that because of the age gap, they didn’t get to spend a lot of time together growing up, so the project has brought them closer.
“Hopefully, this can bring some hope that you can get out of it … that NICU period, that scary initial phase, it does get easier,” Alyssa Higbee said.
ALSO READ | Fragile beginnings to bright futures: NICU ‘Wall of Hope’ inspires families with stories of strength
Alyssa’s son, who was born in the NICU at St. Luke’s in Twin Falls, is now 3-years-old and healthy. Tiffany said watching her nephew go through the NICU was hard, but seeing him now — jumping, tackling her, and doing everything a little boy does — makes the work even more meaningful.
“It’s cool to see the difference because I know that some kids don’t make it to where he is when they’re in the NICU, and it’s just cool to see that he did,” Tiffany Higbee said.
This year’s baskets are packed with items donated by nearly 25 local companies — up from just 5 donors in the first year. The baskets include soaps from Wild Highland Soaps, claw clips, bibs, hair bows, chapsticks, socks, lotions, hand sanitizers, coloring books, colored pencils, snacks, minky blankets, and stuffed puppies from Scheels.
Gift cards and coupons are also included from Dutch Bros, Flying M Coffee, a pizza company, Wendy’s (free meal coupons for breakfast and lunch), Albertsons, and a $10 coupon to a baby store.
Tiffany started collecting donations for this year’s baskets as early as November of last year, spending a few hours every week for the past 6 to 8 months to prepare — reaching out to companies, picking up donations, and organizing everything.
The assembly process includes last-minute tasks like ironing vinyl onto bags, opening boxes, and putting together gift card envelopes before the full baskets are assembled and delivered.
“We start putting the bags together, making sure we have everything in there, and then we deliver them on Mother’s Day,” Alyssa Higbee said.
The baskets are delivered before noon on Mother’s Day to avoid missing moms who may be discharged after doctors do their rounds. Currently, the organization delivers to St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital in downtown Boise.
Tiffany said delivering the baskets is one of the most rewarding parts of the work.
“I love seeing the moms sometimes we get to watch them come out with their baskets, and they’ll be going through it, and they look really excited and happy,” Tiffany Higbee said.
“Seeing how happy they are or knowing how I cheered them up a little bit for their Mother’s Day because it’s a big holiday, it’s their first with that baby at least,” Tiffany Higbee said.
The first year, the project was funded mostly out of their own pockets. Three years later, as an official nonprofit, they said they no longer have to rely heavily on their own funds thanks to their new partnerships.
The organization accepts both monetary donations via Venmo and their website, as well as in-kind donations of physical items like soaps, claw clips, and other basket items — year-round.
The organization’s future goal is to expand to all the different NICUs in the area, and potentially the PICUs (Pediatric Intensive Care Units) as well, since that was also part of Alyssa’s experience.
To learn how you can donate or get involved with “Helping Hands for NICU Moms,” you can visit their website by clicking here.
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