Idaho
Protesters rally at Idaho State Capitol against ICE enforcement
BOISE, Idaho — Dozens of demonstrators gathered on the steps of the Idaho State Capitol Wednesday evening, chanting and holding signs calling for an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions.
The Boise protest was one of many that took place across the country in response to mass ICE arrests, the deployment of the National Guard in cities like Los Angeles, and growing unrest surrounding federal immigration enforcement.
Organizers promoted the event online as an “emergency protest,” urging participants to stand in solidarity with immigrant communities and against what they described as a national crackdown.
“What brought me out today was just seeing and hearing about all of the horrible things going on in Los Angeles right now, on top of everything that we already know that’s been happening in this country,” one attendee said.
The protest drew a wide range of participants, including those with direct connections to immigrant communities.
WATCH: CNN reporter detained on live TV during LA immigration protests
“There are people here because they or their families are immigrants who are facing the fear that this campaign of terror is really intending to inflict,” said Morrighan Nyx, one of the event organizers. “The community really came out to show that even here in Boise, Idaho, the people are not going to sit back and let our communities be terrorized.”
Another demonstrator described the tone of the rally as both empowering and unifying. “I think it was really inspiring. Honestly, it was positive, but also strong. I feel like a lot of strength and unity happened, for sure.”
The protest remained peaceful. Organizers say they plan to gather again at the Capitol on Saturday.
With Idaho’s primary election coming up, which ballots are Idaho voters eligible to cast? Well, it depends.
The state leaves it up to political parties to decide whether their primary is open or closed.
WATCH: Open or closed? More on Idaho primary elections
Voting in Idaho: What are closed primaries?
The Republican Party has a closed primary, meaning only registered Republican voters can participate. Meanwhile, the Democratic primary is open to all registered voters, regardless of party affiliation.
RELATED | How to register to vote in Idaho
Voters can change affiliation to take part in a different party’s primary, but state law requires voters to switch their affiliation no later than the 12th Friday before the primary, which in the May 2026 election has already passed.
A previously unaffiliated voter can affiliate with a party of their choice on the day of the primary and participate in its primary.
Each voter is only allowed to cast one ballot.
IDAHO FALLS — As a waterfall quietly trickled nearby, the Rotary Club of Idaho Falls and Idaho Falls Parks and Recreation celebrated two new shelters at Heritage Park on Wednesday.
Before a ribbon-cutting ceremony, city leaders and Rotary Club members said the shelters wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for the club’s annual duck race held along the Snake River.
“As you look around at this park and look at the greenbelt, it is a great success for which Rotary has been one of the main drivers,” said Stephen Boorman, president of the Rotary Club. “As we look at these shelters that are here today, they are a success funded by last year’s duck race.”
Wednesday’s event was also the kick-off for the 35th annual duck race in Idaho Falls. A small parade featuring some of this year’s prizes, including a sedan donated by Stone’s KIA and an ATV donated by Idaho Central Credit Union. Ducks will soon be available for sale online or at sales booths around the community this summer, according to a news release.
This year’s race festivities will run from Friday, Aug. 7, to Saturday, Aug. 8. More information can be found on the duck race’s website.
PJ Holm, Idaho Falls Parks and Recreation director, said the two new shelters are part of more than $1 million that the club has donated to the city since 2019 for the purpose of building Heritage Park.
“These shelters aren’t just wooden structures, they’re gathering places where families will celebrate birthdays, or friends will reconnect with each other, where community events will happen and memories will be made,” Holm said.
City leaders also announced that a lodgepole pine has been planted in Heritage Park in recognition of Kevin Call, owner of Farr’s Candy Company and a member of the Rotary Club that helps put on the duck race. Holm said the city will be doing fundraising to place a plaque beside the tree.
“We’re going to dedicate this lodgepole pine to Kevin Call for all of his dedication, all his work, all his commitment to our community,” Holm said.
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Researchers hope the project will provide a case study demonstrating that much of the permanent interior fencing could be removed from federal grazing allotments and be effectively replaced with virtual fencing.
The first season of the planned two-year study started in mid-April and will conclude in October. The Foundation for America’s Public Lands funded the project with a $235,000 grant.
Furthermore, the ability to track livestock movements via the collars will provide the team with insights into other research questions. The researchers want to use data from their collared cattle to better understand important animal traits and to assess different management approaches.
“We’ve seen that where cattle spend the most time is not where they’re doing most of their grazing,” Ellison said. “We’re starting to learn little things like that by evaluating the data we’ve collected so far.”
The research team also includes K. Scott Jensen, an area Extension educator specializing in rangeland management and livestock grazing; Hadley Dotts, a research associate; and three graduate students — Henning Krúger and Maxine Walas, master’s students in animal science, and Abigail McClaflin, who is pursuing a master’s in water resources.
Ellison began research using virtual fencing in 2023, when she started a project on federal grazing allotments through which a wildfire had burned the previous grazing season, and in subsequent years, combined targeted grazing with collared cattle and aerial herbicide spraying to control cheatgrass. The team also used the collars to keep cattle away from critical fish habitat during the spawning season.
Ellison is also the lead on a separate, $181,000 grant from the Foundation for America’s Public Lands also involving virtual fencing. The project, scheduled to begin in March 2027, will entail grazing collared cattle in strips along roadways to establish wildfire fuel breaks.
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