The following is a statement from Idaho Power in response to an comments made by Frank VanderSloot during an interview with EastIdahoNews.com:

Idaho Power participated with other water users over a period of 11 months in developing an Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Ground Water Management Plan which was submitted to the state last week, at the request of the Governor. Groundwater users also submitted a plan. Water users reached alignment on many details during weeks of discussion, although a handful of fundamental differences remain. Idaho Power’s goal has always been to work with other stakeholders to identify long-term solutions that work for all water users. We all need water, and nobody wants to see farmers’ pumps shut off.

Idaho Power was not involved in the Idaho Department of Water Resources Director’s decision to issue curtailment orders earlier this year, nor was Idaho Power involved in the negotiated settlement between irrigators and the state to avoid water shutoffs. Contrary to what some others have said, Idaho Power does not benefit when irrigators can’t pump water. Many of these farmers are also our customers. Irrigation pumps account for a significant amount of electricity use, in addition to being vital to the state’s overall economy.

Idaho Power does have a strong interest in this issue. Hydropower is the backbone of our system. It’s Idaho Power’s lowest-cost energy source, crucial to keeping rates 20–30% below the national average for our more than 640,000 customers. The water that fuels our 17 hydroelectric power plants comes from melting snow, upstream reservoir releases, irrigation return flows, and springs fed by the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer (ESPA). During the summer, when our customers use the most energy, that aquifer provides approximately 40% of the water to our crucial dams in Hells Canyon. Water is a limited resource — one that is under growing pressure as more people and businesses flock to our state. We expect electricity demand to grow 5.5% per year over the next five years. That’s one reason Idaho Power is among the many partners working with the state and other water users to monitor and improve the health of the ESPA.

It is vital that all stakeholders develop a viable long-term water management plan that respects our State Constitution and the prior appropriation doctrine.

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — A 33-year-old prisoner at the Idaho prison complex south of Boise was indicted on a murder charge by an Ada County grand jury after he was accused of a fatal beating on his cellmate.

James M. Johnson, already serving time at the Idaho State Correctional Center on several prior felony convictions, was indicted last week with a first-degree murder charge in the death of fellow prisoner Milo Warnock, the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

Grand jury indictments are sealed until the suspect is served with a warrant and makes their first court appearance.

Warnock, 45, died less than an hour after an in-custody assault in December, the Idaho Department of Correction previously announced. Warnock’s family is pursuing a lawsuit related to his death from multiple blunt-force injuries and has awaited charges against the alleged perpetrator for nearly nine months.

The Idaho State Police investigated the attack on Warnock. After Warnock’s death, Johnson was transferred to the complex’s maximum security prison, where he remains today, according to prison system records. His prison sentence for his prior convictions, which included possession of a controlled substance, grand theft and fraud out of Bannock County, were set to be satisfied in February 2025.

Warnock was serving up to 10 years in prison following his second DUI conviction since 2013, according to prior Idaho Statesman reporting. He could have been released after two years in prison but was moved to a more secure area of the prison after breaking rules related to receiving his prescribed medication, his mother, Kathy Warnock, previously told the Statesman.

Before his death, Milo Warnock told his family he was having trouble with his new cellmate, having stated that the man was “mentally disturbed” with “a pattern of escalating behavior,” the Statesman previously reported. The Warnock family is seeking almost $500,000 from the prison system, several of its employees and the prison’s health care contractor.

If convicted of Warnock’s murder, Johnson could be sentenced to the death penalty or life in prison. He faces no less than a decade in prison. Johnson’s next appearance in court is scheduled for Sept. 18, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.

A hunter in Idaho was attacked and bitten by a grizzly bear during what officials described as a “surprise encounter.” 

The incident unfolded Sunday in Island Park as the individual and his friend were hunting elk in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, according to Idaho Fish and Game. Island Park is located near Yellowstone National Park and the Idaho-Wyoming border. 

“During the surprise encounter, one of the hunters was knocked down and bitten by the bear,” Idaho Fish and Game said. “Both men were able to utilize their sidearms to shoot the bear, deterring the attack and killing the bear. 

“The hunters were able to call 911 and the injured individual was transported by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center where he is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries,” the agency added. 

BROWN BEAR ATTACKS HUNTERS IN ALASKA, LEAVING ONE WITH GUNSHOT WOUND AFTER ENSUING TUSSLE, STATE POLICE SAY 

An investigation of the attack revealed that the “hunters acted in self-defense during a surprise encounter with the bear from a very close distance,” officials said. 

“I am extremely grateful that both of these individuals survived this encounter,” Fish and Game Regional Supervisor Matt Pieron said in a statement. “I have had the opportunity to speak with the injured hunter and his family and they are truly wonderful people. I wish him a speedy recovery from his injuries and the trauma these two hunters experienced.”   

HUNTER OF BELOVED ‘HOLLYWOOD BUCK’ IN VIRGINIA FACES JAIL TIME, LOSES HUNTING LICENSE FOR OVER 25 YEARS 

Idaho Fish and Game say most grizzly bear attacks happen when the bears are inadvertently startled at close range. (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Idaho Fish and Game is now reminding hunters that grizzly bears may be encountered in the region and urges them to carry bear spray and look for fresh tracks. 

A grizzly bear living at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Montana, explores its enclosure. Officials say hunters should carry bear spray to protect themselves while in the forest. (Trevor Hughes / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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“When not hunting, make noise, especially around creeks and thick vegetation. Most attacks occur by inadvertently surprising a bear at close range,” they said.