Idaho
'We are Idaho'
COEUR d’ALENE — Speakers at the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee’s Lincoln Day Dinner called on members to stand strong for their country, or risk losing it, and support Donald Trump for president.
About 600 people attended the event at The Coeur d’Alene Resort on Saturday. With a large flag as the backdrop, firearms as prizes and babies in red, white and blue, patriotism was on full display.
A video warned people that Idaho could turn into another California, while another featured families and friends shouting, “We are Idaho.”
Dorothy Moon, chair of the Idaho Republican Party, criticized rank-choice voting and the media before asking the crowd for help.
“Please stand with me to stop the cronyism that’s happening in our capital,” she said. “Please stand with me to stop the woke corporations that are taking over this state. I really need you to help me stop the overreach of our state and federal government.”
“But I really need you to stand up with me to save the Idaho Republican Party and save our faith, our family and our freedom,” she said.
Idaho Congressman Russ Fulcher said the widening partisan divide is preventing Congress from getting anything done.
He said he has endorsed and is working on behalf of Donald Trump to become the country’s next president, which drew a cheer from the crowd.
“Whatever corruption there is in Congress, and there is significant corruption, the corruption in the intelligence community and the DOJ (Department of Justice) is worse,” Fulcher said.
He said Congress has oversight, but it is inadequate.
“This has got to be addressed to remain a free nation, and there is no one who can address that like Donald Trump,” Fulcher said.
Kootenai County Commissioner Bruce Mattare asked what it would take to save the country as it suffers the consequences of open borders and a growing national debt.
“I do believe Trump is part of that solution, but we need a longer-term one,” he said.
Mattare said there is a way to “put a stop to this madness and preserve our country.”
He called on the audience to pledge their lives, fortunes and honor to each other.
“He cannot win, we cannot win, until we are willing to risk our comfort and our material wealth to fix these problems,” Mattare said
“It’s impossible to defeat a people with that mindset,” he said.
Sebastian Gorka, a British-born Hungarian-American media host and commentator and former deputy assistant to President Trump, delivered the keynote speech.
Gorka was born in London. His parents fled to the United Kingdom from Hungary after an uprising against the Soviet Union failed in 1956.
He said he moved to America 16 years ago. When he did, he made fun of his fellow conservatives who said communists and socialists were here.
“I used to laugh at them,” he said.
Gorka said his life changed when he was 8 years old and one day, he noticed pale, white lines on his father’s wrists.
“What’s that?” he asked his father.
“Son, that’s where the secret police bound my wrists together with wire behind my back so they could hang me from the ceiling of the torture chamber,” his dad responded.
Gorka said that his life was never the same after that.
“Because from that point onward, I understand here in my soul that evil is real and that evil walks the Earth in the hearts of men,” he said.
He said he no longer laughs about communism in America.
“It’s real. It’s here,” he said.
Gorka said people always ask him of the upcoming election, “Are we going to win?” which he said makes him angry.
Here’s the answer he gives them: “What the hell are you doing about it?”
The crowd applauded.
He said no one can save the country alone. It must be done together.
“This is our country. We save our country,” he shouted.
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris leads the Pledge of Allegiance at the Lincoln Day Dinner at The Coeur d’Alene Resort on Saturday. Veteran Jeff Broadhead was part of the Color Guard at the Lincoln Day Dinner on Saturday. The crowd listens to a speaker at the Lincoln Day Dinner on Saturday.
MINIDOKA COUNTY, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The Idaho Transportation Department says a major crash has blocked all eastbound lanes of a busy highway in Minidoka County.
The crash has blocked the eastbound lanes of Idaho Route 24 at milepost 2 in between Rupert and Exit 211, according to ITD.
The department advised drivers to expect delays and exercise caution.
This is a developing story; KMVT will provide further updates as they come in.
Copyright 2026 KMVT. All rights reserved.
An Idaho bill that could make it a crime for transgender people to use restrooms aligned with their gender identity is now before the state Senate, advancing one of the most punitive bathroom proposals in the country.
Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate’s email newsletter.
House Bill 752, already approved by the Idaho House in a 54–15 vote, was taken up this week by the Senate, where Republicans hold a 29–6 majority. If enacted, the measure would require people to use bathrooms, locker rooms, and similar facilities based on their sex assigned at birth in both government buildings and private businesses open to the public.
Related: Idaho Republicans pass bill making it a felony for transgender people to use public bathrooms
Related: Idaho Republicans pass House bill forcing doctors to out transgender kids
The penalties escalate quickly. A first violation would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. A second offense within five years could be charged as a felony, carrying a prison sentence of up to five years.
“The Legislature has a fundamental duty to protect the bodily privacy and safety of Idaho citizens,” Sen. Ben Toews, the bill’s sponsor, said in a Monday committee hearing, according to the Idaho Capital Sun. “House Bill 752 provides a clear, proactive tool to secure sex-separated private spaces in our state, while accommodating common-sense realities.”
Supporters of the measure have called the bill necessary as a matter of safety and privacy in sex-segregated spaces. But opponents of the legislation, including civil liberties groups, some lawmakers, and law enforcement voices, say the proposal creates an enforcement problem that risks turning suspicion into probable cause.
Related: Thousands of paper hearts flood Idaho capital as lawmakers pass anti-LGBTQ+ bills
Related: Idaho Republicans are trying to strip localities of nondiscrimination ordinances that protect LGBTQ+ people
Transgender people are warning that bills like this put them in danger of being assaulted. For example, the boyfriend or husband may see a transgender man following their girlfriend into a restroom, because the trans man has to use restrooms according to his sex assigned at birth, and could confront them.
In committee testimony, transgender Idahoans described how that could unfold. Nikson Matthews, a transgender man, told lawmakers that someone who recognizes or suspects he is trans could call police, prompting officers to respond to what would otherwise appear to be “a bearded man using the men’s bathroom.” If an officer decides he violated the law, Matthews said, “I could go to jail for up to a year for peeing, washing my hands, or even being in the bathroom.”
Related: Idaho Republicans pass bill making it a felony for transgender people to use public bathrooms
The alternative, he said, could be worse. Being forced into women’s facilities, Matthews warned, risks confrontation or violence. “Every single day when I’m out in public, I have to decide,” he said. “Do I feel like going to jail today, or do I feel like being attacked?”
Idaho
I worked as the owner of Idaho Falls’ oldest bar for a day. Here’s what it was like. – East Idaho News
Shane Dial, owner of Ford’s Bar in Idaho Falls, shows EastIdahoNews.com reporter Kaitlyn Hart what it’s like to own a 120 year old bar. | Jordan Wood, EastIdahoNews.com
IDAHO FALLS – EastIdahoNews.com is highlighting different careers and today, I’m Workin’ It with Shane Dial at Ford’s Bar.
Originally opened in 1906, Ford’s Bar has carried the same name through multiple owners for 120 years. It is a staple of the nightlife scene in Idaho Falls, and it’s often said that you haven’t partied until you’ve been to Ford’s.
Shane Dial, who’s been with the bar for the last five years, showed me how to open the bar, make a lemon drop martini, operate the music, the importance of working with law enforcement to manage unruly customers, and more.
Thank you to Shane Dial for letting us come learn what it’s like to be him for a day!
Check out the bar’s Facebook page here.
Watch our experience in the video above, and watch other Workin’ It videos here.
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