Idaho Capital Sun

The report shows that average annual childcare costs for two young children have risen $6,600 over the past decade. Since January 2025, gas prices have risen by 33% — an average increase of $1.02 per gallon nationally.

She’ll speak at a “Yes on Prop 1” rally to encourage Idahoans to cast their ballots during the final days of early voting.

The conservative, Christian advocacy organization, the Idaho Family Policy Center, and leaders with a political action committee that opposes the initiative, Too Extreme for Idaho PAC, brought the lawsuit.

Research has found voters are more likely to skip ballot questions that have more complex language.

The increase in the uninsured rate almost certainly will accelerate in January, when the Republican tax and spending law known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act takes effect.

The move comes amid pressure from the agency as Utah’s chief election officer refuses to release private voter data to the federal government.

The amount of money an employee pays toward an individual health insurance plan rose by $232, or 16%, from 2025 to 2026. The price an employee pays for a family health insurance policy increased by $621, or 9%, according to the survey.

A record number of women are running for state legislative seats this November, more than two-thirds of whom are Democrats.

The company Williams, owner of the 4,000-mile long Northwest Pipeline system that brings fracked gas from Rocky Mountain states to Idaho, Washington and Oregon, submitted paperwork to build a new pipeline called the Silver Spur between two existing gas transmission lines in Idaho and Nevada.

Builders of single-family homes are stymied by rising mortgage rates, costs for energy and materials, and worsening labor supply, according to an October survey by the National Association of Home Builders.

The director of Idaho’s largest state agency will step down by the end of the year.

During the 2026 election cycle, Idaho voters have had very few opportunities to see Republican incumbents answer questions at live, public debates. #idpol

More than $5 million worth restoration projects and forthcoming interpretive exhibits are being designed to preserve the history and lessons from southern Idaho’s Minidoka National Historic Site.

COMMENTARY | Much of what we know about the opportunities for used fuel is the result of the work done at Idaho National Laboratory, writes guest columnist Cally Younger.

High costs and lengthy permitting processes are two of the barriers to bringing nuclear-powered electricity to customers in Idaho, officials from three electrical utilities told state regulators at a public forum.

🚨IMPORTANT: If you want to vote absentee in Idaho, you must request your ballot by 5 p.m. local time Friday. 🚨

The agreement was over disputed funds from a massive 1998 settlement with tobacco manufacturers that set up decades of multi-million dollar payments to states to reduce smoking.

COMMENTARY | It is time for the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to speak up and become the leader that this dangerous period in history demands, writes guest columnist Rod Gramer. #idpol

City officials in Island Park will use the funding to inventory and replace lead service lines in the drinking water system, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality said.

“Through this project, with the helping guidance of our partners and our neighbors, we believe we will increase grass production for the cattle, diversify and improve our native plant life, encourage wildlife habitat and passage, and enhance the upper Blackfoot watershed," said Heath Mann.

"I am eager to listen to the voices of Butte County and collaborate on the issues that impact this community, helping us build a state government that truly delivers for Idahoans,” Little said. #idpol

As U.S. attorney, Shirts is considered the top-ranking federal law enforcement official in the state. #idleg #idpol

Railroads in the 19th century consumed about $173 billion in today’s dollars and created more than 2% of the nation’s annual economic output. Today’s data center buildout will dwarf that amount, with $10 trillion in investment, and now have almost twice the economic impact — nearly 4% of GDP.

COMMENTARY | The idea is straightforward: give investors a financial reason to put money into communities that could benefit from more economic activity, writes guest columnist Peter Smith.

The event will examine how “the unjust incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II continues to inform contemporary debates surrounding immigration, detention, national security, and constitutional rights."

Democratic challenger Shawn Keenan is again challenging Republican incumbent Secretary of State Phil McGrane, who widely defeated Keenan in the 2022 election. #idpol

Early voting, which begins Monday in many of Idaho’s 44 counties, was a focus of Boise’s fourth No Kings protest on Saturday.

COMMENTARY | We waited for care while doctors consulted with specialists and lawyers to determine what was legally allowed under Idaho’s abortion ban, writes guest columnist Sadie Gorr.

One of the political consultants who the New York Times recently reported received hundreds of thousands of dollars to advise the Russia-aligned government of Republika Srpska was previously named a senior adviser to Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s campaign in February. #idpol

Democratic candidate for Idaho attorney general Lori Hickman will face Raúl Labrador, the Republican incumbent running for a second term.

Top Republican and Democratic senators have unveiled a 417-page bill to overhaul the approval process, a pathway for what’s known as “permitting reform.”

A pair of local nonprofit organizations that promote voting rights say Idaho’s voting laws make it more difficult to hold voter registration drives and make it harder for some eligible voters to vote. #idleg #idpol

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a $499,465 award to Idaho State University for a new federal program, the Maternal Produce Prescription Program.

Spikes in energy prices were largely responsible: Gas is now up 34% for the year, and fuel oil, which includes diesel, is up 72% as the Iran war drags on.

The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, will begin for 72 million Social Security beneficiaries in January.

The federal Health Resources and Services Administration projects a shortage of 141,160 full-time physicians by 2038.

The Too Extreme for Idaho PAC reported a $1 million donation from the Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Oct. 8. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise donated another $300,000 to the PAC opposing the initiative the next day.

The causes include people losing control of their burning debris piles, sparks caused by chains or other metal equipment, discarded cigarette butts, escaped camp fires that were never fully extinguished and more. #IdahoFire

The Justice Department has already lost at least 23 district court lawsuits seeking to force states to provide voter data.

The court is set to consider three cases in Idaho Falls and two in Pocatello.

Ada County voters can hear directly from candidates running for the board of county commissioners and the highway district in two forums later this month. #idpol

Here are the answers on if your ballot still counts if you don’t answer every question, write-in protocols, how absentee and initiative signatures are verified, and more. #idpol

Urban hospitals are closing at roughly the same rate as rural ones, and the shuttered hospitals are more likely to have served communities with high poverty rates and fewer transportation options.

All but five states have had at least one measles case this year.

At least one state, Arizona, has filed criminal charges against Kalshi.

Some counties, such as Twin Falls and Bannock, start early voting Tuesday. #idpol #idleg

A longtime state performance evaluator is running against Idaho’s longest currently serving statewide elected official in the 2026 general election for Idaho state controller. #idpol

“Abortion is a most serious matter. It should be considered only after the persons responsible have received confirmation through prayer,” the church said. #idpol

Idaho’s average diesel price was around $6.41 per gallon as of Friday, according to AAA fuel prices. #idpol

Idaho state revenues beat their forecast for the third straight month and are now more than $90 million ahead of projections to begin Fiscal Year 2027, Gov. Brad Little announced. #idpol #idleg