BOISE — Trappers will now be required to set animal traps farther back from a trail, under a rule approved Monday.

BOISE — Three freshman lawmakers presented their first bills to the full Idaho House on Monday, and House members responded with their usual hazing — most of the members voting “no,” then changing their votes at the last minute so that the largely non-controversial bills easily passed.

BOISE — Last week, the second of the 2019 legislative session, state officials and lawmakers:

BOISE — Human trafficking, an often-invisible crime that experts say is more common in Idaho than many people might think, will receive attention in the statehouse again this year as awareness continues to grow across the state.

BOISE — A House panel voted Thursday to introduce a bill making changes to one that passed last year requiring doctors and hospitals to keep track of any complications resulting from abortions, and rejected a Democratic attempt to add a fiscal note to it that includes the estimated cost of a…

BOISE — Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Burdick, in his “State of the Judiciary” address to the House and Senate on Wednesday, noted that all three branches of Idaho’s state government, including the judicial branch, launched a justice reinvestment initiative four years ago.

BOISE — A proposal to require owner’s consent before a city can annex farmland has been introduced into the Legislature, the first of what is expected to be a number of bills this year seeking to limit Idaho cities’ annexation powers.

BOISE — Idaho’s courts are facing “critical” and “dire” needs, state courts administrative Director Sara Thomas told lawmakers on Wednesday.

BOISE — The already precarious status of Idaho’s nine community recovery centers, including those in Moscow and Lewiston, isn’t likely to improve during the first year of Gov. Brad Little’s tenure.

BOISE — Idaho’s state parks want to be more open and welcoming to visitors who want to shoot videos or photos of their park experiences on their smartphones and post them on social media, state parks officials told lawmakers Tuesday.

BLACKFOOT — Only one candidate has applied to be appointed as Bingham County prosecutor, with a deadline looming for county Republicans to submit the names of three top nominees.

BOISE — The Senate Judiciary committee has approved a new rule setting caseload standards for public defenders in Idaho.

BOISE — Idaho’s state Division of Veterans Services is having so many problems hiring and keeping nurses and other medical staff that beds for veterans are going empty despite waiting lists, Marv Hagedorn told lawmakers Monday.

Legislation to clarify that Idaho agencies can't charge sales tax on top of public records copying fees was unanimously approved to be introduced by the Idaho House Revenue & Taxation Committee on Monday.

The head of the state’s STEM Action Center downplayed a $1 million gap between her budget request and Gov. Brad Little’s recommendation today, writes Idaho EdNews reporter Kevin Richert. Grants and industry donations should help plug the gap, and fund a state computer science initiative, Ang…

The Idaho Commission for Libraries would see a small decrease in state funding next year under Gov. Brad Little’s proposed budget, which calls for a 1.3 percent decline in the commission’s state funding, compared to the 7.4 percent increase the commission requested. But Little’s budget does …

BOISE — A bill making it easier to give out anti-opioid overdose drugs was introduced Monday morning.

BOISE — Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Burdick, in his “State of the Judiciary” address to the House and Senate on Wednesday, noted that all three branches of Idaho’s state government, including the judicial branch, launched a justice reinvestment initiative four years ago.“The Legi…

BOISE — Following the adoption of a new policy, Idaho legislators attended a mandatory ethics and respectful workplace seminar on Wednesday to review codes of conduct.

Mayor Rebecca Casper addressed the growth in all areas of Idaho Falls during her State of the City speech at Thursday night’s Idaho Falls City Council meeting.

BOISE — By a single vote, a House committee approved a new rule Thursday requiring students entering 12th grade to get a meningitis booster shot.

BOISE — The committee that reviews state revenues is projecting $93.2 million less to spend in 2019-2020 than the number Gov. Brad Little projected.

BOISE — When new Idaho state Rep. Muffy Davis was 16, her life changed forever.

BOISE — With Idaho state worker pay lagging behind both the public and private markets, state employees could be looking at 3 percent raise next year, with no changes to benefits.

BOISE — The new lieutenant governor from Idaho Falls and a former lawmaker from Rexburg were honored at the state Republican Party’s winter meeting last weekend.

How to contact your legislator

If the federal government remains shut down through the weekend, it will be the longest government shutdown on record.

BOISE — Gov. Brad Little isn’t proposing adding a work requirement to the Medicaid expansion initiative Idaho voters passed in November, but he isn’t saying “No” to the idea either.

BOISE — The first bill of the 2019 legislative session is one to resolve Treasure Valley water rights issues that led lawmakers to call for a special session last year.

BOISE — Eastern Idaho lawmakers of all political stripes found something to like Monday about Gov. Brad Little’s first State of the State speech and budget proposal.

Snow-related parking restrictions in Idaho Falls have been lifted now that the roads have been plowed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday invited congressional leaders to a White House briefing on border security as the partial government shutdown dragged on over funding for a border wall, with Trump tweeting, "Let's make a deal?"

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump long ago backed away from his campaign pledge to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, his outgoing chief of staff said, as the president's demand for "border security" funding triggered a partial government shutdown with no end in sight.

WASHINGTON — The partial government shutdown will almost certainly be handed off to a divided government to solve in the new year — the first big confrontation between President Donald Trump and newly empowered Democrats — as agreement eludes Washington in the waning days of the Republican m…

A court case in Blaine County could have implications for bans on cellphone use while driving in Idaho Falls and other local cities.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A shutdown affecting parts of the federal government appeared no closer to resolution Wednesday, with President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats locked in a hardening standoff over border wall money that threatens to carry over into January.

The effects of the employee furloughs and service cuts that are part of the partial shutdown of the federal government that started late Friday could soon become apparent.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was meeting with his Homeland Security secretary and other officials on Monday to discuss border security issues as a partial government shutdown over his U.S.-Mexico border wall entered Christmas without a clear resolution in sight.

While operations at Idaho National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy site west of Idaho Falls aren’t expected to be affected by a government shutdown, people who are visiting national parks or have business with the U.S. Forest Service might notice.