An Idaho man was arrested last Friday after early morning reports of gunshots fired at power substations at the the Hells Canyon and Brownlee dams. We examine Idaho's energy grid resilience with Will Hart from the Idaho Consumer Owned Utilities Association and Richard Stover from the Governor's Office of Energy and Mineral Resources.

Read more about the incident from the Idaho Statesman: https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article276338786.html

It's the first full week of June, which means hot summer weather is just around the corner. Idaho Water Users Association executive director Paul Arrington talks with Logan Finney about staying safe when looking for a place to swim this summer by staying away from irrigation canals.

The state of Idaho is poised to spend roughly $2 million annually on opioid abatement and mitigation following a nationwide settlement with pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, in addition to payouts to local governments. The Idaho Behavioral Health Council this month is asking the public to submit comments about how the money could best be used to support opioid mitigation in their community, which will inform how the funds will be spent next legislative session.

This week, Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue joins us to discuss challenges sheriffs are facing in recruiting and retaining deputies, and how that affects public safety. Then, Sen. Ben Adams, Rep. Julie Yamamoto, and House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel join Idaho Reports to discuss what lawmakers are working on in coming months.

Idaho Business for Education president Rod Gramer sat down with associate producer Logan Finney to discuss the state of education in Idaho, including legislative investments like the expanded Idaho Launch program and outstanding needs like stable funding for school facilities.

Age of Agility: The Governor's Summit on the Future of Work (2023): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvDo4LDXnoaCTvx5aZTif04-M0t7rDf3D

This week, Shane Leach from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare gives an update on how many people the state has removed from Medicaid rolls since the COVID-19 public health emergency. Then, Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News discusses a surprise move by the University of Idaho to acquire the University of Phoenix, plus the results of this week’s school bond and levy elections.

The debate over whether libraries or parents should be responsible for what children read has not been limited to the statehouse. It's made it into local library trustee elections, with many races on the ballot place this Tuesday across Idaho. Mike Weland, publisher of 9B News, joined Logan Finney this week to break down the library district election in Boundary County and what it can tell us about the debate over library materials across the rest of the state.

WATCH: Idaho Reports | Libraries and Liability | April 7, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDKappqWQQM

Posts from 9B News - - - -

An awful, liberal library ... caught again: https://9b.news/news/2023/04/28library.htm

Meet three of four library board candidates: https://9b.news/news/2023/04/03library.htm

Unofficial final results in, incumbents stay: https://9b.news/news/2023/05/16election2.htm

This week, Sen. Lori Den Hartog and Rep. Wendy Horman discuss historic state investments in education, and some possible changes they may propose next legislative session to the complex public school funding formula. Then, Sen. Rick Just discusses what lawmakers did this year to address the maintenance backlog at Idaho’s state parks.

Reclaim Idaho has gathered a new coalition behind a ballot initiative that would institute open primary elections and instant runoff general elections in Idaho. Markie McBrayer from the University of Idaho Department of Politics and Philosophy joins Logan Finney this week to explain instant runoff elections, or ranked choice voting, and what political scientists know so far about how the process works.

Read transcript here: https://blog.idahoreports.idahoptv.org/2023/05/10/podcast-episode-rewriting-election-rules/

More about RCV from University of Illinois Springfield: https://blogs.uofi.uis.edu/view/8598/1650413886

This week, we sit down with Gov. Brad Little for the second part of a two-part interview discussing his views on the 2023 legislative session, as well as what the coming years may bring. Plus, a voter initiative has been filed that may change the way Idaho holds elections.