Idaho | September 1, 2021
Idaho Governor Reactivates National Guard to Assist Hospitals Amid COVID-19 Surge
Idaho | September 1, 2021
Idaho Gov. Brad Little announced on Tuesday that has reactivated the National Guard and has directed up to 370 additional personnel to support state hospitals amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the state.
The Republican governor said in a news release on Tuesday that just four intensive care unit beds out of nearly 400 were available on Tuesday in the entire state, adding that there are more COVID-19 patients in ICU beds in Idaho “than ever before. The vast majority of them are unvaccinated.”
“Where hospitals have converted other spaces to be used as contingency ICU beds, those are filling up too,” Little said.
“We are dangerously close to activating statewide crisis standards of care—a historic step that means Idahoans in need of healthcare could receive a lesser standard of care or may be turned away altogether,” the governor added. “In essence, someone would have to decide who can be treated and who cannot. This affects all of us, not just patients with COVID-19.”
As part of Tuesday’s order, 370 personnel will be deployed statewide, including up to 150 guardsmen to “support short-staffed medical facilities.” They will be tasked with logistical support such as screenings, lab work, and other duties, the governor said… (Excerpts from the Epoch Times)
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas | July 29, 2021
A dozen GOP governors urge Supreme Court to let states regulate abortion
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas | July 29, 2021
A dozen Republican governors on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to eliminate federal protections for abortion and instead allow states to regulate abortion.
Led by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, the group argued in a legal filing that the court’s landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which established the constitutional right to abortion, and subsequent rulings unlawfully encroach on states’ rights.
“The judicial constitutionalization of abortion represents an unwarranted intrusion into the sovereign sphere of the States,” they wrote. “Returning to the States the plenary authority to regulate abortion without federal interference would restore the proper (i.e., constitutional) relationship between the States and the Federal Government.”
The amicus brief endorsed Mississippi’s effort to have Roe v. Wade overruled next term, and was signed by the Republican governors of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas….(Excerpts from The Hill)
Idaho | June 24, 2021
Eighteen months, 5,000 students: Idaho colleges and universities face a deep enrollment decline
Idaho | June 24, 2021
Idaho’s public colleges and universities have lost more than 5,000 students since the pandemic.
It’s not worst-case scenario stuff. The 18-month dropoff was 8.7%, but administrators feared a 20% decrease.
By placing a premium on face-to-face learning — in the midst of a public health crisis — the Idaho schools served those students who were determined to start or continue college. Students who were willing to travel across state lines for an in-person classroom experience. Students who wouldn’t, or couldn’t, put their education on hold.
The story of Idaho higher education in 2020-21 is one of adaptation.
Boise State University administrators scrambled to move classes from lecture halls to the stands at ExtraMile Arena. Professors adjusted to move classes to an online platform, including hands-on labs that didn’t translate easily to the Zoom zone. Students adjusted to face masks, socially distanced dorms and cafeterias and frequent COVID tests — and some said they got into the habit of sleeping in, clicking on their laptops and quickly logging into an online class while wearing pajamas…
(Excerpts from Idahoednews)
Idaho | June 1, 2021
The fight for Greater Idaho
Idaho | June 1, 2021
Anonbinding, off-season ballot initiative in rural Oregon isn’t normally the most viscerally exciting of events, couched as they generally are in terms agonizing over whether to ‘note’ or ‘reaffirm’ a past proposal, or to ‘endorse’ or ‘refer’ a more recent one for further consideration. But just the other day, out of the tepid depths of yet more interminable debate on local timber-harvest regulations, or supplemental sport-fishing laws, something of genuine significance happened. The voters of five Oregon counties let it be known that they would like to secede from their state and join Idaho instead.
‘This election proves that rural Oregon wants out of Oregon,’ Mike McCarter, spokesman for the Greater Idaho movement, said in a statement. ‘If Oregon really believes in liberal values such as self-determination, the legislature won’t hold our counties captive against our will. If we’re allowed to vote for which government officials we want, we should be allowed to vote for which government we want as well.’..
(Excerpts from the Spectator)
Idaho | May 27, 2021
Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy joins Idaho governor’s race
Idaho | May 27, 2021
Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy is running for Idaho governor, according to several news reports.
The 45-year-old Bundy on Friday filed paperwork with the state, according to the Idaho Statesman newspaper.
The paperwork will allow him to collect donations for a gubernatorial campaign in an already crowed Republican field that includes Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin.
Gop Gov. Brad Little has not officially announced a reelection bid.
Bundy has a long history of activism including his opposition to government-imposed COVID-19 health-safety restrictions that he considered overbearing. And just last month, incidents at the Idaho statehouse resulted in two misdemeanor trespassing charges….
(Excerpts from Just the News)
Idaho, Oregon | May 26, 2021
Oregon counties vote to secede to Idaho
Idaho, Oregon | May 26, 2021
Voters in five rural Oregon counties approved measures on Tuesday to consider joining the state of Idaho, a part of a long-shot grassroots movement to break with a state dominated by liberal voters west of the Cascade Mountains.
Voters in Malheur, Sherman, Grant, Baker and Lake counties all approved measures that would require county officials to take steps to promote moving the Idaho border west to incorporate their populations.
Oregon voters favored President Biden over former President Trump by a 56 percent to 40 percent margin in 2020, but voters in those five rural counties gave between 69 percent and 79 percent of the vote to Trump…
(Excerpts from The Hill)