Free Republic

Former Boise State running back Jay Ajayi has looked forward to his upcoming game for quite some time, and there is a little added incentive — his own Twitter emoji. Ajayi and the Dolphins face the Saints in London at 7:30 a.m. MT Sunday. He was born in London, but moved to the United States when he was 7 years old. ....Ajayi now also has a special emoji honoring the visit. Twitter users who use “#JayTrain” will trigger a little caricature of the dreadlocked Pro Bowler. He is the first NFL player to have his own international Twitter emoji....

We recently reported updates from the upcoming Bunkerville Standoff trial. This included updates on Todd Engel and his upcoming sentencing on two lesser charges. It was revealed that Engel’s first Pre-Sentencing Report (PSR) recommended roughly 12 years, after corrections were made to the calculations to remove points for an invalid charge. However, add in a letter written by Liberty Legislators who actually stand up for their constituents, and the Federal government throws a tantrum and decides to retaliate. A majority of elected officials in Idaho, including US Congressman Raul Labrador, stepped up to the plate and showed that they intend...

The Western US is facing cataclysmic forest fires, at least one started by idiot boys throwing fireworks in Eagle Creek area, near Multnomah Lodge, in the COLUMBIA GORGE - a greenie paradise. I-84 is closed near Multnomah Files to Exit 62, just west of Hood River. MONTANA www.ktvq.comNW Fires www.arcgis.comOREGON List of fires www.inciweb.nwcg.gov> IDAHO List of fires www.inciweb.nwcg.gov> CALIFORNIA List of fires www.inciweb.nwcg.gov> WASHINGTON List of fires www.inciweb.nwcg.gov>

An Idaho police department is hailing nurse Alex Wubbels as a hero for standing up to Salt Lake City Detective Jeff Payne, who tried to take blood from a patient without a warrant or the patient’s consent. That patient, it turns out, is William Gray, a reserve officer in Rigby, a city about 15 miles north of Idaho Falls. “The Rigby Police Department would like to thank the nurse involved and hospital staff for standing firm, and protecting Officer Gray’s rights as a patient and victim,” the agency said on Facebook. “Protecting the rights of others is truly a heroic...

http://www.apnewsarchive.com/2017/Wildfires-are-threatening-thousands-of-homes-and-hindering-travel-in-the-Pacific-Northwest/id-0325ce4125ed474c82cd12e045308e20 http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=ed0a7dad32fe4848b20c6f91c74c79ea#! http://wildfiretoday.com/2017/08/28/wildfire-smoke-map-august-28-2017/ http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/09/02/irritating-smoke-from-wildfires-choking-us-west-turning-lives-upside-down.html MONTANA http://www.kare11.com/news/lightning-sparks-40-more-montana-wildfires/470081743

37 quakes -one was 5.3 on the Richter scale- NE of Soda Springs, Idaho (southwest of Yellowstone) in the past 7 hours. Close enough to be of possible concern?) Suspicious action from a fairly quiet area.

Local entities involved in the proposed Interstate 15 Siphon Road interchange signed off this week on plans to start construction on a project expected to dramatically increase the Pocatello area’s population and greatly improve the local economy. Those behind the effort to build the interchange say that with its construction, the area north of Pocatello and Chubbuck will see massive development in the future, including a technology park employing thousands of people, shopping centers, dozens of new neighborhoods, parks, trails and even new concert venues. But before such unheralded growth can occur, the interchange needs to be built. While the...

I wouldn't be terribly surprised if Richard Dowling's statue ended up saving a whole lot of lives. Here's what happened now. Andrew Cecil Schneck, 25, was charged with attempting to maliciously damage or destroy property receiving federal financial assistance, federal prosecutors announced. A park ranger doing a routine patrol of the area around Hermann Park on Saturday caught Schneck kneeling in the bushes near the statue of Richard Dowling, a commander in the Confederate army

An Idaho state representative says it’s “plausible” that the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month was orchestrated to make President Trump look like a racist. State Rep. Bryan Zollinger, a Republican, on Thursday shared an article on Facebook by American Thinker, titled, “Charlottesville and Its Aftermath: What if It Was a Setup?” The article suggests, without evidence, that former President Barack Obama, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer, and billionaire investor George Soros could somehow be connected in planning and orchestrating the clashes in Charlottesville, which turned deadly on Aug. 12 after a reported Nazi sympathizer...

The opening gambit for refugee resettlement in Bonner County was met with strong opposition in Sandpoint Wednesday evening. Attendees from all parts of Northern Idaho quickly filled the 150 seat capacity of Community Hall while 50 or more remained on the front lawn and sidewalk waving signs opposing the proposal. The meeting, which was scheduled opposite the final chance for citizen input at the Sandpoint City Annual Budget meeting, may not have gone as planned by organizers from The Sandpoint Human Rights Task Force. Expecting a capacity crowd, the fire department was there to keep a head count as people...

BOISE -- The Riverside Hotel canceled the Idaho Freedom Foundation's annual banquet, citing concerns for guest safety surrounding the keynote speaker. But the foundation says the left is trying to stifle free speech and ideas. The "Faces of Freedom Banquet" was supposed to happen at the Riverside Hotel August 26. But after hearing of possible protests online - and in the wake of the violent incidents in Charlotesville - hotel owners told the conservative group that could no longer happen. The Idaho Freedom Foundation touts conservative principles, limited government, free markets and self-reliance. Their stated mission is to "hold public...

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Monday announced the federal government will relax Obama-era rules designed to protect the imperiled sage grouse, saying the administration will offer states flexibility in how they choose to protect the bird and also will loosen restrictions on energy development in sage grouse habitat. In a statement issued in response to a lengthy report from Interior’s sage grouse review team, Mr. Zinke said the recommendations will go into effect immediately.

Idaho's insurance regulator blasted the Trump administration's unwillingness to pay Obamacare insurers as the reason premiums couldrise by up to 38 percent next year. The state's Department of Insurance posted proposed rates for 2018 Monday. The state's six Obamacare insurers are calling for an average 38 percent rate hike, including a 50 percent increase for the silver plan, which is the most popular of Obamcare's three plan options. Idaho said the proposed increase for silver plans was because of "the potential refusal by the federal government to fund the cost share reduction mechanism." Insurers are required under law to lower...

The travesty of justice in Idaho is now complete. In the summer of 2016, a 5-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and urinated upon by three Muslim migrant boys in Twin Falls, Idaho. Since then, instead of getting justice, the victim’s family has been abused by law enforcement and governing authorities as if they were the criminals – because what happened to their little girl contradicts the politically correct narrative about Muslim migrants. On Monday, the perpetrators were sentenced, and the final injustice was done to this poor girl. The injustice began in the proceedings at the Snake River Juvenile Detention...

Idaho achieved a notable distinction last year: It became one of the hardest places in America for someone to quit a job for a better one. The state did this by making it easier for companies to enforce noncompete agreements, which prevent employees from leaving their company for a competitor. While its economy is known for agriculture — potatoes are among the state’s biggest exports — Idaho has a long history as a technology hub. And the new law landed in the middle of the tech world, causing a clash between hungry start-ups looking to poach employees and more established...

Idaho achieved a notable distinction last year: It became one of the hardest places in America for someone to quit a job for a better one. The state did this by making it easier for companies to enforce noncompete agreements, which prevent employees from leaving their company for a competitor. While its economy is known for agriculture — potatoes are among the state’s biggest exports — Idaho has a long history as a technology hub. And the new law landed in the middle of the tech world, causing a clash between hungry start-ups looking to poach employees and more established...

Cheri Glankler has been rescuing dogs for 20 years — the last five of those spent in Garden Valley — so the elderly retriever that ended up in her care in late June was nothing out of the ordinary. At least initially. From the outset, the dog looked rough. She was found collapsed on a ranch off Idaho 55 near Horseshoe Bend and brought to Glankler covered in fleas and ticks. “Please share if you know someone is missing her,” Glankler wrote in a Facebook post in the Lost Pets Boise page. But Glankler had a hunch about who might...

The Trump administration is removing Endangered Species Act protections for Yellowstone grizzly bears, after they spent more than four decades on the threatened list. The Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Service announced the delisting decision Thursday, which immediately drew rebukes from conservationists and Democrats. Officials said that conservation efforts for the bear, a more than fourfold increase in its population and state policies designed to protect the bears show that the delisting is warranted. The Yellowstone grizzly bear lives in and around Yellowstone National Park in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. “This achievement stands as one of America’s great conservation successes;...

The travesty of justice in Idaho is now complete. In the summer of 2016, a 5-year-old girl was orally and anally raped and urinated upon by three Muslim migrant boys in Twin Falls, Idaho. Since then, instead of getting justice, the victim’s family has been abused by law enforcement and governing authorities as if they were the criminals – because what happened to their little girl contradicts the politically correct narrative about Muslim migrants. On Tuesday, the perpetrators were sentenced, and the final injustice was done to this poor girl. The injustice began in the proceedings at the Snake River...

Ten Idaho and farmers and ranchers spent an hour meeting with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke June 2. They covered a wide range of topics important to the state’s and nation’s farming industries. Farmers and ranchers described a private meeting with two of President Donald Trump’s cabinet members June 2 as unprecedented and historic. Instead of addressing the group, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke listened and took notes, according to those who were there. “They just didn’t have an agenda. They truly wanted to listen to us,” said Aberdeen potato farmer...