Free Republic

Idaho voters defeated a ballot measure that pro-life advocates said would have legalized abortions up to birth, eliminated parental consent requirements and opened the door to taxpayer funding of abortions. With 77% of precincts reporting, Proposition 1 was trailing 53.8% to 46.2%, according to unofficial results. The citizen-initiated statute, known as the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act, sought to create a right to “reproductive freedom and privacy” that included a so-called right to kill babies in abortions up to birth. Pro-life leaders described the measure as one of the most extreme of the 2026 election cycle. Blaine Conzatti, president of...

An initiative on Idaho’s ballot this November would make it legal for a child to be killed at eight months’ gestation. President of Idaho Family Policy Center Blaine Conzatti believes this is too extreme for the historically red state. If passed, Idaho Proposition 1, the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act Initiative, would allow any woman to “make personal decisions about reproductive healthcare that directly impacts the person’s own body,” which is a euphemism for destroying her pregnancy. Experts say it’s also the most extreme pro-abortion ballot initiative or constitutional amendment in any state this election cycle. “We have two laws...

(RNS) — Officially, abortion is still a top policy priority for many religious leaders. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops calls preventing abortion its “preeminent priority,” and prominent conservative evangelicals continue to mobilize their voters around the issue. But as Idaho, Missouri, Nevada and Virginia prepare to vote on abortion-related measures in the midterm elections, polling suggests it is less of a priority for voters than in other recent election cycles. According to an October poll by Pew Research Center, significantly fewer registered voters from every religious group surveyed said abortion was “very important” in deciding who to vote for...

Worse Than They’re Telling You. Prop 1 — officially the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act — is being presented to voters as a measure about privacy and routine reproductive care — things like contraception and miscarriage treatment that are already legal in Idaho today and privacy is protected in every instance. But the operative language goes much further than the campaign behind it is letting on.

Around 3 a.m. on Friday, a juvenile black bear reportedly broke into a home in the Sunset Heights neighborhood in Salmon, where Brian and Kim Heidemann, along with Kim’s 14 and 9-year-old daughters were sleeping. ...one of the juvenile bears, estimated at about 1 year old, reportedly tried to break into the home through the 14-year-old daughter’s bedroom window.“(Kim’s) daughter heard noises outside of her bedroom window, and they have a swamp cooler right there,” says Dabell. “Her daughter looked out the window, and at first thought it was a human because apparently when bears grunt, they sound very human-esque.”The...

Idaho voters will be able to cast a vote for one of six guns on Election Day, and the votes will serve an “advisory” role to guide the legislature in choosing the official gun of Idaho. Idaho News 6 reported: The six options include Western-style weapons that gained fame during pioneer days, such as the 1873 Single Action Army Revolver Colt .45, the Winchester Model 1894 (.30-30), and the Winchester Model 1873, known as the “Gun That Won the West.” The list also includes weapons with military heritage, like the M1 Garand and the Colt Model 1911 .45. The sixth...

Watch as a WSJ reporter visits Idaho, where a battle is under way for the future of the Republican PartyThis is an episode of Rooted In, where our reporters take you back to their hometowns to capture the voice of the nation ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.Video Transcript Summary ISLAND PARK, Idaho—If you’re trying to understand the ongoing battle over the soul of the Republican Party, a good place to start is out on a lake in eastern Idaho near the Wyoming border. Armed with a fishing rod, of course.I met Jack Nelsen, a lifelong Republican and state representative...

Ada County Sheriff identifies man found dead in Boise church in 1982, possibly linked to the Tylenol cyanide poisonings in the 1980s. The following is the YT transcription. It might be better just to watch all 10 minutes of the news cast.

The 2026 Idaho Liberty Bell Tour will kick off with three stops in East Idaho this week before it continues its journey through all 44 counties. The bell, modeled after the cracked original in Philadelphia, will be in Pocatello from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday and from 10 a.m. to noon Friday at the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation. It will then travel to Blackfoot on Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. for the Eastern Idaho State Fair and Parade. The Idaho Liberty Bell was one of several replicas that were distributed to U.S. states and territories to promote the...

BOISE (CN) — Reproductive health advocates sparred with Idaho before the state Supreme Court on Wednesday in an effort to change an abortion access proposition’s ballot language ahead of the November election. The dispute concerns language used to describe the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act, an initiative from Idahoans United for Women and Families. The group accuses Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane and Attorney General Raul Labrador of mischaracterizing the initiative in the section of the ballot that explains the effect of a yes or no vote. “These statements must be clear and concise; the proposed statements are neither,”...

In an altogether tragic, yet unfortunately predictable turn of events, the leftist group Idahoans United for Women and Children obtained the necessary number of signatures to put the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act (RFPA) on the ballot in November 2026. We all now know it as Proposition 1 (Prop 1). What does it say about the current state of Idaho that this radical measure made it on the ballot? To us, it says two things. First, Idaho is not as conservative as people are led to believe; and second, there are many voters who find themselves somewhere in the middle...

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Idaho — What started with a lightning strike ended with the Tartar Fire burning more than 158,000 acres across Washington County. But some ranchers say the wildfire wasn't the only source of their losses. Kirk Chandler, who has lived on his family's ranch his entire life, says ranchers spent days working to protect their property as the Tartar Fire moved through the area. "If you're the third one to call or the second one to call for help, they're not available, and so you just have to take care of yourself," Chandler said. That meant protecting cattle, sheep...

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in supporting a federal lawsuit challenging Idaho's law that bars transgender students from using school restrooms and other sex-separated facilities that align with their gender identity. The coalition filed an amicus brief urging a federal judge in Idaho to block enforcement of the law while the lawsuit moves forward, arguing that the measure is unconstitutional and undermines the rights and safety of transgender students. Idaho's House Bill 264 prohibits transgender people from using restrooms and other sex-separated facilities consistent with their gender identity in certain public educational...

The shooting was reported at 2:30 p.m. at the In-N-Out in Twin Falls.At least three people were killed, with reports of two injured.The shooter is among the dead. This was a picture of him:One more video:A nearby civilian in a hat was also recorded firing back across the parking lot at the shooter.Zero clue who this champ is or what kind of pistol he was packing. 👇

Three people were killed and at least seven others were wounded in a shooting Saturday afternoon at an In-N-Out restaurant in Twin Falls, Idaho, local authorities said. The situation unfolded before 2:30 p.m. local time. Social media video obtained by CBS News showed people fleeing a shopping center parking lot as multiple gunshots are heard. In the video, a person carrying what appeared to be a firearm could be seen outside the restaurant opening the doors to a parked sedan. In a news conference Saturday night, Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks told reporters that there were fatalities, but he...

Idaho Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson recently signed on to a renewed attempt to overhaul the visa program for agricultural migrant workers. The proposed legislation includes a change long-sought by Idaho’s dairy industry leaders — it would allow year-round agriculture producers to access workers, instead of just for seasonal labor. “This is an issue that I’ve been working on for probably 20 years with the dairy industry in Idaho and the challenges they face,” Simpson said at a June 30 press conference to announce the legislation. The bill, H.R. 9535, would make several changes to the H-2A visa program, which...

The Idaho abortion voter initiative qualifies for the ballot this November. The ballot initiative would allow abortions for the full nine months of pregnancy if passed this November and nullify the “Defense of Life Act.” Since the “Defense of Life Act” legislation began being enforced on August 25, 2022, it is estimated nearly 6,000 innocent children have been saved from abortion in Idaho. Also, not one woman has been arrested for having a miscarriage, no doctor has been prosecuted under the “Defense of Life Act” and not a single woman has died seeking an “illegal abortion” as pro-choice activists claimed...

BOISE, Idaho — Micron’s rapid rise in market value is now hitting home for employees in the Treasure Valley, with some seeing enough gains to retire early or add thousands of dollars to their finances. ... One Boise-based financial planner said that kind of growth was historic for the Treasure Valley. "A lot of these Micron employees are just common people that we live next to, but underneath the surface, most of them are overnight millionaires," said JT Belnap of Treasure Valley Financial Planning Belnap said many people still do not realize how valuable Micron has become nationally. "I've talked...

A federal judge ruled on Tuesday to temporarily halt an Idaho law that would restrict bathroom access for transgender people, ruling that major parts of the law are likely unconstitutional. In a 30-page decision, Biden-appointed U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford issued a preliminary injunction preventing House Bill 752 from taking effect while legal challenges proceed. The ruling also granted provisional class-action status to transgender residents across the state, extending the court’s protections beyond the original plaintiffs. “Another issue of enforceability is a law enforcement officer’s ability to determine an individual’s ‘biological sex,'” Judge Brailsford wrote. This ruling is a...

Nuclear energy is about to play a huge role in powering America, but the new reactors that will do the heavy lifting are surprisingly small. Some are so small they are classified as microreactors—mobile powerhouses capable of being transported anywhere they’re needed to provide power, including the most remote sites on the planet. Spotlight on America traveled to the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), where these microreactors are about to be powered up and tested for the very first time inside a facility already famous for making history. Now, history is unfolding here once again. The newly renovated and reconfigured Dome...