Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Attorney General Raúl Labrador have awarded the Idaho Medal of Honor to nine first responders for acts of courage that went beyond the ordinary demands of their jobs. The recipients include five law-enforcement officers and four firefighters whose actions ranged from entering burning buildings and fast-moving water to confronting an Read More…

The South Dakota State Fair Foundation has launched the “Every Stall Counts” fundraising campaign to purchase 350 new portable horse stalls for the state fairgrounds, with a fundraising goal of $500,000. The project builds on the success of the DEX by improving the aging Hippodrome stalls and increasing portable stall capacity for larger national events. Read More…

The North Dakota Department of Commerce has awarded nearly $270,000 to three regional projects aimed at addressing workforce shortages and improving employee retention in healthcare, energy and education. The funding comes through the state’s Regional Workforce Impact Program, which supports locally developed strategies designed around the workforce needs of individual communities and industries. “RWIP continues Read More…

(The Center Square) – Drivers across Washington are paying more at the pump as gas prices continue their upward climb while more than half the country saw relief while filling up heading into the busy Labor Day weekend. Washington’s average for gasoline reached $5.37 per gallon on Tuesday, data shows. The increase marks a continuous Read More…

Lawrence & Schiller, Lou Hammond Group and Miles Partnership win multiyear contracts after fifty firms competed for the work Travel South Dakota has selected three marketing and public relations firms to guide the state’s tourism promotion efforts, capping a competitive bidding process that drew interest from agencies across the country. The state tourism office said Read More…

Idaho will receive at least $89.2 million and could collect as much as $127.7 million under a sweeping $17.1 billion multistate settlement with Meta Platforms over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to encourage addictive use among children. The agreement, announced by Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, resolves claims brought by states and Read More…

Gov. Kelly Armstrong appointed Tony Hillig, recreation division chief for the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department, as the agency’s new director, effective immediately. Hillig has served as chief of the department’s recreation division since December 2020, overseeing recreation grants, trail management, motorized recreation and safety programs statewide. He joined the department in 2019 as Read More…

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley commended the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals after it dismissed a legal challenge brought by suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua who were seeking to avoid removal from the United States. The en banc Fifth Circuit dismissed the case on August 13 as moot after the Read More…

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Board of Directors has appointed Cara Kolb as senior vice president of Risk and Compliance, the bank announced. In her new role, Kolb will be responsible for ensuring bank staff effectively manage risks while rigorously complying with procedures and policies. She will also oversee functions related to data privacy Read More…

BOISE, Idaho — A federal judge has blocked Idaho from prosecuting doctors who perform abortions when necessary to protect a pregnant woman’s health or prevent her from harming herself, delivering a significant but limited setback to one of the nation’s strictest abortion laws. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled that portions of Idaho’s Defense Read More…

A coalition of state financial officers applauded the Securities and Exchange Commission for moving to rescind its 2024 climate disclosure rules that is estimated to save public businesses more than $7.9 billion. In March 2024, the SEC approved amendments to its rules that would mandate all public companies disclose greenhouse gas emissions, how it managed climate-related risks, Read More…

The Trump administration is reviewing how millions of acres of wilderness and other undeveloped federal lands are managed across Idaho and the West, opening several longstanding federal policies to public comment through Aug. 14. The Interior Department is examining policies used by the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Read More…

Angi Bruce resigned as director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department effective immediately Friday, moving to a newly created position in Gov. Mark Gordon’s office. Bruce, who became the agency’s first female director when she took over in 2024, will begin her new role, titled “director of special policy initiatives,” on Monday. Gordon’s office Read More…

A federal judge on Friday blocked South Dakota from enforcing a new state law restricting advertising for abortion pills against a New York-based reproductive health nonprofit, dealing a temporary setback to the state’s effort to crack down on abortion pill information campaigns. U.S. District Judge Camela Theeler issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of House Read More…

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador joined a bipartisan coalition of 49 attorneys general in calling on the Federal Communications Commission to strengthen rules that would cut off scammers’ access to legitimate telephone numbers, the latest step in a years-long multistate effort to combat illegal robocalls. “Idahoans are tired of scammers swindling their families and flooding Read More…

Idaho Gov. Brad Little announced several new appointments across state government, headlined by the naming of Alberto Gonzalez as director of the Idaho Transportation Department following the retirement of longtime director Scott Stokes. Gonzalez, who most recently served as Idaho’s chief information officer and administrator of the Office of Information Technology Services, officially assumed the Read More…

The South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources announced that the Board of Water and Natural Resources has approved $54.8 million in loans and grants for water, wastewater and solid waste projects across the state. The $54,856,749 total consists of $52,400,000 in low-interest loans, $2,000,000 in principal forgiveness and $456,749 in grants to be Read More…

Appointees offer insight on community banking, regional economy, including one from Montana Three community bank executives were appointed this spring to an advisory council by Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President and CEO Neel Kashkari. The Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council provides information, advice and recommendations to the Minneapolis Fed president from the perspective of Read More…

Former Montana utility regulator will lead the $4 billion federal power-marketing agency serving the Pacific Northwest U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright announced Travis Kavulla as administrator and CEO of the Bonneville Power Administration, putting the former Montana utility regulator in charge of the agency that markets wholesale power across the Pacific Northwest. “Travis Kavulla’s Read More…

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has released its first round of funding opportunity overviews under the Rural Health Transformation Program, marking a significant step forward in the state’s effort to reshape healthcare delivery in underserved communities across Idaho. The funding opportunity overviews are designed to give stakeholders an early look at the expected Read More…

The Justice Department announced a final settlement with the state of North Dakota in the case of North Dakota v. United States, resolving litigation stemming from the violent and disruptive protests surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016. While the federal government disputed the district court’s legal analysis of North Dakota’s claims and its own Read More…