ID Senator Tammy Nichols (Photo Credit: Tammy Nichols)
Over the past few years, parts of Idaho, especially the Treasure Valley, have seen a growing problem with invasive rats, including Norway rats and roof rats. In Ada County, officials are getting more and more calls each week about rat sightings and infestations. This is a clear sign the problem is growing.
Rats are more than just a nuisance. They chew through electrical wires, sewer lines, and buildings, which can lead to fires and costly repairs. They contaminate food and water and can carry diseases that spread to people and animals. Rats also reproduce very quickly. Just one rat can produce up to 800 offspring in two years if nothing is done. Once rat populations reach that level, they are much harder and more expensive to control.
Local leaders and experts have confirmed this is a real issue. Last month, we held a public and legislative informational meeting at the Statehouse to discuss what is happening on the ground. At that meeting, we heard directly from an Ada County commissioner, the Ada County Pest and Abatement Director, and the Director of the Idaho Department of Agriculture. All three shared the same message: rat activity is increasing, especially in urban areas, and early action is critical to prevent a much larger problem.
Other places have shown that early action works. Alberta, Canada once faced a similar rat problem. By focusing on early reporting and coordinated response, Alberta was able to get rid of rats and keep them from becoming established. Idaho still has that same opportunity.
That is why I recently introduced legislation to address this issue early and responsibly. The rat abatement bill is focused and practical. It declares invasive rats a public nuisance under existing Idaho law and improves coordination and reporting so the problem can be addressed quickly. It does not create a new government program, does not ban rats as pets or feeder animals, and does not force cities or counties to spend money or take action. Communities without a rat problem are not affected.
This bill follows Idaho’s common-sense approach to invasive species: act early, work together, and respect local resources. Fixing this problem now will cost far less than waiting until it grows out of control.
Idaho has a real chance to stay ahead of this issue, and that’s exactly what this legislation is meant to do.
The latest issue of Stossel in the Classrooms’ “Ideas in Action” newsletter is now available online here. Highlights include “two new classroom resources, one on taxation and the other on collectivism, along with an update to our Video Library that makes it easier than ever to access teaching resources. Plus, we include a quick reminder about our essay and video contests: the March 13 deadline is approaching, but there’s still time for students to produce strong, winning entries.”
Those of you who have been following this platform for a while might remember the Podcast of the Gem State Chronicle. I published between 25-30 episodes over the course of two years, but it’s been a long time since the last one. (Which was a banger, mind you.)
While Substack has an AI text-to-speech engine, I’ve heard from some readers who would prefer to listen to me personally. However, recording and editing a podcast episode to my standards, even just 10-20 minutes long, takes me 1-2 hours, and I really don’t have that kind of time these days.
Enter ElevenLabs, an AI platform that said it could build an AI-generated clone of my voice. I was somewhat skeptical, but I figured I’d give it a shot. After letting it digest more than two hours of my old content overnight, I logged in this morning and gave it yesterday’s column.
I was amazed. It sounded exactly like something I had recorded, even down to the way I emphasize certain words and phrases. It was incredibly surreal listening to my own voice knowing it was not a real recording.
So I’m giving this a shot. I recorded an intro and an outtro (that’s me playing Here We Have Idaho on guitar strings via Apple GarageBand) and published it as a podcast. I will aim to do this for each article I post, so if you find this a valuable outlet please let me know.
You can find the Podcast of the Gem State Chronicle on all your favorite podcasting platforms. Here are links to Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. If you don’t mind taking the time like, subscribe, and leave a positive review, I’m sure that will help with the algorithm.
Thank you as always for your support, and for bearing with me as I find new ways to make this platform more useful.
Speaking of useful, check out the new legislative tracker over at the https://gemstatebrief.com/. I’ve been trying to figure out how to do something like this for years, and they just dropped it out of the blue today. It looks like it’s going to be incredibly helpful for those of us glued to the legislative session.
Take care y’all. Thanks for making everything possible!
(Stand Up For Idaho Press Release, February 15, 2026)
Idaho Falls–Representative Julianne Young – The Fallacies and Risks of an Article V Convention
Julianne Young, former Idaho State Representative for Legislative District 30 Seat B, and current candidate for the same position, will be discussing what an Article V Convention is and the risks associated with one.
Unfortunately our Constitution is under attack by entities calling for an Article V Convention and Idaho just became part of the problem. Idaho House Bill HCR 25 calling for a Article V Convention for a Balanced Budget Amendment was just passed by the Idaho House of Representatives. As of this writing (02/15/26), the Bill still needs to be passed by the Idaho Senate to be adopted. Regardless of how desirable a Balanced Budget Amendment may seem, achieving them through an Article V Convention (also called a Convention of States or ConCon) is not the answer, there are too many risks involved.
Julianne will talk to us about the fallacies and risks of an Article V Convention and why we shouldn’t have one.
Attendance to our Town Halls is free but donations are greatly appreciated. We are an IRS 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and donations are tax deductible.
Snake River Event Center (Shilo Inn), 780 Lindsay Blvd., Idaho Falls
6:30pm (Doors open at 6:00pm)
About Stand Up For Idaho: We are a nonpartisan, nondenominational, nonprofit organization striving to inform and educate the public on a wide range of topics that affect people’s lives. We advocate for the common good, well-being, and civic betterment for all Idahoans, and for the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Idaho.
Dorothy Moon, Chairwoman of the Idaho Republican Party
I hope by now you understand the awesome responsibility that comes with being a citizen of this great state and nation. It’s more than just voting—it’s about communicating with your legislators, knocking on your neighbors’ doors, and even putting your own name on the ballot to run for office.
There is nothing inherently special about being an elected official. Public office is not reserved for some upper caste of people. It’s about regular folks who want to play a role in self-government. Our state legislators, for example, come from all walks of life. We have lawyers, small business owners, and retirees—but also electricians, service technicians, and office workers. Our Legislature includes men and women, young and old, and every one of them must stand before the voters of their districts every two years.
Government of the people, by the people, and for the people only works if the people show up. Idahoans are not subjects of a ruling class; we are citizens of a republic, with the privilege and responsibility of governing ourselves.
The filing period for statewide and legislative offices opens next Monday, February 23. If you believe your current legislators or other elected officials are not representing you well, you have every right to put your name on the ballot and give voters a choice. I won’t sugarcoat it—running for office is hard, especially if you are challenging an incumbent. I know. I’ve been there. But never let anyone tell you it can’t be done.
If you plan to run, give it everything you’ve got. I don’t see the point in running just to say you did. We all know perennial candidates who pay the filing fee to get on the ballot but never raise money, knock on doors, or truly campaign. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Get out there and hustle—raise the money, knock the doors, attend events, and meet voters where they are.
Even if your name isn’t on the ballot, campaigns are a great way to learn how the system works. Volunteer for a candidate you support and learn what it takes—door knocking, voter outreach, and the work required to win elections in Idaho.
The Idaho GOP welcomes everyone planning to run in the Republican primary on May 19. Fill out the questionnaire on our website to be featured in our voter guide, and complete the Integrity in Affiliation form to affirm your support for the Idaho GOP Platform. If you disagree with a few points, that’s fine—just be upfront about it so voters can make an informed decision.
Running for office is both a privilege and an adventure. Good luck to all who step into the arena this year, and may the voters choose wisely when they head to the polls.
Boise, ID and Baker City, OR — February 19, 2026 — Today, Idaho Power and Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative (OTEC) announced they have entered into an agreement to transition ownership of Idaho Power’s Oregon service area. The proposed sale, with a base purchase price of $154 million, is subject to state and federal approvals.
“This decision reflects Idaho Power’s and OTEC’s shared commitment to meeting the needs of eastern Oregon communities,” said Lisa Grow, President and CEO of Idaho Power. “Oregon represents a small share of our business — projected to be less than 3% of total sales by 2030 — and reducing our service area to one state will allow Idaho Power to focus funding, infrastructure investments, and our workforce on Idaho’s growing population and energy demand. We’re confident OTEC will provide a strong local focus and dedicated service for eastern Oregonians, while Idaho Power concentrates on supporting Idaho communities.”
If the sale is approved, Idaho Power’s 20,000 residential, irrigation, commercial, and industrial customers in Oregon will transfer to OTEC’s service, adding to the cooperative’s current service territory across Baker, Union, Grant, and Harney counties.
“The integration of this service territory is a natural fit for our existing operations,” said Les Penning, CEO of OTEC. “OTEC and Idaho Power have a positive, long-standing relationship through transmission interconnection and delivery of power. This relationship will continue and is equally important moving forward as we transition these communities to the cooperative. We look forward to serving our new member-owners while remaining focused on our mission of delivering safe, reliable, and competitively priced power.”
After the transfer to OTEC, Idaho Power would no longer directly serve Oregon retail electric customers but would continue to own and operate generation and transmission resources in Oregon, including the Boardman to Hemingway (B2H) transmission line, that provide power to Idaho, Oregon, and across the region. B2H has always been and will continue to be a critical resource for serving Oregon customers.
Idaho Power and OTEC will work together closely to prepare for a smooth transition as regulators consider the proposal.
(Attorney General’s Press Release, February 19, 2026)
BOISE, ID — Attorney General Raúl Labrador joined a 19-state coalition urging the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate over 150 American climate activist organizations suspected of violating federal law by taking nearly $2 billion from foreign entities to influence U.S. energy policy without registering as foreign agents.
“Foreign entities have poured nearly $2 billion in dark money into American nonprofit groups to fund climate litigation, lobbying, protests, and media campaigns designed to shut down oil and gas production in the United States,” said Attorney General Labrador. “Federal law requires anyone acting as an agent of a foreign entity to disclose that relationship. These groups haven’t. Americans deserve to know when the organizations pushing to eliminate fossil fuels, kill energy jobs, and drive up costs are being funded and directed by foreign interests. We’re asking the Department of Justice to investigate and enforce the law.”
The coalition sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg requesting an investigation into potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). FARA requires any organization or individual collecting money and operating in the interests of a foreign entity to register with the Department of Justice and disclose that relationship.
According to an October 2025 report from Americans for Public Trust, five foreign-based organizations have sent nearly $2 billion to over 150 U.S.-based climate groups over the past decade. The five foreign funders are Oak Foundation (Switzerland), Quadrature Climate Foundation (United Kingdom), Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (United Kingdom), KR Foundation (Denmark), and Laudes Foundation (Switzerland). At least one, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, maintains documented ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
The 150 American groups receiving this foreign money engage in climate litigation funding, federal and state lobbying campaigns, protest coordination, research to support policy advocacy, and media campaigns, all aimed at restricting or eliminating fossil fuel production in the United States. Among the largest recipients are ClimateWorks Foundation ($344 million), Energy Foundation China ($88 million), Grantham Foundation ($80 million), New Venture Fund ($67 million), and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors ($130 million).
The letter cites substantial evidence that these organizations have acted as unregistered agents of foreign principals, including grant agreements with ongoing reporting requirements, performance reviews, and monitoring provisions that demonstrate the foreign entities’ direction and control over the American groups’ activities.
Attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia also joined the letter.
(Governor’s Office Press Release, February 19, 2026)
Boise, Idaho – Governor Brad Little took steps to further expand school choice in Idaho with a new executive order opting into the federal scholarship tax credit program created through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Governor Little issued the executive order Monday, Feb. 16.
“Idaho is proud to be the only state offering education freedom from kindergarten through career. My executive order strengthens our commitment to ensuring every parent has the opportunity to choose the education environment that best fits their child,” Governor Little said.
“Every student learns differently and deserves an education that reflects their individual strengths and needs. Idaho’s commitment to education freedom ensures families have meaningful options to find the path that works best for their child,” Senator Lori Den Hartog said.
“Idaho families have consistently called for more choices in their children’s education. By expanding education freedom, we’re responding to Idahoans and ensuring parents have greater access to options that meet their child’s individual needs,” Representative Jason Monks said.
“Opting in on this opportunity will benefit every student and family in Idaho, no matter what their educational choices may be. This is a chance to give Idahoans more – more support, more resources, and more options – without taking away from what we already have,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield said.
House Resolution 1 – the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – created a federal tax credit for individuals who wish to support students by donating up to $1,700 to a qualified scholarship granting organization. The new program expands educational opportunities for all students without placing any additional burden on taxpayers. States must opt into the program. On January 20, 2026, Idaho officially submitted documentation declaring our intention to participate in the program. Governor Little’s new executive order directs the Idaho State Department of Education to implement the new education tax credit.
February 12, 2026 (Cover Image Credit: Gem State Chronicle)
What is the Law? Two bills this session aim to clarify the law of the land.
By: Brian Almon
Brian Almon
This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man’s laws, not God’s! And if you cut them down, and you’re just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!
-Sir Thomas More, The Man for All Seasons
What is the law? It’s both an easy question and a very difficult one. All of us are subject to layers upon layers of laws. We have city and county ordinances that govern how we interact with our neighbors, state laws that govern all sorts of matters, and national laws on top of that. Idaho is subject to our state constitution as well as the U.S. Constitution. Administrative agencies craft rules to comply with statutes, and those rules carry the force of law as well.
Underneath all of these lies the so-called Common Law, based on ideas, traditions, and judicial precedents that have stood the test of time. Even deeper is Natural Law, an attempt to understand the way God crafted the universe and how we can best align ourselves with reality.
Like computer code, laws tend to become complex and sometimes contradictory over time. Legislatures add new laws, often neglecting to prune or repeal old ones. History shows that the men regarded as great leaders were often lawgivers, reforming and replacing burdensome systems with new codes that could be more easily understood. When he wasn’t on the battlefield, Napoleon Bonaparte rewrote much of Europe’s legal system. The Code Napoléon remains the basis for French law, as well as for many nations once under French influence.
The very concept of a country is tied to the land where a certain set of laws applies. The United States of America, for all intents and purposes, means the people and places subject to the U.S. Constitution and American law. The same is true of our state. “Idaho” means the jurisdiction where Idaho law can be enforced. Cross the Snake River and you may find yourself under the jurisdiction of Oregon or Washington law (though as an Idaho resident, you remain subject to certain provisions). Cross our northern border and you will find yourself under Canadian law.
The reason we have nations and states is that different peoples have different preferences about how they should be governed. One of the great delusions of the Global War on Terror was the belief that we could impose American laws and traditions on foreign peoples. Afghanistan has very different laws from the United States. So does China. So does Uganda.
The laws of Idaho and the United States have their foundation in English Common Law and the Christian tradition of Western Europe. Trying to apply a foreign legal system within our borders creates problems, much like installing incompatible software on the wrong hardware. In recent years, many people have expressed concern about the potential imposition of Sharia, or traditional Islamic law, and have called for legislation to protect Idahoans from that possibility.
Two bills were introduced this session to ensure Idahoans would be governed only by our own laws.
Senate Bill 1233, sponsored by Sen. Dan Foreman, approached the issue by prohibiting religious or cultural laws from being enforced in Idaho. The bill consisted of a single paragraph:
CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS ACT. No state court at any level of jurisdiction or authority shall enforce, consider, or apply any judgment, decree, ruling, or decision of arbitration based on a body of religious or cultural law that does not fully support and conform with the rights of citizens as defined in the United States constitution and the constitution of the state of Idaho.
The policy team at Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) expressed concerned about the bill, rating it a -2 on its Freedom Index:
The problem with this wording is the common meaning of the rights enumerated in the Idaho and United States constitutions often no longer comport with our Founders’ original intent after a century of legal positivism. The purpose of originalism is to restore the proper meaning of these rights by interpreting the text in light of original intent. Oftentimes, original intent contradicts our contemporary understanding of the plain meaning of the text. For example, the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade erroneously extracted the constitutional right to abortion from the text of the Fourteenth Amendment’s right to privacy. The Supreme Court was only able to correct this error in Dobbs v. Jackson by going beyond the plain text and finding the right to abortion is not deeply rooted in our nation’s history and tradition. S1233 would prohibit the reasoning of Dobbs by stipulating that for “a body of religious or cultural law” to be valid, it must first align with the plain definition of the right in question as enumerated in the Constitution.
Sen. Foreman faced opposition during the committee hearing on S1233. Sen. Brian Lenney debated against the bill, saying that targeting religious law could run afoul of courts, while targeting foreign law stood a better chance of survival. Both he and Sen. Josh Keyser, who also debated against the bill, said they supported the idea, but were concerned about the implementation.
Caleb Pirc, general counsel for the Idaho Family Policy Center, pointed out that the bill could prevent judges from referring to William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England for context when interpreting the law. IFF’s Samuel Lair added that Sir Edward Coke, a renowned English legal theorist cited by the U.S. Supreme Court more than 70 times, could effectively be barred from Idaho courts under the bill’s language.
The questions raised by IFF and in testimony before the committee demonstrate how fuzzy the concept of law can be. All human language contains some degree of imprecision, which means context is necessary to understand what words truly mean. To fully understand the Constitution and our founding documents, we must look to the cultural and religious traditions of the Founding Fathers, placing ourselves in their context rather than imposing our own.
Critics worried that S1233 might unintentionally sever that connection to historical context. The bill was defeated on the Senate floor by a 15-19-1 vote. As the roll call shows, the votes did not fall neatly along predictable factional lines:
On the other side of the rotunda, Speaker Mike Moyle introduced House Bill 602, which took a different approach toward similar goals. Whereas S1233 focused on religious and cultural law, H602 targeted foreign law in a way that appears designed to ensure that the religious and cultural foundations of American law would not be undermined. H602 is longer than S1233—three pages—but its purpose can be summarized by a paragraph explaining legislative intent:
LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It shall be the public policy of this state to protect its citizens from the application of foreign laws when the application of a foreign law will result in the violation of a fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution of the United States or the constitution of the state of Idaho, including but not limited to due process, freedom of religion, speech, or the press, and any right of privacy or marriage embodied in the constitution of the state of Idaho.
Speaker Moyle and Rep. Steve Tanner presented H602 to the House Judiciary, Rules, and Administration Committee on Tuesday afternoon, where it passed unanimously. The only significant question came from Rep. John Gannon, who asked whether it could lead Idaho to attempt to supersede international treaties. He later noted that the bill explicitly exempts treaties from its scope.
To effectuate this purpose, the legislation would prohibit any court or adjudication panel from basing its ruling on “a foreign law that would not grant the parties affected by the ruling or decision similar fundamental liberties, rights, and privileges” such as “due process, freedom of religion, speech, or the press, and any right of privacy or marriage embodied in the constitution of the state of Idaho.”
Notably, the H602 specifies that “it shall not be construed to require or authorize any court to adjudicate or prohibit any religious organization from adjudicating ecclesiastical matters,” ensuring the bill does not infringe upon the freedom of religion.
H602 could receive a vote on the House floor as early as Thursday.
The 21st century has brought mass movements of people and rapidly changing demographics throughout the Western world. Ideas once taken for granted—such as the cultural and religious foundations of our laws—are now being questioned or even discarded. Different peoples have different legal traditions, but only American law, built on centuries of English and Christian tradition, should govern in Idaho. I’m pleased that the Legislature is taking this issue seriously, and I thank Sen. Foreman, Speaker Moyle, Rep. Tanner, and everyone else who has worked on these bills. Let’s ensure that our children and grandchildren continue to enjoy the benefits of the law that we now take for granted.
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the Gem State Chronicle. I encourage our readers to visit their website and consider subscribing. Find this and other informative articles at the Gem State Chronicle here: About – Gem State Chronicle
February 19, 2026 (Photo credit: City of Lava Hot Springs FB)
Work is progressing on the renovation of Lava Hot Springs’ hot pools. The City of Lava Hot Springs has shared the following update on its Facebook page:
The updates are going good. The water is hot but may be murky/muddy the next few days. They are doing the backfill on the new retaining wall! Thank you for your patience during this project.
The hottest pool is being rebuilt because it was failing. This means it was sinking in places and the stairs were separating.
