(Idaho State Police Press Release, August 28, 2026; Cover photo credit: ISP)
BEAR LAKE COUNTY, Idaho – Idaho State Police is investigating a two-vehicle fatality crash that occurred at 11:22 AM on Friday, August 28, 2026, on Minnetonka Cave Road, west of St. Charles.
A white 2026 Kawasaki KLX110 motorcycle, ridden by a 22-year-old male from North Ogden, Utah, was traveling eastbound on Minnetonka Cave Road. A tan 2005 Jeep Liberty, driven by a 66-year-old female from Montpelier, Idaho, was traveling westbound on Minnetonka Cave Road. The Kawasaki collided head-on with the Jeep.
The rider of the Kawasaki was not wearing his helmet and succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The driver of the Jeep was not wearing her seatbelt and was not transported.
The road was blocked for approximately 4 hours.
Idaho State Police was assisted by Bear Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Bear Lake EMS, Bear Lake Fire, and Intermountain Life Flight.
August 20, 2026 (Cover Image Credit: Idaho Freedom Foundation)
The Lie Proposition 1 Is Selling Idaho
By: Rachel Hazelip, IFF Policy Director
Rachel Hazelip, IFF Policy Director (Photo credit: IFF)
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 of issues like abortion when they hear words like “rape,” “incest,” or “life of the mother.” They don’t like abortion… except in the aforementioned scenarios, so they signed the initiative, not realizing how truly radical it is.
We at Idaho Freedom Foundation believe every life is precious, regardless of the circumstances of conception, stage of development, or disability, and we support full abortion abolition; however, many in the Gem State do not feel the same. This may be why the language comprising Prop 1 is so vague and misleading in many regards. We are hearing alarming rhetoric from people who are misinformed about what the initiative actually does.
A big part of defeating Prop 1 is educating people on what it really does. Prop 1 is barely four pages, but it is remarkable just how much damage is done in so little text. There are five significant ways the text of Prop 1 would radically change Idaho law.
Here’s your quick cheat-sheet of the truth. The Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act would:
Override all existing Idaho statutes regarding abortion and establish a statutory right to abortion.
(See 39-803 Section 1, subsection 1). As a reminder, rights, as understood by the Founders, principally undergird all authority, legal understanding, and social structures in the United States. They understood rights are inherent entitlements individuals possess by virtue of being human. These are universal and granted by God, not government. Think LIFE, liberty, and property. Prop 1 would make killing a baby a right in Idaho.
Undermine parental rights and allow minors to receive reproductive medical treatments or abortions without parental notification, knowledge, or consent.
In Section 1, subsection 1, a and b, the language specifies “Every person has the right to reproductive freedom and privacy…” and does not distinguish adults from minor children. This Act, therefore, could be applied to our minor children.
Create “abortion on demand” and allow the ending of a pregnancy up to the moment of birth.
Section 1, subsection 6(e) states: “‘Fetal viability’ means the point in a pregnancy when in the good faith judgment an attending health care professional and based on the particular facts of the case known to the health care professional at the time, the fetus has a significant likelihood of sustained survival outside of the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.”
Because the stage of fetal viability is not specified, a medical professional may determine a baby in the womb is not viable until the point of birth. Additionally, a key language change appears in the final part of the last sentence. A child has “a significant likelihood of sustained survival outside of the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures” (bold added for emphasis). Fetal viability historically has been understood to be the point at which a baby can survive outside of the womb with medical intervention, even extraordinary intervention. Prop 1 changes the definition to require survivability without medical assistance.
Remove the physician-only requirement in existing law.
Section 1 subsection 6(g) states, “‘Health care professional’ means any person licensed, certified or registered by the state of Idaho to deliver health care.” So… a dentist may perform an abortion? Or a podiatrist? I suppose we shouldn’t expect more specificity from a document continually stating, “pregnant patient” rather than “pregnant woman.”
Expand the definition of the medical emergency exception.
Section 1, subsection 6(h) states, “‘Medical emergency’ means a physical medical condition that, on the basis of the attending physician’s good faith clinical judgment, based on the facts known at the time, and determined on a case-by-case basis, complicates the physical medical condition of a pregnant patient as to warrant an abortion:
i. To protect a pregnant patient’s life; or, ii. For which a delay may: 1. Place the health of the pregnant patient in serious jeopardy; 2. Cause serious impairment to a bodily function; or, 3. Cause serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part.”
This definition does not explain the severity of a medical emergency which would allow an abortion. Additionally, earlier this month, a federal judge claimed the Fourteenth Amendment protects a woman’s right to obtain an abortion when in a “mental health crisis.” This would fall under the medical emergency exception even though there are zero guidelines on what constitutes a mental health crisis. Under these broad provisions, a medical professional has total authority to determine whether a child will be murdered. Judge, jury, and yes, executioner.
Finally, Prop 1 ends as all ballot measures and bills do, with a section stating: “This act shall be in full force and effect on and after January 1, 2027.”
Forbid it, Almighty God.
Talk to your friends, your neighbors, your churches — your priests, bishops, and pastors. Knock on doors, put up signs, donate money.
There are babies — designed by our Creator, uniquely made, precious, created for a purpose — whose lives literally depend on your actions moving forward on this issue.
William Wilberforce was one of the greatest fighters for morality in the face of decades-long opposition. He fought for the end of the slave trade and the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
Relentlessly. Tirelessly. Without reservation or apology. Day in and day out. Wilberforce fought for the vulnerable. He was tireless in the pursuit of truth. He was mocked, laughed at, hated, accused, threatened, and ostracized, but day after day, month after month, year after year, and yes, decade after decade, Wilberforce fought.
On the eve of the abolition of the slave trade, he famously stated, “Let it not be said that I was silent when they needed me.”
Friends, let it not be said of us that we were silent when innocent babies needed us. Don’t let busyness, discomfort, or fear keep you silent.
Thousands of unborn babies have been killed in Idaho over the years due to abortion and their blood cries out. No more.
Do not be silent. They need us.
Editor’s Note: Learn more about the work of the Idaho Freedom Foundation here: About – Idaho Freedom
Idaho Fish and Game has been testing animals for CWD for over two decades, and that testing is ongoing.
All hunters or those who salvage animals are encouraged to submit a sample from their deer, elk, or moose, regardless of the game management unit (GMU) they harvest in. Required testing in specific GMUs may change from year to year as we gain more information about how CWD is distributed across the landscape.
CWD Management Zones
CWD testing of all hunter-harvested mule deer and white-tailed deer from GMUs 14, 18, and a portion of 1 (portion of Boundary County east of the Selkirk Mountains crest) is mandatory and carcass transport rules are in effect.
Pocatello for Accountable Government Entities: Keeping Government Accountable
(Pocatello for Accountable Government Entities, August 27, 2026)
Last December (2025), the Commissioners brought in Renewable Northwest’s “battery experts” (a meeting facilitated by Hough) for a 1+hour meeting.
These two letters written in December 2025 and sent to the County Commissioners (one specifically to Moser) express concerns about battery energy storage systems (BESS), the desire for more discussions, and a request for an active role in the development of BESS policy, etc.
Why were they never responded to by the Commissioners?
Why were no meetings scheduled with these valuable community volunteers and partners who simply expressed their concern for the potential risk and impact?
Shouldn’t our elected representatives be fair and equal especially since they represent us – the citizens of this County?
Or, is this further evidence of preferential treatment to 3rd party interests?
Ignoring these letters and not scheduling a meeting on this matter with people you are elected to represent for 8+ months, in our opinion, is in direct contradiction to Hough’s statement that: “No single draft, no early feedback, no outside group, whether a solar company, an agricultural association, or a neighborhood coalition gets preferential standing in this process.” Actions speak louder than words.
(Idaho Department of Lands Press Release, August 27, 2026)
Boise, Idaho – As summer comes to an end, waterfront properties often change hands. At the same time, the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) receives an increase in requests to assign encroachment permits, most commonly permits for docks.
To avoid unnecessary delays, buyers and sellers should review a property’s encroachment permits before closing. Identifying potential issues early gives property owners more time and options to resolve them.
When waterfront property is sold, existing encroachment permits stay with the parcel. However, the permit must be formally assigned to the new owner. Before a permit can be assigned, the property must be in compliance with the permit.
This means all encroachments — including docks, boat lifts, buoys, riprap or bank stabilization, waterlines, boat garages and other structures in, on, above or below the high water mark — must be permitted and match the permitted design.
IDL administers Idaho’s Lake Protection Act and IDAPA 20.03.04, which regulate encroachments on, in and above Idaho’s navigable waterways to protect the public trust in these waters.
If you are buying or selling waterfront property, start looking for potential problems early. After IDL receives an assignment request and payment, a Navigable Waterways specialist reviews the property for noncompliance and contacts the applicant if potential issues are identified.
Noncompliance can often be resolved by:
Bringing an encroachment back into compliance with its permitted design.
Removing an unpermitted encroachment.
Applying for a new permit for an encroachment that meets current rules.
IDL can work with waterfront owners to address these issues, but resolving them can take time. Waiting until the last minute can create unnecessary delays during a property closing.
Step 2 — Compare the permit to what is actually there. Use county GIS, Google Earth, or even a measuring tape and a walk down to the dock. Compare the permitted location, dimensions, and design to the existing encroachments.
Step 3 — If something doesn’t match, contact your local IDL office. Addressing potential noncompliances before closing gives everyone more options and more time to resolve them. It may take 30-60 days to address unpermitted encroachments and noncompliance, so starting early is essential.
Failure to address noncompliances or properly assign permits to new ownership may result in penalties or other enforcement actions under the Lake Protection Act and IDAPA 20.03.04.
(Attorney General’s Office Press Release, August 27, 2026)
BOISE, ID — Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced a settlement with Tactical Traders LLC, an Idaho business that sold subscriptions to online educational programs about day trading. The settlement concludes the Attorney General’s investigation into allegations that Tactical Traders and its owner, Justin Werlein, violated the Idaho Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits false or deceptive advertising.
“Protecting Idaho families from deceptive marketing is a priority for my Consumer Protection Division,” said Attorney General Labrador. “The people of Idaho established the Idaho Consumer Protection Act for this very reason, and my office will hold bad actors accountable to keep the marketplace safe for legitimate businesses and consumers.”
In his advertisements for Tactical Traders, Werlein falsely claimed that he went from delivering pizzas to earning over $700,000 in profits as a day trader. Day trading is a fast-paced, high-risk process that involves buying and selling financial assets within the same day. Werlein admitted publicly in early 2026 that he never made any profits as a day trader. He then closed Tactical Traders and removed his online training videos and materials.
The Attorney General received 13 complaints from consumers who paid Tactical Traders for access to its mentorship and educational programs. Consumers alleged Werlein misled them about his trading successes and failed to deliver their purchased services. Throughout the investigation, Werlein expressed remorse and was cooperative with investigators.
The settlement prohibits Werlein from opening a similar business in the future and requires him to pay refunds to consumers who:
paid Tactical Traders for access to its mentorship programs, coaching services, educational materials, trading communities, and other trading-related goods and services;
did not have access to the purchased educational coaching or mentorship program(s) during the subscription period because Tactical Traders closed;
did not receive a full or partial refund from Tactical Traders or a third-party payment platform; and
did not receive a full or partial credit card chargeback or other payment.
Consumers who believe they meet the above eligibility requirements should file complaints with the Attorney General at www.ag.idaho.gov. The office will review all complaints and contact consumers if the office needs more information. The deadline to file a complaint is October 12, 2026. Consumer questions regarding the complaint process should be directed to consumer-protection@ag.idaho.gov.
Last week, members of the Pocatello Police Department—including Ordinance Officers, Dispatchers, Captains, Lieutenants, and School Resource Officers—had the opportunity to step away from their usual duties and come together for a special community service project.
Our team spent the day helping a local elderly community member clean up and improve their property. We removed trash and debris, mowed and raked, cleared unwanted materials, and trimmed overgrown vegetation to help make the property cleaner, safer, and easier to maintain.
We are incredibly grateful to NeighborWorks Pocatello and the City of Pocatello Sanitation Department for providing their time, equipment, and resources to help make this project possible. Their partnership was an important part of making a meaningful difference for a member of our community.
Community policing is about more than responding to calls. It’s about building relationships, working together, and showing up for our community when help is needed.
We’re proud of our team and thankful for the community partners who joined us in making a difference.
Dorothy Moon, Chairwoman of the Idaho Republican Party
Proponents of abortion, and of Proposition 1 here in Idaho, want to steer the conversation toward vague concepts of healthcare, freedom, choice, and rare edge cases while avoiding the obvious: abortion is the deliberate destruction of a human life. Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg of a deep sickness in modern culture.
Earlier this summer, Massachusetts enacted a new law that could allow abortions up until the moment of birth. Several blue states have similar laws allowing doctors to kill a baby even when it could be safely delivered and cared for.
In that same state, a mother is on trial for murdering her three children. While discussions about postpartum depression and overmedication are important, I was horrified to see hundreds of people show up to support the accused murderer, seemingly without a thought for the three precious children who will never get to grow up.
Finally, our neighbors to the north in Canada started their MAID system—medical assistance in dying—on the premise that it would be for those with terminal illnesses who could no longer endure constant pain. Yet today I see stories of assisted suicide being recommended to young people who are simply depressed and feel there is no reason to go on.
All of these are symptoms of a very sick society, and a consequence of reducing the value of human life to numbers on a spreadsheet.
I remember when Sarah Palin was running for vice president and said that socialized medicine would lead to “death panels.” Mainstream media mocked her, even though she was right to warn about the dangers of allowing bureaucrats to make decisions about who receives life-saving care. When choices about life and death are not made by individuals, families, or doctors, but by government bureaucrats, your life is reduced to little more than words on a page.
Every step we take moves us toward some destination. Prop 1 would start Idaho down a path toward the same culture that has brought about partial-birth abortion, infanticide, and assisted suicide. It would establish in law that unborn children are not human beings entitled to the right to life that our Founders believed was the birthright of all people.
Any student of history knows where dehumanizing language can lead. Look no further than our own nation’s struggle with African slavery, or the genocidal campaigns of Nazi Germany less than a century ago.
Idaho has another choice: vote no on Prop 1 and continue building a culture of life rather than death. Idahoans are rightfully proud that our state stands for the personhood of the unborn and for the right of children to live free of fear, persecution, or indoctrination.
Life and death are literally on the ballot this November. I am confident that Idaho will choose life. Vote no on Prop 1.
August 25, 2026 (Cover Image Credit: Gem State Chronicle)
Democrats Want to Raise Your Taxes
By: Brian Almon
Brian Almon
Democrats have a tenuous relationship with the concept of private property. If you do business, they want to regulate it; if you make money, they want to confiscate it; if you have an idea, they want to expropriate it. Despite claiming they are not communists or socialists (well, most of them still deny it), it’s an article of faith on the left that your money belongs collectively to the people, and, as the voice of the people, they get to decide how to use it.
I was reminded of this when I read an op-ed in the Idaho Capital Sun over the weekend by Robert Huntley, a 94-year-old former Democratic legislator who also served on the Idaho Supreme Court in the 1980s. Huntley was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1998, losing to Republican Dirk Kempthorne 67.7% to 29.07%. In his piece, Huntley asserts that Idaho’s economy has been severely damaged by tax cuts, and he proposes a committee to decide how to raise them. He calls Idaho the “Mississippi of the Northwest” with regard to public school funding. He apparently has not heard of the “Mississippi Miracle,” in which student performance in that state has risen not because of additional funding, but because of policy changes regarding how students are taught, including a switch to phonics for reading instruction.
Huntley cites numbers from the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy (ICFP) which claim that state revenue was reduced by more than $4 billion because of tax cuts over the past few years. Longtime readers will recall that ICFP is not a disinterested nonprofit, as the Capital Sun implies, but one small part of a massive, multibillion-dollar NGO complex designed to divert your tax dollars to its own programs, most of which involve settling refugees in Idaho.
In December 2025, I wrote an article titled “The NGO Hydra Using Your Money to Reshape Society” about an organization named Jannus and its many heads, each working in tandem to separate you from your money and replace you with migrants and refugees:
So how independent is ICFP, which just released a report lamenting that the government “allowed” citizens to keep too much of their own money? Not very. It is one small part of a massive web of NGOs and nonprofits, all designed to convince the government to take more of your money and give it to them for their own purposes. While the mythical Janus had two faces, the modern Jannus is akin to the hydra, which had many.
One head of this hydra issues reports like this, claiming that we need higher taxes to support more government spending on social programs. Another head lobbies the Legislature to create more of these social programs and to appropriate more money—federal and state—to them. Finally, yet another head stands ready to apply for these new grants and distribute them as they see fit. Oftentimes, the purpose of the grants is to incorporate more people into government dependence. Refugees, for example—the primary focus of Jannus now—are brought here and immediately enrolled in myriad taxpayer-supported programs, all with Jannus acting as the middleman.
As IFF’s Fred Birnbaum said during testimony against an IVC-supported bill last year: “You know the old saying ‘All roads lead to Rome?’ Well, all government-created committees lead to the call for more government spending.”
This is not the first time that the Idaho Capital Sun has laundered ICFP talking points under the guise of objective news. Late last year, it published an article that was essentially a rewritten ICFP press release, announcing the $4 billion gap and urging the Legislature to reverse recent tax cuts. Yet the opposite happened during the 2026 session. Facing uncertain revenue numbers, lawmakers and Gov. Brad Little cut the budget instead, much to the consternation of Democrats, their friends in the news media, and a few confused Republicans like Sen. Jim Guthrie.
Last month, Kevin Richert at Idaho EdNews reported that Gov. Little and House Republicans were arguing over who deserved more credit for the budget cuts. What a welcome change from the way blue states—and blue outlets in red states like the Idaho Capital Sun—cover budgetary issues. Nearly every Republican in Idaho agrees that your money belongs to you, and that it is the government’s job to make do with as little of the people’s money as possible.
Republicans have traditionally believed that governments at all levels have certain roles to play in society, and that maintaining freedom for the people necessarily entails putting limits on the role of government. Just because a legislator, bureaucrat, or activist has what they believe to be a terrific idea (or, more likely, sees an opportunity to enrich themselves off the taxpayer) doesn’t mean it’s something the government should do. Most conservatives agree that the government is too big already, which means cutting budgets and programs should be on the agenda, rather than raising taxes and spending even more.
The worldview of people like Robert Huntley seems to be one in which government is the spoke in the wheel, at the center of all things, without which nothing is possible. Huntley (or whomever wrote his op-ed) assumes the premise that the economy is dependent upon government programs, and that anything “we can be proud of” is dependent upon raising taxes.
Huntley and his friends are always welcome to relocate to California, Illinois, or New York, where the rotten fruits of their presuppositions have become apparent. As for me, I’m happy to be in Idaho, where government is a necessary evil rather than the all-consuming center of our lives.
Brian Almon is the Editor of the Gem State Chronicle. He also serves as Chairman of the District 14 Republican Party and is a trustee of the Eagle Public Library Board. He lives with his wife and five children in Eagle.
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
(From the Desk of Senator James E. Risch, August 27, 2026)
A year and a half ago, our southern border was an absolute disaster.
We inherited a broken system from the Biden administration that allowed millions of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs, and criminals to enter our communities.
Today, our southern border is closed tight, with 15 consecutive months of ZERO illegal immigrants released into the United States.
While we celebrate this success, we must ensure our record of strong border enforcement continues for years to come.
I am also equipping Customs and Border Patrol, immigration officers, and local law enforcement with the necessary resources to do their jobs and keep our communities safe through:
The Protect and Respect ICE Act to increase federal penalties for attacking ICE agents; and
The Make MPP Mandatory Act to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy.
Most importantly, I’m ensuring illegal immigrants who commit heinous crimes are held responsible, properly detained, and deported by backing:
The Laken Riley Act, now law, requiring ICE to arrest and detain illegal immigrants who commit theft or burglary until they are removed from the country;
Sarah’s Law to require ICE to detain illegal immigrants criminally charged with killing or seriously injuring another person; and
The Keep our Communities Safe Act to close a loophole that allows illegal immigrants to be released into our communities after six months if no country accepts them for deportation.
I’ve said for years that border security is national security.
I will keep fighting to ensure our border remains sealed and remain fully committed to protecting our communities.
For the latest press releases and constituent services visit risch.senate.gov. To receive email updates on what I’m working on as your Senator, click here. To connect with me on Twitter, visit my Twitter page. To connect with me on Facebook, visit my Facebook page.
