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Guest Columnist Glenneda Zuiderveld: Your Vote Can Save a Life

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Observer Staff
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July 14, 2026

Your Vote Can Save a Life
The Future of Idaho and the Unborn is on Your November Ballot.

ID Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld (Photo Credit: Glenneda Zuiderveld0

By: Former Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld

The enemy is at the gate.

The enemy never rests.

For the past four years, I have been warning Idahoans that our state is not as conservative as many have been led to believe. Today, we are facing another major challenge: the proposed “Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act.”

Even its title is misleading. Supporters present it as a measure about “freedom” and “privacy,” but opponents argue it would significantly expand access to abortion, including after fetal viability under certain circumstances. They also contend it would weaken parental involvement protections for minors seeking abortions and could create broader legal challenges to state regulations involving reproductive health. Some have further argued that it could affect Medicaid-funded services and future litigation involving gender-related medical procedures.

Read full initiative, HERE.

This is one of the most consequential policy questions Idaho voters may face.

Churches of Idaho, I cannot overstate how important your voice, your involvement, and your vote are when it comes to the issue of life.

According to the 2020 U.S. Religion Census, Idaho has approximately 2,392 congregations. Imagine the impact if every pastor, elder, deacon, and church leader encouraged their congregation to register, become informed, and vote.

Together, we can stand for Idaho’s most vulnerable, God’s precious image bearers.

Scripture leaves little room for indifference:

James 4:17 (ESV)
“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

If we know what is right and choose complacency, apathy, or silence instead, what will God’s judgment be upon us?

We have already seen the power of Idaho’s ballot initiative process. Medicaid expansion was adopted through that process, and there have been repeated efforts to legalize marijuana in Idaho through citizen initiatives as well.

That is why I am partnering with Honor Idaho to raise awareness, raise our voices, and raise the resources necessary to oppose this initiative. Beyond this single issue, we must also have a serious conversation about whether Idaho’s ballot initiative process continues to serve the long-term interests of our state.

The initiative process has fundamentally reshaped the policies of states like California. This year, California voters are expected to consider 14 statewide ballot measures. By comparison, in 1990, Californians voted on 45 statewide ballot propositions.

Is this what you want Idaho to become?

This fight will not be won by good intentions alone. It will require prayer, courage, volunteers, and the financial resources to educate Idahoans about what is at stake. If you believe that every life is created in the image of God, that parents have a God-given responsibility to protect their children, and that Idaho’s conservative values are worth defending, I ask you to stand with us today.

Please prayerfully consider making a generous donation to Honor Idaho. Your gift will help educate voters, equip communities with the truth, and build the grassroots effort needed to defeat this initiative. Every dollar invested today is an investment in protecting Idaho’s future and defending those who cannot defend themselves.

“Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this,’ does not He who weighs the heart perceive it?” — Proverbs 24:11–12

The time for watching is over.

Now is the time to stand. Now is the time to speak. Now is the time to vote.

Here is the direct link to donate, we will use your contribution wisely in this battle for life. Honor Idaho (Donate)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio: Why We’re Dismantling the ICC

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Observer Staff
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July 14, 2026

Why We’re Dismantling the ICC
America never agreed to a world tribunal that can override our own courts and the Constitution

By: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Most of us would struggle to imagine a world in which U.S. soldiers, police officers, Border Patrol agents and elected leaders could be dragged before an international court, tried by judges from random countries across the globe, found guilty under international laws we neither consent to nor control, and then imprisoned thousands of miles from America.

But that is what the International Criminal Court now claims the power to do.

The ICC was born at the turn of the century. At first, it was marketed as a narrow backstop to prosecute the gravest crimes. Now the ICC and its allies seek a standing world tribunal with near-unlimited reach, empowered to override the courts and constitutions of the U.S. and other sovereign states—and to prosecute and arrest our citizens.

Americans never agreed to any of this. Both of our major political parties opposed the prospect of handing a distant global court the power to prosecute and jail our own citizens. President Clinton refused to submit the Rome Statute (the ICC’s founding charter) to the Senate for ratification due to his “concerns about significant flaws in the Treaty.” Two years later, a bipartisan Senate supermajority passed the American Servicemembers’ Protection Act, authorizing the president “to use all means necessary”—including military force—to prevent the ICC from detaining or arresting Americans.

Americans found themselves in the crosshairs anyway: In 2020 the ICC launched an investigation into what chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda of Gambia described as “war crimes by members of the United States armed forces” in Afghanistan, declaring that the U.S. government hadn’t prosecuted enough American soldiers to satisfy the court. In effect, Ms. Bensouda was anointing herself the final judge of U.S. military policy and the entire U.S. justice system.

The Afghanistan investigation was only the opening move in the assault against American self-government. The ICC is backed and run by a powerful network of leftist nongovernment organizations, smug globalists, and hostile Third World governments united by their enmity toward the U.S.

In the second Trump administration, these calls have continued to grow. Last year, major activist groups urged high-ranking international officials “to take immediate and meaningful action” against the Trump administration’s deportations of violent criminals to El Salvador. Months later, a former ICC chief prosecutor declared that President Trump’s strikes against narcoterrorists amounted to “a crime against humanity” and should be treated as such under international law—a line that was echoed by United Nations leaders, and major leftist nongovernmental organizations, Democratic Party officials and politicians. In March, the Washington-based Democracy for the Arab World Now urged the Iranian regime to request an ICC investigation of “apparent war crimes” committed by American personnel.

U.S. efforts to push back against the ICC’s illegitimate interventions have been framed as a further reason for the ICC to target Americans. When 12 U.S. senators wrote to the ICC prosecutor about their concerns, the prosecutor’s office accused them of crimes. When Mr. Trump imposed sanctions against ICC personnel, a former head of Human Rights Watch said that “all 125 ICC member states would have a legal duty to arrest him were he to show up.”

It is only a matter of time before the ICC begins making good on these threats. Border Patrol agents working to remove violent criminals from our country, U.S. Marines risking their lives to restore order in the Western Hemisphere, federal prosecutors working to dismantle terror networks plotting attacks on the American homeland—all would face the constant risk of persecution for the “crime” of defending our country.

The ICC’s interfering with American military and law enforcement operations isn’t only a grave overreach of its purported authorities. It would mean the death of the U.S. as a sovereign and independent nation. Our decision and our people would be at the mercy of the ICC and its collaborators in the “international community.” To accept the ICC is to surrender control of our national destiny.

Perhaps more polite and compliant nations could make their peace with that arrangement. But this is America. Our forefathers fought a revolution against a foreign power “transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences.” Independence is our birthright. We don’t intend to trade it for rule by a self-appointed priesthood of “international law.”

The Trump administration will always protect American service members from this threat. The U.S. is launching a diplomatic campaign with a simple message—sovereign states over globalism. Those who benefit from American security must not stand idly by while those who provide that security are targeted. This is only the beginning. Using all the tools at our government’s disposal, working beside every ally with whom we can make common cause, we will dismantle the ICC—brick by brick, if necessary.

Marco Rubio was sworn in as the 72nd Secretary of State on January 21, 2025. The Secretary is creating a Department of State that puts America First.

25th Annual POW*MIA Awareness Rally and Motorcycle Rodeo is Saturday, July 25

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Observer Staff
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July 16, 2026

The 26th Annual POW*MIA Awareness Rally and Motorcycle Rodeo will take place at the Power County Fairgrounds, in American Falls, Idaho, July 25, 2025.

The entry fee is $10 per person and veterans get free entry with ID.  Children 13 and under also get free entry.

Camping is available at the fairgrounds.

For more information visit: Awareness Rally – POW*MIA Rodeo

Second Lady Usha Vance Announces Launch of Summer Reading Challenge Prize Website

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Observer Staff
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(Office of the Second Lady Press Release, July 15, 2026)

On Wednesday, July 15, 2026, Second Lady Usha Vance announced the launch of her Summer Reading Challenge’s prize website, where competitors can choose a reward after submitting their reading log and reflection.

“Reading is its own reward, but I’m excited to announce that kids who participate in my Summer Reading Challenge will also receive fun prizes this summer. Congratulations to everyone who has already completed the Challenge — enjoy picking out something special on the new prize website! And if you haven’t started, there’s still plenty of time to make this the best summer of reading yet,” said Second Lady Usha Vance.

Once students submit their reading log and reflection, they will be able to select a reward from an online prize shop featuring gifts from Crayola, Walmart, Wendy’s, Dairy Queen, NASA, and more. Sample prizes include:

  • A ticket to the Crayola Experience in Florida or Pennsylvania
  • Scouting America Summer Reading Challenge patches and mini Scout Life magazines
  • A Dairy Queen gift card
  • A book selection from 24 Scholastic Books
  • A Walmart gift card
  • A ticket to the National Children’s Museum in Washington, D.C.
  • Crayola markers
  • A Wendy’s Frosty coupon
  • Freedom 250 patches and stickers
  • NASA patches and stickers

In addition to a prize from the online portal, participants of the Summer Reading Challenge receive a personalized certificate of completion, a letter from the Second Lady, an America 250-themed bookmark produced in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, and a raffle entry for a visit to the White House.

Literacy levels decline over summer break, worsening the 2024 reading proficiency levels by 31% for fourth graders and 30% for eighth graders. The Second Lady’s Summer Reading Challenge seeks to combat summer learning declines and encourage childhood literacy through friendly competition and rewards. To enter, children grades K-8 submit an online reading log of 12 books they have read over the summer in exchange for special prizes from the Challenge’s supporters.

Over 20,000 students submitted reading logs as part of the 2025 pilot program. This year’s submissions are currently triple the number received this time last year. Enhancements to the 2026 Summer Reading Challenge include an expanded prize selection to better engage with participants, strengthened collaboration with schools, libraries, and community organizations, greater participation access for children with learning and developmental differences, and special mementos and partnerships celebrating America’s 250th anniversary.

Summer Reading Challenge submissions will be accepted until September 4th, 2026. Please visit wh.gov/read for more information.

AG Labrador Issues Caution Against Rental Scams

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Observer Staff
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(Attorney General’s Office Press Release, July 15, 2026)

BOISE, ID — Attorney General Raúl Labrador released a warning today about rental and property scams, along with tips at spotting this type of fraud frequently occurring in high-growth areas where there is fierce competition for available housing and high prices. Potential renters may overlook the signs of a scam in the hopes of securing a good deal.

Scammers will fabricate or duplicate advertisements for available rentals and then demand deposits and upfront payments, especially for renters moving from out-of-state where a visit to the property may not be possible. Scammers post fake listings and grab attention with below-market rent. And since scammers can’t get physical access to the property, they make up excuses why a potential renter can’t see it in person. Scammers will also try to create a time crisis — a too-good-to-be-true deal that won’t last if you don’t pay that deposit immediately.

“Idaho’s growth has made us a target for these types of scams, and criminals are exploiting families desperate for housing in a tight market,” said Attorney General Labrador. “Before you send a dollar, verify the listing and see the property in person or through someone you trust. Idahoans work hard for their paychecks, and my office will keep fighting to protect them from these predatory schemes.”

Like many examples of modern fraud, another sign of a scam is a “landlord” who says you can only pay with a gift card, cryptocurrency, or a wire transfer. If a potential renter pays a deposit with these almost-untraceable methods, the scammer can disappear with their money.

Even if you’re rushing to secure a new address, slow down. Don’t ignore the warning signs or be overcome with the prospect of a good deal. Before you sign or pay for an apartment, do some research like searching for the rental address online. If you find the same property listed with a different price or landlord, it’s likely a scam. Also, check it out in person if you can. If you’re not local, ask someone you trust to go on a tour of the home for you — or to drive by to make sure the home they see matches what you saw advertised.

For more tips and resources on scam prevention, please visit ReportScamsIdaho.com or to file a consumer protection complaint with the Idaho Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.

Gov. Little Applauds Trump administration’s Proposal to Return Greater Grizzly Bear Management to States

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Observer Staff
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(Governor’s Office Press Release, July 15, 2026)

Boise, Idaho – Governor Brad Little joined U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik Tuesday in Montana to announce a proposed federal rule that would provide states with greater flexibility to manage recovered grizzly bear populations while maintaining protections under the Endangered Species Act.

The proposal recognizes decades of successful conservation efforts by states, tribes, federal agencies, private landowners, and local communities that have helped grizzly bear populations recover well beyond federal recovery goals in many areas.

“Idaho has proven we can successfully conserve grizzly bears while responsibly managing wildlife and protecting our communities. This proposal is another important step toward returning wildlife management to the states, where decisions are guided by science and those closest to the land. I appreciate President Trump and Secretary Burgum for recognizing what Idaho has long maintained – that recovered grizzly populations should be managed by the states, not Washington, D.C.,” Governor Little said.

Idaho has consistently advocated for returning grizzly bear management to the states. In 2022, Idaho petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to delist lower-48 grizzly bears, and in 2025, the state reached a legal settlement requiring the agency to issue a final rule addressing the grizzly bear’s listing status.

The proposed rule announced Tuesday does not change the grizzly bear’s status under the Endangered Species Act but would provide additional management flexibility in areas where recovery goals have been achieved. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has opened a 30-day public comment period on the proposal.

For more information on the proposed rule and public comment process, visit https://www.fws.gov/grizzlyrulemaking.

Proposition 1 Legalizes Abortion Through Nine Months

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Observer Staff
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(Idaho GOP Press Release, July 14, 2026; Cover image credit: Idaho GOP)

BOISE, ID — Proposition 1 will be on Idaho’s ballot this November. It directly attacks Idaho’s pro-life pro-family values by legalizing abortion in Idaho. The Idaho Republican Party today announced it will carry that fight to every corner of the state because protecting the preborn is a principle upon which Idaho has never wavered.

“Here is the first thing every Idahoan needs to know,” said Idaho GOP Chairwoman Dorothy Moon. “Proposition 1 has no time limit. Not six weeks. Not fifteen. Not twenty-four. There is no week anywhere in that document.

“An abortion at nine months is legal under Proposition 1, if a provider deems it necessary, even if a healthy baby could otherwise be delivered.

“A provider’s opinion is the whole test. That is it.”

Idaho law today says something Proposition 1 does not. If a baby can survive, the doctor has to try to save him. Proposition 1 removes that entirely. In fact, it has no reference at all to the unborn baby.

Proposition 1 does not even require a doctor. It says an abortion may be performed by “a licensed person or an entity.” That is their language, not ours.

“This initiative not only threatens the unborn baby, it threatens mothers as well,” said Julianne Young, 2nd Vice Chair of the Idaho GOP. “Maternal mortality improved after our Defense of Life Act was passed. This shouldn’t surprise us because abortion—especially unsupervised abortion—endangers women’s lives.”

Roe v. Wade let states require a physician. Idaho did. Proposition 1 does not.

“This is not going back to Roe,” Moon added. “This is far more extreme than Roe.”

The Idaho Republican Party will spend the next four months putting the text of Proposition 1 in front of every voter in this state because the concerns outlined here are only the beginning of what Idahoans deserve to know before November 3rd.

“Idaho protected unborn children before Idaho was a state,” Moon concluded. “Our territorial legislature did it in 1864, twenty-six years before statehood. This is not recent politics. This is who we have always been.

“Don’t take our word for any of it. Read Proposition 1 yourself. Then vote no.”

Idaho voters are encouraged to visit idgop.org to learn more about the initiative and what they can do to fight back.

About the Idaho Republican Party

The Idaho Republican Party is dedicated to advancing conservative principles, protecting individual liberties, and promoting policies that strengthen families and communities across the Gem State.

Guest Columnist Brian Parsons: A Letter To The Church In Idaho

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Observer Staff
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July 13, 2026

A Letter To The Church In Idaho

By: Brian Parsons


Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in Him—in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you. Yet I write to you not with smooth words of comfort alone, but with urgent warning, as one who sees a storm gathering on the horizon.

**Brothers and sisters, hear the word of the Lord.**

Our Lord Jesus Christ issued this solemn warning: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). He declared that pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world (James 1:27). God Himself is “a father to the fatherless and a protector of widows” (Psalm 68:5). We are commanded to defend the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow (Isaiah 1:17). The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’ (Matthew 25:40).

Yet a great moral failure has overtaken much of the church in our land. We have grown silent in the face of evil, fearing the departure of people from the pews more than the departure from sound doctrine. We have traded righteousness for popularity and compromised the clear teachings of Scripture for the sake of tax-exempt status and cultural acceptance.

**Behold, a new test is upon us: Proposition 1, the so-called “Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act.”** This initiative seeks to enshrine in our state law the very destruction of the least of these—the unborn children whom God forms in the womb (Psalm 139:13-16). It is not freedom, but bondage to death. It is not privacy, but the shedding of innocent blood in the dark. And in this hour, many in the church remain quiet, lest controversy disturb the gathering or offend the culture.

We were lied to. We were told to ignore the command to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28) in pursuit of self-gratification, career, and comfort. The fruit of this deception is before us: smaller families, delayed adulthood, and rampant hedonism. By the time many find a mate, the optimal season for child-rearing has often passed, compounding the crisis. Our birth rates have fallen below replacement level. Idaho, like much of the nation, faces a dying and aging population. Our social safety nets strain under the weight, unable to backfill the workers needed to sustain the very systems that should care for the vulnerable. How will we support the orphans, the widows, the elderly, and the infirm when the next generation is missing?

Tragically, this devaluing of life will not end at the womb—it will march relentlessly onward. Look to Canada, where euthanasia through Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) has become one of the leading causes of death, now accounting for over 5% of all deaths in recent years, with tens of thousands euthanized annually. What began as a so-called “choice” for the unwanted unborn soon extended to the unwanted elderly and suffering. A culture that kills its children will not long cherish its aging parents or the vulnerable among us.

In this emerging age, Artificial Intelligence is rapidly replacing much of human toil in production and labor. While this technological shift brings its own challenges, it also grants us a profound opportunity to rediscover the sacred meaning and purpose of human reproduction. Let us once again value the family as the irreplaceable foundation of a thriving society, and give due credit to our ancestors, who wisely ordered their lives with a clear hierarchy of priorities: God first, family second, and country third. Their example calls us back to rebuild what has been eroded by selfishness and cultural deception.

**Church in Idaho, awake!** Do not repeat the failures of those who compromised in Corinth—divided, tolerant of sin, and worldly. Paul wrote to them with tears and urgency because he loved them. I write likewise. Repent of your silence. Do not fear man more than God. Stand boldly for the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. Engage this battle for Proposition 1 with prayer, truth-speaking, and courageous action. Teach the full counsel of God on marriage, family, fruitfulness, and the protection of the innocent. Raise up a generation that values life, that welcomes children as a heritage from the Lord (Psalm 127:3-5), and that cares for the least of these as unto Christ Himself (Matthew 25:40).

If we fail here, the millstone awaits not only those who actively harm the little ones, but those who stood by in indifference. Let it not be said of the church in Idaho that we exchanged the truth of God for a lie, or that we loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. Amen.

(This letter was summarized in modern English and restyled after Paul’s letter to the Corinthians using prompts to Grok AI.)

Brian Parsons is a locally and nationally published columnist and the current vice chair of the Bannock County Republican Party. He’s a proud husband and father, saved by Grace, and an unabashed paleoconservative. You can follow him at WithdrawConsent.org or find his opinion columns at the American Thinker, in the Idaho State Journal or in other regional publications.

UPDATE: Crash Near Inkom Causes Major Traffic Delays

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Observer Staff
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(Idaho State Police, July 13, 2026)

BANNOCK COUNTY – On Monday, July 13, 2026 at 9:30 a.am., a 2023 Freightliner Cascadia semi-truck and trailer being driven by a 55-year-old male from Calgary, Alberta, was traveling southbound on I-15 near milepost 56, just south of Inkom, Idaho. The semi-truck struck the guardrail and came to rest across the southbound lanes of travel.

The driver of the vehicle was wearing a seat-belt and was not injured.

The southbound lanes of I-15 were blocked, and crews alternated north and southbound traffic for approximately two and a half hours while they worked to clear the scene.

This crash is under investigation by the Idaho State Police.

ORIGINAL RELEASE:

BANNOCK COUNTY, Idaho – Idaho State Police is investigating a crash involving a commercial vehicle that occurred at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, July 13, 2026, southbound on I-15 at milepost 56.

At this time, southbound lanes remain blocked and crews are working to alternate northbound and southbound traffic around the scene. Drivers can expect delays and a back-up of traffic throughout the area until the scene is cleared.

Check Idaho 511 for updates on traffic delays.

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