Reporter’s Choice: Top Ten Posts Of 2012

As 2012 draws to a close, we took a look back at some of the stories we think are worth another read or a second listen.

• Why Idaho’s Doctor Shortage Won’t Be Easy To Solve: Idaho has fewer doctors per capita than every state in the country except one. Why? That simple question led us down the path of several weeks of reporting to get at a nuanced answer. Check out this collection of posts which include an interactive map, data and the story of one Idaho doctor that fights the statistics.

• Map And Tables: See Who Is Spending For And Against Idaho’s Props 1, 2, 3: There’s no doubt Idaho’s education law repeal was one of the biggest stories of 2012. Ahead of the Nov. 6 election, we took a closer look at who spent money on the for and against campaigns.

• Companies Receive Idaho Training Grants, But Make No Long-Term Promises: A popular business incentive in Idaho reimburses companies to train its workers, but there is a catch: those companies don’t have a requirement to stay in business.
• A Rancher, A Logger, And Economic Fate In Rural Idaho  In Idaho, the timber and ag industries are heavy hitters.  They play big roles in the state’s history and identity.  But the recession dealt them different hands, dividing rural Idaho into winners and losers. In this story, StateImpact Idaho reported on two industries, two counties, and two economic fates.

• Do Business Incentives Create Jobs? Idaho Is One Of 13 States In The Dark: The state hands out millions of dollars each year in business incentives, but the public knows little about where that money goes, or if it’s keeping companies in Idaho.

• Mapping Migration: Who Moves To Idaho: Tax return data came in handy when we wanted to see who chooses to move to Idaho. This is our most-read post of 2012, and definitely worth a second look.

• After The Wind Boom, A Fight Over Idaho’s Energy Future  Wind development has taken off in Idaho.  In recent years, 30 wind projects were approved in the state.  Before then, Idaho had just one wind farm.  This story explains why wind development became contentious in the state, and how the state’s utilities sought to curb it.
• Some Idaho Farmers Suffer, Others Succeed In Summer’s Drought  In Idaho’s arid, high desert, this summer’s drought had a mixed effect. StateImpact told the story of the big divide between farmers with deep wells and irrigation, and those without.
• Tiny Idaho Town Ponies Up, But Its School Still Suffers Education was arguably the issue that dominated Idaho news in 2012, but the challenges facing rural schools seldom made headlines.  This story comes from the tiny town of Rockland, where residents pay the highest levy rate in the state to keep their school afloat.
• A Young Refugee Searches For A Place In Idaho’s Reshaped Economy  For years, Boise’s strong economy, good quality affordable housing and supportive community created an especially favorable environment for refugee resettlement.  This piece describes how the recession shifted that picture.  It tells the story of one refugee, Nowela Virginie, who spent sixteen years in a refugee camp in Tanzania before at last arriving in Idaho.