Emilie Ritter Saunders was StateImpact Idaho's multimedia reporter until the project merged with the Boise State Public Radio site in July 2013. She previously worked as the Capitol Bureau Chief for Montana Public Radio and was a Senior Fellow with NPR's Economic Training Project from 2009 until 2010. She graduated from the University of Montana School of Journalism in 2007.
Idaho has cut per-student education spending by 19 percent in the last five years. That’s according to a report published this week by the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities.
Idaho schools have seen the fourth-largest cut among states since 2008, ranking behind Arizona, Alabama and Oklahoma.
The report points out education funding cuts have slowed since the peak of the Great Recession. Only 13 states have increased per-student spending since 2008.
CBPP says the effects of spending cuts on local communities will be wide reaching, and in some cases will “slow the pace of recovery.”
Supervalu and CVS Corp. purchased the majority of Albertsons' stores in 2006.
The owner of Idaho’s Albertsons stores, Supervalu, announced today it will close 60 stores nationwide by the end of February.
The Minneapolis-based grocery giant will close 27 western Alberstons stores, 19 in southern California and eight in Washington and Oregon.
Supervalu spokesman Mike Siemienas says the company plans to close eight additional stores, but he couldn’t say where those closures will occur due to “ongoing contractual discussions”.
Supervalu estimates it will generate up to $90 million from selling assets, monetizing real estate and clearing operating losses over the next three years.
Boise-based MotivePower designs, makes and re-makes trains.
The Idaho Department of Labor today approved $325,000 in worker training grants for two Boise-based companies.
Locomotive maker MotivePower Inc. is eligible to receive $288,000 and iVinci Health, a hospital software company can get up to $38,000.
Workforce Development Training grants are reimbursements to companies that need to train new employees, existing employees or employees who are in danger of being laid off unless their skills are updated. It’s paid for by a tax on businesses. Continue Reading →
The work group Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter appointed to study whether Idaho should create a state-run health insurance exchange heard from two organizations that have long opposed President Obama’s health care law.
Policy analysts from the Libertarian-leaning Cato Institute and the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC spoke with panel members Wednesday about why Idaho should not create its own exchange.
Under the federal health care law, states can decide to create and operate their own exchanges, participate in a federally-established exchange, or let the feds create an exchange with the plan to eventually transition to a state-run model. Continue Reading →
Part of the health insurance exchange work group at their first meeting earlier this month.
The governor’s group to study whether Idaho should have a health insurance exchange meets for the second time today.
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter created two work groups following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold President Obama’s health care law. Otter must decide whether Idaho should set up an online marketplace for people to purchase health insurance, and whether the state should expand Medicaid eligibility.
Health policy studies director at the Libertarian-leaning Cato Institute Michael Cannon is scheduled to speak to the group. Cannon’s online bio says he was a policy analyst for the Senate’s Republican Policy Committee, working with former Idaho Sen. Larry Craig.
The American Legislative Exchange Council’s interim director of the health and human services task force, Sean Riley, will also speak.
There are 180 firearms and ammunition makers in the state of Idaho. They're spread across much of the state, with many locations clustered around Boise, Coeur d'Alene and Lewiston. Continue reading →
INL's Materials and Fuels Complex in southeastern Idaho.
CNN Money recently published a list of the 25 best counties in the country to find work. At number 15, nestled between Houston County, Georgia and Cass County, North Dakota is Bonneville County, Idaho. That includes Idaho Falls and part of one of Idaho’s biggest employers, the Idaho National Laboratory. The lab is spread across a handful of southeastern Idaho counties.
CNN used Census data to find counties where jobs and population were increasing, and where the jobless rate was below the national average. According to their list, CNN says Bonneville County saw a 28 percent increase in jobs between 2000 and 2011. Continue Reading →
Here’s a look at the five stories numbers show are this week’s must-reads. They’re the stories getting the most clicks, comments and shares. Don’t miss out, and let us know what you think!
A 2011 study by the Association of American Medical Colleges ranks Idaho second to last when it comes to the number of physicians per capita. By this measure, Idaho is short on doctors.
According to the report, there are 2,873 active physicians in Idaho. That’s 184 doctors for every 100,000 people. The only state with fewer doctors per 100,000 people is Mississippi.
Over the coming months, StateImpact will explore how we got here, and if the numbers are as dire as they seem. But we need your help. Have you had a hard time getting a doctor’s appointment? Do you know someone who has? We’d like to hear your stories. Send an email to ersaunders@stateimpact.org with the subject line Doctor Shortage and we’ll be in touch.
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