IDAHO

President Wagner salutes ISU history in inaugural address

Wagner also unveiled a new “forward-thinking framework” that will guide spending on enrollment growth, infrastructure and other strategic areas.

Big City awarded $3 million in lawsuit against Boise State administrators

The jury awarded Sarah Jo Fendley $3 million in damages for business losses, mental and emotional distress, personal humiliation and lost reputation. One former Boise State administrator was liable for another $1 million in punitive damages.

‘There was no effort to get rid of her:’ Day eight in the Big City Coffee trial

President Marlene Tromp and a former member of her inner circle stuck to a recurring point Thursday: Both said they did not oust Big City Coffee from the Boise State University campus.

‘We care about what students think. It doesn’t make our choices for us.’ Tromp takes stand

The Boise State president is not a defendant in the $10 million Big City Coffee lawsuit, but she is nonetheless on trial — in the court of public opinion. Critics say the case fits into a larger narrative over a social justice agenda at Idaho’s largest university.

Some school districts are ‘scrambling’ for maintenance money after HB 521

The sweeping facilities bill shifted lottery funds in way that’s left some district cash-strapped in the short term.

A look inside Christian nationalism — with an Idaho emphasis

The preacher of a Moscow-based fundamentalist church is determined to transform the politics of the Palouse, as part of a bigger campaign to make America an explicitly Christian nation. Schools are the centerpiece of this crusade.

Garden Valley elementary students work on watercolor paintings.

Grants aim to bolster art programs, teacher recruitment and retention in rural schools

The state is accepting applications through the end of this month.

Higher ed budget requests focus on staff additions, pay raises

The higher ed requests are the first step in a process that will unfold at the Statehouse in the next six months or so.

School trustees’ legislative proposals call for more state funding amid budget crunches

Also on the table: Pre-K initiatives and voucher opposition

Critchfield discusses weighted formula, trade-offs in budget proposal

The funding formula change should help address a special education funding gap, while the overall “modest” budget acknowledges fiscal and political realities.