During my first term in the Idaho Legislature, a news story stopped me in my tracks: more than 1,100 sexual assault kits were collecting dust on shelves in Idaho police stations, never sent to the State crime lab for testing. One had been there since 1990.

We learned about those kits because journalists requested records and dug deeper. A later audit identified 2,538 kits statewide, with at least 1,116 still sitting on law enforcement shelves.

Behind every kit was a survivor who had endured trauma and an invasive forensic exam, trusting that evidence would help bring justice.

I still shudder to think how much longer those kits might have sat forgotten. That reporting forced Idaho to confront a failure our systems had overlooked and sparked years of bipartisan work I led with stakeholders to overhaul how our State handles sexual assault evidence.

That experience taught me firsthand why a free press is often called the Fourth Estate. Independent journalism serves as a vital check on government, holding those in power accountable and revealing where our institutions are falling short.

That’s why McClatchy’s decision to lay off 10 journalists and three editors at the Idaho Statesman should alarm every Idahoan. In one round of cuts, the Idaho Statesman lost about 60% of its newsroom.

These cuts come months after Idaho Statesman journalists protested McClatchy’s failure to invest adequately in the people producing Idaho journalism and raised concerns about the company’s growing use of artificial intelligence. They fought for better wages and protections against AI replacing journalists or reducing their hours, something every worker should support.

They secured those protections in their contract. Now, months later, McClatchy has eliminated much of the capacity of one of Idaho’s largest newsrooms to scrutinize our government.

The consequences start now, not only for workers and their families, but also for everyday people trying to keep track of their government. Stories will go uncovered. Questions will go unasked. Government failures will take longer to surface if they surface at all.

We’ve seen why that matters.

InvestigateWest exposed allegations of sexual abuse and failed investigations inside Idaho’s women’s prisons, reporting that helped prompt a bipartisan legislative investigation. ProPublica told the story of two-month-old Onyxx Cooley, whose death was investigated without an autopsy, a scene visit, or an interview with his parents. That reporting helped shine a light on longstanding failures in Idaho’s coroner system as lawmakers pursued reforms.

We can’t let the fox watch the henhouse. Independent journalism provides the outside scrutiny the public deserves.

I may be a public servant serving in the minority right now, but this isn’t about party politics or who holds power. Everyone should care about having access to responsible, reliable reporting on what our government is doing and how well we are doing it.

These examples show what good reporting can accomplish. Independent journalism uncovers problems government may not see on its own and gives us the information to do better.

That’s something every Idahoan has a stake in.

I still think about those sexual assault kits collecting dust on shelves. The Government didn’t shine a light on that failure. Journalists did.

McClatchy’s decision makes that work harder. Idahoans should not accept that quietly.

Idaho can’t afford fewer watchdogs.

Sen. Melissa Wintrow, represents District 19, in the Idaho Senate after serving three terms in the House.