Enterprise The Idaho
Caribou County
Caribou County's Newspaper Since 2024
Caribou County, Idaho
March 12, 2026 | Vol. 3 No. 11
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Idaho Bill to repeal Medicaid expansion
The deadline for county-level primary election filings is Friday, March 13.
Primary Election coming into focus The deadline for statewide races was February 26, and those candidates are set. The deadline for county and district officials is March 13, which is this Friday. There are often last minute filers for county level contests, so the complete candidate list won't be clear until next week. Early elections for primaries in Idaho begins on April 27. Here is what we do know as of press time: For Governor, the list is massive. Current governor Brad Little is seeing primary challenges from Republicans Daniel C. Fowler, Ethan Giles, Justin R. Plante, Lisa Marie, Mark Fitzpatrick, Ron James, and Sean Calvert Crystal. Democratic Candidates are Chanelle Torrez, Jill Kirkham, Maxine Durand, and Terri Pickens. From the Libertarian Party, the primary includes Paul Sand and Melissa-Sue Robinson. Jacob Burnett and John R. Stegner filed as Independents. The Candidate named Pro-Life is running as a member of the Constitution Party. At the State Legislative level, there is one contested primary, with Chad Christensen filing to run for the 35 A seat against Mike Veile, who was appointed by the governor to replace Kevin Andrus last year. Democrat Walter Boyd has filed as well. State Senator Mark Harris will face Democrat Marty Rotz Kilhefner in the general election in the fall, and Josh Wheeler, 35B, will face Mary Kaufman (D). At the County Level, as of Tuesday morning, Tracy Davis has filed for the primary against sitting county commis-
sioner Marty McCullough in the First District. Bryce Somsen is up for election in the Second District, without a primary challenger at the beginning of the week. Additional filings for county offices are also uncontested at present, and include County Clerk Jill Stoor, County Treasurer Angie Mendenhall, Couty Assessor Aaron Cook, and County Coroner Casey Batterton. Judges are non-partisan, but both current District Judge Cody L. Brower and candidate Aaron N. Thompson have filed for the District 6 Caribou A office. The official deadline for filing is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 13, and we’ll bring you a final list next week. At the Federal level, U.S. Sen Jim Risch faces three Republican challengers. Risch, 82, is running for a fourth six-year term. The Republican was first elected to the seat in 2008 and now chairs the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He faces three Republican challengers in the May primary election: Denny LaVe, Joe Evans, and Josh Roy. In announcing his re-election bid in an April 2025 post on X, Risch touted an endorsement from U.S. President Donald Trump. U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, a Republican serving his fifth term, is not yet up for re-election. His six-year term began in 2023. U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher faces two Republican challengers in Idaho’s 1st Congressional District. Idaho’s 1st Congressional District — home to
roughly 1 million people — splits Ada County, includes some of Boise and spans the state’s western border through the Idaho panhandle in the north. U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson faces two Republican challengers. Simpson, 75, is running for a 15th two-year term. The Republican has represented Idaho’s 2nd Congressional District since 1999 and chairs the House Interior and Environment Subcommittee on Appropriations. He faces two Republican challengers: Brian Keene and Perry Shumway. Idaho’s 2nd Congressional District — home to almost 1 million people — splits Ada County, includes most of Boise, and spans central and eastern Idaho. Simpson has widely won re-election bids. Most of the state wide races did not see contested primaries on either the D or R side of the aisle. As a result, Eric Myricks will be the Democratic challenger to current Lieutenant Governor, Republican Scott Bedke. Shawn Keenan (D) will face current Secretary of State Phil McGrane (R ); current State Controller Brandon Woolf (R ) will face Rakesh Mohan (D); Julie Ellsworth (R ) will face Kevin Jones (D) for the State Treasurer’s office; Lori Hickman (D) and Raul Labrador (R ) are running in the Attorney General’s race; and for Superintendent of Public Instruction, the candidates are Teresa Roundy (Constitution), Becky Sundin Mitchell (D_, and Debbie Critchfield (R ).
Accident on ice at Alexander Reservoir results in drowning death A flurry of activity on the water over the weekend preceded the official word of a tragedy at Alexander Reservoir, where a brother and sister pair fell through the ice that had partially covered the surface of the water. The 34 year old male was rescued from the water and transported for medical treatment. His sister, Pamela Yazzie of Chinle, Arizona, was recovered later, though she did not survive. The pair were approximately 200 feet out onto the ice at the time they fell through, and the ice at that location was estimated to be around four inches thick. The Caribou County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement on the incident: “On Sunday March 8, 2026 , at about 2:52 pm, the Caribou County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communication Center received a report that two individuals had fallen through the ice on Alexander Reservoir, approximately 2 miles east of Soda Springs. Upon arrival Caribou County Sheriff’s Deputies observed that the individuals had fallen though the ice approx. 200 feet from the northern shoreline. Responding emergency personnel crossed the ice at great risk and pulled one of the victims out of the water and onto the ice and got him back to the shore across the unstable ice. The first victim was attended to by EMT’s and transported to Caribou Medical Center by Caribou County EMS for further treatment. The second victim had gone underwater as they were trying to remove the first victim from the water. Members of the
The ice just off the shore at Alexander Reservoir late on Monday afternoon.
Sheriff’s Office dive team responded and a dive certified deputy entered the ice opening and located the second victim. The second victim was then removed from the water and moved to the shoreline where she was immediately treated by EMT’s and transported to Caribou Medical Center by Caribou County EMS. The first victim rescued from the water was a 34 year of age male from Arizona. The Second individual rescued from the water was a 27 ALEXANDER RESERVOIR On Page 2
IN THIS EDITION County Commission.............................Pg. 2 Legislative Updates..............................Pg. 3 Area of Impact......................................Pg. 4
Puzzles................................................Pg. 5 4-H.....................................................Pg. 10 Sports...........................................Pg. 11-12
After several legislative moves to punt decisions on Medicaid cuts this year, Idaho Republican lawmakers on Monday introduced a bill to repeal Medicaid expansion. The bill would repeal Medicaid expansion on Jan. 1, 2028. That would remove roughly 90,000 Idahoans from the health insurance public assistance program. In 2018, 61% of Idaho voters approved the policy through a ballot initiative meant to close a health care assistance gap that affected a population commonly called the working poor. In the past, Medicaid expansion repeal bills haven’t gone far in the Legislature. But this year, state lawmakers are pushing for deeper, across-the-board state government spending cuts — including to Medicaid disability services — after approving years of tax cuts that have reduced the state’s revenue by more than $4 billion. After a motion that would’ve rejected the bill narrowly failed, the committee introduced the bill. It could return for a public hearing soon. Lawmakers delaying vote on Medicaid disability cuts is why the expansion repeal bill is here, committee chairman says. In Gov. Brad Little’s budget plan, he proposed $22 million in Medicaid cuts that could come from a range of service reductions. But Medicaid expansion wasn’t on that list. Last week, the House Health and Welfare Committee voted to shelve for a week a bill that would’ve cut nearly $22 million from a Medicaid disability service called residential habilitation. That delay was why committee chairman Rep. John Vander Woude, R-Nampa, asked Redman to bring the repeal bill, Vander Woude told the committee.
Foster Care Bill passes
The Idaho House of Representatives on Monday approved a bill that enumerates rights to safety for youth in foster care. House Bill 724 establishes a “bill of rights” for the young people in the state’s care, such as to the rights to: Reside in a safe and healthy environment, Be free from physical, emotional and other abuse, Have “timely and appropriate medical assessments and forensic testing” when abuse is disclosed, Have access to basic essentials such as food, shelter and clothing, Obtain a court order to limit or restrict visitation if it places the child’s safety or wellbeing at risk. The bill requires that those rights be explained to young people who enter foster care. Bill sponsor Rep. Josh Wheeler, R-Ammon, said the bill “puts into statute some of the best practices.” Multiple foster parents previously testified in favor of the bill during the committee hearing on March 5. The House did not debate on Monday, and members voted 58-7, with five absent in favor of the bill. Reps. Joe Alfieri, R-Coeur d’Alene; Chris Bruce, R-Caldwell; Clint Hostetler, R-Twin Falls; Kent Marmon, R-Caldwell; Elaine Price, R-Coeur d’Alene; and Faye Thompson, R-McCall, voted against the bill. It now goes to the Senate for further consideration.