Enterprise The Idaho
Oneida County's News Since 1879 Malad City, Idaho
January 15, 2026 | Vol. 146 No. 3
“A Good Listener”: Larry Thomas officially retires from city council
It’s been almost three decades since the city of Malad has had a city council without Larry Thomas on it. Over that time, Thomas has seen a lot of things change in the town around him, though at the typical Malad pace. Right now, that pace is on “post-holiday” setting as far as his store, Thomas Electric and Furniture goes. “After Christmas, everything is pretty slow,” he says, which makes it a great time to sit down with her for a conversation—an “exit interview” if you will. Larry is a storyteller par excellence, and I would have been shocked if his entrance into city politics didn’t have it’s own great inciting incident, like all good stories. “So what happened is,” he says, “Mayor Horsley called me up and wanted me to meet him at the funeral home. And I thought, ‘…okay, is he trying to measure me for a coffin?’” “He said that one of the councilmen was going to resign—I think it was August of 97—it was late summer and that councilman’s term wasn’t up yet, but almost. So I was appointed, but had to run right after, pretty much. I had two months under my belt.” At the time, Thomas described Malad as “pretty slow. “There wasn’t a lot of growth going on in the area. For example, a ‘long’ city council meeting would be two hours, maybe two and a half. That was a long meeting. And now we’ve had some that go to almost eleven thirty at night. It’s hard for me to go home and unwind. It takes me about an hour, and then at 5:15 my alarm goes off for the schoolbus!” Larry Thomas, multitasking even on a Saturday morning! Thomas is nothing if not in for the long haul, and to that end, he has also been driving bus for the school district since January of 1981, and was the same year he graduated from college and basically took up work at Thomas ment. “My grandfather [D. (Daniel) LeRoy Thomas ] was the fourth mayor of Malad, so every meeting I’ve Electric. “I like to be involved!” he laughs. While the media landscape in Malad is largely in the looked across and it’s been neat to see him there. I look realm of cyberspace now, in the late 90s Thomas took an over several times during each meeting. he served from even more lowkey approach. “I think I ran a few ads in 1951-1955.” He wasn’t born during the time of his grandfather’s the paper, and I probably told a few people about it,” he term, but the stories he told stuck with him. In his opinsays, of his campaigning during the first election. He has run and won in every election since then, until ion, the job of mayor is a lot different now than it used to be. “The mayor’s job is so much busier than it used to be. he decided to push his chair out from the table this year. “Almost every year I’ve run for re-election there have Mayor Hawkins puts a lot of time in over there.” He acknowledges that he did consider running for maybeen a few who have run. Of course, a while ago Idaho changed the rules so that if there is no one running op- or when Spence and Debbie Horsely left to serve a misposed, you don’t have to have an election. When I first sion, but says that “What is boils down to is that I didn’t started, cities handled the elections, and they did it right think it was fair to the city to run if I wasn’t going to at city hall. Probably half of my term was done there. have the right amount of time to put into it. The time just And then it was changed to where all the elections were wasn’t there.” Unlike a lot of people, Thomas has a very specific memdone by the state.” Over that time, he has experienced a lot of feedback as ory of what initiated his interest in local government. And a public figure. “I’ve had mixed comments from people, like a lot of people, that inspiration was a school teacher. of course. Some say ‘well, I’m glad you were on there for “It was Joe Davis—he was from Samaria and he was a that vote’ and then others say ‘what were you thinking?’ I U.S. Government teacher and one of my favorite teachers get that quite often. I’ve had some say, ‘are you looking to have more enemies?” LARRY THOMAS On Page 9 Thomas isn’t the first in his family to work in govern-
Little presents “State of State” for Idaho On Monday, Governor Brad Little gave his statutorily required “state of the state and budget” address to the public. From the capitol rotunda, Little acknowledged potential budget strains anticipated this year, vowed to retain levels for education funding and vocational training, and offered continued support for the Trump administration agenda. During the course of the speech, Little noted some of the places where “budget pressures” would likely lead to cuts. The speech initiated the state’s 69th legislative session, which will last until at least late March unless it is extended, as it has been several times over the last few years. Idaho’s two-term governor celebrated the state’s strong economic position and aligned some of Idaho’s positions with Trump administration actions. Idaho remains one of the states in which the president’s approval rating is at a net positive. “Last year, in the Oval Office, I spoke with President Trump about how Idaho exemplifies his vision of America,” Little’s speech stated. “We’re tough on crime. We protect the unborn. We eliminated CRT and DEI, and we led the nation in preventing men from competing in women’s sports. We also talked about how Idaho advances his Talent Strategy for America through Idaho LAUNCH. Together, we are putting the American worker first. Innovative workforce training programs power a modern economy, reinforce America’s competitive dominance over China, and help Idaho workers earn more and afford more.” Budgetary issues dominated the speech. As last year wound down, economic forecasters began projecting a budget deficit of over $500 million for the state in fiscal year 2027. Idaho’s constitution requires a balanced budget, and Little’s address attempted to walk a line between cuts in some areas and retaining promised funding for GOVERNOR On Page 4
Governor Little gave his state of the state speech Monday afternoon.
INSIDE THE ENTERPRISE Student wins state art contest.............Pg. 2 America 250........................................Pg. 3 Puzzles................................................Pg. 6
Looking Back.......................................Pg. 7 The Story of a Saddle..........................Pg. 9 Sports........................................... Pg. 11-12
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NEWS IN BRIEF National toplines
Another too busy week in national and world events keeps 2026 moving forward at lightning speed. In the United States, the story dominating the headlines is the fatal shooting of a protestor in Minneapolis a week ago. Videos of the shooting from different sources have inflamed responses by both authorities and protestors. Protests against the use of deadly force in the incident, as well as the ongoing presence of armed federal troops in U.S. cities, have taken place across the country in the wake of the event. Local police in Minnesota have expressed frustration with the FBI, who they accused of not being forthcoming with investigative materials as the situation evolves. Internationally, protests against the regime in Iran have been growing, with some indication that the U.S. may become involved at some point. This follows reports that President Trump has asked officials to draw up a military plan for the annexation of Greenland, and confusion in messaging about what the next steps are for Venezuela. No official actions have been taken on any of these matters as of press time.
Scott Adams dies of prostate cancer 2026 has already seen a number of high-profile passings. Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic and noted conservative figure, passed away on January 13 from prostate cancer at the age of 68. Author Erich von Daniken, author of “The Chariots of the Gods” and other books, died at the age of 90. Von Daniken was a fixture of speculative history in the 1970s, and his writing kicked off the “UFOs and Ancient Aliens” pop culture theories that have become a part of daily life in the decades since.
Football Roundup It was an amazing weekend for football fans, especially those who love late game comebacks and improbable wins. In the NFC, the Bears manages a stunning 31-27 win over the Packers, which had to be seen to be believed. Ditto for 49ers win over the Eagles 23-19. The Rams took out the Panthers 34-31 as well. With a bye, the Seahawks will take on the lowest remaining seed, the 49ers, next Saturday. The Rams will plan the Bears on Sunday. In the AFC, the Bills won their own thriller over the Jaguars in the final seconds of the game, 27-24. The Patriots took down the Chargers 16-3, and the Texans pounded the Steelers 30-6. The Broncos will play the Bills next Saturday, and the Texas will face off against the Patriots on Sunday. In College football, the Championship game is set between Miami and Indiana, after Miami edged out Ole Miss 31-27 in the Fiesta Bowl, and Indiana lit up Oregon 56-22 in the Peach Bowl. The Championship game is set for January 19.