Gov. Butch Otter and other past Republican officials sign open primaries initiative

C.L. "Butch" and Lori Otter publicly signed onto the Idahoans for Open Primaries petition this week, but not before openly criticizing current Republican leadership.

“I expect the other side to say ‘those are a bunch of ‘has-beens.’ Well, I’m a has-been, but I’d rather be a has-been than a wanna-be,” the former governor said.

It did not take long for the current leaders of the Idaho Republican Party to fire back.

“The overlap between the so-called Republicans who are endorsing the ranked choice voting initiative and those who supported the Democrat candidate in last year’s race for Attorney General is indeed noteworthy. You have to ask yourself who Otter, Jim Jones, and their friends really represent," the party said in a statement after the announcement.

Lawsuit filed over lack of medical exemptions in abortion laws

A new lawsuit filed over the lack of medical exemptions in Idaho’s abortion law names four women who couldn’t get treatment and had to leave the state to seek medical abortion. Each of them wanted their pregnancies, but had severe life-threatening medical complications.

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The Ongoing Dispute at NIC

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Coeur d’Alene Press reporter Kaye Thornbrugh joins producer Ruth Brown this week to discuss the ongoing dispute between the board of trustees and the president at North Idaho College, and where it sits against the backdrop of NIC’s accreditation review.

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Choking death reported at state treatment center

On Aug. 6, a patient at the Southwest Idaho Treatment Center, commonly called SWITC, began choking while eating an orange. Staff administered the Heimlich maneuver and CPR until an ambulance arrived.

The patient was transported to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise where he died after being taken off life support on Aug. 10. The patient’s name could not be released, but IDHW characterized him as a “middle-aged” man.

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