1+ day, 10+ hour ago (862+ words) The goal of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game's captive broodstock project is simple: Enhance the state's kokanee fishing. Soon, 1 million kokanee fingerlings raised in Idaho's hatcheries will begin making their way to state waters as a result of that program, Fish and Game officials said. It's the first batch of kokanee fingerlings produced by adults raised in the facilities and part of an effort to supplement eggs taken from wild fish, said Joe Kozfkay, Fish and Game's state fisheries manager. "The biggest challenge that we have with kokanee is that they're highly cyclical," Kozfkay said. "How do we provide stable kokanee populations with a species that can thrive one year and be gone the next?" Enter the state's captive broodstock project, which is underway and aims to enhance kokanee fishing in Idaho and add stability to the number…...

2+ day, 2+ hour ago (1301+ words) The Idaho Department of Labor on Friday released the full 2025 Profile of Rural Idaho, a comprehensive report examining population growth, migration, industry shifts, and other characteristics of Idaho's rural counties. ANTEIA McCOLLUM/Idaho Capital Sun Over the past two decades, Idaho's rural populations have been aging and struggling with housing affordability, but have also seen declining crime and some increases in educational attainment. The report shows that, while the Gem State has retained the same ratio of rural-to-urban counties over the years, the demographics, economics, crime and opportunities have all changed dramatically." Thirty-five of Idaho's 44 counties are considered rural " defined in the report as a county that does not have a city with at least 20,000 residents." However, amid booming population increases to the state over the past several years, just 28% of Idaho's residents lived in rural counties in 2023, down from…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago (396+ words) Idaho Republican U.S. Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo joined a bi-partisan group of U.S. senators to ask for additional seasonal worker visas." More than 30 senators signed the Nov. 13 letter to heads of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Labor to ask that they release the additional H-2B visas, which allow qualifying employers to hire temporary, non-agricultural workers from other countries. There is a separate program for seasonal agriculture workers, under H-2A." "We write on behalf of the seasonal businesses in our states who lack sufficient employees to support their operations and sustain their businesses," senators wrote to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer." Congress has set a cap of 66,000 per year, split evenly between the first and second halves of the fiscal year. The federal lawmakers asked that the agencies use authority provided to release additional supplemental visas,…...

2+ week, 10+ hour ago (448+ words) A "SNAP welcomed here" sign is seen at the entrance to a Big Lots store in Portland, Oregon. (Getty Images) Idaho health officials expect to have received full SNAP food assistance funding by Friday, and recipients should receive their benefits within 48 hours after that. Amid the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare had paused November benefits for the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Two court challenges against the U.S. Department of Agriculture's decision not to use contingency funding to keep the program running during the shutdown resulted in a USDA directive for states to issue at least partial payments." The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare began providing partial payments Nov. 7, the Idaho Capital Sun reported." The U.S. House on Wednesday night approved a stopgap funding bill that President Donald Trump then…...