Policy

City In Southeast Idaho May Be In Hot Water After Years Of Noncompliance With State Controller

By Eireann Van Natta

August 13, 2026

The City of Lava Hot Springs may be in hot water with the state of Idaho after its repeated noncompliance with transparency and auditing requirements, according to documents obtained by Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF). For tourists seeking natural hot springs and an Olympic swimming complex, the city in Bannock County is a prime destination. Taxpayers […]

TAGS: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025, 8 Years, Alleging, Annual Appropriation Bill, Annual Audits, Auditing, Bannock County, Bannock County Commissioner Jeff Hough, Bannock County Commissioners, Budget, City, Compliance Status, County, Data Transfer, Destination, Documents, Fees, Financial Data, Financial Penalties, Fiscal Year, Fred Birnbaum, Full Compliance, FY, FY2021, House Bill 73, Idaho, Idaho Code § 67-1076, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho politics, Idaho State Tax Commission, IFF, ISTC, Lava Hot Springs, Lava Hot Springs City Clerk Amantha Sierra, Lava Hot Springs Foundation, Legislative Services Office, Local Governing Entities, local government, Local Government Registry, LSO, Natural Hot Springs, Non-Taxing Entities, Noncompliance, Noncompliance Letters, Not Compliant, Notice, Obtained, Olympic Swimming Complex, Outstanding Obligations, Public Notices, Public Records Request, Quarterly Distribution, Registry Years, Requirements, SCO, Special Audit, Special Districts, State Controller, State Controller’s Office, State Tax Commission, Statutes, Taxing Districts, taxpayers, Tourists, transparency, Transparent Idaho, Withheld Tax Revenue

CARE, CUSTODY, AND CONTROL: Your God-given Parental Rights and Idaho Law

By Sarah Clendenon

August 12, 2026

God entrusted you with your children. You are the expert on your children. Your children do not belong to the schools, the doctors, the state, or any governmental entity. Your children are your responsibility. Directing the upbringing, care, education, health, and wellbeing of your children is your fundamental right. Idaho gets some of these protections […]

TAGS: 16%, 1925, 1972, 2000, 2025, 2027 Legislative Session, abolish, Additional Obligations, Affirmed, Alan Phillips, American Tradition, Care, Child, Child Protection, Child Protective Services, Child Removals, Childhood Vaccine Exemptions, Children, College Vaccine Exemptions, Constitution, Control, CPS, Custody, Direct, Director of Policy, Due Process, Duty, Education, Family Courts, Federal Funds, Health Care, Highest School Exemption Rate, Homeschool, homeschooling, House Bill 808, Idaho, Idaho Code, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho legislature, Idaho Medical Freedom Act, Idaho Parental Rights Act, Incentivizing, Incrementally, Infants, Justice McReynolds, Justice O’Connor, Kid, Legal Protections, Legalized Kidnapping, Litigated, Medical Decision Making, medical exemption, medical kidnapping, Minor Child, Newborn Testing Requirements, Ninth Amendment, North Carolina, Notification Language, Nurture, Ordered Liberty, Parental Rights, Parents, Philosophical Exemption, Pierce v. Society of Sisters, Prepare, Rachel Hazelip, Recognize, religious exemption, Responsibility, School Choice Tax Credit, SCOTUS, State, State Funds, Statistics, Statutory Language, System of Profit, Teens, Toddlers, Toxel v. Granville, unalienable rights, Upbringing, US Supreme Court, Vaccine Opt-Out, Vaccine Reporting Requirements, Welfare, Wellbeing, Wisconsin v. Yoder

State Revenues Exceeded Forecast Despite Tax Cuts

By Fred Birnbaum

August 6, 2026

You’ve probably seen the video clips of big spenders at the Idaho legislature complaining about how recent income tax cuts have squeezed revenues to the state to the point where necessary programs are under pressure from cutbacks. Well, after the robust spending growth we have documented since the COVID spending splurge began, we certainly hope […]

TAGS: $155 Million, $174 Million, $327 Million, $5.512 Billion, 2026, 3%, 6%, Act, Attract, Big Beautiful Bill, Business, California, Conformity, COVID, Cutbacks, Cuts, Dynamic Effects, Earnings, Economic Growth, Economy, Finances, Florida, Forecast, FY26, Governor Brad Little, Governor’s Forecast, Idaho, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho legislature, IFF, Income Tax, July 1, June 30, Legislature’s Forecast, Money, New York, No Tax On Tips, No Tax On Tips Or Overtime, People, Productive, Programs, Republican, Revenues, Spending, State, State Fiscal Year, State Legislature, tax, tax cuts, Taxes, Texas, Trump, Trump Tax Cuts, Wages

People vs. Poison: Monsanto Wins

By Ronald M. Nate, Ph.D.

August 4, 2026

Monsanto (a division of Bayer Global) makes Roundup weed killer. Over the past few years, their bigwig attorneys have doled out campaign money and favors to win over Idaho politicians so they could get a liability-immunity (for harm allegedly caused by the Roundup herbicide) bill in Idaho. Idaho Freedom Foundation stopped them at every turn […]

TAGS: $10000, $50000, 2024, 7-2 Decision, Allegedly, Attorneys, Bayer Global, Bill, Bill Rating, Campaign Financing, Campaign Money, Change, Committee Chair’s Drawer, Corporate Protectionism, COVID, Farmer, Favors, Germany, Glyphosate, Glyphosate-Based, Groundskeeper, Herbicide, Idaho, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho politics, Idaho Prosperity Fund, IFF, Immunity, John Durnell, Liability, Liability-Immunity, Missouri, Monsanto, Monsanto v Durnell, Neighborhood, PAC, Palatable, People Versus Poison, Pharmaceutical, Responsibility, Rising PAC, Roundout, San Francisco, SCOTUS, Texas, US Supreme Court

The Cost of Silencing Medical Dissent

By Dr. John Livingston

July 30, 2026

Anthony Fauci became the public face of America’s COVID response, and for many citizens he also became the face of coercive government. He projected calm certainty, but that calm often masked a deeper problem: the transformation of public health into personal authority, political theater, and institutional self-protection rather than a disciplined application of science and […]

TAGS: Administrative Chains of Command, Anthony Fauci, Bureaucracy, Citizens, COVID, COVID-19, Credentialed, Debate, Doctor Fauci, Doctor Ryan Cole, Experts, Families, Final Authority, Georgetown University, government, Government Officials, Governor Brad Little, Hierarchy, Hospitals, Humility, Idaho, Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho politics, IFF, Independence, Industry, Influence, Institutions, Isolation, Lockdowns, Mayo Clinic, Medical, medical freedom, Medicine, Mitigation Strategies, Multimillion-Dollar Compensation, Neutrality, Nursing Facilities, Nursing Homes, Official Narratives, Orthodoxy, Patients, Policy, Protocol, Public Apology, Public Good, Public Health Personalities, Restitution, Ryan Cole, School Closures, Science, Settled Science, Small Businesses, State Board of Medicine, State of Washington, Title, transparency, Treatment Protocols, Trust, Vaccine, Virology

“Big Brother” City Council Postpones Alcohol Ordinance Vote After Online Outrage

By Eireann Van Natta

July 30, 2026

Idaho Falls was preparing to vote on a contentious alcohol ordinance on July 9, but after a councilman criticized it on Facebook, and Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) reported on the proposal, the city postponed the vote. The council claimed it was postponed so members of the public could express their views, according to East Idaho […]

TAGS: Accessible, Agenda Center, Alcohol, Approved Server Training Program, Backlash, Beer, Big Brother, Bureaucracy, Business, Business Owners, Businesses, Cider, City Council, City Council President, Community Members, Concerns, Contentious Proposals, Councilman, Councilman John Radford, Distrust, East Idaho News, Facebook, Fast-Track, Fast-Tracking, Felony, Hot Topic, Idaho, Idaho Falls, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho politics, IFF, Jim Francis, Landlords, Liquor, Local, local government, Mayor, Meeting, Minutes, Misdemeanor, Misinformation, Online, Opinions, Ordinance, Outrage, Postpone, private property rights, Public Comment, Renters, Report, Residents, Social Media, Solution, transparency, Violations, Vote, Wine

Heroes Needed, Heroes Helped

By Ronald M. Nate, Ph.D.

July 28, 2026

In a world marked by violence and killing, it would be nice to see more heroism, writes Ronald M. Nate, Ph.D. Idaho has many heroes, and here’s the remarkable thing about the heroes I’m writing about today: heroism begets more heroism. Unexpected and unwanted pregnancies are an opportunity for some Idaho heroes to help mothers-to-be […]

TAGS: 1972, 2600 Family Care Centers in US, Abortion Centers, adoption, Babies, Baby, Birth, Birthright Idaho, Blessings, Born, British, British Crown, Care, Circumstances, Clothes, Compassion, Consent, Contraception, Contribute, Culture Of Freedom, Death, Dobbs, Dobbs Decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Election, Equipment, Extreme, Families, Family Care Centers, Food, Future, General Election, Girls, Google, Hardships, Harvey Andrews, Hero, Heroes, Hope Center, Housing, Housing Assistance, Idaho, Idaho Family, Idaho Freedom Foundation, IFF, Initiative, Innocent, Inspire, Institutions, Irish Civilians, legalize abortion, LifeLine, Measure, Michael Willetts, Minor Girls, Mom-To-Be, Mothers, Mothers-To-Be, Myth, Needs, November, Organizations, Parents, Postnatal, Pregnancies, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Centers, Pregnant, Prenatal, pro-life, Prop 1, Proposition 1, Religious, Reluctant hero, Roe v. Wade, Roman Catholic Diocese, Sacrifice, SCOTUS, Services, Stanton Wellness, Supplies, Support, Supreme Court, Teens, The Soldier, Trauma, Traumatized, Treasure Valley Path, Truth, Unborn, Unexpectant, Unwanted, WeCareIdaho, Women

The Bureaucrats Are First at the Trough: How the Rural Health Transformation Fund Kicks Off With Millions in Grants for Administrators

By Brett Farruggia

July 23, 2026

The first three subgrant opportunities from the federal government’s Rural Health Transformation Fund have been posted. The three grant opportunities are just the first drops of funding in what will ultimately amount to nearly a billion dollars in debt-financed federal money coming into Idaho’s health care system. These funds, part of a five-year, billion-dollar scheme, […]

TAGS: 1200000 Dollars, 1300000 Dollars, 2000000 Dollars, 2400000 Dollars, 66000000 Dollars, Administer, Administration, Administration Apparatus, Administrators, Billion Dollars, Bonus, Bonuses, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Child, Complex Reporting, Contractors, Cost Reasonableness, Dashboard, Data Analytics and Outcome Evaluation Grant, Debt, Debt-Financed, Disburse, Doctors, Emergency Readiness, Federal Control, Federal Government, Federal Grant Compliance, Federal Money, Funding, government spending, Grant, Health Care System, Healthcare, Heath Care, Hospitals, Idaho, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho politics, Inefficient, Initiative, Legislature, Maternal, Obstetrics, Opportunities, Overcompensated Government Consultants, Oversight, Paychecks, Performance Metrics, Perinatal Quality Collaborative, PQC, Project Goals, Project Management, Projects, Recruitment, Reporting, Requirements, Researchers, Retention, Rural Facility Renovation, Rural Health Transformation Fund, Self-Imposed, Services, State Tax Dollars, Subcontractors, Subgrant, Track Outcomes, Wasteful

Spy Cameras Are Flocking To Idaho – Your City Could Be Next

By Eireann Van Natta

July 21, 2026

Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) are sweeping across Idaho and prompting fears that the Gem State may soon become another surveillance state. Some residents, however, are pushing back against police departments using a private company to collect data on Idahoans’ vehicles. Flock cameras, a technology from the Georgia-based Flock Safety company, are ostensibly used to […]

TAGS: +2, $378000, $480000, 100000 Flock Cameras, 2023, 2025, ALPR, Artificial Intelligence, Automated Licence Plate Readers, City Attorney’s Office, City Council, City Council Members, City of Caldwell, Coeur d’Alene, Collection, Combat Crime, Corruption, COVID-19, Customer Data, Data, DeFlock, Dragnet, FISA, Flock, Flock Cameras, Flock Safety, Flock Transparency Portal, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, General Location, Georgia, government spending, Idaho, Idaho Code § 49-1432, Idaho Freedom Foundation, IFF, Irrevocable, Law Enforcement, Legislature, License Plate Numbers, Limited, Machine Learning, Meridian Police Department, Monitor, Motion-Activated, Nampa, People, Per Year, Pocatello Police Department, Police Departments, Positive Rating, Privacy, Privacy Safeguard, Private Company, Proliferation, Proper Oversight, Public and Private Partnership, Royalty-Free, Safeguards, Schools, Senate Bill 1180, State Code, Surveillance State, Tax Dollars, Tort Claims, Twin Falls, Twin Falls Police Department, Tyler Cain, Unanimous Vote, Vehicle Information, Vehicles, Waste, Wilder, Wilder Police Department Chief

BREAKING: DHS Confirm Identity of Alleged Suspect in Boise Greenbelt Assault as Illegal Alien

By Eireann Van Natta

July 16, 2026

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to Idaho Freedom Foundation Wednesday that the suspect in the Boise Greenbelt assault and kidnapping case is an illegal alien from Mexico. “Javier Ortiz-Galvan is an alien from Mexico charged with aggravated assault and second-degree kidnapping. He entered the United States illegally at an unknown date and time […]

TAGS: 1 Million Dollar, 287(c) Agreement, 911, Ada County Sheriff, Ada County Sheriff's Office, Agency, Aggravated Assault, Assault, Authority, Biden Administration, Boise, Boise Greenbelt, Boise Mayor, Bond, Department of Homeland Security, DHS, DHS Spokesperson, Female Victim, Flag Poles, Green Card, ICE, Idaho, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho politics, IFF, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Immigration Status, Javier Ortiz-Galvan, Javier Ortiz-Galvin, Kidnapping, Mayor Lauren McLean, Mexico, Ontario Oregon, Oversight, Physically Assaulted, press release, Privilege, Residents, Revoke, Right, Sheriff Matt Clifford, Statement

The Ratchet Only Goes One Way: Boise’s Ever Increasing Property Taxes

By Brett Farruggia

July 14, 2026

A brief history of Boise property taxes reveals only one trend: they are increasing. Property taxes have increased every fiscal year since FY21. The only reason FY21 was spared was due to pandemic-era funding from state and federal sources. In FY22, the base increase was 3%, in FY23 it was 2.45%, and in FY24 it […]

TAGS: $11 Million Tax Hike, $2 Million, $25000, $400000, 1% Additional, 2001, 2015, 3% Maximum, Ban, Boise, Boise Chinese Community, Capital Fund, Development Fee, Erma Hayman House, Federal Sources, Firefighters, Fiscal Restraint, Flagpoles, Forgone Taxes, Forgone-Tax Provision, FY21, FY22, FY23, H842, H959, Idaho, Idaho Freedom Foundation, New Librarian, New Zoo Employee, Open-Space Levy, Pandemic-Era Funding, Percent For The Arts Initiative, Planning and Development Services, Pride, Pride Decals, Property Taxes, SAFER Grant, State Legislature, State Sources, Tax Authority, Whitney Pool, Wraps

PRESS RELEASE: ABORTION INITIATIVE IS ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT

By Idaho Freedom Foundation staff

July 13, 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BOISE, Idaho–Today, Idaho Freedom Foundation President Ron Nate released the following statement after a radical abortion initiative qualified for Idaho’s November ballot: "There is no issue more important to me, or to Idaho Freedom Foundation, than the sanctity of life. Every right, privilege, and duty of citizenship flows from our most fundamental […]

TAGS: 2026, 2026 Idaho ballot initiative, Abortion, Abortion on Demand, Abortionists, Babies, Ballot, ballot initiative, California, California-Style Abortion, Citizenship, Dobb's Decision, Future Generations, Housing Regulations, Idaho, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho politics, IFF, Minors, Minors without parental Consent, Moment of Birth, New York, November, Parental Consent, Planned Parenthood, Prior Law, Right to Life, Right to live, Roe v. Wade, sanctity of life, Special Circumstances, Supreme Court, Tax Policy

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City In Southeast Idaho May Be In Hot Water After Years Of Noncompliance With State Controller

CARE, CUSTODY, AND CONTROL: Your God-given Parental Rights and Idaho Law

State Revenues Exceeded Forecast Despite Tax Cuts

People vs. Poison: Monsanto Wins

The Cost of Silencing Medical Dissent

“Big Brother” City Council Postpones Alcohol Ordinance Vote After Online Outrage

Heroes Needed, Heroes Helped

The Bureaucrats Are First at the Trough: How the Rural Health Transformation Fund Kicks Off With Millions in Grants for Administrators

Spy Cameras Are Flocking To Idaho – Your City Could Be Next

BREAKING: DHS Confirm Identity of Alleged Suspect in Boise Greenbelt Assault as Illegal Alien

The Ratchet Only Goes One Way: Boise’s Ever Increasing Property Taxes

PRESS RELEASE: ABORTION INITIATIVE IS ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT

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