In a story from the Coeur d' Alene Press, Gov. Butch Otter told about 250 people at a Republican rally Monday night that in order to save the republic, the states must step up to the plate and balance budgets and follow their respective constitutions.

Otter said it was the states that created the federal government, not the other way around, and that he believes states are "the last great hope (to turn things around)."