Wednesday 022223

The House State Affairs Committee introduced a bill yesterday to prohibit the use of ranked choice voting and instant runoff voting in Idaho.  In ranked choice voting, rather than holding a runoff election between the candidates with the highest votes, voters rank candidates in order of their preference, and the lowest vote earners are eliminated in rounds until one candidate earns a majority.

The Idaho Senate passed a resolution that directs the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to work on a statewide planning, coordination and funding system for emergency medical services.  Currently, Idaho does not designate EMS as an essential service and therefore is not required to provide state funding. Funding for EMS agencies varies widely between counties.

The Twin Falls fire department made quick work of a fire that broke out in a home Monday night.  It was discovered that the fire in the 1900 block of Poplar Avenue started from hot ashes and coals from a wood stove being thrown into a plastic waste basket - and left unattended.  Fire officials credit new smoke and carbon monoxide detectors tied to an alarm to a monitoring service for helping save the home from any serious damage.

Idaho’s employment growth continues – at least for the near future according to information from the Idaho department of labor.  Total employment in Idaho reached a new high of just over 854,000 in 2022; and is projected to grow by 1.4% annually, reaching 878,000 by next year.  The growth is expected to continue over the next two years.

A 36 year old man from Salmon was arrested earlier this week on a felony drug arrest in Blaine County.  Donald James Owens was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of less than three ounces of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Cassia County commissioners have taken a proposed zoning amendment under advisement following a hearing yesterday.  Most of the testimony concerned a change regarding the county’s zoning chart and removing the zoning administrator’s authority to interpret the chart when uses are not specifically mentioned.

SPORTS

The boys’ basketball district games grind on.  Yesterday in 4A action, Mountain Home sent Canyon Ridge home for the season with a 48 to 35 score.  In 1AD2 action, Richfield ended Dietrich’s season in an overtime game.  The score 82 to 76.  In 1AD1 play, Lighthouse Christian’s season ended after Valley took the win 54 to 48. 

Today, in 4A pay, #3 ranked Minico travels to Twin Falls to play the #1 ranked Bruins.  The winner will head to state.  Game time is 6pm.  Elsewhere Mountain Home will be in Jerome to play #2 Jerome with the looser out and #1 ranked Kimberly Play #2 ranked Buhl in Buhl at 7pm. 

The College of Southern Idaho Eagle basketball teams remain solid in the NJCAA rankings that were  released yesterday.  For the men they remain number 1 for the fifth straight week.  The women are 4^th ranked in the nation.  The CSI women (26-2), meanwhile, haven’t lost in two months, a stretch of 14 games.  South Georgia Tech held down No. 1 in the women’s rankings for the sixth consecutive week, followed by Eastern Florida State and Blinn College of Texas. By winning the regular-season titles, the Golden Eagles will host the Region 18 tournaments. The four-team men’s tourney will be March 2-3, with the women’s tourney a week later on March 9-10.

WEATHER

Wednesday:  A 30 percent chance of snow showers, mainly after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31. West wind 13 to 17 mph. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Wednesday Night:  A 40 percent chance of snow showers, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 13. Wind chill values between -5 and 5. Blustery, with an east northeast wind 13 to 18 mph increasing to 19 to 24 mph after midnight. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

 

Thursday:  A 20 percent chance of snow showers before 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 31. Wind chill values between -6 and 4. Blustery, with an east northeast wind 13 to 22 mph.

Thursday Night:  A 10 percent chance of snow showers before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 17. East northeast wind 13 to 15 mph.

 

Friday:  Mostly sunny, with a high near 39.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22.

 

Saturday:  Sunny, with a high near 41.

Saturday Night:  Mostly clear, with a low around 23.

 

Sunday:  A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 41.

Sunday Night:  A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23.

 

Monday:  Mostly cloudy, with a high near 41.

Monday Night:  A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29.

 

Tuesday:  A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 41.