Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
EXECUTION DRUGS-SECRECY
Prison department updates execution secrecy rules
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho prison officials have updated their administrative rules to ensure secrecy surrounding the source of the state's lethal injection drugs. The rule forbids the Idaho Department of Correction from disclosing information that prison officials believe could jeopardize the ability to carry out an execution. It's not clear what that will mean for a lawsuit brought by a University of Idaho professor who is seeking access to lethal injection documents. A lower court judge has ordered the state to turn over the documents, but prison officials have appealed.
GROENE-OBIT
Steve Groene, father of kids slain by killer, dies at 62
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) — Steve Groene, the father of a northern Idaho family whose children fell prey to serial murderer Joseph Edward Duncan III, has died of at the age of 62. Groene's family members said he died of lung cancer early Monday. Groene was thrust into the public eye in 2005 after Duncan broke into his children's Coeur d'Alene home, killing several members of the family and kidnapping two of the children for several weeks.
ELECTION 2020-COLORADO WOLVES
Colorado initiative would OK reintroducing the gray wolf
DENVER (AP) — Wildlife activists want Colorado voters to decide whether the endangered gray wolf should be reintroduced decades after it disappeared from the state. Backers of a voter initiative delivered thousands of signatures on Tuesday in hopes of getting the proposal on the 2020 ballot. Officials have 30 days to determine if enough signatures are valid to qualify the initiative. The gray wolf has been successfully restored in a number of U.S. states but was hunted to near extinction in Colorado in the 1940s. Colorado ranchers and other interests strongly oppose the initiative, saying it would threaten livestock.
FORMER GOP CHAIRMAN-SENTENCE
Former Idaho GOP chairman gets 14 days in jail, probation
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A judge has sentenced the former chairman of the Idaho Republican Party to 14 days in jail and five years of probation after he pleaded guilty to stalking his estranged wife and entering the home of a female colleague. Authorities say 40-year-old Jonathan Parker entered an Alford plea that allows a defendant to plead guilty without admitting a criminal act. Prosecutors say Parker was also sentenced to 100 hours of community service, received a five-year no-contact order involving the two woman and was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation. He resigned from his GOP position in February.
NORPAC COOPERATIVE FACILITY-BIDS
NORPAC Cooperative facility has competing bids
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — An Idaho agribusiness firm is planning to compete with farm entrepreneur Frank Tiegs to buy the bankrupt NORPAC cooperative’s food processing facility in Quincy, Washington. The Capital Press reports the J.R. Simplot Co. has submitted its own asset purchase agreement to take over the plant for $21.5 million plus the value of its inventory, which is estimated at $72 million. Tiegs previously agreed to buy the Quincy plant as well as NORPAC’s Oregon facilities in Brooks, Salem and Stayton but backed out, citing environmental and regulatory concerns. Last month, Tiegs again made a deal to acquire only the Quincy plant for $21.5 million as well as its inventory for $72 million.
WESTERN GOVERNORS-INVASIVE SPECIES
Western governors form council to target invasive species
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Western governors say states need to work together to stop the spread of invasive species. The Western Governors' Association on Friday launched the Western Invasive Species Council and named representatives from 13 states and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The governors say invasive species are costing the U.S. $120 billion every year and pose a significant threat to Western rangelands and water systems infrastructure. Among the threats are feral swine, invasive annual grasses such as fire-prone cheatgrass, and aquatic quagga and zebra mussels. The governors say invasive species don't recognize state lines, so states need to coordinate activities.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
