Here is the latest Idaho news from The Associated Press at 9:40 p.m. MDT


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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho lawmakers are moving quickly to bolster the state's ability to fight the new coronavirus. The Senate voted 35-0 Wednesday to approve a request from Republican Gov. Brad Little for $2 million to go into an emergency fund for use around the state. Some of the money will be used by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to test for the virus. The legislation now goes to the House. Republican Sen. Steve Bair told senators that an expected $4 million in federal funds is more than a month away. No one in Idaho has tested positive for the virus so far.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A popular Boise, Idaho, music festival has been postponed until September amid growing concerns about the coronavirus outbreak. Treefort Music Fest attracts crowds of more than 20,000 people each spring. This year more than 400 artists and bands were in the lineup for the week-long festival originally scheduled to begin March 25. Treefort organizers made the announcement Wednesday. State health officials say Idaho has no confirmed cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. The announcement comes the same day the World Health Organization declared the illness a global pandemic.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A state report says people in Washington state remain sharply divided on whether four federal hydroelectric dams along the Snake River should be removed to help endangered salmon runs recover. The report says the dams bring benefits and liabilities to the region, and there is no clear consensus in the state on whether they should be retained. The Legislature last spring appropriated $750,000 to study the dams, which are blamed by many for declining salmon runs in the Columbia-Snake river system. The salmon are a key food source for killer whales, which are endangered. The report is intended to help state lawmakers respond to a federal review of the dams.

GRANGEVILLE, Idaho (AP) — Two sisters from north-central Idaho pleaded guilty to amended chargings in a murder-for-hire scheme after trying to hire an undercover deputy to kill their neighbor. The Lewiston Tribune reported that the charges for 51-year-old Debra Wensman and 46-year-old Doris Wensman were amended from the original charges of criminal solicitation to commit a crime to assault with intent to commit a serious felony. Debra Wensman and her attorney John R. Korman and Doris Wensman and her attorney Charles F. Peterson agreed to a plea agreement in January. The Wensman sisters are scheduled for sentencing in May. The pair could face up to 10 years in prison.

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