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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Gov. Brad Little has issued a statewide stay-at-home order as the coronavirus continues to spread. Little announced the order Wednesday and said it will remain in effect for 21 days. Idaho has more than 91 confirmed cases of COVID-19 spread throughout the state. The governor also issued a new “extreme emergency” declaration for the state, a step he said would allow him to take additional steps to expand the capacity of Idaho's health care system.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Whistleblower lawsuits against Idaho will be limited to $370,000 in non-economic damages under legislation signed into law by Gov. Brad Little. The Republican governor on Tuesday signed the bill that has no limit for economic damages. Economic damages can include loss of income and legal fees. Non-economic damages include such things as pain and suffering, and emotional distress. The measure follows a whistleblower lawsuit the State Police settled in 2019 for $1.29 million. In that case, a whistleblower claimed police retaliated against him because he testified against another officer in a court hearing. Backers of the legislation say the limits on non-economic damages protect Idaho taxpayers.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed into law legislation setting 16 as the minimum age for a person to get married. The Republican governor on Tuesday signed the bill that also limits the marriages of 16- and 17-year-olds to someone not more than three years older. Backers say the legislation is needed to prevent forced or coerced marriages of young girls to much older men. A similar bill failed in the House last year that required a judge to sign off on someone marrying at 16 or 17. The new legislation only requires parental consent.
DUFUR, Ore. (AP) — The pandemic's toll in big cities like New York, Seattle and San Francisco has dominated headlines, but large swaths of rural America are also deeply affected. Tiny towns tucked into Oregon's windswept plains or on Alaska's arctic tundra might not have a single case of the new coronavirus yet, but these small communities are still wary. They fear the spread of the disease to areas with scarce medical resources, the social isolation that comes when the only diner in town closes its doors and the economic free fall that's hitting hard in places where jobs were already hard to come by.
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