Gov. Butch Otter will announce Idaho's next Lieutenant Governor Tuesday. SITTING Lt. Gov. Jim Risch and Democrat Walt Minnick will also be sworn into office this week as the U.S. Congress reconvenes.

Local leaders have long lamented the failure to unite Ada and Canyon County lawmakers. But it's not easy because their districts, particularly on fiscal matters, are sharply different. | GO... &#149 Read national politics news

POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) -- A four-term Democratic state senator from Pocatello plans to skip his second straight legislative session to care for his wife, who is suffering from a serious illness....

When archaeologists and scholars look back at past civilizations, it is not politics or policies that capture their interest; it is art. Throughout history, people have been defining and refining their cultural identity through art — and the cities of the Treasure Valley are no different. One tool that Boise, Meridian, Eagle and Nampa are using to create their own cultural identities is their local arts commissions. Idaho has seen a growth in the arts statewide since 1999. Six cities, including Boise, have adopted "percent for arts" initiatives that ensure public art will be part of any public construction. And since 2002, three new arts commissions have been formed in the Treasure Valley. | GO...

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Monsanto Co., Agrium Inc., and J.R. Simplot Co. will be able to mine phosphate without being forced to restore groundwater beneath their operations to its natural condition, according to a new rule awaiting approval by the 2009 Legislature....

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- U.S. Sen.-elect Jim Risch is adding two longtime aides to his new staff....

Like Barack Obama, Yvonne McCoy of Boise was born to a black father and white mother. In October, she returned to her home state of Virginia to campaign for Obama and experienced a personal and political catharsis. | GO...

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne will reflect on a political career that includes serving as Boise mayor, U.S. senator, Idaho governor and Cabinet member at a City Club of Boise lunch forum Jan. 5.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- They could have sung "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall." They could have engaged in the age-old "I'm rubber and you're glue," debate. Anything, anything at all instead of what those second- and third-graders did on that school bus - chant "Assassinate Obama" after the historic Nov. 4 presidential election....

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- When tax revenue plunged 14 percent six years ago amid an income tax cut and economic slump, then-Gov. Dirk Kempthorne twisted conservative lawmakers' arms in the record 118-day Legislature to win a $160 million sales tax increase to shore up Idaho's budget....