This column was first published on Rocky Barker’s “Letters from the West” blog on Dec. 30, 2024. The most significant land conservation act in American history started on a raft trip down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.

Former president Jimmy Carter took a float trip on Idaho's Middle Fork of the Salmon River which inspired him to save millions of acres of Alaska's wilderness.

January 9, 2025 • Former president Jimmy Carter took a float trip on Idaho's Middle Fork of the Salmon River which inspired him to save millions of acres of Alaska's wilderness.

BOISE — Alaska Airlines is continuing its expansion of non-stop destinations out of Boise with service to Orlando, Florida.

We will see mostly sunny skies after scattered morning fog. The high will be near 40 on Thursday. Tonight we will see clear skies and lows in the mid-20s.

Getting to Disney World is now a little easier, thanks to a new seasonal non-stop flight from Alaska Airlines.

According to a brief Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, 9 million acres of Idaho land managed by the Bureau of Land Management could be affected.

The minimum wage will increase in nearly half the states this year even as the federal wage floor remains stuck at $7.25 per hour. In many states, the minimum wage is automatically adjusted upward as inflation rises.

At least 30 governors have now ordered flags to be flown at full-staff on Inauguration Day, raising flags before the end of the mourning period for Jimmy Carter.

As president, Trump can take the action to rename the body of water, although other countries don’t have to adopt the new name.

And in 2023, according to the latest U.S. Forest Service data, 12 counties in Alaska received $12.6 million; 34 counties in Idaho got $25 million; 32 counties in Montana received $16 million ...

New state laws taking effect this month aim to confront the nation’s ongoing housing crisis in various ways, from expanding housing options, to speeding up the development process, to protecting struggling tenants from eviction. Similar bills are in store for this year’s legislative sessions.