The Idaho Way: Secrecy of Kohberger grand jury keeps the community in the dark
By Scott McIntosh, opinion editor
The Idaho Way is a weekly roundup of opinions, commentary and letters to the editor to encourage conversation on topics important to Idahoans. If you like this newsletter, forward to a friend, and they can sign up here.
From Day One, information about the killings of four University of Idaho students last November has been lacking, and community members have been misled or kept in the dark.
The vacuum created by a lack of public information led to wild speculation and rumors, doing further damage to the victims and their families.
Even after the arrest of Bryan Kohberger in December, the dearth of information continued. The judge in the case issued a broad gag order, leaving more questions unanswered.
To make matters worse, we learned this week that prosecutors used a grand jury, a secret process, to indict Kohberger.
Read our full editorial here on why a preliminary hearing would have been better.
University of Idaho Phoenix
The Idaho State Board of Education made a stunning announcement Wednesday afternoon: The following day, it would “consider a proposal by the University of Idaho to create a not-for-profit entity to acquire the University of Phoenix.” The proposal was listed as an action item, meaning with almost no public debate, the board could act Thursday.
Lori Vallow Daybell verdict
Justice prevailed last week.
An Idaho jury unanimously found Lori Vallow Daybell guilty of the murders of her children, Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow, grand theft, as well as conspiring to murder Tammy Daybell, the late wife of her husband and accused co-conspirator, Chad Daybell.
United Methodist Church update
The number of churches leaving the United Methodist Church is mounting. Churches in the Pacific Northwest can now be added to the totals after two special sessions this month.
In all, four churches in Idaho, one church in Oregon and 11 churches in Washington are leaving the United Methodist Church over the issue of homosexuality. The Oregon-Idaho Conference, which includes Southern Idaho and all of Oregon, and the Pacific Northwest Conference, which includes Washington and North Idaho, held special sessions to hear requests from churches seeking to disaffiliate with the United Methodist Church.
Read my full column here to see which four Idaho churches are leaving.
Fentanyl and the border
Idaho Gov. Brad Little marked National Fentanyl Awareness Day this month with a trip to Kuna to warn kids about the dangers of fentanyl use. This is a good effort, as is the state’s anti-drug campaign, “Fentanyl Takes All,” which highlights how deadly fentanyl can be.
Unfortunately, Little this legislative session signed a terrible bill that limits who can get free naloxone kits, likely leading to more overdose and poisoning deaths.
Little also trips up on another key initiative. Little announced he was going to travel to the Texas-Mexico border again and needlessly deploy a team of Idaho State Police personnel to assist the state of Texas on a monthlong mission for drug and fentanyl interdiction efforts at the border.
Read my full column here on why “illegal border crossings” is looking in the wrong place.
Ranked choice voting
We’ve been having quite a bit of dialogue on the opinion page about ranked choice voting and open primaries, a subject of a new proposed citizens initiative in Idaho.
Here are some of the opinions we’ve run this month:
“Tired of the clown show that is Idaho politics? Here’s a way to fix it,” by Idaho Statesman opinion writer Bryan Clark.
“Here are five compelling reasons ranked choice voting is a bad idea for Idaho,” by Chris Cargill, of the Mountain States Policy Center.
“Mountain States Policy Center misleads public about ranked-choice voting in Idaho,” by George Moses.
“Primary initiative isn’t just for liberals. Here’s why conservatives should support it,” by Adam Graham.
“Idaho AG Labrador must appoint outside counsel on primary initiative. He has a conflict,” by Bryan Clark.
I’m listening
Send me your story ideas, news tips, questions, comments, or anything else on your mind. You can reach me via email at smcintosh@idahostatesman.com.
Find me on social media:
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What you’re saying
This week, we received letters to the editor on ranked choice voting, thanks for the Lori Vallow Daybell trial, the Maternal Mortality Review Committee and the Boise mayor’s security detail. You can read these and more letters by clicking here.
You can submit a letter to the editor or guest opinion by clicking here.
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