The Courier
NEWS Redistricting Plan Approved
Last November the Reapportionment Commission voted unanimously to adopt Plan L03. After filing its final report with the Secretary of State, the Commission adjourned. As was expected, multiple petitions challenging the constitutionality of this plan were filed with Idaho Supreme Court. To expidite the process, these petitions were consolidated into one case - Durst v. Idaho Commission for Reapportionment. On January 27, 2022, the Idaho Supreme Court unanimously upheld the redistricting Plan L03. There is still a decision to be made on challenges to the Congressional District plan. Camas County and Gooding County will now be in Legislative District 24 along with rural Twin Falls County which includes Buhl, Filer, Castleford, Hansen, Murtaugh, Hollister, and Kimberly. Blaine County and Total Legislative Lincoln County will District Populations: remain in Dist. 24 - 53,121 Legislative Dist. 26 - 53.636 District 26 with the addition of Jerome County. These district boundary changes will affect political races most significantly in District 26 with Blaine County (generally Democrat) and Jerome County (generally Republican) being roughly equal in population, and Lincoln County inbetween both. With a population of over 36,000, Rural Twin Falls County will be nearly 70% of District 24. With these changes now in place and state wide filing dates begining February 28th, legislative candidates will be making their official announcements.
Preliminary Work Begins on U.S. Highway 93 in Jerome County
Work is expected to begin Tuesday, February 1, on U.S. Highway 93 east of Jerome. Construction of new lanes will begin north of the State Highway 25 intersection, and continue south past 100 S Road (approximately 2 miles). This is part of the ongoing US-93 widening effort, which will see the highway transition from two lanes of travel to four to increase mobility and safety in the area. “The initial phase of this project will take place over the coming month and involve work off continued on page 6... of the highway,” said ITD South-central Idaho Project Manager...
News from the Heart of Idaho Camas • Lincoln • Gooding
February 2, 2022
Vol 46 Num 5
SVSEF & Soldier Mountain
Partner with Downhill Speed Projects
by Tony Harrison In the coming two weeks, Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation and Soldier Mountain will co-host the first-ever Intermountain Division U14 Speed Project Jan. 31-Feb. 2 and the U16, International Federation of Skiing, and Masters Speed Project Feb. 7-9 at Soldier Mountain. The events will conclude with an alpine downhill race for U.S. Ski & Snowboard Masters on Wednesday Feb. 9. Seventy U14 junior athletes will be traveling to Soldier Mountain for the U14 Speed Project from across the Intermountain Division, including Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming. The 30 athletes in the U16/FIS Speed Project are members of the SVSEF Alpine Teams and currently 26 Masters athletes will come from the Far West, Intermountain, Rocky Mountain, and Pacific Northwest divisions, including California, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, to take part in the speed training and race. "Working with the team at Soldier Mountain to build specific terrain and features, and to develop the downhill track for different age groups and terrain-based learning is an amazing opportunity," Will Brandenburg, SVSEF Alpine Program Director and former member of the U.S. Ski Team, said. "The ability for us to collectively build a safe and reliable place to train and race speed in the United States could be a game changer in this sport." Currently in the United States, there are only a handful of venues that build speed tracks for alpine downhill training. Access to train at these bigger resort venues is limited to pre-season and late ski season in places like Copper Mountain, Colo., and Mammoth Mountain, Calif.; and pared down even more so at venues like Aspen, Colo., and Schweitzer, Idaho, where training is typically limited to their race weeks. Venues outside of major ski resorts will be key for this speed discipline of the sport to flourish because of the vast terrain and vertical required to be closed to the general public for liability purposes, and the willingness of the venues to create highly precise terrain builds for the safety of the athletes. "We want to welcome camps and... continued on page 3...