Vandals are flocking back to campus this week as we near the beginning of the fall semester. While the numbers aren’t out yet, UI says that enrollment is looking good for the fall, with housing at 92% capacity. With renovations on the top three floors of Theophilus Tower completed and more to come in Wallace Residence Center, students can look forward to an elevated experience this year.
New Student Orientation is up first,
but events aren’t limited to just new Vandals, as UI has plenty of family and returning student programming. The Week of Welcome begins with the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 25, and extends through Saturday, Aug. 30.
The Great Game Scavenger Hunt (Wednesday, Aug. 20-Sunday, Aug. 31)
Blueprints for the new statue of Joe Vandal have been stolen! You and your team of up to eight will travel to 10 locations around campus and solve puzzles to find them. Teams that complete the hunt will be entered into a drawing for $50 VandalStore gift cards for each member and two students will win a Nintendo Switch 2. Download the Great Game app and complete
the scavenger hunt before 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 31.
Repurpose the Purge (Thursday, Aug. 21)
Grab free, gently used dorm essentials from the Administration Lawn from 3-7 p.m. Each student can choose up to four items.
Family Send-Off
(Thursday, Aug. 21)
Celebrate the beginning of a new chapter at 3:15-4 p.m. on the Administration Lawn. Students and families can participate in the traditional Vandal Family “V” photo.
Sip and Sculpt with the Advising Team (Thursday, Aug. 21)
Grab a free soda from the Soda Spout and join UI’s academic advisors at the ISUB Plaza to craft a clay figure
from 4-5:30 p.m.
Target Shopping (Thursday, Aug. 21)
Experience a students-only night at Target from 10-11:30 p.m. Enjoy time with fellow Vandals, play games and win prizes. Free transportation will be available around campus.
Palousafest (Saturday, Aug. 23)
Browse hundreds of student groups, campus departments, local businesses and organizations in UI’s signature street fair. From 5:30-7:30 p.m., groups will line 6th Street and the Theophilus Tower Lawn. Learn how to become involved with the Palouse community.
Football ramps up for Battle of the Palouse
24-7 in the remainder of the game, giving Washington State University their 10th consecutive victory over the Vandals on Sept. 3, 2022. The streak dates back to August 30, 2001. Exactly 24 years after the first of
Vandal Kick-Off (Sunday, Aug. 24)
Meet at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome at 3 p.m. for the “I” photo before engaging in the traditional walk toward the Administration Building. Later, enjoy a Welcome Barbecue from 4:30-6 p.m. on the Administration Lawn.
Native American Student Center Open House (Tuesday, Aug. 26)
Explore the Native American Student Center from 1-3 p.m. See the newly renovated space, enjoy refreshments and learn about the services they offer.
I-Dye Tie-Dye Social (Tuesday, Aug. 26)
Make your own tie-dye gear on the ISUB Lawn from 4-6 p.m. The first 500 students will get
Thai Tea and Wellness Social (Wednesday, Aug. 27) From 3:30-5 p.m., enjoy traditional Thai tea while learning about mental health resources at UI. RSVP on Engage.
On-Campus Jobs Fair (Thursday, Aug. 28)
Students in search of an on-campus or Moscow job are invited to attend the On-Campus Jobs Fair from 11 a.m.2 p.m. in the ISUB Clearwater-Whitewater Room. This event is a great opportunity to find employment, work-study or internships.
Global Vandals Photo Scavenger Hunt (Thursday, Aug. 28) Join the International Peer Mentors for a photo scavenger hunt across campus and Moscow from 3-5 p.m. with the chance to win prizes. RSVP on Engage.
WGSS Ice Cream Social (Friday, Aug. 29) Meet the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies faculty and students on the grass outside the Memorial Gym from 12-2 p.m. Vandal Football at Washington State (Saturday, Aug. 30) Join in on the game day fun at the Vandal Tailgate at Washington State University. The tailgate at Ensminger Pavilion in Pullman runs from 4-6:30 p.m., with kickoff at 7 p.m. Enjoy food, beer and other drinks from Palouse Caboose. Meal and drink tickets cost $32 per person when bought in advance and $35 at the door. RSVP online at vandalstailgatewsu2025. eventbrite.com.
UI has to cut $5 million from its budget after Gov. Brad Little last week ordered a 3% cut to many state agencies.
Late Tuesday afternoon UI staff received an email alerting them to a budget cut of $5 million in reduced state appropriations for the current fiscal year across all areas.
Little’s executive order required agencies, except for K-12 public schools, to reduce their “General Fund Budget and other appropriations” spending by 3%.
UI reported it received $191,300,000 from the General Fund in FY2024.
President Scott Green and Provost Torrey Lawrence wrote, “We want to emphasize that this is a state funding issue,” adding, “Thanks to enrollment growth, prudent fiscal management and strong fundraising efforts, we are well positioned.”
A cut of $1,612,020 has been made to various programs, including a $1,198,665 cut to the Agricultural Research and Extension Service, or ARES. Other cuts are $84,945 to the WIMU Veterinary Medical Education program; $233,844 to the WWAMI Medical Education program; $52,194 to the Forest Utilization program and $42,372 to the Idaho Geological Survey. An additional $3,400,200 has been cut to “vice-presidential areas,” representing 2.6% of the 3% cut. The reductions will be $2,192,400 to Academic Affairs; $438,100 to finance and administration; $150,400 to research and economic development; $196,000 to information technology; $284,800 to the office of the President and $138,500 to the UI Foundation.
University of Idaho
Students wander 6th Street during the 2023 Palousafest. The 2025 Palousafest is Saturday, Aug. 23 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Joe Pallen | University of Idaho
faced
Vandals.
The University of Idaho broke records in fundraising, raising $67.6 million in Fiscal Year 2025. This is the most in a single year in UI
history and $15 million more than Fiscal Year 2024, and 2025 was the fifth consecutive year the university raised more than $50 million.
The April 1-2, 2025, Vandal Giving Day pushed the “Brave. Bold. Unstoppable.” philanthropic campaign past its original $500 million goal, making it the largest nonprofit fundraising campaign in Idaho history. The campaign,
which began in 2015, has raised $514.2 million from direct donations, gifts-in-kind, estate bequests, donations of stocks and other contributions. The campaign will end Dec. 31, 2025.
UI President Scott Green said that six years ago, many had thought the university’s new goal unreachable. “Our Vandal Family responded, reaching the goal eight months early, and they continue
to provide record support as we approach the end of the campaign this December,” he said in a UI press release.
“We are grateful for every donor because, together, they generate enormous positive impact and contribute to a thriving, unstoppable future,” Green said. The success of the decade-long campaign has resulted in “a stronger institution that continues providing
a nation-leading, quality education at a great value to our students, worldclass research and the ability to support Idaho industries,” he said. The totals for Fiscal Year 2025, which ran from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, included $19.3 million for student scholarships, $38.5 million for research and academic programs, $7.5 million in faculty support and $2.3 million for facilities, labs
and operations. Also included in the 2025 total was a gift from the J.R. Simplot Family Foundation that established UI’s first endowed deanship. Since November of 2024, the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences deanship endowment has provided annual financial support for the dean’s projects. For more information, visit uidaho.edu/foundation or uidaho.edu/giving.
Idaho ends plans to buy Phoenix
In a special board meeting on June 5, the Idaho State Board of Education approved the University of Idaho’s request to end talks of purchasing the University of Phoenix.
The termination agreement formally ends the discussions between UI and UPX. To cover UI’s consulting fees and other expenses from the planned purchase, UPX will pay a termination fee of $17,244,420.11. The extension fee of $5 million, paid June 28, 2024, was subtracted from this amount as credit, for a net payment of $12,244,420.11.
According to the Idaho Education news, UI spent the $17.2 million on various consulting, financial planning and research services provided by five firms: Hawley Trowell, a law firm in Boise; Hogan Lovells, a law firm at which UI President Scott Green worked for before coming to the university; Ernst and Young, an accounting firm in Secaucus, N.J., Reith Jones Advisors in Ohio and PFM in Philadelphia.
UI officials did not respond to follow-up inquiries by the Argonaut last week.
UI had been negotiating to purchase UPX since spring of 2023, with a price tag of $685 million.
The initial announcement
came on May 17, 2023, when the State Board of Education voted publicly to endorse the purchase, but talks were happening long before then. President Scott Green and his team met with the board in three private meetings on March 22, April 25 and May 15, and UI began discussions with UPX in February of 2023.
As the purchase came to light, it became clear that it would be highly controversial.
Lawmakers have cited multiple issues with UPX, revealing a “long record of poor student outcomes, deception of veterans, and entanglements in federal investigations and enforcement actions.” Many were concerned that, by buying UPX, UI will be assuming its debt.
Phoenix also had a close call with its accreditation in 2023.
On the other hand, proponents of the acquisition hoped it would increase education availability in rural areas and combat a demographic cliff.
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador filed an open meetings lawsuit against the State Board of Education in June 2023, but it was rejected by Ada County District Judge Jason Scott on Jan. 30, 2024. Although a governing body of a public agency must usually hold meetings open to the public, it may close meetings when it “reasonably believes it is in competition” with other bidders. Labrador appealed the decision Feb. 16, 2024.
On Feb. 15, 2024, the House State Affairs Committee voted
Hi Vandals! My name is Seyi Arogundade and I have the honor of serving as your ASUI President for the 2025-2026 school year.
Like my predecessor, Martha Smith, I think that transparency is paramount when it comes to creating a robust culture and an informed populace. This gives us the opportunity to let students know about how their fees are being distributed, events that ASUI will be hosting and what our organization is doing at the state level to support the student
voice.
unanimously to introduce a resolution threatening legal action if the Board of Education did not “reconsider” its endorsement. In an email to The Argonaut, Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, one of the resolution’s co-sponsors, said, “I want to be sure that students continue to receive a quality education and that the degree continues to have value and I am not comfortable that this affiliation will do that.”
UI would have created a notfor-profit organization, NewU, Inc., to acquire the assets by borrowing the cost through bonds. The organization was later renamed Four Three Education, Inc., after a challenge from the Washington, D.C.based NewU University.
With UI and the State Board of Education facing numerous legal challenges, the board granted a one-year extension of the Asset Purchase Agreement on June 28, 2024, for a new deadline of June 10, 2025. In exchange for the $5 million paid to UI, UPX was allowed to consider alternative buyers.
After the extension, the two universities continued to work to resolve the challenges the transaction faced. However, it became clear that UPX needed to look for other options that could offer a higher price.
Instead of ending the agreement, the two parties agreed to pause the discussion to allow UPX to pursue other transactions, “but leave open the possibility that the parties would refocus … at a later time,” as per the meeting materials.
Again, I’m so excited to have the opportunity to connect with all of you in this next coming year!
If you’d like to learn more about what we’re up to and give us feedback, our offices are located on the third floor of the ISUB, and we host Senate meetings every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the ISUB Clearwater Room. You can also reach out to me personally with any other questions or concerns via email at arogundade@uidaho.edu.
But as the June 10 deadline approached, UPX had not reached any decisions with other buyers.
“While the University continues to see the value of a collaboration with Phoenix, and the Seller would like to see the University continuing to wait on the sidelines, doing so has become cost-prohibitive for both,” UI wrote. “The agreement avoids continued legal and financial uncertainties, while maintaining constructive relations between the parties.”
The two universities came to an agreement to terminate the talks. For the financial aspect, the amount to be paid to UI will cover all expenses related to the purchase discussions, despite being less than the full $20 million originally agreed to come with a termination. For UPX, this lower fee is ideal.
“The university has consistently recognized the potential benefit for the state of Idaho in the collaboration with the University of Phoenix,” Kent Nelson, general counsel for UI, said to the board. “However, we’ve been unable to achieve a closing for the transaction, and we believe that the responsible course now is to step back. We remain grateful to the University of Phoenix for their engagement and wish them well.”
Kurt Liebich, president of the Board of Education, reflected on the deal and shared his thoughts on where the two universities now stand.
“It’s really no surprise to me or to any of us on the board that we’ve reached this point
in this decision, given the fact that our authority to approve this transaction is still tied up in the legal system, coupled with the optionality of the University of Phoenix and their stated intent to take the University of Phoenix public, really has led us to this point,” Liebich said.
“My read of this settlement agreement is that it’s fair to both sides, which I think has been the spirit of the relationship we’ve had with the University of Phoenix and Apollo for the last two years,” he said. “Both organizations are in incredibly strong positions. I wish the folks at University of Phoenix all the success in the world.”
Liebich expressed his concerns for the future of education and labor in Idaho, including a potential demographic cliff and evolving technology needs. “We have to become more innovative in delivering education through different, more efficient module delivery systems. … A large proportion of Idaho citizens don’t have post-secondary education, and so with the pace that technology is impacting everyday work, we have to be able to reach Idaho adults, no matter where they are in the state.”
“For all those strategic reasons, I thought this deal made sense. Well, now that this deal is behind us, those trends haven’t changed. The same challenges exist,” he said.
UPX plans to “continue to operate as an independent, private institution,” as per its press release.
Trump bill limits student loans
Borrowing limits and new repayment requirements begin in 2026
Julia Kolman
ARGONAUT
The Donald Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will bring sweeping changes to federal student loans starting in 2026.
Signed into law on July 4, this massive piece of budget reconciliation legislation is daunting, but one of the most relevant sections for college students is the handling of federally funded student loans. Previous repayment plan options will be reduced and caps are being instated on how much individuals can borrow to pursue higher education.
As the repayment plan options are reduced from seven to two plans, enrollees in to-be-eliminated programs have until July 1, 2028 to switch to a new one.
Beginning July 1, 2026 new student loan borrowers will have to choose between two loan plans. These are either a standard repayment plan or the Repayment Assistance Plan, an incomedriven repayment plan. The former allows for fixed payments over 10-25 years, while the latter allows payments of 1-10% of one’s income monthly, for up to 30 years. The White House said that the reduction of student repayment programs “condenses a maze of loan options into two.”
Notably, the new income-driven repayment plan employs a longer timeline than previous versions, which lasted 20-25 years rather than 30. The increased timeline worried Aissa Canchola Bañez, policy director at advocacy group Student Borrower Protection Center, who spoke to CBS MoneyWatch about the Repayment Assistance Plan, saying, “Borrowers are going to be forced to be in repayment for even longer.”
Dean Kahler, Vice Provost Strategic Enrollment Management at the University of Idaho, discussed what this means for currently enrolled students. “The federal student assistance program
has been evolving quickly with the new administration. We are working to find student resources for our students,” he said. He encouraged those who need assistance to reach out to the student financial aid office.
Those enrolled in Biden’s incomebased SAVE plan, which is to be eliminated under the OBBBA, will see interest begin to accrue on Aug. 1, according to the Education Department via the Spokesman-Review.
According to Newsweek, the Student Borrower Protection Center has also calculated that this new loan framework may raise annual loan payments by “$2,929 for typical degree-holding borrowers, $1,761 for those with some college but no degree [and] $2,808 for a family of four headed by a bachelor’s degree holder.”
Borrowing caps are also being instituted on certain loans. Parent PLUS loans, available for parents of dependent undergraduate students, will be restricted to $20,000 annually with a total cap of $65,000. Currently, the limit is set at the total cost of attendance, subtracting student aid received.
Grad PLUS loans, used to finance higher education, will be cut almost completely. Applications will no longer be accepted, while current borrowers will retain their access to the loans, according to Edsource. Both of these changes will begin on July 1, 2026.
Graduate students who need federal tuition assistance will now have to pivot towards Direct Unsubsidized loans for professional degrees, such as law and medicine, according to CBS MoneyWatch. These will be capped at $50,000 annually and $200,000 lifetime. Nonprofessional advanced degrees, such as philosophy and history, will be capped per year at $20,500 and lifetime at $100,000.
“We are currently evaluating the rule changes to determine what impact it will have on our students and to determine if there are any options we can offer to our students,” Kahler said. “While our students’ [and] parents’ average federal debt load is lower than the figures indicated, there are students and/or parents who have exceeded or are approaching the loan limits under the new rules. We have had graduate students who utilized the GradPlus Loan program. We are exploring alternative loan options to
which we can refer our students to help with their education costs.”
“I think there is a real problem with students taking loans for some master’s programs that aren’t worth it,” UI professor of economics Eric Stuen said. “But a big downside of the graduate loan cap will be for medical students, whose degrees would likely be worth taking hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt for. The new law could make it impossible for low-income medical students to pursue their degrees and so further limit the supply of doctors.”
Pell Grants, the largest source of federal aid for low-income students, will also face tightened eligibility. Kahler said he is not aware of any instances of exploitation at UI that could warrant these restrictions.
“We want to do our best to assure that the aid is provided to the students who need it most,” Kahler said. “We will do our best to help our students/ families navigate the application process to obtain the maximum financial aid for which they are eligible.”
Students receiving full scholarships from colleges or universities will no longer be considered for funding from the program. However, Pell Grants will become more available for those in workforce training programs, expanding the previous limit of 600 hours and 15 weeks that could be covered.
The Student Aid Index, used to determine one’s federal aid eligibility, will now increase scrutiny, reducing higher-income families who can access Pell Grant Funding. Notably, the FSA website already explicitly states, “Federal Pell Grants usually are awarded only to undergraduate students who display exceptional financial need and have not earned a bachelor’s, graduate or professional degree.”
Finally, those still paying off their loans will be facing changes to deferment. Pre-OBBBA, loan borrowers were able to apply for a maximum of three years of deferment due to economic hardship or unemployment. This policy is visible on the FSA website. However, starting July 1, 2026, deferment provisions for those facing economic hardship will be eliminated. If you lose your job and are struggling to meet your loan payment, you will no longer qualify to defer.
U.S. News surveyed 1,190 college
students between July 31 and Aug. 4 on how the new budget law will impact them. 61% of college students say they will be personally impacted by the new budget law. 32% say they will feel the effects of the elimination of certain repayment options. Only 20% of college students say they fully understand how the upcoming changes will affect them. Many students are rethinking their college plans due to these changes. 35% are considering cutting back on schooling, 32% pursuing a different degree, 31% going abroad to finish school and 26% joining the military to help pay for school. First-generation college students are even more likely to consider less schooling at 45% or switching majors at 44%. With lower borrowing caps and the elimination of federal PLUS loans for graduate and professional students, 38% are considering using a private student loan to help pay for school.
Those most significantly affected are students who planned to pursue law or medical school. “I’m thinking about not finishing law school,” one student said.
One undergraduate student studying human biology in Rancho Cucamonga, California, told U.S. News, “Now that I won’t be able to pursue medical school in the U.S. anymore, I am thinking of double-majoring in engineering in case I do want to stay in the country. Or I might pursue engineering instead of medical school so that I can find employment straight out of college rather than having to attain more education.”
A graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in mathematics in Providence, Rhode Island, also commented on the Trump administration’s cuts to research funding. “As a mathematics student, my research is often funded by grants. While this bill doesn’t deal with funding directly, the cuts to [National Science Foundation] funds have impacted the future of research mathematicians,” they said. “With the addition of [the] bill taking away payment plans, it will make it harder for me to pay back my loans in the future. So less job security due to funding cuts + payment plan adjustments = should I continue my work, or leave now and get a good-paying job?”
For more information on financial aid at UI, visit www.uidaho.edu/financialaid. Staff are also available to discuss financial aid resources relevant to you and how your current aid might change.
Idaho creates first geological engineering degree
UI partners with North Idaho College to introduce new B.S. in Geological Engineering
Julia Kolman
ARGONAUT
The University of Idaho announced that it and North Idaho College will be collaborating to offer two paths to attain the state’s only Bachelor of Science in Geological Engineering. The degree is intended to prepare students for careers in environmentally conscious and productive mining operations and is being touted as a “strategic partnership to support Idaho’s workforce development and economic growth,” according to UI’s press release.
Students pursuing this degree will be able to complete the first two years of the program at NIC before transferring to UI or complete the full four-year program at UI’s Moscow campus.
The program will offer courses in environmental best practices, renewable energy, natural resources, mitigating natural hazard risks, geotechnical risk assessment and modern mining practices. Within its geology degree, the program will have multiple miningfocused areas of degree emphasis, including sustainable mining and earth resources management, environmental hydrogeology and energy resilience.
The new undergraduate degree will build on UI’s current graduate offerings in geological engineering.
The joint College of Science and
College of Engineering degree is intended to fill the void that exists between engineering and earth sciences to create a more conscientious mining workforce.
“Pending re-openings of two mines in the Silver Valley are what’s fueling the geological engineering degree demand,” President Nick Swayne of NIC said in the release. These reopenings include two mines in Kellogg, the Bunker Hill Mine in 2026 and the
Sunshine Mine in 2030. Idaho, nicknamed “the Gem State,” is rich in many minerals that are necessary for national security, infrastructure, energy and technology.
Mike Lowry, currently a UI professor of civil and environmental engineering, will serve as the chair of the department housing the new degree program.
In a comment to The Argonaut, Suzanna Long, the dean of UI’s College
of Engineering, said, “It is a privilege to welcome geological engineering to the degree programs available in the University of Idaho College of Engineering with related programs in the College of Science. Idaho mining is vital to the state and to the nation. The University of Idaho is ready to meet their workforce needs to prevent loss of skills and knowledge as many prepare to retire.”
After being elected for a second term in the Idaho House of Representatives in November of 2024, Todd Achilles has stepped down in the hopes that he can unseat longtime Republican U.S Senator Jim Risch in 2026.
Achilles, a U.S. Army veteran, left the Democratic Party when he chose to run for the senate as an Independent, a decision he said he made after witnessing dysfunction in American politics.
“We’ve reached a point where we are just fundamentally failing as a country now. I think the cause of that failure is the two-party system,” he said in an interview with The Argonaut.
Achilles said, “I think the beauty of having Independents basically acting as a fulcrum in the Senate is that you’re not beholden to the White House,
regardless of which party’s in control of you...Be that fulcrum, get the politics out of it and just focus on the policy.”
Achilles is traveling to Idaho towns to hear what issues Idahoans care the most about.
Healthcare
“Each one of these towns has got their own issues, particularly these rural hospitals. 60% of all hospitals in Idaho are rural, they’re critical access hospitals,” said Achilles, later saying that cuts to Medicaid because of the One Big Beautiful Bill would cause 75,000 people in Idaho to lose access to healthcare.
“They’re still going to get sick, they’re still going to get hurt,” he said.
While Idaho faces losses to healthcare access, it also deals with the consequences of its abortion ban, which went into effect on August 25, 2022.
Idaho lost 35% of its practicing OB-GYNs since the ban went into effect, leaving many women without access to maternal healthcare, according to a study published by the Jama Network.
“About half of pregnancies don’t result in a healthy birth, and there’s just a massive amount of complexity there,” Achilles said. “To not allow doctors and families to make these decisions, it’s just fundamentally wrong.”
Affordable Living
“Idahoans can’t afford to live in Idaho,” said Achilles.
“Idaho’s a low wage state with high costs. And again, it didn’t just happen,” he said. “It was policy that got us there and so we need to unwind those policies and create a more competitive more affordable economy.”
“The idea that we’re going to grow our economy by having a low-wage
state undermines everybody else in the economy, because people that have their backs to the wall can’t go out. They’re not going to go out for dinner, they’re not going to go buy a car, all of those things. So, you have a really inefficient, slow economy if you’re a low-wage state,” Achilles said.
“If you’re a millennial or Gen Z, the American Dream is largely out of reach. If you’re a billionaire or you’ve got a couple hundred million in the bank, you’re doing great...the system is set up for you,” said Achilles. “Everybody else, we’re paying for it.”
“The One Big Beautiful Bill, really the lead architect on that was Senator [Mike] Crapo,” said Achilles.
The One Big Beautiful Bill was passed into law in July, which includes significant budget cuts to programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, in order to fund tax cuts and increased spending for border control, among other initiatives.
“There’s effectively a $200 billion carve out in private equity,” said Achilles. “Private equity has done more damage to the U.S. economy and workers in this country than anybody else. So why the hell are we giving private equity a $200 billion handout and then we’re pulling back on Medicaid and we’re pulling back on SNAP and we’re, you know, threatening public lands and we’re cutting back on the [Veteran’s Association] and all these other things. I mean, that is just a fundamental mismatch between the policies that we need for Idaho and then what’s getting passed.”
Idahoans had several other concerns, including the sell-off of public lands.
“To undermine or to sell our public
lands rips apart who we are as Idahoans,” said Achilles.
The One Big Beautiful Bill no longer includes the sell-off of public lands, but was at the center of public discourse when Sen. Mike Lee of Utah attempted to include a provision in the bill which would sell public lands for housing development.
“The conversation we need to have is management of public lands,” he said, “We’ve been starving the Forest Service and we’ve been starving the BLM. BLM has got a tiny budget, and they do amazing work. We need to fully resource these agencies to be able to take care of our lands properly.”
Achilles also discussed Idaho’s agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which allows law enforcement to aid in the deportation of undocumented immigrants from Idaho jails. “There’s a piece of the agreement between the state and ICE, which I do support, which is if somebody is convicted of a crime and they’re an undocumented immigrant, then yes, they should not be allowed to stay in Idaho.”
“We need a fence and a gate that works,” said Achilles. “The border has gotten a little bit better over the last six months. I think President Trump gets some credit for that. But the gate still doesn’t work.”
Achilles also shared criticisms of current ICE procedure. “The face coverings, not identifying themselves, you know, clearly just going after brown people. That’s just flat out wrong. That’s not who we are as a country. We can’t tolerate that stuff,” he said.
The primary election filling period begins February 23, 2026, prompting campaigning for Idaho candidates.
Mackenzie Davidson | Argonaut Todd Achilles in Moscow
Second-half surge powers Huskies past Idaho, 4-0
UW scores three second-half goals to put away the Vandals
As the final whistle blew after 90 minutes in Seattle Sunday, the Idaho Vandals walked off the field with a 4-0 defeat to the Washington Huskies in what proved to be a tale of two halves.
The storyline was written in the stars when Deanna Montero transferred from Washington to Idaho last spring, setting up her return to the campus where she spent her first two years.
Instead, the redshirt sophomore midfielder could only watch helplessly from the sidelines, as she is sidelined by an injury suffered during the Vandals’ Thursday win over UC Riverside. What was meant to be a marquee homecoming became a painful reminder of soccer’s cruel timing.
The Vandals came out ready to play and started the game sharp, with crisp passing, fluid movement, and consistent pressure in the opening 20 minutes before the Huskies found their breakthrough.
In the 20th minute, junior midfielder Samiah
Shell stepped in front of a pass and raced toward the goal. Shell unleashed a beautiful shot from beyond the 18-yard box that kissed off the post before beating redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Paula Flores, opening the scoring for Washington. Despite conceding the goal, the Vandals maintained their pressure and were able to test the Huskies’ goalkeeper with three shots on target, keeping themselves in a competitive position heading into halftime. When the second half kicked off, the Huskies sensed an opportunity and struck again within 10 minutes.
In the 53rd minute, junior midfielder Jadyn Holdenried received the ball and drove toward goal. She executed an inside-out move to beat the Idaho defender and create space, then unleashed a rocket off her left foot that found the bottom right corner, beating an outstretched Flores to double the Huskies’ lead.
Both teams are beginning new chapters within their respective programs, and they both have new head coaches who have everything to prove in this year’s edition of the Battle of the Palouse at Martin Stadium. The game will be broadcast on the CW Network.
The Cougars’ new coach, Jimmy Rogers, formerly of South Dakota State University, takes the reins of a storied WSU program as they enter their final season as members of the “PAC 2.”
On the other side, the Vandals have an all-new coaching staff, led by head coach Thomas Ford Jr., who has gone to great lengths to build a winning roster while maintaining Idaho’s championship culture. Under Eck, Idaho has clinched three consecutive FCS postseason berths, with Ford being on the staff for two of those three years.
Former Vandal gunslinger Matt Linehan was promoted from wide receivers’ coach to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks’ coach when Ford was hired. The new defensive coordinator, Cort Dennison, comes to Idaho after serving as the linebackers’ coach at Missouri State University.
In 2024, the Vandals had their third double-digit win season in program history, were a perfect 6-0 at home and won a home playoff game for the
second consecutive season. As expected, this led to some key departures, including Jack Layne, Keyshawn James-Newby, Deshaun Buchanan, Jordan Dwyer, Mark Hamper, Zach Johnson, Ayden Knapik and Dallas Afalava.
Though several players on last year’s team followed Eck to New Mexico and others hit the transfer portal, the Vandals have the second-most returning players among Big Sky teams.
Ford emphasized the importance of the leadership roles that his returners have embraced, specifically captain Nate Azzopardi, wideout Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar, linebacker Isaiah King and the entire running back room.
“Leadership is going to be critical for us all season,” Ford said.
The Vandals enter 2025 ranked 12th in the AFCA FCS Preseason Coaches’ Poll. After finishing in the top three in the Big Sky in each of the last two seasons, Idaho is predicted by the Big Sky Coaches’ Poll to finish fifth. While he acknowledged the firepower that the team lost in the offseason, Ford believes this roster has the potential to be more physically dominant in the trenches.
“We want to be a physical team,” Ford said. “That is our number 1 thing in terms of our identity on the field.”
At 6’3”, 230 pounds, defensive end Donovan Parham, who is the only active player to have won the battle axe twice during camp, will replace James-Newby
The Huskies added two more goals to put the game away with another strike by Hall to complete her brace and an insurance goal by senior forward Avery Nguyen. The victory gave Washington their first win of the season, moving them to 1-0-1.
The Vandals fall to 1-1-0 with the defeat and will look for answers as they head east for their upcoming road trip. Idaho will travel to Massachusetts to take on the 1-1 University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks on Thursday, Aug. 21 at 4:15 p.m.
as the team’s juggernaut pass rusher.
While teams typically enter a rebuilding phase in the first year under new management, Ford emphasized that this team is not a rebuild. Ford also believes what sets this roster apart is the explosiveness of the offense and an increased focus on disciplined play.
“Those two things stand out to me as things we need to improve upon,” Ford said. “The progress overall has been very good. I think we’re right where we want to be.”
One of the biggest developments coming out of fall camp was the announcement of the team’s starting quarterback, Fresno State transfer Joshua Wood. Wood, who the Vandals acquired later in this year’s transfer window, won the job over returning redshirt sophomores Jack Wagner and Nick Josifek.
There was intense competition in the quarterback room throughout Wood’s early months in Moscow, but he officially won the competition on Aug. 3. Wood likes the Vandals’ offense because “we can do anything and everything.”
Ford sees Wood as a hard worker who doesn’t have an ego. Though Idaho
has had an explosive passing offense for the last few years, due to Wood’s dual-threat ability, he has the potential to take over the game and open up more opportunities in the run game.
“We wanted to find a veteran guy and Joshua came along,” Ford said. “The relationship I’ve had with him in the past, it was kind of a match made in heaven. I don’t think we could’ve found a better guy.”
Both mentioned that upon Wood’s arrival, his primary objective was to develop chemistry with his new team. Wood says it was a natural transition because of his previous relationships with many of the players on the team.
“I’ve known a couple of these guys, so meshing and gelling with them has been no problem,” Wood said. “The team welcomed me with open arms. The more you know your teammates, the harder they are going to play for you.”
One of the biggest losses from last year’s roster is in the receiving core. Hamper and Dwyer were responsible for nearly 70% of the team’s receiving yards, meaning that for the second consecutive year, Idaho has some big shoes to fill in the wideout room.
After being asked several questions about the difference between Fresno and Moscow, and between the 2024 Vandals and the 2025 Vandals, Wood said he doesn’t like making comparisons.
“Coach Ford is doing a great thing here. Last year’s team and this year’s team, we don’t want to go back and forth and make that a discussion,” Wood said. “I don’t think there needs to be a comparison between Fresno and Idaho. We got guys here, and at the end of the day, we’re going to make plays and continue to move forward.”
Jayden Barfuss ARGONAUT
Vandal Athletics
Freshman running back Anthony Woods tries to get past WSU defensive back Derrick Langford Jr. in the 2022 game.
Vandal Athletics
Vandal fans cheer the players on in the 2022 game at Martin Stadium.
Vandal Athletics
Midfielders Sara Rodgers and Annika Farley run the ball down the field against Washington
Latah Prosecutor and MPD reflect on King Road Homicides
Thompson gives insight into the plea deal and families’ concerns
Mackenzie Davidson ARGONAUT
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson was in Spokane on November 13, 2022, when he got the call that there had been a quadruple homicide near the University of Idaho campus. It soon became clear that a brutal and vicious crime had been committed in Moscow. Thompson and the Moscow Police Department got right to work.
Over the last two and a half years, he and his team worked tirelessly to bring the man responsible for the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin to justice, culminating in the July 23, 2025 hearing where Bryan Kohberger would be sentenced to die in an Idaho prison.
Thompson, like many of those involved with the investigation, quickly became emotionally invested, postponing his retirement to ensure justice was served.
“This whole case is just so sad, it’s so tragic,” he said in an interview with The Argonaut. “These beautiful young lives lost, brutally and for no reason.”
“In the end, I want the public and the families and friends and the communities … to appreciate and understand that they had a team of at times hundreds of professionals working to fight to bring the killer to justice and to close this case,” Thompson said.
At the beginning investigators had two pieces of evidence, Thompson said: the knife sheath on which an unknown male’s DNA was found, and video footage from a neighbor’s security camera that shows a white sedan coming and going in the hours before the homicides and then leaving at high speed right after the time investigators believe the crime occurred.
“That’s where we started. That’s all the investigators had,” Thompson said. “It’s pretty amazing what came together over … seven weeks to get us to the point where we could charge him at the end of December.”
The investigation was an undertaking that ended in an unexpected way, a plea deal which required Kohberger to admit guilt to all five indictments: four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary, resulting in four consecutive life sentences and $270,000 total in fines.
“We didn’t go looking for a plea,” said Thompson. “We were not expecting to be approached.”
After two years of Anne Taylor, former Kootenai County public defender and Kohberger’s lead defense attorney, attempting to convey her client’s innocence, including an attempt to provide alternate perpetrator evidence, Taylor approached the prosecution and inquired about a plea deal, asking Thompson if his team had “considered making an offer.”
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the week before, the judge let them
know that their last-ditch efforts to continue the trial or confuse the trial were not going to be allowed,” Thompson said, “Perhaps that was a reality check.”
Thompson and his team met with representatives of the families to discuss the status of the case and the potential for a plea deal at the end of June.
“One family in particular very strongly felt that the death penalty should be pursued, even if it would be decades before anything came to a conclusion,” said Thompson.
“We had other families who felt equally strongly that they wanted this case over with,” he said, “They wanted closure, they wanted finality. They didn’t want the trauma that would have gone with the trial.”
Thompson and his team decided the best outcome would be a plea that ensures the man responsible admits guilt, waives his right to appeal and accepts fixed life in prison. “All it takes is one juror out of 12 to derail the whole thing,” Thompson noted.
Despite the split, all but one of the families attended the sentencing hearing with the opportunity to address Kohberger directly. “I was so glad the family members had the chance to finally say their piece, however they wanted to express it,” said Thompson, expressing gratitude to Judge Steven Hippler for that opportunity.
Both during and after the sentencing, there was still a lingering desire to know why this brutal crime had been committed—to hear Kohberger not only admit guilt but tell the world why. This is what legal professionals would call allocution.
According to Thompson, “When he pleaded guilty and he was placed under oath and he admitted that the charges were true, that’s a type of allocution. And that’s as much as the law requires.”
Thompson said, “I can tell you from the very beginning, we had agents from the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit … and they said right up front, ‘first off, we are never going to know exactly why he did it, and if the person who did this told us, it wouldn’t make sense to anybody but him.’ That’s the nature of these types of violent crimes. You have someone that lives in a different world, functions in a different world, in ways that we can’t understand.”
As Judge Hippler passed sentence, he alerted Kohberger and his team to the deadline for appeal in 42 days, or the first Wednesday of September. Despite Kohberger waiving his right to appeal by agreeing to the plea deal, he still has the right to ask his attorney to file for appeal. This would then be considered a violation of the plea.
“If he wants to play games like that, we’ve already talked to the Attorney General’s office and we are ready to deal with it,” said Thompson. Given Kohberger’s uncoerced agreement to the plea, it would be very difficult to convince the state to allow that.
Now that a sentence has been delivered, the non-dissemination order, or gag order, issued in January of 2023 has been lifted, but actions in the time between the 2023 issuance and July 17, 2025, are under investigation.
On May 9, 2025, NBC’s “Dateline” aired an episode dedicated to the ongoing investigation at the time. The episode shared information leaked by an unknown source, including information related to Kohberger’s internet history. Details of the investigation are confidential and protected by state law, preventing those involved from divulging information. Thompson said that he “was mad beyond description” when he saw the episode after his Senior Deputy Prosecutor Ashley Jennings sent it to him.
“Whoever leaked the information, that was legitimate information … I hope they find who those people are, and they are held accountable,” he said. “Whoever did that, no mercy.”
Investigators talk impact on police and community, regrets from case
Mackenzie Davidson ARGONAUT
The King Road homicides, which shattered the Moscow community in November of 2022, sent the Moscow Police Department into a “trial by fire,” as MPD Chief Anthony Dahlinger said in an interview with The Argonaut.
In the seven weeks leading up to the arrest of the man responsible for the brutal murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, MPD officers learned what it meant to be a part of a highprofile case, something Moscow hadn’t seen since the triple-homicide of Terri Grzebielski, David Trail and Belinda Niebuhr in 2015.
The murders garnered worldwide attention from the media, bringing with it criticisms from both local and international followers of the case. Many criticized MPD’s lack of information shared with the public.
The Latah County Court issued a gag order in January of 2023 preventing investigators and lawyers from publicly commenting on the case. That order was lifted on July 17, 2025, after a coalition of news media organizations, including The Argonaut, filed a motion to rescind the order. The city of Moscow has since released many case documents online.
The Idaho State Police and the FBI assisted in the investigation. Speaking to the collaboration between state, federal and local law enforcement, Dahlinger said, “We couldn’t do it on our own.”
Despite media outlets criticizing MPD for relying on help from the FBI and other police agencies, both Dahlinger and former MPD Chief James
Fry believe that collaboration is what made the difference between success and failure.
“Federal law enforcement, state law enforcement and local law enforcement don’t always get along,” said Fry. “We believe that we need to continue to strive to bring those teams together for the type of outcomes that we had in this case. We went seven weeks without an argument, without a fight.”
Upon reflection, Fry, who was in charge during the time of the murders, said he wished he had held a press conference earlier than three days after the crime.
At the same time, Fry expressed the importance of maintaining the integrity of the investigation. “We’ve always been pretty tight-lipped with big cases,” he said.
Fry retired from MPD in April of 2023 and is now the chief of police in West Richland, Washington.
Dahlinger also believed what little information the team had needed to be
protected for the sake of the investigation.
“We were willing to err on the side of silence, to protect the case, versus try to feed the insatiable hunger of the public and the media for immediate information,” he said.
One example was information related to the suspect’s white Hyundai Elantra.
Despite having information related to the vehicle MPD suspected to belong to the killer, the department decided to hold off on sharing that information. “It was a bit of time before we put it out publicly,” Dahlinger said, as the department felt it may tip off the suspect. “Anytime you put information out to the public, [the] suspect’s still out there, so if they know that you’re on to them, they could flee, they could do all sorts of things.”
Fry also said he wished he had the manpower to have assigned multiple officers to the families of the victims,
rather than just one.
“You’re dealing with families that are heartbroken,” Fry said, adding that it was too much for one officer to deal with.
“They were going through the hardest times of their lives; it rubs off on you,” Dahlinger said, referencing the impact the grieving families had on the officer.
Despite the department’s size and inexperience with these kinds of cases, both Fry and Dahlinger believe the outcome of the case to be a success.
“In the end, I think that we successfully completed a case, and the individual who committed those crimes will never be able to hurt anyone else,” said Fry.
Despite the case having “took a toll on the department,” Dahlinger said, “we are happy to have a resolution, to know that we got the right person and that they are being held accountable. He’ll never see the light of day again. That brings a bit of closure for us.”
On July 23, Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole. This came after a plea deal was made between the prosecution and defense and announced on June 30, which took the death penalty off the table.
In response to the controversial nature of the plea, Dahlinger said, “There’s always going to be a varying level of opinions.” He then spoke to the work Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson and his team did in the time leading up to the sentencing, stating that there was a “wonderful amount of evidence,” and, had there not been a plea, “we would have been successful in trial.”
In the end, both felt it was time for the Moscow community to heal and move on from focusing on the tragic details of the event, but focus on memorializing the legacies of Kaylee, Maddie, Xana and Ethan.
“We should never, and we can’t ever, forget the victims and their families,” Dahlinger said.
Mackenzie Davidson | Argonaut
Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson
City of Moscow
Chief of Police Anthony Dahlinger
Daniel V. Ramirez | Argonaut
Former Chief of Police James Fry
Memorial charities honor Idaho students
Fundraising supports scholarships
Dakota Steffen ARGONAUT
Multiple charities have been created in honor of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin since November of 2022.
Jim and Stacy Chapin, Ethan’s parents, started the Ethan’s Smile Foundation to provide scholarships that enable others to follow their dreams. As of August of 2025, the foundation has awarded 83 scholarships for a total of $105,750. Those interested can donate online or via check.
The foundation also sells merchandise such as stickers, apparel and candleholders.
“The Boy Who Wore Blue,” a picture book written by Stacy Chapin and illustrated by Lana Lee, shares the story of Ethan and his kindness. Also available is the “Ethan’s Smile” tulip mix, a mix of white and yellow tulip bulbs. Portions of each item’s proceeds go toward the foundation.
The Made With Kindness Foundation was started by Ashlin Couch and Angela Navejas, Couch’s mother, in March of 2024. Couch was close friends with Maddie. She lived in the King Road house until she graduated in the summer of 2022, and Xana moved into Couch’s room.
The foundation manages the Maddie, Kaylee and Xana Scholarship Fund, which awarded 20 students with $2,500 scholarships in May. Donations are accepted online
and via check.
The Made With Kindness Foundation also works with college campuses to increase student safety. The foundation hosts the Make It Pink Gala and celebrates Maddie May Day (May 25), Kaylee Jade Day (June 8) and Xanapalooza (July 5).
Sigma Chi, the fraternity Ethan was a member of, started the Ethan Chapin Memorial Scholarship in his honor. The scholarship is given yearly to a member of UI’s chapter of Sigma Chi and the first recipient was Hunter Chapin, Ethan’s brother. The fund has raised over $125,000 as of August of 2025.
UI established the Vandals Supporting Vandals Fund to create need-based scholarships in Xana, Ethan, Maddie and Kaylee’s names.
Campus reacts to sentencing
Students wonder if justice was really achieved
Dakota Steffen ARGONAUT
After Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to four consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, The Argonaut asked students what they thought about how the case had gone. The Argonaut asked two questions: What do you think about the plea deal and sentencing? And, do you think justice was served?
Soren, sophomore
I think that the plea deal being offered to Kohberger so close to the trial without consulting the families of the victims first was wrong. [It] feels like justice wasn’t properly served, given the families didn’t have any say in what was going on.
Olivia, senior
Most cases are solved through plea deals so in a way it didn’t surprise me, but I think he deserves worse than what he got. I can’t say that justice was served since four young,
aspiring students were taken too soon and no amount of pain or anguish he experiences in prison will make up for that, and how any of the friends and families feel, but at least he was caught and sentenced.
Owen, senior I think it was a cop out by the cops and [one] family considering they didn’t even talk to the others. I do agree that it saves them from having to go to trial again and again if he tries to appeal. But I feel that the families would have been more than willing to go that far. I would have loved to see the life drain from his eyes just as he did to the students.
Cole, senior I personally think the plea deal was the best option because it means that it’s over.
The biggest issue with going to trial means the families would have to sit and listen as the defense would probably paint their kids in the worst light. The families would have to sit and listen to all the horrible things and see all the crime scene pictures and have those photos be the last form of pictures of their kids. I think justice was served even without the trial.
King Road crime scene photos blocked by court
Mackenzie Davidson ARGONAUT
A Latah County judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing crime scene photos and videos of the King Road homicides from being released to the public.
After a gag order was removed July 17, officials began releasing many documents to the public, except for crime scene photos. On Aug. 7, 7 Investigates, KTVB’s investigative team in Boise, filed a public records request to access the crime scene photos and videos. Moscow Police Department then released nearly 200 photos showing the exterior of the residence and rooms of the Nov. 13, 2022, victims— Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin—including bloody beds and walls.
On Aug. 12, Karen Laramie, Maddie’s mother, petitioned the court to prevent further images of her daughter’s room from being released, saying it violated their privacy. Judge Megan Marshall granted the temporary restraining order. A hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for Aug. 28 at 10 a.m.
“There are portions of videos and photographs in their redacted form, specifically including unreleased bodycam video, that could constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy at this time,” Marshall said in a press release from the City of Moscow.
While the restraining order only applies to the bedroom of Maddie Mogen, images and videos of the other victims will also be withheld from release, according to the city.
True crime TikToker held liable for false statements against UI professor
Ashley Guillard insists she only wanted to “help” the King Road homicides investigation
Mackenzie Davidson ARGONAUT
A true crime TikToker said she showed no ill will in declaring a UI professor was involved in the King Road homicides, despite a judge’s ruling that she damaged the reputation of the faculty member.
In an interview with The Argonaut, TikToker Ashley Guillard maintains she was only seeking to help the investigation into the slayings and that she did not intentionally publish false information about Rebecca Scofield, a UI associate professor of history.
“[Scofield’s team] have not proved that I made an intentional false statement and Idaho defamation implies ill
intent, and trying to help solve a murder case is not ill intent,” Guillard said.
Judge Raymond Patricco disagreed and found Guillard liable for defamation in June 2024. A hearing to determine possible punitive damages has yet to be scheduled.
Wendy Olson, Scofield’s attorney, told The Argonaut that Guillard disregarded the facts of the investigation.
“Any time you have a public forum and you’re speaking about a high publicity event, you have an obligation to make only statements that are truthful and to be based on actual facts and not to be full of disinformation or misinformation,” Olson said.
For several months after four UI students—Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin—were brutally murdered in November 2022, Guillard posted more than 100 videos to TikTok claiming Scofield hired two men to murder the students to
cover up her alleged affair with one of the victims.
Guillard’s only evidence came from “claircognizant” practices, which relied solely on tarot card readings of the victims and UI faculty as well as Guillard’s own intuition.
After ignoring a cease-and-desist letter from Scofield, Guillard continued to make false and defaming claims, bringing the lawsuit to federal court.
Bryan C. Kohberger pleaded guilty to the slayings and began four consecutive life sentences last month. Still, Guillard maintains it’s possible others were involved in the crime and feels justified in her claims.
“I think for sure the fact that [Kohberger] pleaded guilty and has been sentenced shuts down any speculative, entirely speculative, assertions she could make that would change anything,” Olson said.
According to Olson, a defamation
case requires the publication of a false statement that was either knowingly false or made with reckless disregard of the truth, known as malice.
“It’s sufficient to say that it has been a long and harmful process to [Rebecca],” Olson said.
Kaylee Goncalves | Instagram
From left to right: Dylan Mortensen, Madison Mogen (top), Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Bethany Funke
Ashley Guillard | TikTok Ashley Guillard
Was justice served? An impossible question
Kaylee, Maddie, Xana and Ethan’s murderer will die in prison, but their memories will live on
Editorial Board ARGONAUT
When four members of the Moscow and UI community were brutally murdered in November of 2022, it was difficult to see a world where justice would ever be served. Even after the man responsible for Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin’s deaths was sentenced to life in prison, many feel justice is still out of reach.
Are four life sentences and $270,000 enough to provide justice for those that lost their children, siblings and friends?
It’s an impossible task to determine whether justice was served, or if enough was done to ensure it. It is a task the community, investigators and the families still grapple with.
In the weeks leading up to the arrest of Bryan Kohberger at his family’s home in Pennsylvania, Moscow was a community grieving the loss of young
lives. Anger from an impossible situation manifested in distrust in the police and investigators working on the case.
Former Moscow Police Chief James Fry waited three days to hold a press conference to inform the community of what had occurred at the King Road home on Nov. 13. Even though many suspected the police knew key details at the time, the information shared was sparse, leaving many in Moscow scared and in want of more progress in the investigation.
Fry has said in several public settings, as well as in an interview with The Argonaut, that he wished he had held the press conference sooner. He stood by the lack of information shared, though, saying the integrity of the case was more important.
MPD Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger echoed this, saying, “We were willing to err on the side of silence, to protect the case, versus try to feed the insatiable hunger of the public and the media for immediate information.”
Still, many are left wondering why certain details, such as the make of the suspect’s vehicle which was caught on a security camera neighboring the King Road home, were not shared with the public earlier than they were. These hidden details, though now
released in police documents after a January 2023 gag order was lifted on July 17, 2025, led many to speculate. Books, documentaries and internet sleuths have taken it upon themselves to determine why these horrific slayings occurred.
The ‘why’ has plagued many since the murders: Why them? Why now? Why here?
This question led to the release of nearly 200 crime scene photos and videos of the King Road residence on Aug. 8, 2025, after a public records request was made. Included were images of the victims’ bloody beds and walls, only furthering the suffering of the families.
Karen Laramie, Maddie’s mother, sued the City of Moscow on Aug. 12 to prevent further images from being released, saying the images were an invasion of privacy. The Chapins have since supported the suit. (See story on page 7.) A temporary restraining order was issued on Aug. 15, preventing further images from being released until the hearing, set for Aug. 21.
The only respite the families of the victims had was the hope that Kohberger would be sentenced to death. Idaho is one of 27 states to have the death penalty as punishment for violent crimes. In July of 2026, the state will implement a firing squad as its main means of execution when the drugs used for lethal injection are not available.
With the case laid out before them, prosecutors and investigators were confident they would have been successful in court. In a turn of events, the defense requested a plea deal, eventually leading to Kohberger pleading guilty to all charges and receiving a sentence of four consecutive life terms in Idaho’s only maximum-security prison.
Reactions to the sentencing were divided among the families. Steve
Goncalves, Kaylee’s father, told NBC after news of the plea broke, “Idaho has failed. They failed me. They failed my whole family.”
The Goncalveses have been the most vocal about their disapproval of the plea, even attempting to introduce new laws. In an interview with TMZ, Goncalves said he is working with two Idaho legislators to make convicted murderers reimburse taxpayers with their commissary funds. Initially, his hope was that Kohberger’s commissary would go toward funding his own execution.
While some are angry with the result, others are relieved. On The Today Show, Jim Chapin, Ethan’s father, said, “If I could physically do a handstand, I’d probably do one, because I am so ready...I’m ready for my kids to move on. I’m ready for us to move on. I mean, it’s been almost two and a half years, and it’s, just, it’s over.”
Now that Kohberger has been locked away—never to step outside for more than one hour a day, never to harm another person and never to taste freedom again—the questions of ‘why’ and ‘what if’ may fall into irrelevance.
A just world would have seen Kaylee, Maddie, Xana and Ethan graduate and enter the real world to live long lives. Justice could have been Kohberger standing before a firing squad. Justice could also be locking him away, throwing out the key and allowing the families to avoid the trauma of a trial.
No one person has the answer to whether justice was served. What matters now is that Kaylee, Maddie, Xana and Ethan’s families, friends and communities can begin to heal and move on. With the murderer behind bars, they can start to move past the horrific events of 2022 and focus on the victims’ legacies as they look ahead to their own futures.
Daniel V. Ramirez | Argonaut
A memorial at Mad Greek restaurant in Moscow on Nov. 15, 2022
WEEK OF WELCOME WEEK OF WELCOME
8/20
8/21
8/22
8/23
8/24
8/25
Move In - 8am u nti l 5pm
Desser t with the Dean - 7-9pm i n ad mi n aud itoriu m
Joe Vandal’s Scavenger Hunt- 8/20-8/31 at 11:59 pm
Orientation Day 1 Check In - 7:30-8:30am i n ICCU Arena
Repurpose the Purge - 3-7pm at Admi n lawn NW corner
Screen on the Green – Thu nderbolts at Dusk (9pm) at Tower lawn
Target night - 10-11:30pm at Target
Pots, Plants & Popcorn - 2-4pm at ISUB Plaza
L ate Night at the REC - 9-11pm at the Rec Center
SYNC (See Your New Community) - 9:30am at Tower L awn
Palousafest - 5:30-7:30pm at Tower L awn
Vandal Walk - 3 pm starts at Kibbie Dome
BBQ - 5:00 pm on Admin Lawn
Lavender Ice Cream social - 6:30-8:00pm in Vandals First Office
Counseling and Mental Health Center Open House - 8-1
Mar y E Forney Hall (3rd Floor)
Vandal Health Clinic Open House - 8am - noon
First Day Photos - 11:00am– 5:00pm at ISUB Rotu nda
Vandal Free Climb - 6-8pm at the Rec Center
Donuts with Dean - 8– 10am at ISUB
I-DYE - 4:00– 6:00pm at Commons L awn across ISUB
Vandal Free Climb- 6-8pm at the Rec Center
Therapy Dogs - 10:30am-12:30pm at ISUB Plaza
ISUB Open House - 3-5pm
Vandal Free Climb- 6-8pm at the Rec Center
On-Campus Jobs Fair- 11:00am – 2:00pm i n ISUB Whitewater Room
Vandal Free Climb- 6-8pm at the Rec Center
Screen on the Green- Misson Impossi ble 7 at 9pm at Tower L awn
Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Ice Cream Social12:00pm – 2:00pm outside Memorial Gym 8/29
8/30
Food Pantr y Open House - 10:30am – 12:30pm at Shou p Hall
Sound Bath in the Trees - 8:30am– 9:30am i n East Admi n L awn
The Argonaut’s Snapshots of 2024-25
John Keegan | Argonaut
Anja Bukvic goes for a shot in a 2025 game against Eastern Washington University
John Keegan | Argonaut Students perform in the UI Theater Department’s 2025 production of “Love Liz”
John Keegan | Argonaut
Vandals support UI football team against Northern Arizona University in 2024
John Keegan | Argonaut Annika Farley maneuvers around several WSU players in 2024
John Keegan | Argonaut
UI water tower, just above the Charles Shattuck Arboretum
John Keegan | Argonaut Julius Mims saves the ball in a 2024 game against UC Davis
Colton Moore | Argonaut A bull bucks a rider at a 2024 UI rodeo in Colfax
John Keegan | Argonaut
The Northern Lights pulse above the UI water tower in 2024
John Keegan | Argonaut
The Vandal Healing Garden lights up at night in 2024
