Editor's Note: The following article was written by Catie Clark for Idaho Business Review. It was published on the IBR website April 15, 2021. A building trades training school may be coming to the former Bealls Department Store building in downtown Mountain Home. The current owner of the building, the Mountain Home Urban Renewal Agency, accepted a proposal from Elmore Development LLC to renovate the building. The development firm’s partner in the project is Porter House Inc., a 25-year old training company that owns and operates the Shelley Adult Training Academy in Shelley. [read more]

Congress has recently approved, and the President has signed, the "American Rescue Plan Act," a new $1.9 trillion stimulus package. The new package provides direct funding to restaurants and bars, changes to PPP, EIDL and the Shuttered Venue Operator Grant Program (SVOG), jobless benefits and expands three tax credits. [read more]

There is nothing more essential to our health and way of life – or Idaho’s future – than clean, plentiful water. The availability of water has transformed much of our state from a desert into an abundant agricultural landscape that supports tens of thousands of Idahoans and their livelihoods. Across Idaho, water is the building block for careers and prosperity. [read more]

Idaho’s next Subgroup eligible for COVID-19 vaccine will start Monday, Feb. 1, and includes adults 65 years of age and older. Enrolled vaccine providers across Central District Health (CDH) and Southwest District Health’s (SWDH) combined 10 counties are beginning to accept appointments given Governor Little’s announcement, today, announcing movement to Subgroup 2.2 of the state’s prioritization plan. [read more]

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW) have provided options to reduce the isolation period for people without symptoms (asymptomatic) who are close contacts of those who have tested positive for COVID-19. [read more]

The deadline for Idahoans to apply for short-term rent or utility assistance through the Housing Preservation Program is 5 p.m., Friday, Dec. 11. To apply, renters are encouraged to go to www.idahohousing.com/covid-19 or call 1-855-452-0801. [read more]

A: This is not true. There is a false rumor circulating that hospitals are misrepresenting COVID patient data to increase federal reimbursements for patient care. It is true that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act increased reimbursements to hospitals for Medicare patients with COVID-19 due to the high cost of COVID-19 patient care. [read more]

Boise, Idaho – Governor Brad Little signed an executive order today mobilizing the Idaho National Guard to help the pandemic response in new ways, and he signed a new statewide public health order rolling Idaho back into a modified Stage 2 of the Idaho Rebounds plan. [read more]

The Mountain Home Public Library is closed until Monday, Nov. 16 due to the potential exposure of a library staff member to COVID-19. During this time, the facility will undergo a thorough cleaning and quarantine period. No further information is available at this time. [read more]