Idaho Department of Labor Press Release Unemployment rate drops, but labor force participation also drops to the lowest it’s been in Idaho since 1976. Month over month, Pocatello lost jobs as Boise grew. Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell for the third consecutive month in May to 3.2 percent, underscoring the increased pressure among Idaho
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Category: Business news
Amazon buying Whole Foods in bold move into brick and mortar
By Anick Jesdanun/Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is buying Whole Foods in a deal valued at about $13.7 billion, a stunning move into brick-and-mortar retail that sets the stage for more radical store experimentation and intensified competition with grocery rivals. The deal unites the online juggernaut with the grocery store chain that fell
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Justices side with religious hospitals in pension dispute
By Sam Hananel/Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Religious hospitals don’t have to comply with federal laws protecting pension plans, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday in a case that affects retirement benefits for roughly a million workers nationwide. St. Alphonsus in the Boise area is one such hospital in Idaho impacted by the ruling. The justices
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Dads Head Out to the Ballgame as Father’s Day Spending Reaches Record-High of $15.5 Billion
Press Release WASHINGTON – Americans are expected to spend more than ever on gifts for Father’s Day this year with the biggest share going to special outings like a ballgame, concert or dinner, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insight & Analytics. Father’s Day shoppers are expected to spend an
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County taxpayers in Idaho to cover about $2.7M from lawsuit
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho county’s taxpayers will need to cough up about $2.7 million to cover a lawsuit its officials lost against a former employee who had been fired. Ada County’s last-ditch effort Wednesday to not pay $664,527 of the former employee’s legal fees had been denied, the Idaho Statesman reported (http://bit.ly/2r4Gq8X ).
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Judge blocks construction of airstrip by actor Bruce Willis
HAILEY, Idaho (AP) — A judge has blocked actor Bruce Willis’ plan to build a private airstrip in central Idaho. The Idaho Mountain Express (http://bit.ly/2r6T4Gr ) reports that 5th District Judge Robert Elgee ruled that Camas County commissioners violated state law when drafting an ordinance allowing individuals to obtain conditional-use permits to build a private
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Idaho’s Water Supply Outlook – Water, Water Everywhere
Press Release BOISE – The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has just released the fifth water supply outlook report for the 2017 water year. Precipitation since the water year started on October 1, 2016, is above or well above average across the state. The lowest amount is in the Clearwater basin at 123% of average and
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Idaho’s April Unemployment Drops to 3.4 Percent
Idaho Department of Labor Press Release Significant drops in the number of unemployed Idahoans and people looking for work pushed the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate down to 3.4 percent in April, narrowing an already tight labor market even further. Idaho’s labor force – the number of people working or looking for work – dropped
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Mermaid tail craze started with Idaho Falls grandmother
Press Release IDAHO FALLS — Mermaids are diving into pools across America this summer, and it all started with a mom-and-pop shop in Idaho Falls. Karen and Jerry Browning are the founders of Fin Fun. The company originated the patented swimmable spandex mermaid tail and monofin in 2010. In 2009 Karen’s granddaughter, Emily, asked her Grandma repeatedly to
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Is the ‘American Dream’ fading?
By Sarah Glenn/For the Journal As America emerges onto the other side of the Great Recession, a new generation isn’t enamored with the white picket fence version of the American dream. For decades, the economy has churned on the idea that we are working for something more than just money — we want to climb
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