IDAHO

Idaho’s leaders need to recognize that agriculture and timber aren’t dying parts of the state’s economy, but a growing $10.4 billion segment that offers the best hope for progress in the rural areas of the state.

"This is a really great achievement for us," said Curt Pliler, creative director at Blackfin.

The deal, announced Monday, will give Micron the cash it needs to ramp up production of NAND flash memory, which industry analysts call the hottest product in electronics.

"It really is a small restructuring to guarantee our expense structure is in line with the business outlook for the fourth quarter and heading into 2006,"

The victims were highly accomplished businessmen, including financial advisers and "owners of corporations" and each lost anywhere from $10,000 to $300,000, Iverson said.

On Tuesday at Buck Knives, Nilson, owner of Ground Force Manufacturing in Post Falls and leader of the loose-knit North Idaho Manufacturing Consortium, helped bring together about 60 educational and business leaders and legislators to consider improving vocational-technical programs to meet the need for skilled workers.

"It is crucial to fund our economic development effort sufficiently to position the great story the Treasure Valley has to tell in the minds of targeted boards and CEOs who are considering relocation for their companies."

"We’ve just exploded," Nicol said. "Our biggest challenge is keeping up with orders."

For most U.S. river-rafting tour operators, the work "is a labor of love,"

Property tax reform certain to be one of the weightiest issues facing the 2006 Idaho Legislature