IDAHO

Anti-government activist Bundy launches run for governor

Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy on June 19 came out with his first videos announcing his campaign to become governor of Idaho.

Bundy said he wants to defend Idaho from President “Joe Biden and those in the Deep State that control him” because they “are going to try to take away our gun rights, freedom of religion, parental rights, and more – and further violate the Constitution in unimaginable ways – even more than they’ve already done.”

Last month, Bundy filed documents with the Idaho Secretary of State’s office to run as a Republican in the 2022 gubernatorial primary. Current Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin and four other Republicans – Jeff Cotton, Edward Humphreys, Lisa Marie and Cody Usabel – have also filed campaign documentation needed to run for governor.

In the video, Bundy touts his family’s years-long battle with the federal government over the use of government land, including a 2014 standoff with officials at the Bundy family ranch in Nevada.

Bundy’s campaign website also has videos addressing what he says are misconceptions about him, reasons to vote for him and how he would have handled the COVID-19 crisis if he were governor.

Bundy garnered international attention when in 2016 he led a group of armed activists in the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to protest the federal control of public lands. He was eventually arrested and later acquitted of all federal charges in that case.

Bundy currently has two misdemeanor criminal trespassing cases pending against him in Idaho, and he is representing himself for both. The cases stem from events during a protest of coronavirus restrictions at the Idaho Statehouse last August. He has pleaded not guilty in one case and has not yet entered a plea in the second.

NEBRASKA

Survey: strong growth continues in rural parts of 10 states

OMAHA – Strong growth continues across rural parts of 10 Plains and Western states and three states now have more jobs than they did before the coronavirus pandemic began, according to a monthly survey of bankers released June 17.

The overall Rural Mainstreet economic index slipped in June to 70 from May’s record high of 78.8, but it remained in positive territory. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy, while a score below 50 suggests a shrinking economy.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, said the number of nonfarm jobs across the region remains 2% below where it was before the pandemic began, but three states – Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska – reported employment levels above where they were before the virus emerged last year.

The hiring index for the region remained high at 71.7 in June even though it was slightly lower than May’s 72.7 reading.

Goss said the region continues to benefit from growing exports, strong grain prices and continued low interest rates.

More than three-quarters of the bankers said they think the Federal Reserve should start raising interest rates before the end of this year.

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

WYOMING

Lawmakers advance ranked choice voting as primary possibility

CHEYENNE – Some Wyoming lawmakers are pushing for changes to the state’s primary election process, but it is still unclear exactly what the changes would be or if they could go into effect before the 2022 election, when Congresswoman Liz Cheney will face off against a crowded field.

During a meeting of the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Corporations Interim Committee on June 7, Election Division Director Kai Schon said the Secretary of State’s office recommends the Legislature take up the issue during the 2022 session to implement the changes for the 2024 election, due to a need for a constitutional amendment. But during discussions, he added that a ranked choice voting process could possibly be put into place quickly, before the 2022 primary.

The discussions on changes to the primary process are continuing from a bill that died in March that would have created a runoff election system, and the committee will continue discussing the possibility going forward.

The committee voted 9-5 to direct the Legislative Service Office to draft a bill for discussion at its meeting for ranked choice voting, which eliminates the need for a runoff election and wouldn’t require a constitutional amendment to implement.

According to LSO research analyst Danielle Creech, the ranked choice voting process ensures that the winner receives more than 50% of the vote. As she explained, the first tallies are based on the voters’ choices on their ballots. If no single candidate has the majority of votes in the first round, the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated from the running.

When a voter’s top candidate is eliminated, their vote then goes to their second choice on the ballot in the second round of counting. That process of elimination continues until one candidate receives the majority and wins. The process is similar to that of a runoff election, but Creech said the benefit is that voters only have to head to the polls once, where a runoff requires two ballots to be cast.

NEW MEXICO

Water provider stops diverting from Rio Grande

ALBUQUERQUE – One of New Mexico’s largest drinking water providers has stopped pulling from the Rio Grande to help prevent the stretch of the river that runs through Albuquerque from going dry this summer.

The curtailment that went into effect June 19 came about two weeks earlier than last year when New Mexico also was mired in drought. The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority said the curtailment likely will last until November.

In the meantime, the utility will rely exclusively on groundwater it referred to as a “savings account” for the region’s drinking water supply.

Customers are being asked to adhere to restrictions on outdoor watering during certain times and days during the summer, and to conserve what they can to limit the strain on the aquifer.

UTAH

State attorney sorry for email rant to LGBT councilman

SALT LAKE CITY – A Utah state attorney angry about being awakened from a nap has apologized for sending an expletive-laden email to an LGBT politician campaigning to be the first Asian American person elected to the Salt Lake City council.

Assistant Utah Attorney General Steven Wuthrich told Darin Mano he hated him and his family, then threatened to “do everything in my power to see you will never get elected to any office higher than (a) dog catcher.”

He sent the email after Mano knocked on his door June 12 looking for someone else living there who is a registered voter, either Wuthrich’s wife or roommate, Mano told the Salt Lake Tribune.

Mano was appointed to the City Council and is now campaigning to be the first Asian American officially elected. Mano is also a member of the LGBTQ+ community and a father of four. He told Fox13-KSTU he was shocked and disturbed by Wuthrich’s message.

“It was hard not to wonder why that email was so particularly aggressive,” said Mano.

Wuthrich apologized in a statement June 16, saying he regrets the “ferocity and language” of the email and does not wish any harm to Mano or his family.

The Utah attorney general’s office has said officials take the situation seriously and are determining next steps.