skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

TX League of Women Voters participates in National Voter Registration Day; Trump's golf outings have long concerned Secret Service; Palm Beach County schools tackle post-pandemic chronic absenteeism; College students press Israeli divestment campaign as the school year begins.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Washington considers the need to tone down anti-Trump rhetoric. Senate Democrats are likely to force a second vote on a national right to in-vitro fertilization, and Trump allies repeat falsehoods about migrants amid bomb threats in OH.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural voters weigh competing visions about agriculture's future ahead of the Presidential election, counties where economic growth has lagged in rural America are booming post-pandemic, and farmers get financial help to protect their land's natural habitat.

ID offers free state park passes for foster families

play audio
Play

Tuesday, August 13, 2024   

Foster families will have free access to Idaho state parks under a new initiative.

The Idaho State Park Foster Family Passport program will give families annual passes to the state's 30 parks. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and the Department of Parks and Recreation are partnering on the program, which is funded by Regence BlueShield of Idaho and the Idaho Business for the Outdoors.

Laura Denner, division administrator of family and community partnerships for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, explained the motivation behind the program.

"We really know that outcomes are better for the families and children when they're engaged in extra activities and Idahoans really love the outdoors," Denner pointed out. "We thought this was a great opportunity to help those families get out and be together in our Idaho wilderness."

Denner noted there are about 1,400 foster children in Idaho but only about 1,100 foster families, about half the number the state needs. Denner hopes additional benefits like the passport program will help attract more families to fostering.

Along with passes, Denner said the Department of Parks and Recreation is offering classes throughout the state so foster kids and their families can learn outdoor skills.

"It might be cooking over a campfire, building a campfire, setting up a tent and a camp space," Denner outlined. "It could be things like paddleboarding."

Denner added the state is finding other ways to retain and attract foster families as well. Starting in October, state employees who become foster parents will be eligible for eight weeks of parental leave when they welcome a child into their home.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Toledo's Dorr Street once boasted more than 130 businesses between Collingwood Blvd. and Detroit Ave., including retail shops, restaurants, lodging, medical offices, entertainment venues, and services like auto repair, laundry and beauty salons. (Wikimedia Commons)

play sound

Toledo's historic Dorr Street Corridor was once the beating heart of Black culture, wealth and business in the city. Now, community leaders and local …


Social Issues

play sound

A year-old U.S. Supreme Court case means relief for two Nebraskans who faced losing their homes and all the equity they had built, when investment …

Environment

play sound

Colorado's second-largest electricity provider, the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, projects new federal clean energy funding will …


Early voting for the upcoming general election runs from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1. (Rob Goebel/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Today is National Voter Registration Day, and volunteers with the nonpartisan League of Women Voters are holding voter registration events across the …

Social Issues

play sound

Palm Beach County schools are working to curb chronic absenteeism, which has surged since the pandemic. Nearly 39% of Palm Beach County students …

Minnesota's Center for Rural Policy and Development said in rural settings, parents are often forced to take a child to the emergency room during a mental health crisis. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Gaps in mental health care are a common research topic right now and for Minnesota youth in rural areas, a new report showed their families face big …

Social Issues

play sound

September is Workforce Development Month and North Dakota offices managing energy assistance programs hope people in need of a fresh career start will…

Social Issues

play sound

In observance of Hunger Action Month, a new statewide collaborative has launched to address food insecurity in South Dakota. Nearly 14% of U.S…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021