Idaho water season is on • One-on-one with Dirk Kempthorne • Discovery Channel in Idaho • Big grant for digging in the dirt • Stage actors eye Idaho • Moscow domestic partner benefits • 800 former Cali cops in one N. Idaho town • 8-year-old Idaho Falls boy hit with assault rap

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Welcome to water season

The Idaho Mountain Express and Guide reports that state hydrologists are feeling good as the state's official "water season" begins this week.

According to state hydrologists, the water season runs from April 1 through Sept. 30. The Pocatello office of the National Weather Service released its hydrological update Thursday that said cold, wet weather has given "a well-needed boost" to eastern Idaho snowpacks.

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At home with Dirk

Former Idaho governor and Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne recently told U.S. News and World Report the toughest part of his day was “figuring out new ways to reconnect American children to nature."

Kempthorne was profiled by a business reporter for the magazine.

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Discovery Channel in Idaho

The Twin Falls Times-News reports crews from the Discovery Channel are filming a show about the high-profile Bellevue murder case of Sarah Johnson, the woman convicted in 2005 of killing her parents.

The show is part of a series called "Solved," which will premier in the fall.

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What lies beneath

The Times-News also reports that scientists at the Idaho Geological Survey and the U. of Idaho will use a recently-received $230,600 federal grant to create 3-D maps of south-central Idaho areas that will help them better understand features near the Earth's surface.

The maps will help developers, miners, water experts, conservationists and government in making some key decisions.

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Acting out in Idaho

An article in the theater trade publication Backstage mentions Idaho prominently in an article titled "Federal Support Growing for Rural Theater Companies."

"(Stage actors in New York, L.A. and Chicago) struggle to gain union status in these competitive markets. That said, most actors don't just pack up and move to Idaho to cure their artistic frustration - but perhaps some of them should."

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Domestic partner bennies to give Moscow heartburn?

The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports that the city of Moscow is probably going to get sued because of its domestic partner insurance benefit policy.

Idaho Values Alliance Executive Director Bryan Fischer said the conservative Christian group has been working with the Alliance Defense Fund to figure out how to bring legal action against the city.

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800 Cali cops in N. Idaho?

Ever heard of the C.J. Box novel "Blue Heaven"? It's a fictional thriller set in a real-life Idaho panhandle community that is home to nearly 800 former members of the Los Angeles Police Department. That's right ... the author says this city really has 800 former L.A. cops in it.

The L.A. Times reports "Blue Heaven" is going to be made into a movie. Wonder if the movie will be filmed in Idaho? More importantly, I wonder what this real-life community is on which "Blue Heaven" is based?

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They're growing up way too fast these days

An 8-year-old Idaho Falls boy was charged with three counts of aggravated assault earlier this week.