CNN’s John King gives a good look at the politics of small town residents of Democratic Rep Walt Minnick’s 1st District. The story looks at health care from St. Maries and shows the fine balancing act Minnick has to make to satisfy Democrats, Republicans and independents in the district.

Both sides of the Columbia River salmon debate have people in the Obama administration on which their political hopes rest.

The administration’s position is expected to be filed in court Aug. 14 and all sides are jockeying behind the scenes seeking to influence the decision.

A group of critics continues to question whether President Barack Obama was born in the United States, though his Hawaii birth certificate and a newspaper birth announcement show he was born in Honolulu in 1961.

So self-described citizen-journalist Mike Stark went to Capitol Hill asking Republican congressmen what they think. In a montage of interviews with Republicans, he shows some clips of what happened when he ran into Idaho Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick. Stark didn't recognize who Minnick was, but identified himself as being from the blogs Huffington Post and Firedoglake.

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will set its hunting quota for wolves Aug. 17 in Idaho Falls and the world will be watching.

When Montana set its quota at 75 earlier this month even the British newspaper The Guardian, covered the story. Environmentalists are waiting to see Idaho’s numbers to decide whether they think they can prevail with an injunction to stop the hunt.

Idaho Statesman reader Bob Barber asked about the Idaho Evening Statesman, which was started in the early 1940s and soon after combined with the Capital News, which the Statesman bought. It ran the evening edition until the 1960s, though I don't known when it ended.

Here's what Barber wrote:

I enjoyed Sunday's Special Section on the Idaho Statesman's145th birthday. Since I grew up in the Treasure Valley, the articles brought back many memories. Yet, I was disappointed not to find any mention of the afternoon I enjoyed Sunday's Special Section on the Idaho Statesman's145th birthday.

I don’t know many people who would fault a grizzly bear sow from attacking hunters who she considers a threat to her three cubs. And I don’t know many people who would fault a brother for shooting at a bear mauling his kin.

That was the situation last month when black bear hunters using hounds found their dogs had surrounded a bear in an area known as Bishop Hill near Harriman State Park in eastern Idaho. The 18-year-old sow bowled over Keith Klingler, of Idaho Falls, bit him on the arm and tossed him around.

The Idaho Association of Industry and Commerce won’t be taking a stand on a petition to begin rulemaking to regulate large mercury polluters.

The organization that represents the state’s largest industries did not join Monsanto Corp and the Idaho Conservation League in pushing for the rules after a meeting Thursday by its environmental affairs committee.

NewWest.net has two excellent stories about issues I’ve blogged about recently. Bill Schneider give the details of Sen. Jon Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. Publisher Jonathan Weber explains the politics of Tim Blixseth’s proposed land trade with the U.S. Forest Service in North Idaho.

The role of the market in environmental regulations remains a complex issue that doesn’t always fit the ideological views of people on all sides of the issues. Simple programs to reward good behavior in the market place are rarely opposed by anyone but many environmentalists want to follow up incentives with hard caps on pollution or rules that stop bad behavior.

To many Idahoans property rights are the ultimate human right. They lie at the heart of liberty and a government’s suggestion it wants to take someone’s property, in Idaho those are often fighting words. Even enacting policies that force people to give up their property are challenged.