Today's headlines:
- Idaho is poised to increase work requirements for Medicaid expansion health coverage.
- Trans Idahoans could face prison time for using many bathrooms, if they don't choose the one that matches their sex assigned at birth.
- Gem State legislators are considering allowing the public to carry guns into county courthouses.
- The Spokane County Sheriff's Office gets money from the Department of Homeland Security to help keep Spokane and Seattle safe during the FIFA World Cup.
- More seniors and disabled people will be exempt from Washington property taxes this year.
- Amazon is paying into a fund for water infrastructure because of a lawsuit over data centers in northeastern OR.
Plus, farmers in the Inland Northwest are paying more for fertilizer and diesel as the Iran war continues. We hear from KUOW's Ruby de Luna about how one farmer is making ends meet.
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SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting contributed by James Dawson, Owen Henderson, Eliza Billingham, Doug Nadvornick, April Ehrlich and Ruby de Luna.
Owen Henderson produces the show. Eliza Billingham provided digital support.
TRANSCRIPT
[THEME MUSIC]
OWEN HENDERSON: From Spokane Public Radio, it’s SPR News Today.
I’m Owen Henderson. It’s Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
On today’s show, it’s up to Gov. Brad Little to decide if Idaho will make it harder to qualify for health insurance under Medicaid expansion. A bill to increase work requirements has now passed both chambers of the legislature.
Plus, the Spokane County Sheriff will send officers across the state to help with security during the World Cup, and the office is getting money from the Homeland Security Department to do it.
And with the Middle East conflict dragging on and few ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, farmers in the Northwest are feeling the squeeze, with the costs of diesel, fertilizer and other farm supplies skyrocketing.
Those stories and more, coming up on SPR News Today.
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Idahoans may soon have to prove they’ve been working for at least three months to qualify for health coverage under Medicaid expansion.
State senators easily passed the bill yesterday afternoon.
Federal law allows states to choose a work history look back between one and three months on top of reverifying eligibility every six months.
Republican Sen. Julie Van Orden sponsors the bill.
JULIE VAN ORDEN: “We want to make sure that somebody just doesn’t go out and get a job two weeks or three weeks before they apply.”
OH: Senate Democratic Leader Melissa Wintrow says the proposal is more nefarious than supporters let on.
MELISSA WINTROW: “This bill is an attempt to do a backdoor repeal of Medicaid expansion.”
OH: Wintrow says the longer lookback period would cause administrative errors and falsely disqualify eligible people.
The bill already passed the House and now goes to the governor’s desk.
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Transgender Idahoans could soon go to prison for using bathrooms that don’t correspond with their sex assigned at birth in government-owned buildings and private businesses.
Gov. Little signed the restrictions into law yesterday as LGBTQ advocates rallied at the Capitol in Boise for Transgender Day of Visibility.
Starting in July, a first offense under the law would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison.
A second offense within five years would be a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.
Proponents of the law say measures like these protect women.
A University of California Los Angeles study last year found no evidence of increased harm to people who aren’t trans when trans people are allowed to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
According to the same study, trans people face physical assault and verbal harassment when forced to use bathrooms that correspond to their sex assigned at birth.
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Idaho House lawmakers could soon consider allowing people to carry guns in parts of county courthouses. James Dawson has this update from Boise.
JAMES DAWSON: The bill is aimed at county facilities that have combined administrative offices and courtrooms. It would still ban guns from courtrooms and detention areas, but allow them elsewhere.
Republican Rep. Kyle Harris from Lewiston sponsors the measure. He says the newly renovated Nez Perce County courthouse blocks him from carrying a gun to take care of everyday business.
KYLE HARRIS: “I still have to disarm myself to walk in to pay my taxes, to register to vote, to talk to my county commissioners.”
JD: Ada County Clerk Trent Tripple says his county saved millions of dollars by combining administration and court operations in their current facility that opened in 2002.
He called the atmosphere an emotional powder keg that could turn dangerous if people were allowed to bring in firearms, even outside courtrooms.
TRENT TRIPPLE: “People are being incarcerated while family members watch. People are being fined. Parents are potentially losing custody of their kids. Ex-spouses are battling over livelihoods. All of those folks are interacting with my employees at the front counter and in the hallways before and after court.”
JD: The measure is headed to the House floor for possible amendments to better define exempt parts of the courthouse.
James Dawson, Boise State Public Radio News.
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OH: The FIFA World Cup draws crowds of fans—and that raises security risks.
The federal government is funding extra FIFA-related safety measures in Washington, and, as SPR’s Eliza Billingham reports, they’re tapping law enforcement agencies from across the state.
ELIZA BILLINGHAM: World Cup games at Lumen Field will be getting extra support from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Here’s Spokane Undersheriff Kevin Richey.
KEVIN RICHEY: “We were awarded seven hundred and twenty six thousand one hundred and fifty eight dollars to support operations related to base camp, fan zone in Spokane and at Lumen Field over in Seattle.”
EB: That money comes from the FIFA World Cup Grant Program out of the Department of Homeland Security.
Richey says it will fund overtime for explosive disposal unit officers, plus their flights between Seattle and Spokane.
In Spokane, that money will also pay for three pieces of equipment: a long-range acoustic device—sometimes called a sound cannon—for communicating with or controlling large crowds, a helicopter platform to carry SWAT team snipers over big events, and a dog-like robot to survey potentially hazardous areas.
The sheriff’s office will get to keep the equipment after the World Cup is over.
I’m Eliza Billingham, reporting.
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OH: A new law in Washington expands the number of seniors and disabled people who now qualify for property tax exemptions.
Spokane County Assessor Tom Konis says the law tweaks the current rules that benefit homeowners who are 61 or older.
It also applies to people who are disabled and not able to work, including veterans.
Konis says he’s been advocating for the bill for three years, and this year, it finally passed.
TOM KONIS: “The legislators are, with the increases in tax revenues that they've been going after, I think that they also liked having something they could offer people that give them a little bit of hope that maybe they are being listened to.”
Konis says the new law simplifies the application process by creating a standard deduction. People who apply for the tax will no longer have to provide receipts and itemize their expenses.
TK: “I've had so many people tell me they've started filling out the form, it got too complicated, and they quit. And yet their income level was below, you know, it just didn't make sense to me. So why not have something like this?”
OH:He says counties around the state are also developing an online portal so people can file from home.
The exemption expansion will take effect next year.
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Amazon will pay about $20 million in a settlement with people impacted by water pollution in northeastern Oregon.
The lawsuit claims Amazon’s data centers increase nitrate levels in Morrow and Umatilla counties.
Some data centers use water to keep their hardware from overheating.
That water evaporates over time, which can leave behind higher concentrations of pollutants—like nitrates.
Amazon denies the lawsuit's allegations. Still, it has agreed to pay into a fund that will improve water infrastructure in the area.
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The war in Iran is spiking prices at the gas pump. But fuel is not the only cost on the rise.
The cost of fertilizer is going up, too, as are the prices for other farm supplies.
Ruby de Luna from our partner station KUOW, talked with one farmer in Washington to see how he’s doing.
She spoke with SPR’s Doug Nadvornick.
DOUG NADVORNICK: So we're all paying more for gas these days, but farmers are especially reliant on fossil fuels. What are you hearing from them?
RUBY de LUNA: They’re definitely keeping an eye on fuel prices. For farmers like Andrew Albert, it’s going to be more expensive when he powers up the tractor and other farm equipment for planting season.
ANDREW ALBERT: “With trucks running at the same time, it’s easily several thousand gallons a week. So if you’re at two bucks over a gallon over what we were three weeks ago, that’s potentially $4,000 a week.”
RdL: Andrew Albert is a third generation farmer in Arlington. He grows hay, wheat, corn, and cabbage on his 1,400 acre farm. He worries fuel prices will be even more costly the longer the war drags on.
DN: I’m guessing he's also worried about fertilizer costs. What's going on there?
RdL: That’s right. The war has disrupted shipping that goes through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route not just for oil. About a third of the world’s fertilizer also passes through the waterway. The price of compounds used to make fertilizer have spiked since the war began.
Albert, the Arlington farmer told me, the co-op who supplies his fertilizer has pre-bought enough to maybe take them through the year. But his concerns are long term, especially if the conflict isn’t resolved soon.
DN: Even before the war, many farmers were struggling to make money. Tariffs are part of that and, for some, flooding in western Washington. What’s the big picture?
RdL: It’s been a tough few years for Washington farmers. Even before the Middle East conflict, farmers say they struggled with the price of fuel, as a result of the Washington Climate Commitment Act, a law that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
That, coupled with rising labor costs have created a tough economic environment, and have forced many farms to close. They point to a recent federal report that shows Washington ranks close to last when it comes to farm profitability.
AA: “Honestly, right now, the less ground I farm, the less money I lose. There’s a lot of fallowed ground right now just because there’s nothing to grow. Then add this increased cost with fuel and everything else, it just makes it even tougher.”
DN: So what's the trickle down to consumers?
RdL: These impacts on farmers are just the start of the food supply chain. If you think about lettuce after it’s harvested, the fuel to transport the greens, the packaging– the cost for each stop along the way to the grocery shelf, will likely add up. How much depends on how long the war lasts.
DN: President Trump says he plans to help farmers. How is he doing that?
RdL: At a recent White House gathering for farmers, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the administration is watching the situation closely. He said that for the farmers who didn’t order fertilizer early, before the war started, he said they’re going to have it. The administration also announced the Small Business Administration will open up loan guarantees for farmers and food suppliers.
DN: That’s Ruby DeLuna, a food reporter for KUOW in Seattle. Thanks, Ruby.
RdL: Thanks, Doug.
OH: That’s Doug Nadvornick reporting.
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SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting today was contributed by James Dawson, Eliza Billingham, Doug Nadvornick, April Ehrlich, Ruby de Luna and me, Owen Henderson.
I’m also your host and producer. Eliza Billingham provides digital support.
Thanks for listening.
It’s SPR.
