From Spokane Public Radio, it’s SPR News Today.
I’m Doug Nadvornick. It’s May 20, 2026.
Idaho voters have set up the races for the November general election. Governor Brad Little will get a chance to run for a third term. Voters in Bonner and Boundary counties will send two new legislators to Boise next year.
Opponents of redistricting in central Washington are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider their case.
Authorities in Bonner County say they’re seeing younger children experimenting with drugs, but there’s not enough help to find ways to divert them.
Henry McNulty tells us that a Spokane theater has adapted one of its shows to be a better experience for people with sensory issues.
Those stories and more, coming up on SPR News Today.
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Idaho Republicans have again chosen Brad Little as their nominee for governor. Little picked up nearly 60-percent of the vote in defeating seven challengers for the Republican nomination. That sends Little to the November general election, where he will face five other candidates, including Democrat Terri Pickens. Pickens won 61-percent of the vote in dispatching three others from her party. She says she’s ready to take a campaign of affordability to the people.
“Number one question is, how are we gonna afford to continue to live in this state? One, because our wages have not increased, but our housing costs, the affordability, our gas prices, the groceries, everything has skyrocketed, but Idaho is not kept up in the wage category. So most people are asking, how am I going to even afford to live?” she said.
In the Panhandle, voters gave round four of the political tug-of-war between Jim Woodward and Scott Herndon to Herndon. This was the fourth time the two Republicans from Bonner County have competed for a state Senate seat. Herndon took 53% of the vote, which means he will serve in Boise the next two years. There was no Democrat in the race.
Also in District 1, Republican Mark Sauter lost his bid for re-election to Republican Jane Sauter. Jane Sauter will face Democrat Karen Matthee in November. All of the other Panhandle legislators, many of who ran unopposed, also won their primary races.
About 30% of Idaho voters statewide cast ballots during yesterday’s primary election.
“We do a lot to try and get the word out. Primary elections just don't get the same turnout that the general election does," said Secretary of State Phil McGrane.
McGrane says, in most places, it wasn’t a particularly enticing ballot. There were no major competitive statewide races.
“Most of the ballot was uncontested. And I think there hasn't been the attention from the candidates and the campaigns in a lot of regions. So for that reason alone, I expect turnout to not be as high in parts of the state. But in those areas where there are competitive races, I'm anticipating it will be above average," he said.
In the Panhandle, the four northern counties all surpassed the statewide turnout. 45% of Bonner County and 43% of Boundary County residents voted, in part because of the race between Woodward and Herndon.
Nearly 52% of Shoshone County residents voted, 32% in Kootenai County. 35% in Latah County. 23% in Benewah County.
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After a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on gerrymandering, justices might set their sights on Washington state. A redistricting case out of Central Washington is getting renewed attention. State Government reporter Sarah Mizes-Tan has more.
The state’s Legislative maps were redrawn in the Yakima Valley to consolidate the Latino vote two years ago.
Now, a Supreme Court decision on redistricting in Louisiana has reopened local debate over the topic.
Opponents of Washington’s maps are petitioning the Supreme Court to weigh in. A federal judge declined to take up their case last week.
Washington’s Secretary of State said redrawing current maps would be a recipe for chaos ahead of this year’s primary elections.
If the Supreme Court DOES decide to hear this case, some experts say it’s unlikely to interfere with August elections.
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The number of juveniles getting into trouble with the law isn’t changing much in Bonner County. But those kids are getting younger. And those with mental health needs don’t have many options.
SPR’s Eliza Billingham reports.
Bonner County Justice Services has started dealing with elementary school students who have marijuana or drug paraphernalia.
Executive director Ron Stultz says that’s a younger group than he’s seen in previous years.
He says diversion and prevention efforts are key with those students.
He also told County Commissioners during his annual update this week that he’s concerned with young people who need more mental health help than the county currently offers.
He says there are Bonner County kids who don’t need to be put in a corrections facility, but need the extra support of a residential program.
Those types of programs are extremely rare in North Idaho, he says, and typically lack any state support.
I’m Eliza Billingham reporting.
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Spokane Children’s Theater has created a sensory-friendly performance of its production of Shrek. What does that mean? SPR’s Henry McNulty talks with the theater’s executive artistic director, Tanya Morton, and Holly Goodman, the executive director of the Isaac Foundation, from whom you hear first.
Holly Goodman: My son Isaac, when he was about fifteen months old, was identified with red flags for autism. Right before his second birthday, he was officially diagnosed with autism, and this was in a generation where the world was not set up for us. I didn't know any other parents that had kids that were like mine. He was identified in two thousand and four, and so this was actually real cutting edge, and there was very few children as young as him that were identified that early. And to that degree, we really struggled in Spokane finding inclusive opportunities.
Henry McNulty: What does sensory-friendly mean in the theater?
Holly Goodman: Well, sometimes we have to just think outside of the box in terms of what does inclusive mean because, you know, when you're talking about people that have neurological differences, like individual differences is how I like to consider it, some people really are attracted and like loud music, bright lights, you know, spontaneous actions. That's really very stimulating and rewarding. But for others that are hypersensitive, those types of sensory experiences make the world a really difficult place.
Henry McNulty: Tanya elaborated on what a sensory-friendly performance means in practice.
Tanya Morton: Never doing it and never knowing what goes into it 'cause I've never seen a sensory-friendly performance aside from movie theaters, right? Just that expectation, like, "Okay, do I have to turn all the lights off? Is there no music really allowed? Like, how do we do this?" People on the spectrum or any sensitivities, like Holly was saying, they're all so different. We got together, and I was like, "Okay, so what would someone who needs outward-seeking stimuli need, and what would someone who needs that internal or gets distracted hear?"
So we sat in the theater, and we just brainstormed. We try to keep it to where if movement is over-stimulating, they are more in the front, and then that way if people are moving behind them, they don't see it as much. We have a buffer row, so that way there's a difference if someone's moving or kicking. It's not affecting the row in front of them, which is the ones who need to be able to focus and not see the external stimulus.
We're gonna have a volunteer there with our cue cards. A musical number's coming up, or there's a big lighting effect coming up or a loud noise, those type of things. Before the show, our actors will all come out so that they can see the faces and the costumes and the dragon puppet and all of these things, so that way when they see it on stage, they know it's safe.
Henry McNulty: Tanya highlighted one musical number as an example of the show's relevant theme.
Tanya Morton: Shrek, the story of it itself, it talks about differences and accepting your freak flag is a song, right? Like, what people see as a flaw, but it's really your strength and your superhero power. Who I'd Be is a song that Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey sing together, and it actually made me think a lot about my son, who is autistic, and, and thinking about that neurodivergent world and all the kids we see and we meet, and how people assume they can't do what other people can do. They can't experience these things. As a parent, it's like, "Well, why can't they?"
Henry McNulty: Mike Donahoe performed in our studio with accompanist Beth Taylor.
Tanya Morton: And so my son wants to be a dad. I'm like, "Well, why can't he be a dad? Why can't he do these things just because he has autism?" And, and so listening to the lyrics of Who I'd Be, it talks a lot about Shrek being an ogre. Like, well, okay, if I wasn't this scary green guy, this is what I'd be. And so taking that song but replacing it with someone you love, it just hits a lot differently, and that's one of the reasons I think this show is so important in general for people. But then partnering with Isaac Foundation was just the perfect segue for that.
Henry McNulty: Shrek runs May 22nd through June 7th at Spokane Children's Theatre, with its sensory-friendly performance on May 27th. Our full interview can be found online. I'm Henry McNulty.
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SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting today was contributed by Sarah Mizes-Tan, Eliza Billingham, Henry McNulty and me. Eliza Billingham provides digital help.
Thanks for listening. I’m Doug Nadvornick. This is SPR News.
