Kevin’s blog

Expert analysis and the latest news from award-winning journalist Kevin Richert.

Republican states align behind Idaho transgender athletics ban

Fourteen state attorneys general co-signed a brief supporting Idaho’s first-in-the-nation law, which bans transgender girls and women from playing in girls’ and women’s sports.

Coronavirus trendline, 11.20.20: Record cases and record deaths, again

All of Idaho’s key coronavirus metrics continued to move in the wrong direction this week. The state and its health districts reported nearly 9,800 new cases and 94 COVID-19 deaths.

Coronavirus roundup: A turbulent and troubling Tuesday

New guidelines could affect school sports and extracurricular activities in the Treasure Valley. Deaths and case numbers hit one-day peaks. And a health district entertains COVID-19 conspiracy theorists.

NNU will reopen campus Wednesday

Northwest Nazarene University issued the Nov. 10 stay-in-place directive as case numbers began climbing on the Nampa campus. Since then, the case numbers are showing signs of tapering off.

K-12 coronavirus cases continue to climb sharply

The hotspots are high schools — especially in the West Ada and Boise school districts.

COVID-19 — and not transgender politics — costs Idaho March Madness

The NCAA is pulling the men’s basketball tournament from Boise State University and other campus-aligned venues across the nation, opting to hold the tournament in a single geographic area.

Coronavirus trendline, 11.13.20: Where Idaho stands, eight months in

All the key numbers are careening in the wrong direction. Case numbers peaked again — for the sixth successive week. Idaho reported its deadliest week in the pandemic. And hospitalizations far exceeded the state’s targets.