The Gem State Brief

Curated by Locus Lectorum

December 11, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

✍️ By Our Members

Free Beer vs Illegal Aliens

"Free Beer vs. Illegal Aliens" — A look at the community response and local news coverage of the Old State Saloon's offer of free beer for ICE tips. (GSB Staff)

New data visualization tools show lobbying money spent in the state

State Capitol | December 4 | Idaho Capital Sun

New visual representations on the Vote Idaho website allow Idaho voters to see where the roughly $2.5 million in lobbying money spent in 2025 comes from. The largest spenders proved to be out of state organizations, with the Modern Ag Alliance taking the top spot, spending roughly $600,000 to lobby for a bill to grant legal immunity to pesticide manufacturers.

Ada County Sheriff's Office suffers data breach

Ada County Sheriff's Office | December 4 | KTVB

The Ada County Sheriff's Office uses a system called CodeRED to alert the public to emergencies. They were notified last week by the company that CodeRED's database was breached and the personal information of the system's users was exposed.

Owners of local mine announce government partnership for domestic antimony production

Stibnite | December 9 | Valley Lookout

Perpetua Resources, owner of the new mineral mine recently permitted near McCall, announced a partnership this week with the US Military and Idaho National Labs to establish a domestic source of antimony, a key mineral necessary for the production of munitions. With no domestic source currently operational, this agreement is part of a nationwide pivot to secure critical mineral production within American borders.

This story is the latest in a series, view the full thread here → 🧵


ICE conducting traffic stops throughout Canyon County

Canyon County | December 4 | KTVB

The Canyon County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that ICE is conducting ongoing traffic stops throughout Canyon County seeking to catch and deport illegal immigrants. At least one community member told KTVB that members of their extended family who are in the USA illegally were taken to detention facilities in Texas and Nevada.

Ada County schools add new security measures

West Ada School District | December 9 | KTVB

Starting next year, West Ada School District will provide digital 'alert badges' to staff to allow them to immediately alert law enforcement in the case of an on-campus emergency. The board of trustees is also evaluating a proposal to add 'campus sentinels'--former law enforcement officers carrying concealed weapons to protect against active shooters.

INL creates first fuel batch for new reactor design

Idaho National Laboratory | December 3 | Energy.gov

The Idaho National Laboratory has created the first of approximately 70 batches of fuel salt for the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment (MCRE). The process converts uranium metal into uranium chloride salt. The team at INL has developed a new process, the first of its kind, to reduce the fuel refinement process to just a few hours per batch. MCRE is one of several advanced new reactor projects slated for production use in the 2030s.

Canyon County creates buffer zone between Nampa and Star

Canyon County | December 3 | BoiseDev

An area of land south of the Boise River has been part of Nampa's Area of Impact (AOI) for decades, defined as land that the city plans to expand into. The City of Star recently asked the county to redefine the swath as part of Star's AOI, but the Board of Commissioners voted to remove it from the Nampa AOI, leaving the land as a "DMZ" between Nampa and Star, to the disappointment of both rapidly growing cities.

Costco considering new location in Eagle

Eagle | December 4 | KIVI

Costco has begun the approval process for a new location on ID 55 and Hill Rd, starting with a neighborhood meeting for the impacted area is scheduled for tonight. Costco has yet to file an application, but has had a meeting with the Planning and Zoning Department.

Highlights & Insights

Christian Nationalism is a phrase that rapidly entered American political and religious discourse after Trump's first election and has become a heavily debated concept across the country. Kevin DeYoung, a well-regarded pastor in the PCA, penned the following article last week to critique and clarify what CN is or is not, which prompted a slew of responses in various corners of the internet. We are providing two specific articles penned in answer to DeYoung, one from Doug Wilson, the figure most often associated with CN, and another from Andy Schmitt, a blogger on Substack with a specific focus on politics, government, and culture. Taken together, these three articles (DeYoung's cautious evaluation, Wilson's qualified embrace, and Schmitt's sharper critique) give readers an excellent snapshot of where the conversation stands today. Whether you're trying to understand the debate or form your own convictions, we believe you'll find the articles clarifying and provocative in the best sense.

🏛️ Apologetics Fact

A recent study on biostratigraphy -- a method for determining the age of rock based on fossil content -- avoided the usual assumptions that the fossils arose at different eras of history. The simulation revealed that, given the conditions of the observed fossil record, there was no difference between an ordered and un-ordered record. In other words, there was no reason to assume the fossils arose across the eons rather than in a punctiliar event.

🗣️ Quote

"The saddest thing about any man is that he be ignorant, and the most exciting thing is that he knows." — Alfred the Great

🏅 Person: Royce Williams (1925-)

Royce Williams is a naval aviator who fought with distinction in the Korean War. On November 18, 1952, Williams entered into a dogfight against 7 Soviet fighters in his F9F-5 Panther. Quickly separated from his wingmen, Williams successfully fought 6 MiG-15s solo and shot 3 of them down over 35 minutes of intense combat. The longest aerial combat in Navy annals, this story was only recently declassified and the latest military appropriation bill includes a section to award Williams, now 100 years old, the Medal of Honor.

📕 Book: Pride and Prejudice

Perhaps the most well known romance novel in modern literature, Jane Austen's classic is deserving of its reputation. Along with a well-told tale of affection, honor, emotion, and reason seldom found in modern literature, it contains some of the most beautifully written prose that can be found in any book. Scarcely a sentence is lacking some clever construction or novel colloquialism lost to our modern English.

Non-AI Generation Disclaimer: All elements of the Gem State Brief (headlines, summaries, highlights, insights, original articles/videos, etc.) are produced exclusively by members of the Locus Lectorum book club (learn about each member here), not AI. This is news by humans for humans.