We, the people of the state of Idaho, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and promote our common welfare do establish this Constitution.
Preamble to the Idaho Constitution.
The state of Idaho is a state that I now believe is often overlooked for its uniqueness. When we go home to watch television or read the newspaper weeks and months might go by before we even here Idaho mentioned. I have to admit that I had similar feelings toward the state. I came to learn that Idaho however has its own unique identity. In the following paragraphs I will share many interesting facts about Idaho and its government. I will focus a majority of my paper on its legislature, its politics, crime and punishment, education, politics, taxes, and influential factors that affect its government.
Idaho's population is just under 1.3 million people. Idaho is ranked forty-first of the fifty states with only twenty-one percent of its people having a bachelor degree. Idaho is known as mainly as an agriculture state which is somewhat true. Idaho has over 22,000 farms and ranches, which cover about one-fourth of the state. Manufacturing and service industries have grown rapidly however and provide a majority of the states employment.
When Idaho became a state (1890) congress gave two sections of each township for the support of public schools. Each section of land is roughly 1,280 acres. Little of this land is used for schools but it does provide income for schools because they can rent it out to farmers and ranchers. Besides this money all of the money for education comes from taxes. Children ages seven to fifteen are required to attend school by Idaho state law. The state board of education oversees and assists the public schools in the state. The board is made up of seven appointed members and the state superintendent of public instruction. The governor names the appointed members to five-year terms.
