Good morning, Lewiston.

Feeding America’s 2025 Map the Meal Gap report shows food insecurity increased in Idaho as 12.7% of residents and 16.2% of children lack enough food—rural counties like Lewis, Butte and Shoshone recorded the highest rates.

The report also noted that 63% of food-insecure Idahoans earn too much to qualify for SNAP, highlighting gaps in current support.

Lewiston lost 144 residents—its population fell to 34,693 from 2023 to 2024—making it the city with the largest drop among 57 Idaho cities.

Lewiston fire crews and police responded to a structure fire at 1722 5th Street, Apartment 12 around 6:00 p.m. on Sunday—rescuing two kittens, a dog, and assisting the trapped occupant who is receiving medical evaluation while investigators check the cause and damage is estimated at about $3,000.

At 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, the Lewiston Fire Department and Lewiston Police responded to a structure fire at 1722 5th Street after callers reported an apartment alarm and someone trying to escape a window—fire crews quickly extinguished the blaze, rescued two kittens and one dog, transported one occupant for medical evaluation, and estimated about $3000 in damage.

Kyle Guelcher, regional director of the North Central Idaho Small Business Development Center at Lewis-Clark State College, was awarded the Idaho SBDC State Star Award during a recent professional development conference.

He was chosen from 11 nominees for his leadership and commitment to small business growth.

The Idaho Transportation Department warns Lewiston residents about scam text messages falsely claiming unpaid traffic fines and including a suspicious link—officials say the texts are not from ITD—and advise people not to click on any links or share personal details.

Idaho health officials say the state will let private companies run Medicaid fully in 2029 after years of careful planning (to end the current mix of state and private services).

The change is part of a new cost-cutting bill and will include plans to award new contracts to three companies.