What went wrong during Idaho’s 2026 legislative session? In this episode of the Lewiston Tribune Podcast, Managing Editor Matt Baney sits down with Opinion Page Editor Marty Trillhaase to break down what he’s calling a “legislative mess” and what it means for the state moving forward.

Timestamps 0:00 Intro 0:24 Were we left a stinking pile of legislative mess? 1:55 Breaking down Idaho’s budget 4:15 Will the deficit be worse next year? 4:48 Why didn’t Idaho draw the rainy day fund 5:10 The big unknown about the big beautiful bill 7:00 Will Idaho regret not passing an open primary? 7:20 Spending a lot of time on the culture wars 11:31 Who is Perry Swisher? 13:27 What are some of Idaho’s redeeming qualities? 15:07 Why did LCSC's name change take so long? 16:46 Going over key election races 21:25 Abortion rights and medicinal marijuana 2 ...