‘Some really great ideas.’ Legislators from across the state impressed by visit the Gate City

POCATELLO — Legislators from all across the state of Idaho joined together on a four-day tour of the Gate City, and many said they learned things that they want to bring back to their home districts.

The legislative tour is an annual event that brings Idaho state representatives and senators on a tour of rotating communities, organized by their local chambers of commerce. On even years, they go to a north Idaho city, and on odd years they go to a city in the southern part of the state. Rexburg, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls and Pocatello all take turns every odd year.

The tour of Pocatello went from Saturday to Tuesday.

“As a legislator, it’s very valuable to see different parts of the state because obviously, we represent our specific district, but laws impact the entire state,” said Jordan Redman, an Idaho House representative from District 3 in Kootenai County. “So to see different economies and different communities throughout the state is really important.”

Dustin Manwaring, a House representative from District 29 in Bannock County, said that even he learned more about the area he represents on the tour.

“Everybody on the bus… all learned something about this community,” Manwaring said. “The more we know about the community, the more we’re able to make better decisions as policymakers.”

Manwaring said he was impressed with the newly opened Portneuf Valley Technical Education & Career Campus, which the legislatures got to tour.

He also said he was impressed with what’s been happening on the Idaho State University campus, particularly in the College of Technology and the College of Nursing. He said that the “pride of the university” was on full display as they toured the university and saw how they were spending state tax dollars.

Wendy Horman, a House representative from District 32 in Bonneville County, said that she heard, “Thank you for the significant investments you’ve made,” from officials with the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 and Idaho State University.

“It’s not often that we do legislative tours where legislators hear thank yous for education investments,” Horman said.

Something that Redman found innovative that Pocatello had done is that the Pocatello Street Department partnered with Napa Auto Parts to open a location in their building so that the department would have easy access to purchase parts.

“I think the city of was doing a lot of really, really cool and innovative things,” Redman said. “I’m going to plan on speaking with some of the cities up here and just making sure they have connection with those guys because I think those are some really great ideas.”