Rural Millennials Flock to Eastern Idaho; Pa. Gov. Looks to More Consolidation
Potato fields in eastern Idaho near Idaho Falls. Shutterstock
Connecting state and local government leaders
Also in our State and Local Weekend Digest: Wyoming looks to trim state workforce; New Jersey short-term rental regulations; and an embattled town manager in Maine awaits his fate.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | The eastern Idaho town of Rexburg is now known as “Millennial City USA” thanks to demographic data showing that 81.7 percent of the municipality’s population of 26,000 residents is under the age of 30. “So much has been written about what urban millennials want, but this is the first time anyone has formally studied rural millennials to learn what drives them,” according to Jan Rogers, president of the Regional Economic Development for Eastern Idaho. One of the study’s findings: “Rural millennials prefer to live in an open area close to an urban center, rather than in the middle of a city or town.” [Regional Economic Development for Eastern Idaho]
STATE BUDGETS | Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, Tom Wolf, is scheduled to release his 2017-18 spending plan to the Republican-controlled legislature on Tuesday. Wolf’s budget is expected to focus on government consolidation and the governor has previously announced his intention to close one state prison and two mental health facilities to save $110 million. [The Morning Call]
Wyoming state lawmakers, facing continued declines in energy revenues, are looking to make cuts from the $3 billion two-year government operations budget. Legislation unveiled on Thursday would cut 135 full-time state positions and 10 part-time positions. [Casper Star-Tribune]
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES | While medical organizations in Nevada are mostly in consensus with Gov. Brian Sandoval’s three main health policy budget priorities—the opioid abuse epidemic, medical education and Medicaid reimbursements—there are some concerns that mental health services may not be getting the attention they need. [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
In Indiana, state Sen. Jim Merritt has introduced 19 bills focused on the opioid epidemic, including measures that would fund new recovery programs and implement rules on prescribing addictive painkillers. [The Indianapolis Star]
SHORT-TERM RENTALS | Regulation of short-term rentals through services like Airbnb is on the rise in New Jersey, with state lawmakers and municipalities looking to impose new rules and sales and use taxes, giving governments in the Garden State new sources of revenue. [The Record]
FACILITIES | A North Carolina state office building in downtown Raleigh will be getting new awnings to replace scaffolding that was installed two and a half years ago to protect people entering and exiting from cracked and falling glass above. Shortly after the building was completed in 2012, windows began developing cracks due to a microscopic defect. [The News & Observer]
TOWN MANAGERS | Leaders in the beachside town of Ogunquit, Maine, are gearing up for a vote on Tuesday whether to fire their embattled town manager, who stands accused of municipal wrongdoing, including claims that he used teenage workers from his baseball team to collect parking fees from Fourth of July visitors and pocketed the money that should have gone to the town’s coffers. The town manager, Tom Fortier, has been on leave and was charged with theft six months ago. [Portland Press Herald]
NEXT STORY: What’s Driving Population Declines in More States?