Heres the start of paper I am working on:
Idaho; Gateway to Freedom
Idaho is the State of choice for the Free State Project
Economy
Manufacturing has recently supplanted agriculture as the most important sector of Idaho's economy. Cattle and dairy goods are among the leading agricultural products. Idaho's chief crops are potatoes (for which the state, easily the nation's largest producer, is famous), hay, wheat, peas, beans, and sugar beets. Electronic and computer equipment, processed foods, lumber, and chemicals are the major manufactured items.
The unspoiled quality of much of Idaho's land has nourished one of the youngest of Idaho's businesses—the tourist trade. Sun Valley, one of the nation's best-known year-round vacation spots, is an example of the development of resorts in Idaho. Mining, once the major source of income, and still economically important, produces phosphates, gold, silver, molybdenum, antimony, lead, zinc, and other minerals.
Boise , state capital and seat of Ada Co., SW Idaho, on the Boise River; inc. 1864. The largest city in Idaho, Boise is an important trade and transportation center. Food processing, trucking, lumbering, high technology, and light manufacturing are the major industries.. The region was developed for farming, and Boise drew wealth from orchards and fields rather than mines. Increased irrigation, hydroelectric power, and flood control projects associated with the Boise River have increased the area's agricultural yield. In the city are Boise State Univ. and a state penitentiary.
Boise Area Major Industries
Agriculture/Food Processing
Corporate Headquarters
Education
Financial Services
Government
High Technology
Manufacturing Military
Healthcare
Trade, Retail & Wholesale
Transportation
Utilities
Military
Healthcare
Trade, Retail & Wholesale
Transportation
Utilities
Boise Area Major Employers
Private Employers
Micron Technology, Inc.
(and subsidiaries)
Albertson's, Inc.
Hewlett-Packard Company
J.R. Simplot Company
St. Luke's Regional Medical Center
Saint Alphonsus RMC
DIRECTV
U.S. Bank
Idaho Power Company
Fred Meyer
Micronpc
Sears Boise Regional Credit Center
Wells Fargo
Public Employers
Mountain Home Air Force Base*
Boise State University
Boise School District
Meridian School District
Idaho Department of Health
& Welfare
Idaho National Guard
Boise City
Ada County
Nampa School District
U.S. Postal Service
Source: Boise Metro Chamber, collected from public & private employers, 2000
Geography
Much of Idaho has an unspoiled beauty, with rugged slopes and towering peaks, a vast expanse of timberland, scenic lakes, wild rivers, cascades, and spectacular gorges. From the northern Panhandle, where Idaho is about 45 mi (72 km) wide, the state broadens south of the Bitterroot Range to 310 mi (499 km) in width. The Snake River flows in a great arc across S Idaho; with its tributaries the river has been harnessed to produce hydroelectric power and to reclaim vast areas of dry but fertile land. To the north of the Snake River valley, in central and north central Idaho, are the massive Sawtooth Mts. and the Salmon River Mts., which shelter magnificent wilderness areas, including the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness Area, and the Idaho Primitive Area.
In the central and north central regions and in the Panhandle there are tremendous expanses of national forests covering approximately two fifths of the state and constituting one of the largest areas of national forests in the nation. Idaho's jagged granite peaks include Mt. Borah, which is 12,662 ft (3,859 m) high. Hells Canyon, which at one point is 7,900 ft (2408 m) below the mountaintops, is the deepest gorge in North America. The state also contains Craters of the Moon National Monument and a protected grove of ancient cedars at Upper Priest Lake.
Rushing rivers such as the Salmon and the Clearwater, and many lakes, notably Lake Pend Oreille, Lake Coeur d'Alene (often described as one of the world's loveliest), and Priest Lake, as well as the state's mountain areas, make Idaho a superb fish and game preserve and vacation land. The state is especially inviting to campers, anglers, and hunters (Idaho has one of the largest elk herds in the nation).
The state's climate ranges from hot summers in the arid southern basins to cold, snowy winters in the high wilderness areas of central and northern Idaho. The capital and largest city is Boise; other cities of importance are Lewiston, Pocatello and Idaho Falls.
Boise
· Land Area Boise MSA - 1,645 Sq. Miles
· Boise Elevation - 2,842 Ft.
· Mean Temperature - 50.9 F. Degrees
· Precipitation (annual) - 12.11 inches
· Number of Sunny Days - 234
Education
Outstanding among Idaho's institutions of higher learning are the Univ. of Idaho, at Moscow; Idaho State Univ., at Pocatello; and Boise State Univ., at Boise.
