Wood River Valley

In the Wood River Valley, three women are leading three nonprofits, helping immigrants, children and seniors survive and thrive in their community.

Since flooding in 2017, the Blaine County community has begun to re-think controlling the river.

Ketchum, Sun Valley and Hailey are asking voters to support repurposing a portion of the tax revenue used to attract flights to the tourism area to housing for locals.

They say Latino Family Liaisons helped make Spanish-speaking parents feel connected to the Wood River Valley community and explained school processes like college applications.

Edith López-Millard is a leader at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hailey and a bilingual kindergarten teacher who has been helping her students navigate life in and out of the classroom.

Luis Campos is a lawyer who has worked for the past several years along the U.S.-Mexico Border. But more recently, he’s been spending a week every month in the Wood River Valley.

The city of Ketchum is trying again to raise money for housing through its resort tax after a ballot measure last year failed. This spring, voters there could be joined by those in Sun Valley and Hailey in considering a similar measure.

As the primary food bank in the Sun Valley area, the Hunger Coalition has long had a window into the valley’s inequality.

Thanks to redistricting, there’s only one incumbent for the three legislative seats in District 26, which includes Blaine, Lincoln and Jerome counties. Each race has a Republican and a Democrat on the ballot.

The chargeable buses cost roughly $800,000 but are expected to save Mountain Rides 15-20% on maintenance and ownership costs over time.