CarlBjerke4Senate

📢 Kootenai County needs poll workers for the November 4th election. Serve your community AND get paid! For more information visit: https://www.kcgov.us/324/Poll-Workers

The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee has released its recommended candidates for the November 4, 2025, election! After a rigorous vetting process including questionnaires, interviews, and a vote by our elected precinct committeemen, we’re proud to recommend conservatives who uphold the Idaho GOP Platform. Check out the full list on our website and support these freedom-focused leaders at the polls!

I serve on the Idaho Child Custody & Domestic Relations Task Force. We met in Kootenai County on July 31st.

Here is video from that meeting:

Idaho Child Custody & Domestic Relations Task Force (July 31, 2025) If you've been through the family court system and want to make a difference, your voice matters. Consider writing a letter to share your testimony or any id...

If you live in North Idaho consider attending the meeting of the Child Custody and Domestic Relations Task Force.
To sign up to testify click on this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jBHcUCxkTn-9atBznPYWZQ #/registration

Line of Duty Death Announcement

At the request of the family, this Celebration of Life will be a private event for close family, friends, uniformed personnel, and hospital and healthcare professionals. This service is not open to the media or the general public. We appreciate your respect for the family’s wishes during this time.

📢 Early Voting for the May Election is Now Open!

Vote between May 5–May 16, Monday through Friday, from 8 AM to 5 PM at 1808 N 3rd St., Coeur d'Alene.

For more details, visit 👉 www.kcgov.us/31/elections

OPINION: Fiscal responsibility means doing the work

In these times of economic uncertainty and political distrust, it’s easy to fall into the trap of reflexively saying "no" to every dollar spent. After all, the federal government is drowning in debt, and many Idahoans are rightly wary of being tethered to that sinking ship.

But real conservatism isn’t about showing who can shout "no" the loudest — it’s about making sure our communities are ready when our debt-funded system finally buckles.

As a member of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC), I’ve had the opportunity — and responsibility — to examine the details behind the numbers. That work has changed how I think about certain appropriations. It's not glamorous, but it's where the real business of governing happens.

Recently, I carried Senate Bill 1178, which provides targeted enhancements to the Idaho Commission on Aging. This is a modest appropriation — $666,500 total, with just $162,600 from the state’s general fund — to support services that help Idaho seniors live with dignity in their own communities. The rest comes from federal ARPA dollars that will disappear if we don’t act.

Some argue that accepting federal money makes us complicit in Washington’s dysfunction. But here’s the reality: That money is already gone from Idaho wallets. If we don’t use it for our communities, someone else will use it for theirs. It won’t reduce the debt, and it won’t come back to us later. All we’ll have done is let another state fix their roof while ours continues to leak.

These one-time funds won’t create new long-term liabilities. They’ll go toward practical upgrades — replacing aging equipment, repairing senior centers, and helping strained caregivers. And they’ll do it through local, community-based partners who know best where the need is greatest.

Some of us have long followed thinkers like Thomas Sowell, who emphasize discipline and clarity in economic thought. That discipline includes knowing the difference between pork-barrel spending and meaningful investment. For Idaho, using existing federal dollars to shore up our senior infrastructure is a matter of prudence, not excess.

Yes, I came to the legislature a committed conservative. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is my appreciation for the unglamorous parts of government — the work that doesn’t make headlines but makes life better for those like our seniors who built this state before us.

Idaho’s future depends on our ability to act wisely in the present. That means using what resources we can, while there is still time, to build lasting value here at home.

It’s your money. I’d rather see it spent in Idaho than lost to the federal ether.

Carl Bjerke, Idaho State Senator

Thank you to the Coeur d'Alene Press for publishing my guest opinion.

OPINION: Fiscal responsibility means doing the work “In these times of economic uncertainty and political distrust, it’s easy to fall into the trap of reflexively saying "no" to every dollar spent. After all, the federal government is drowning in debt, and many Idahoans are rightly wary of being tethered to that sinking ship.