Coronavirus in rural America (Part XIV): Idaho

Two coronavirus stories out of Idaho reveal different ends of that state's socioeconomic and political continuum--from Sandpoint in the panhandle to SunValley in the east central part of the state, a prime example of rural gentrification.

The first story is by Mike Baker for the New York Times and is headlined, "A ‘Liberty’ Rebellion in Idaho Threatens to Undermine Coronavirus Orders."  The subhead is "Even some public officials have challenged social-distancing requirements, calling them assaults on the Constitution. One group wants to gather up to 1,000 people for Easter."  This story features the state's libertarian streak and is predictably consistent with the politics of the panhandle region in particular.  Turns out Ammon Bundy, from neighboring Nevada and a ringleader of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge seizure from a few years ago, is associated with the "rebellion."

The second story is by The New Yorker, and its headline is "Why an Idaho Ski Destination Has One of the Highest COVID-19 Infection Rates in the Nation."  Michael Ames writes of a super-spreading event that began in Sun Valley, where some 700 members of the "Black Summit of the National Brotherhood of Skiers (N.B.S.), the largest African-American ski and snowboard association in the world" gathered in early March.  They came from across the United States, and some from as far away as Europe for their 47th annual "mountain meet up."  By the following week, 126 members had symptoms of coronavirus, and several have since died. 

Interestingly, President Trump twice invoked Idaho as a success story in March.  Ames describes Trump's comments, suggesting that the state's wide open spaces made it impervious to coronavirus: 

“Parts of our country are very lightly affected. Very small numbers,” Trump said, on March 24th. “You look at Nebraska, you look at Idaho, you look at Iowa, you look at many—I could name many countries that are handling it very, very well and that are not affected to the same extent, or, frankly, not even nearly to the extent of New York.” Five days later, Trump ticked off the same triumvirate of “countries.” “I said, ‘How about Nebraska? How about Idaho? How about Iowa?’ And you know what? Those people are so great—the whole Midwest,” he said, missing Idaho on the map by a thousand miles or so.

Meanwhile, also from the Rockies, I love how Montana is using fish and fishing equipment as reference points for the six-feet social distancing recommendation.  Here's the Fox news account of the distinctly Montanan public service announcement which some are calling "fishtancing.":

Montana may be the third-lowest state in terms of population density in the U.S., but it hasn't stopped its Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department from coming up with unique ways to recommend social distancing to its residents amid the coronavirus outbreak. 

The department has converted the recommended six-feet social distancing rule -- intended to limit the spread of COVID-19 -- into social "fishtancing" -- expressing the gap in terms of the lengths of several varieties of fish. 

For example, the recommended gap equals “4 trout,” “2 shovelnose sturgeon,” “1 paddlefish” or “1 fishing rod” measurements, according to a Twitter post by the government agency.