Latest news with #IdahoPotatoCommission
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Maybe drive to a fork in the road? Idaho reintroduces ‘famous' license plate
Idaho is going retro. The state is bringing back its 1950s-era 'World Famous Potatoes' license plate, in part to help promote agriculture programs. Sleek in its black-and-white design, this plate gives Idahoans the option to personalize their vehicle while supporting the Idaho Potato Commission and highway infrastructure. The plate will cost $70, in addition to any registration fees for its initial issuance. Of this, $45 is allocated to state highway infrastructure and $25 to agricultural promotions through the commission, according to its president and CEO, Jamey Higham. It will be available to purchase starting June 18, according to a press release. 'It's a little more expensive than the usual plate that you get,' Higham said. 'The money to help with roads and stuff through the transportation department, and some of the money will also go to helping promote research for potatoes in our industry within the commission.' The bill to reboot the plate was sponsored by Rep. Douglas Pickett, an Oakley Republican and rancher, and was introduced on Feb. 11. It passed the House and Senate with no opposition. 'It was really easy to actually build a consensus for it, and kind of exciting to see such widespread support for something like that,' Pickett told the Idaho Statesman. Demand for a black license plate has been high in Idaho, according to Pickett and Higham, and they both said they've received good feedback regarding the resurgence of the 'World Famous Potatoes' plate. 'We've been thinking about it for a couple of years, and we actually had quite a few requests to have a black license plate because it's starting to be popular all over the West,' Higham said. Pickett said there was 'a lot of demand' to have a black plate. 'People like to personalize their vehicle, it's sort of a personal expression,' he said. Higham says he has gotten 'overwhelmingly positive' comments about the license plate. Pickett said there could be some apprehension to purchase it because Idahoans believe that areas funded by the other available plates could lose money when they drop those. 'There was a little concern about competition with the Idaho heritage plate. ... But at the end of the day, it boiled down to what people actually want, and people actually decided to have an alternative, and so I think it's important to give people those options,' Pickett said. The plate for the Idaho Heritage Trust helps support historic preservation efforts in the state. Pickett and Higham both said the 'World Famous Potatoes' license plate is what Idaho is all about. 'Our population is increasingly urban, but yet our interest in our identity as the home of the world famous Idaho potatoes remains intact, and people still identify with that as Idahoans,' Pickett said. 'It's just something that I think is kind of nostalgic for Idahoans to reflect back on a plate from the past.' Both men said they think it will be well-received. 'We have a lot of other great industries in Idaho, we really do, but somehow the potatoes have been kind of the iconic one that people recognize us for,' Higham said.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Idaho drivers will soon have two new potato-themed licensed plates
The new black and white license plate created through House Bill 204 is inspired by an Idaho license plate from the 1950s. (Courtesy of the Idaho Potato Commission) Idaho drivers will soon have two new license plate designs available to show off their potato pride. On Wednesday, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 204 into law, which will create two new retro-style license plate designs honoring Idaho potatoes starting July 1. Idaho's standard license plates already display the words 'famous potatoes.' The Idaho Potato Commission does not receive funding for those plates unless it is a specialty 'baked potato' license plate, which is available to Idaho drivers for an additional fee. This legislation will create a total of three license plate designs available to Idaho drivers who want to showcase their potato patriotism, with the black license plate's proceeds going toward the Idaho Potato Commission and the state highway account. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Doug Pickett, R-Oakley, whose family raises potatoes in Cassia County. It passed unanimously on the House side, and nearly unanimously on the Senate side, with a dissenting vote from Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian. Idaho has had multiple license plates supporting the potato industry over the years, with designs dating back to 1928 and continuing through the '40s and '50s, said Sam Eaton, the vice president of government affairs for the Idaho Potato Commission. Even Utah's black-and-white license plate has gained popularity, Eaton told the Idaho Capital Sun, which led him to believe a similar design focused on Idaho potatoes would be well received. One of the new designs will be black with white letters, and the other would be white with teal letters. Both designs will have the words 'Idaho' at the top and 'World Famous Potatoes' along the bottom. The black license plate will cost $70 plus regular registration fees for the initial issuance of the plate. 'This is going to be a specialty plate, so it'll be more expensive,' Eaton said. The Idaho Potato Commission will receive $25, and the state highway account will receive $45 in proceeds from each initial purchase of the black plate. Renewing the black license plate will cost $50, with $15 going to the commission and $35 going to the state highway account. 'We are doing research for new, better varieties that are more heat and disease tolerant,' Eaton said. 'We promote potatoes and are pretty successful at it all over the world, so the funding that will come from the plates will go to the commission so we can continue to do those things.' The white and teal design is not a specialty plate, so there will be no additional fee on top of the regular registration fee. This will be the least expensive plate available for Idaho drivers. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Bill creating two new potato license plates advances in Idaho Legislature
Idaho state Rep. Douglas Pickett, left, presents a bill creating new specialty potato license plates on Feb. 18, 2025, at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. The design of one of the proposed new license plates appears on the screen behind Pickett. (Clark Corbin/Idaho Capital Sun) Potato proponents, spud supporters and French fry fanatics across the state may soon rejoice. The Idaho Legislature is considering a bill that would add two new 'Idaho world famous potato' specialty license plates in Idaho. All standard Idaho license plates already prominently display the phrase 'famous potatoes.' And if the standard plate isn't enough for the most prominent potato partisans, there is already a specialty 'baked potato' license plate available from the Idaho Transportation Department for an additional fee. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX But during a meeting Tuesday at the Idaho State Capitol that could have passed for a sketch during the recent 'Saturday Night Live' anniversary comedy show, the House Transportation and Defense Committee voted to advance House Bill 204, which seeks to create two new specialty 'world famous potato' license plates inspired by vintage Idaho license plates that were available in the 1950s. Rep. Douglas Pickett, R-Oakley, and Spuddy Buddy's friends at the Idaho Potato Commission served up House Bill 207. If passed into law, House Bill 207 would create a black license plate with white type and a white license plate with teal type. Both would include the phrase 'Idaho world famous potatoes.' The new black plate would cost $70 plus regular registration fees for the initial issuance of the plate, with annual renewals running another $50. Of the initial fee, $45 would go to the state highway account and $25 would go to the Idaho Potato Commission. The white and teal plate (which several legislators said unfavorably resemble Washington vintage license plates) would become the least expensive license plate available to Idahoans – Pickett said it would cost $1 less than the standard plates available. 'Both of these plates are iconic tributes to Idaho heritage and patents, and there seems to be an increasing demand in particular for the black plate making a return, coming back,' Pickett said Tuesday. CONTACT US The Idaho Heritage Trust came out in opposition to the bill because of the white and teal plate becoming less expensive than standard plates. Katherine Kirk, the trust's executive director, said the standard red, white and blue Idaho license plates were created as part of the Idaho Centennial celebration in 1990. Kirk said the red, white and blue plates were so popular with the public they became the standard Idaho license plate in 1992. The assets from the centennial celebration, including a 50 cent per license plate royalty fee for use of the original trademark, were then transferred to the Idaho Heritage Trust, which preserves Idaho artifacts and historic buildings. Kirk said that making the new specialty plate the cheapest option creates competition with the standard plate and could hurt the trust's mission to work with state agencies to preserve historic buildings and artifacts. 'As such, IHC objects on the grounds the base price for the new plate is lower than the current standard plate, undermining royalties rightly paid to the trust per our standard agreement with the Legislature,' Kirk said. In the end, the House Transportation and Defense Committee voted to send House Bill 207 to the floor of the Idaho House of Representatives with a recommendation it pass. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
