Idaho

Brad Little was elected as the state’s 33rd Governor in November 2018 and became Governor on January 7, 2019. Little was tapped to fill a State Senate vacancy in 2001 and went on to serve four consecutive terms in the Idaho State Senate. He then served as Idaho’s 37th Lt. Governor starting on January 6, 2009. Brad and his wife Teresa have two grown sons and six grandchildren.

Originally suggested for Colorado, the name "Idaho" was used for a steamship which traveled the Columbia River. With the discovery of gold on the Clearwater River in 1860, the diggings began to be called the Idaho mines. "Idaho" is a coined or invented word, and is not a derivation of an Indian phrase "E Dah Hoe (How)" supposedly meaning "gem of the mountains."

Nickname
The "Gem State"
Motto
"Esto Perpetua" - let it be perpetual
Organized as a Territory
March 4, 1863, act signed by President Lincoln
Entered Union
July 3, 1890, 43rd state to join the Union