2025 NACo Legislative Conference Recap

Written by Kathy Ackerman, NACo Board Representative and Idaho County Clerk 

The 2025 NACo Legislative Conference is a wrap! Idaho had great, diverse representation with our delegation from counties across the state, including Ada, Bannock, Blaine, Custer, Idaho, Latah, Lemhi, Power, Twin Falls, and Valley counties. We were also joined by Seth Grigg, Sara Westbrook and Kristin Cundiff from IAC. We made a great team, working to learn and advocate for Idaho and Idaho counties.

Key speakers for the conference included Doug Collins, US Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Alex Meyer, Director of White House Intergovernmental Affairs; Oregon Senator Ron Wyden; and Brooke Rollins, US Secretary of Agriculture. Hot topics were the renewal of SRS funding, layoffs of government workers, and what else might be expected from DOGE.

NACo is a non-partisan organization working to minimize legislation that impacts counties and county services, so although the membership is comprised of people of different political leanings and opinions, the messaging from NACo was consistent—take a breath; everything is being looked at, but not everything is going to get cut. Regardless of who is sitting in the White House, NACo works closely and directly with the top cabinet officials to ensure that counties have a place at the table. 

While in DC, our team met with our members of Congress—Representatives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson and Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch. This was our opportunity to carry our county concerns about activity on the federal level that impacts our constituents directly.  

Jenny Rosin, Lemhi County Assessor and IAC first Vice President stated, “The NACo conference was a valuable experience, providing numerous opportunities for learning, networking and collaboration. I would encourage all members to actively engage with IAC and NACo.”

We are so lucky to have great leadership in IAC modeling what it takes to build and maintain strong relationships within Idaho and across the country. I encourage you to engage with our strong state association, IAC, and with the broader community of elected leaders in NACo. You are the only thing standing between that question you’ve been thinking about and an answer that is at the ready. Go IAC and Go NACo! 

View more photos from this conference on IAC’s Flickr Page.