Idaho (1983: Doomsday)

The state of Idaho is less of a nation and more of a relitively peaceful haven in the mountains of the west. In the wake of the Nuclear Holocaust of 1983, it has grown quite a bit, but has tried to maintain a low profile due to its small population of about 200,000. The seperate towns have established a network of very small city-states that maintain very cordial informal relations. each town though, is completely self sufficient and self governing, and immigrants are encouraged to settle in the smaller comunities. Idaho falls, as the largest town, serves as the closest thing to a center that their is, but most of the towns rely on leaders they have known for a long time to lead them. Contact with the outside is reduced by heavily bombed areas to the south and rugged mountains. While the Idaho cities are considered to be a block by both Deseret and NAU, each nation maintains a government in their own capital that does little except "grant" the cities autonomy. Both nations claim that the Idaho towns have chosen their organization for themselves. The actual Idahoans are highly divided on the matter, and the issue comes up every election, but the issue is distant, and as both nations give the individual towns virtual autonomy, it is not a real concern to them.

economy
Idaho had an agricultural economy before doomsday, and unlike most areas, was faced with a industrial crisis rather than a aggricultural one. obtaining fuel for existing equipment is probably the single largest difficulty, though a thriving horse industry has been established. Idaho thrives on Potatos and wheat, and have a large lumber industry. the increase in rain has been a great boon, feeding an increasing population, but has done nothing to help the area's massive manufacturing deffect

international relations
The Idaho cities were formally incorporated twice into two seperate but virtually identicle states in 1995 in response to the Spokane-Utah war. as their neighbors to the east and south repopulated evacuated communities, several cities petioned the PUSA to incorperate them as part of the NAU, the NAU responded by created the state of Idaho, with Dubois, a smaller town in the northern part of the area, as capital. several other cities (mostly larger than Dubois), objected, and gave strong support to the incorperation of the region in Northern Deseret. no one has quite decided wether or not the prior addoption of idaho by the PUSA, claiming to be the rightful successor of the USA, at the request of elected officials or the popular vote for incorporation is binding, and there is something of a movement in Idaho to maintain both, although the Dubois has been quite loud about its new status as the capital of the region. The cities maintain limited trade relations with both nations as the appropriate political entity, and the arrangement seems to be working out quite well.

Culture
The Mormon Church, while not as strong as in Utah, still plays a role as a shadow government in Idaho. however, as the area was cut off from most of utah and therefore the church leadership, its influence is centered in the hands of local leaders, who perfer to play a cultural and humanitarian role rather than a political one. The non-Mormon population perfers it this way, and indeed one of the great motivations to be a part of the NAU is to curb growing influence from church headquarters. Many church sponsered athletic teams have been formed into a leage, wich opperates under two sepperate organizations that mirror each other and maintain to the NAU that they opperate under the state of Idaho and to Deseret that they are church leages. Rick's colledge, in rexburg, has taken a role as the administrator of all education in the area, once again, maintaining a duel organizational nature to gain credit with both its neighbors. It has two major divisions, one focused on building the technology for manufactured goods, the other focused on educating farmers, particularly in opening up new land. This education split is decided at a very young age, the "agg" department opperating only in the winter, and heavily focusing on farming, the "tech" department selecting a very few students each year and focusing on practicle research. Many young people learn only to read "farmr's riding" a simplified form of english developed for rapid teaching during the winter only. those intending to go into research learn the "proper script".