Idaho Statesman welcomes three new community members to the editorial board
I’m happy to report that three new community members are joining the Idaho Statesman’s editorial board: Greg Lanting, Terri Schorzman and Garry Wenske.
Lanting is a Republican state representative from Twin Falls who recently lost his primary to a far-right challenger. Our editorial board has praised Lanting a couple of times this year for courageous votes he took for an anti-school bullying bill and against a guns-in-schools bill.
Lanting was born and raised on a ranch/farm in southern Twin Falls County and graduated from Filer High School, College of Southern Idaho, University of Idaho and College of Idaho.
He served 10 years in the Idaho Air and Army National Guard.
Lanting has a good perspective on city issues. He was on the Twin Falls Planning and Zoning Commission for eight years, City Council for 16 years (2005 to 2021) and was Twin Falls mayor in 2012-13. Lanting was vice mayor when the city recruited Chobani to Twin Falls and mayor when the city recruited Clif Bar.
Lanting also has a firm grasp on education issues, with 33 years’ experience in education, including 16 years as a teacher and 17 years as a principal.
He is a founding member of Main Street Idaho, a group of legislators seeking to promote and expand Idaho’s economy through the free market.
Wenske was a staff member for U.S. Sen. Frank Church, D-Idaho, for about 10 years and most recently was the executive director of the Frank Church Institute at Boise State University for nearly 20 years before retiring two years ago.
While in Washington, Wenske served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff, Senate Aging Committee staff, presidential campaign staff, as well as Church’s Senate staff. He also worked for several other members of Congress, including as chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Larry LaRocco, D-Idaho, and was a Foreign Service officer in the U.S. State Department for five years.
Wenske, who grew up in Boise and graduated from Borah High School, continues to serve on the Frank Church Institute’s board of directors and on the boards of the Boise Committee on Foreign Relations (where he was president for 15 years) and Global Ties Idaho.
Schorzman was the first director for the Boise City Department of Arts & History, where she served from 2008 until her retirement in 2022.
Schorzman has received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Arts Administration from the Idaho Commission on the Arts and the Merit Award for Leadership in State and Local History from the American Association in State and Local History.
Previously, Schorzman was the program manager for an international research program in the history of science and technology at the Smithsonian Institution; the program manager for humanities teacher institutes and special programs at the Idaho Humanities Council; and director of public programs for the Discovery Center of Idaho.
As a volunteer, she serves on the executive board of the Boise-based Alexa Rose Foundation and the Boise Arts & History Foundation, Inc., and previously served on the Boise City Arts Commission.
Their bona fides are impressive, and I’m looking forward to working with all three members. Their backgrounds and breadth of experience will serve our readers well as we enter the November elections and another legislative session in January.
Community members serve on a volunteer basis for a one-year term. Other editorial board members include Idaho Statesman editor Chadd Cripe, opinion writer Bryan Clark and newsroom editors Jim Keyser and Dana Oland.
I want to take an opportunity again to thank Patricia Nilsson and Mary Rohlfing for serving as community members for the past year. Their insights and wisdom were invaluable.
If you’re interested in serving as a community member when the next term comes up next year, send me an email at smcintosh@idahostatesman.com.
