Nanny State Tyranny in Rexburg, Idaho

by Will Grigg
Sep. 21, 2013

Don’t go borrowing trouble. If people were to heed that time-honored admonition from a long-forgotten sage, life would be much more pleasant, and much less difficult. Yet for some reason many people are determined to invent problems when their present supply should be more than sufficient.

In the placid southeastern Idaho town of Rexburg, for example, crime is all but nonexistent, but police still deal with dozens of 911 calls every day, nearly all of which involve entirely trivial matters. According to the Idaho Falls Post-Register, police were summoned by a Rexburg resident who had lost the remote control to his television. On another occasion, an officer was sent in response to a call from a person who was offended by the sight of women – clad in swimsuits – sunbathing in a local park.

Some 911 calls deal with noise complaints. According to Sgt. Brian Allen, “residents often will call police … rather than asking their neighbors to quiet down.”

Rexburg is the most Republican city in the known universe. Its conservative residents pay lip service to the ideal of rugged individualism – yet in practice many of them have eagerly embraced the worst aspects of the nanny state.