Longest Serving Idaho Governor Remembered at Service

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Former U.S. Interior Secretary and Idaho Gov. Cecil D. Andrus was remembered as a conservation champion, education advocate and true Idaho leader by friends and family during a public memorial service.

Hundreds packed a Boise State University ballroom on Thursday to mourn the passing of the state's longest-serving four-term governor, while also celebrate his contributions to Idaho. The 85-year-old Andrus died last Thursday of complications from lung cancer. His final term as governor ended in 1995 and he was the last the last Democrat to hold the top state political job in heavily Republican Idaho.

Daughter Tracy Andrus says her father loved every Idahoan as much as his own children. Meanwhile, Idaho's Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson added that he learned the value of compromise from the Democratic lawmaker.