Two free programs you run on your own Windows PC. Both search the same public news feeds as the web versions, merge duplicate stories into one entry, and let you pick the state, the time window and the searches. Nothing runs until you press the search button.
Your own key for the AI app. Idaho News uses no AI and needs no account. US and Idaho News Priority ranks, groups and writes with Claude, so it needs your own Anthropic API key. Each person who uses it enters their own key, and the AI runs are billed to that person's Anthropic account. The key is kept in Windows Credential Manager on your computer and goes only to Anthropic. Without a key the Priority app still searches and ranks by keywords.
Download
Idaho News (no AI)
Latest news for Idaho or any state, your own searches plus preloaded ones (emergencies, elections, taxes, data centers, renewable energy, local places), Google News and Bing News, optional extra sources. No key, no account.
US and Idaho News Priority (uses AI, your own key)
Everything in Idaho News, plus AI ranking: Idaho and national emergencies first, then Idaho politics, Idaho business, Magic Valley local, and general news, grouped by topic. Pick stories and have the AI draft a headline, summary and short social post for each.
Install script: double-click Install-IdahoNews.cmd or Install-NewsPriority.cmd. Each downloads the installer from this site and runs it: the app goes into Program Files with a Desktop icon and a Start menu icon. Windows asks for permission once. It removes nothing.
New in 1.2.0 (October 22, 2026)
Generate keywords on each post (News Priority): after the AI writes a post, an optional button reads the whole article at the link and lists its keywords and hashtags. If a site blocks reading, the post says so and you can paste the article text instead. Uses your own key, a cent or two each.
Paywall check on each post (News Priority): each post says Paywall, May be metered, No paywall found, or Paywall not checked. Paywalled or metered stories list other outlets from your results that ran the same story, and Find other outlets searches Google News and Bing News for the same headline. No AI.
News sites (both apps): Reuters, CNN, Fox News, NBC News, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Japan Times, MagicValley.com (Times-News) and Newsradio 1310 (KLIX, Twin Falls), each its own box under More sources, off until you tick it.
American Nuclear Society (ans.org) added to the energy sources (both apps).
Searches that Google answers with "busy" are tried again, one at a time. The version number shows at the top of the app.
The topic keyword box that 1.1.0 put under Your own searches is gone; keywords are now made per post.
Install
Download the installer for the app you want and double-click it.
Windows SmartScreen will probably say it protected your PC, because the installer is not code-signed. Click More info, then Run anyway.
Click Yes when Windows asks for permission, then click through the installer. It installs into C:\Program Files and adds a Desktop icon and a Start menu icon. Version 1.2.0 and earlier installed into your user folder; you can remove that copy from Windows Settings, Apps. Your saved lists and cache are shared by both.
Start it from the Start menu.
Updating: run the newer installer over the old copy. Your cache and settings stay. Removing: Windows Settings, Apps, then Uninstall. Uninstalling removes only the program files. In the AI app, use Remove saved key in Settings first if you want the key gone from Windows Credential Manager.
Portable copy instead
Right-click the zip, choose Extract All, and extract the whole zip. Do not run it from inside the zip viewer. Open the folder and double-click IdahoNews.exe or NewsPriority.exe. If Windows blocks the extracted files, open PowerShell in that folder and run Get-ChildItem -Recurse | Unblock-File.
Add your key (Priority app only)
Get an API key at console.anthropic.com. You will need to add credit to your Anthropic account.
In the app, open the Settings menu and choose API key and model.
Paste the key and press Test key. If it says the key works, press Save.
To remove it later, use Remove saved key on the same screen.
The model box starts at claude-sonnet-5-5. Leave it alone unless you know you want another one. A saved key is never shown again, and this program does not write it to any file.
What it needs
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, an internet connection, and about 80 MB of disk space after extracting.
The Microsoft Edge WebView2 runtime, which current Windows 10 and 11 already include. If the window will not open, the app opens in your normal browser instead.
No installer, no administrator rights, no account with this website.
Good to know
The search engine inside each app is the same code as the web tool, so a fix made to the web tool reaches new downloads of the apps. Update by running the newer installer over the old copy.
Your cache and saved lists live in %LOCALAPPDATA%\IdahoNews or %LOCALAPPDATA%\NewsPriority. Removing the program folder does not touch them.
The built-in news engine listens on 127.0.0.1, your own computer, and nowhere else.
Story links open in your normal browser. Google News links are resolved to the original publisher when you open them.
AI ranking and writing can be wrong. Check any claim against the linked article before you publish it.
Built and tested by Jeff A. Pierson on Windows 11. Screen readers have not been tested yet.
Prefer the browser? The web versions are at Idaho News and US and Idaho News Priority (the AI version needs a Journal Tools account with AI access).