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Idaho's plate full of technology

Honoring science and technology developments by Idaho entrepreneurs and innovators, the state’s newest specialty license plate went on sale Friday (June 9).

The Idaho Commerce & Labor’s Office of Science and Technology will use proceeds from sales of the specialty plate for programs to attract science and technology companies to locate or to expand their operations in Idaho.

Artwork for the new plate features the state of Idaho outlined inside a light bulb with the words “Ideas. Innovations. Idaho.” along the bottom of the state’s standard red and blue mountain license plate design.

The design is a marriage of two winning entries in last year’s statewide technology license plate contest. Anne Larkin, 14, a ninth-grader at Moscow Junior High School, and the professional design firm Blueline Grassroots Marketing both used a light bulb and an innovations theme in their winning designs. Blueline, a Nampa firm, donated its time toward merging the similar designs for the official technology license plate.

Larkin received a special “Take Pride in Idaho” award on May 19 at the Governor’s Conference on Recreation and Tourism for her contributions.

Initial cost for specialized plates is $35. The price drops to $25 when plates are renewed. Commerce & Labor’s Office of Science and Technology will receive $25 for each new plate and $15 for annual renewals. Sample plates, which may not be displayed on vehicles, are available for $30.

Personalized and sample plates are available through ITD but can be requested only by mail or fax. Application forms are available for downloading from the Division of Motor Vehicles’ Web site at dmv.Idaho.gov . Click on the appropriate link to order special plates. Sequentially numbered plates are available at each county assessor’s office.

Idaho’s history of entrepreneurs and innovators dates from Philo T. Farnsworth, considered the father of modern television, to the Parkinson brothers and Micron Technology. Today, technology is the state’s largest industry, representing nearly 18 percent of all wages and more than 70 percent of Idaho’s exports, according to Commerce & Labor.

Idahoans start new businesses at three times the national average, according to the Small Business Administration. More than 50,000 Idahoans work in the technology industry.