It was 1979 when potato king J.R. Simplot built a 7,370-square-foot, Mediterranean-style mansion atop a prominent hill in the Boise Highlands. Although the mansion has since been demolished, Simplot’s ...

J.R. Simplot, pictured in 2002, is known in Boise for driving his white Lincoln Town Car with "Mr Spud" vanity plates to McDonald's for hash browns or french fries. (File / The Spokesman-Review) BOISE ...

BOISE, Idaho -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved Idaho-based J.R. Simplot Co.'s new genetically modified potato. But one of the company's oldest business partners -- McDonald's -- ...

This story was updated Tuesday, April 1, to add two paragraphs of comment from the city of Boise. Change may be coming soon to Simplot Hill, the site just off Bogus Basin Road where the mansion ...

Work began Monday to remove J.R. Simplot’s mansion from a hill west of Bogus Basin Road, said Ken Dey, spokesman for the Simplot family. The giant American flag atop the hill, recently removed, will ...