Calvin Rust

Idaho Builder / Gem State Brief Contributor

[Calvin Rust @calvin_rust]

@FerrinsThoughts I’m considering it😂

[Calvin Rust @calvin_rust]

Nothing like uploading a whole bunch of issues to your site and then getting this notification 😅

[Calvin Rust @calvin_rust]

SEO isn't dead! (1) is where I dropped our new site

[Calvin Rust @calvin_rust]

@FerrinsThoughts I’m paying for the $20 per month version. I’m just not willing to drop $1200 per year till I’m sure it’s worth it

[Calvin Rust @calvin_rust]

I know I'm way behind on this but Claude is AMAZING!

[Lee (Greater) @shortmagsmle]

I’m noticing a lot of foreigners who seem to not understand why we’d risk hundreds of lives, spend millions of dollars, and sacrifice several aircraft to rescue one guy. And the reason they don’t understand is also the reason people can’t be made American by a piece of paper.

[Calvin Rust @calvin_rust]

@FerrinsThoughts 1/1000ish conversion isn’t horrible but it’s not anything crazy

[Calvin Rust @calvin_rust]

The total watch time number is one of my favorite metrics to watch.

[Calvin Rust @calvin_rust]

This last year I’ve really tried to focus on being more joyful, I’ve found one of the best ways to do that is just through being thankful. I’ve been trying to take time and notice/thank God for all the ways he blesses me every day. Simple things like sitting with my family watching my son grow and develop, good food, friendships, sunsets, work, our country, etc. I've found the more I look for things to be grateful for, the more obvious it is that the Lord’s hand is in all of it

[Calvin Rust @calvin_rust]

There’s a metaphor in here somewhere

[Calvin Rust @calvin_rust]

@FTFonFS1 @getnickwright Quick note we actually traded, mid season with the cowboys, to get Ward

[Ryan Spoon @SpoonForIdaho]

This is a truly amazing new tool for tracking the bills moving through the Idaho Legislature! I already showed it to another politics-connected friend yesterday, and he was floored. Thank you to @gemstatebrief for this incredible work! 🔥
https://t.co/H7X8wtbqtS

[The Gem State Brief @gemstatebrief]

We built a website that tracks the Idaho Legislature!
- Follow bills from printing, through the floors and committees all the way to the governor's desk
- Display all bill details
- Track individual legislators and their votes
- Watch recordings and view transcripts
(In beta)

[Calvin Rust @calvin_rust]

The fact that casting lots is used several times in the Bible and spoken of positively makes me think I need to be flipping more coins

[Calvin Rust @calvin_rust]

A friend of mine was out of work, so we let him bid on a paint job for us. I was even willing to pay him a bit more than we normally would. Competing bids were $4.5k and $5k. Two weeks later, he sent me a six-page quote that must have been written by Dickens himself, with a price of $14.5k. I now know why he’s out of work

[Brandy @LibertyBelle208]

Idahoans- are you following Gem State Brief? If not you should be!

Don’t share the thieved video from Wall Street Apes- get it straight from the source. ⬇️

[Calvin Rust @calvin_rust]

@Broncos I’m a chiefs fan and passionately dislike your franchise.

That being said,

plz sign Philip Rivers, I’ll 100% be rooting for your team to win the SB!

[The Gem State Brief @gemstatebrief]

An introduction for the many new followers:

The Gem State Brief is the brainchild of a local book club called Locus Lectorum (place of books). Founded as an avenue to expand our horizons by fostering good conversation, we quickly became convinced that we needed to convert our convictions into action.

The GSB became a newsletter in late spring of '25 and continues on as a weekly curation of noteworthy local content with brief descriptions written by members, alongside long-form content recommendations, books, and the occasional piece of original content. Our current membership, a mix of millennial and Gen Z, is nearly all native Idahoan.

Along the way we started experimenting with short form content and identified that Idaho needs a local news source that is independent, focused on human generated content, and represents the traditional Idahoan values of Faith, Family, and Country. One of our members (@FerrinsThoughts) filmed the scuffle at the Charlie Kirk vigil on the Statehouse steps and we've dedicated more time and resources to the nascent endeavor since that footage went viral.

The recent completion of our own studio will allow us to expand our content type; look for a mix of short and long form video and audio content focused on Idaho events in 2026. With the legislative session just around the corner and the biannual primaries in May there will be many stories worth highlighting!

Finally, please DM us if you have an interesting story to share, we are already working on several under-the-radar news stories and look forward to more in the year ahead.

[Mark Fitzpatrick @oldstatemark]

Care about Idaho? You should follow @gemstatebrief . They are putting max effort into reporting on things you won't see in mainstream media.

Also, to keep up on Idaho:

@RogueLou18
@LibertyBelle208
@intheknowidaho
@brian_lenney
@josh_idaho

Who else, please tag below! 👇👇

[Calvin Rust @calvin_rust]

Hanging a TV without blocking is a pain. We walk every job before insulation and sheetrock, confirm exactly where each TV will go, and then add blocking accordingly. #builder #construction #homebuilder