500 Idahoans to be lauded in new publication ― here’s your chance to nominate them

Out of Idaho’s population of 2 million, chances are you know someone who excels in life; whether in their career, community leadership or otherwise, there are dynamic people who make the Gem State work.

If you know one ― or many ― of these stellar personalities, you can now nominate them for a publication that will highlight 500 of Idaho’s best and brightest.

The Idaho 500, a new publication from Idaho Business Review, will publish on Sept. 26, 2025, and will focus on people from various industries, organizations and backgrounds to showcase their careers and leadership and how they are working to make the state a better place to live.

“We made the decision to shift gears in our special publications this year,” said Marc Lutz, editor of IBR. “Instead of featuring the best of the best in our former Power Lists, we decided to gather them all in one publication under different categories.”

Much like IBR’s annual Book of Lists, the Idaho 500 will be a higher-end annual publication, covering 25 different topics. Those are:

Agriculture; Arts and Entertainment; Automotive and Equipment Dealerships; Beverage and Winemakers; Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals; Business Organizations; Construction; Economic Development; Education; Energy; Finance; Food Processing; Government, Politics and Lobbyists; Health Care; Hospitality and Tourism; Law; Living Legends; Manufacturing; Mining; Most Influential Leaders; Nonprofits and Philanthropy; Sports; Real Estate and Development; Retail and E-Commerce; and Technology.

The categories are meant to cover most, if not all of Idaho’s industries. Some of the categories, such as Living Legends and Most Influential Leaders, can include people who have made significant contributions to business and the community in the state, no matter what career path they’ve taken or social causes they’ve embarked upon.

Public nominations for the Idaho 500 are open until June 20. Anyone can nominate multiple people ― even themselves ― for any of the categories at the IBR website.