Why is Malheur County Oregon in an Idaho time zone Is it something to do with the potato harvest?

Answer 1

Malheur County in Oregon is closely tied to Idaho's economy and, as a result, the it has opted to share a time zone with the southern part of Idaho. This is not, however, the result of the potato harvest, but rather the location of large cities. Malheur County is much closer geographically to Idahoan metropolitan centers, like Boise and Nampa, which are less than an hour away, and, as a result, have business ties or employees which are located across state lines. By contrast, Oregonian metropolitan centers, such as Bend and Portland, are upwards of 4 and 6 hours away by car from Malheur county. Similarly, the Idahoan panhandle is in the Pacific time zone, in large part because it is much closer to Spokane, Washington than to the cities in southern Idaho. Since these regions share economic ties with metropolitan areas in different time zones, they have opted to adopt the time zone in which the cities are located to make business easier.