On Saturday, District 27 Senator Kelly Anthon stopped in Malad for a short visit and to meet some of his new constituents. A few months ago, Joan Hawkins met Senator Anthon at the AIC Legislative Conference in Boise. He contacted her Friday morning and indicated that he was coming through Malad on Saturday and would like to have lunch and perhaps meet some of her friends and neighbors.

Hawkins quickly contacted several friends, family and neighbors and hosted a luncheon in her home on Saturday afternoon. Senator Anthon and his wife, Joelle, met informally with about 15 people and spent a few hours visiting and answering questions. Because the legislature is still in session, this trip was scheduled at the last minute; but Senator Anthon indicated that he will be back to Malad to meet more people and give them a chance to meet him.

Hawkins indicated to those in attendance that Senator Mark Harris had high praise for Senator Anthon. Because Senator Harris was unable to attend the meeting, she read a text from him that stated: “Out of the senators in Idaho to leave my good people in Oneida County to, Kelly Anthon would be my very first pick. I will add, you can still call me as well. Oneida will always be one of mine.”

Kelly Arthur Anthon is a seventh generation Idaho native raised on a family farm in Declo, Idaho where his family continuously operated a farm for over 100 years. Senator Anthon is a licensed Idaho attorney, attended the University of Idaho’s College of Law where he was elected the college’s student body president and named the College of Law’s 2002 ‘Bistline Scholar’ by the Idaho Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Until 2012 he practiced law at the Rupert law firm of ‘Robinson, Anthon & Tribe’ where, as a partner, he focused on helping local farmers as well as municipal law, debt restructuring, and large business reorganization. 

He previously served as the appointed City Attorney for the cities of Burley, Rupert, Acequia, and Minidoka, Idaho. At the time of his first appointment, he was the youngest appointed city attorney in the State of Idaho. He stepped away from his law firm to take the position of City Administrator in Rupert, Idaho, a position he currently holds. Fluent in Japanese, he also previously worked as an event coordinator and consultant for Japanese companies. Anthon also currently functions as an intermediary between Idaho, Japanese companies, and the Japanese Consul General stationed in Portland, Oregon. In addition, he directs a large potato fresh pack company, the Mart Group, as a member of its Board of Directors.

In 2013, the Idaho Business Review and the Times News named Mr. Anthon one of Idaho’s 40 most accomplished and influential professionals under the age of 40. He currently serves as a board member with the Southern Idaho Development Organization and as a board member of the Region IV Development Corporation. He has served as an executive board member of the Idaho Municipal Attorney Association and has also worked closely with hospitals in both Minidoka and Cassia

Counties where he has served two terms as President of the Minidoka Healthcare Foundation and previously held a seat on the governing board of Intermountain Healthcare’s Cassia Regional Medical Center for ten years.

Senator Anthon is a member of his local Rotary Club and previously volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America and the Idaho Department of the American Legion to operate the Gem Boys State program.

In 2015, Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter appointed Anthon to fill a vacancy in the Idaho State Senate. He has been re-elected three additional terms and is currently running again for that position. 

Senator Anthon now serves on the Senate Judiciary Rules and State Affairs Committees. He was also appointed to represent the Idaho State Senate as a member of the Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission. In 2017, after two years in the Senate.

He was elected the Majority Caucus Chair by Senate Republicans. Last year, he was chosen by his colleagues to serve as the Idaho Senate Majority Leader.

The Senator has been recognized by the Idaho Farm Bureau for his advocacy for Idaho’s farmers, ranchers, and dairymen. The Idaho Food Producers has named Senator Anthon an “Ag Allstar” every year he has served in the legislature based on his pro-agriculture voting. 

Married to Joelle (Rogers) Anthon from Rupert, Idaho, the couple has five

children. Perhaps of interest to some Malad residents, Mayor Hawkins found out that Anthon’s mother was a “Ward”, an ancestor of the George Welton Ward family. All the Malad “Wards” are from this same family. George Welton Ward settled in Willard, Utah; and from there, his children settled throughout northern Utah and southern Idaho.