Dirk Kempthorne, Former Idaho Governor and US Interior Secretary, Dies at 74

Former Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne testifies during a joint House Subcommittees' hearing of Oversight and Investigations, and of Energy and Environment, regarding the role of the Interior Department in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 20, 2010. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo

Former Idaho Gov. and U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has died at age 74, his family said in a written statement Saturday.

Kempthorne died Friday evening in Boise, the statement said. No cause was given. He had been diagnosed with colon cancer last year.