John Victor Evans was born in Malada City on 18 January 1925. He was an infantryman in the U.S. Army during World War II. He attended Stanford Univeristy and married Lola Daniels. Following college he returned to Malad to help fun the family wheat and cattle ranch. In 1952 he was elected to the state senate at age 27. Evans was reelected in 1954 and 1956, serving as majority leader in 1956. He was mayor of Malad City from 1960 to 1966. Evans returned to state senate in 1969 and was minority leader from 1969 to 1975. In 1974, Evans was elected liutenant governor and in 1977 became governor when Cecil Andrus was appointed to become Secretary of the Interior under President Carter. Evans finished Andrus' term and was elected to the post in 1978 under the Democratic party. He was reelected in 1982. He unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 1986. Andrus succeeded him as governor. In 1987, Evans became president of family-owned D. L. Evans Bank in Burley, Idaho. John V. Evans died on 8 July 2014 in Boise, Idaho.