Month: June 2015

Talks about the Idaho National Laboratory getting two shipments of spent nuclear fuel has become very a controversial topic. This has caused a stir because some say this violates a 1995 agreement to remove and keep waste out of Idaho. Opponents worry these shipments would open the door to more waste coming into the state.

Workers cleared out the Walgreens in Jackson, Wyoming, on Thursday, sending the inventory to the landfill. That Walgreens has been closed since the Budge Drive landslide threatened the store in 2014. It has remained closed for safety reasons, but now city leaders say Walgreens is leaving town without much warning or negotiation. Truckloads of unused

A Rexburg man died in a crash south of Rigby on Friday morning. Idaho State Police said Abram S. Kissell, 28, of Rexburg, was driving a 2002 Toyota Camry southbound. Around 8:50 a.m., Kissell drifted toward the center barrier, overcorrected and lost control. The car went off the highway on the right shoulder and crashed

A pedestrian says a driver hit him on purpose. Pocatello police say Melissa Rogers Burky, 34, of Pocatello, was driving her vehicle on Yellowstone and Griffith when she struck Wade Mark Morgan then drove away around 8:45 p.m. Thursday. Morgan suffered significant injuries and was transported to Portneuf Regional Medical Center, where he was treated

Local fire management officers are preparing for an above average fire season this year. Wildfires have a huge impact on lands across the Gem State every year. Over the last 10 years, wildfires have burned more than 790,000 acres in southeast Idaho. On Thursday, Idaho National Laboratory and Bureau of Land Management fire officials discussed

As school is ending, one newly accredited charter school is gearing up for next year. American Heritage Charter School officials say they plan to bring higher standards and individualized education to more students. Ground for the new high school was broken Thursday evening. For the past two years, American Heritage has been teaching elementary and

As Aimee Jackson attended Madison High Graduation ceremonies she had mixed feelings. “I’m really excited about what’s coming next, like going to college, but at the same time there’s a lot of nostalgia, because I’m going to miss a lot of the people here,” Jackson said. “There’s been a lot of amazing community members that

We probably all know people who have traced their genealogy back hundreds of years. If you’d like to try to do that, you’ll have your chance this weekend for free. A federation of genealogical societies around the world are joining forces for an event called the Global Family Reunion on Saturday, and a local family

The Bonneville County Sheriff’s office says missing man Tom Fisher has been found. He was found in Rigby and has been reunited with his family.

A well-known Idaho State Police trooper is leaving eastern Idaho after 28 years of service here. Starting Monday, newly-promoted Capt. Ismael Gonzales will lead ISP District 4 in Twin Falls. Gonzales began his law enforcement career in 1987 with the Rexburg Police Department before transferring to ISP in 1990, where he’s remained since. In 1994,

It all started in 2014 when questions were raised about how people were paid in the Sheriff’s Office. That led to Jefferson County auditing all records for the Sheriff’s Office. “There were multiple ways to record your time. All of those methods were then reported to the payroll office and the clerk’s office and through

A Pocatello resident got a surprise when they came home to an attempted burglary earlier this week. The police found and arrested the would-be burglar Wednesday. Brandon Lenker, 35, was found inside a house on the 1600 block of Beth Street trying to steal property. After the person who found Lenker in the home confronted

Seventh District Judge Greg Moeller has approved a judicial confirmation allowing an $11.1 million Rexburg water project to move forward. The judge found the improvement project was “an ordinary and necessary” expense. The ruling will allow the city to use revenues from department operations to retire loans used to pay for the project. It will

An Idaho Falls man who was already in the Bonneville County Jail is facing additional charges in connection with thefts that occurred in late April and early May. Blake E. Lee, 26, was served a warrant on three counts of grand theft Wednesday afternoon. Lee had been arrested in Salt Lake City and was found

Little Kenzi Hart is 2-years-old. She runs and jumps and plays just like any other 2-year-old. You would never know she is struggling with kidney issues. Her parents, John and Denae, thought she was born healthy, but after a week, Kenzi just stopped eating. The strange thing was, she was still gaining weight. “One or

More than 250,000 people come out to the Eastern Idaho State fair every year. This year, a new theme “Find your Happy” brings a new character named Happy. Fair leaders are hoping the theme and character stick for years to come. Comedian Gabriel Igelasis will be the headliner on Thursday Sept. 10. Cheap Trick will

Many who ride Pocatello Regional Transit buses aren’t happy after PRT put its after-hours service on hiatus amid budget concerns. Some say they may even try to privately raise the money needed to keep the service going. The service, which normally runs from 6:40 p.m. to 9:40 p.m., was suspended last month after PRT officials

Police completed their search of Pine Ridge Mall and gave the all clear around 8:15 p.m. Wednesday after spending more than an hour combing the mall for a bomb. Shoppers and employees were evacuated from the mall at around 6:45 p.m. after Chubbuck Police say mall security received a suspicious phone call at 6:10 p.m.

The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and Pocatello will be partnering up to begin a ‘visioning process’ for the Portneuf River. Lt. Col. Timothy Vail and other USACE staff visited with the city’s staff Wednesday to finalize the agreement to maximize the river’s use. The goal of the process is to have the community and

A fire broke out behind Smith’s RV on Duchess Drive on Wednesday. It appeared to be a garage that was burning. The fire started around 4:45 p.m. and appeared to be controlled around 5:15 p.m. Everyone made it out of the building. We’ll update this story with further details as they are released.

Organizers are getting ready for the 25th annual Great Snake River Greenbelt Duck Race. The Idaho Falls Rotary Club kicked off the event Wednesday. The duck race will be held on Aug. 8 on the Idaho Falls greenbelt. Broadway Ford presented the grand prize Wednesday, a 2015 F-150 XLT crew cab pickup truck. Idaho Falls

Sho-Ban Tribal business chairman Nathan Small was voted out of office by Tribal voters May 29th. The election results were ratified Tuesday by the Fort Hall Business Council. Voters also approved an amendment to the Tribal Beverage Ordinance. The amendment would allow the sale of liquor at the new Sho-Ban casino and event center, but

This season at the Idaho Falls Zoo, one quarter will work two ways. As guests come in or leave the zoo, they can drop a token into one of three boxes to vote on a conversation effort they would like to support. “It’s basically half of your quarter is going local, and half of it

The Ashcraft family has made Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City their home away from home, since both Olive Ashcraft and Lola Ashcraft are fighting rare health complications. With five kids in the house, things never slow down in the Ashcraft household. “Would we decide five again? I don’t know if we would decide

A Preston area irrigation company has finished laying a series of underground irrigation pipes to replace what were once above-ground canals. In addition, the Consolidated Irrigation Company said it will complete work on a new hydropower plant next month. “All the water goes through a hydro turbine and it generates power,” said Lyle Porter, president

The Idaho State Police is taking part in the 28th annual International Roadcheck. Over the next three days, troopers will be inspecting trucks and buses all across the state to improve safety for all drivers. The idea is to make sure the trucks or buses and their drivers are being safe. “Tire violations, maybe even

School may be over, but the lunch lines are still here. They’re just in local parks. School District 25 started its annual Summer Food Service Program this week. This is the program’s 14th year and it’s held at a number of parks in the Pocatello-Chubbuck area from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on weekdays. There

One of the family members of a boater who has been missing on the Snake River since May 24 wants the public to know the search is still active. Searchers have been looking for Steve Ryan Woods, 38, of Ogden, Utah (and formerly of Menan), after his boat hit a partially submerged cottonwood tree and

An Australian man was hurt after getting too close to a bison near Old Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday. “Bison can sprint three times faster than humans can run and are unpredictable and dangerous.” — Yellowstone National Park news release Witnesses said several people were crowding around a bison that was lying

The search for a wanted woman led to several people being arrested and cited on drug charges Monday. Idaho Falls police were at the 2400 block of South Yellowstone looking for Tara Barrett, 33, of Idaho Falls, who had multiple warrants out for her arrest, including two Bonneville County felony probation warrants, and was said

Severe thunderstorms Monday afternoon caused numerous power outages, downed tress and a man was shocked from downed wires. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office says it received several reports of power lines downed from winds and falling trees between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. The sheriff’s office said most of the damage was reported on the west

The city of Ammon is collaborating with the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office and Bonneville Joint School District 93 to demonstrate the benefits of fiber optics, while keeping schools safe in the event of a shooting. The three showcased an active shooter alerting system at the Global City Teams Challenge Expo on Monday in Washington D.C.

Hospice of Eastern Idaho in Ammon will be opening the second-ever hospice home in the state later this summer. “It allows the essence of hospice to continue in a facility, it will be home-like. That’s why we’re calling it a hospice home, not a hospice house, it will be home-like: warm, caring, and just the

Idaho’s economy is slowly but steadily moving forward, and two key indicators support that fact: new home construction, and car sales. “If you look at 2014 from January to May, we had 37 new dwellings valued at about $3.5 million,” said Reginald Fuller an Idaho Falls City building official. “In 2015, we’re looking at January

The Bannock County Courthouse was one of three courthouses in Pocatello that was evacuated due to what the county called a “credible bomb threat” Monday morning. The threat was called in to the Pocatello police, and commissioners gave the order to evacuate the courthouse. Since the threat didn’t mention a specific courthouse, both the juvenile

A Jefferson County farm worker was killed while working on a ranch near Roberts on Saturday morning. According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, 36-year-old David Magana-Moreno was checking ear tags on cattle when he was run over by a feed trailer at 20 North 2100 East. The trailer was driven by 22-year-old Aurelio Rameriz

A woman riding on the back of a motorcycle died in a crash Sunday morning, Idaho State Police said. Thomas Latta, 59, of Rock Springs, Wyoming, was riding on U.S. Highway 30 on a 2007 Harley Davidson motorcycle near Fish Creek Summit with passenger Niki Latta, 61, also of Rock Springs. Thomas Latta tried to

An arrest has been made in a crash that killed a woman on a motorcycle on U.S. Highway 30 in Pocatello. Idaho State Police said Saturday that Joanne Christofferson, 29, of Pocatello has been arrested on a felony charge of vehicular manslaughter and was booked into the Bannock County Jail. The arrest came a day