Pocatello

“I am hoping that this is going to help us increase our revenue in the thrift store,” said Beth Huston, manager of the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store. “In the past, our revenue in the thrift store has been pretty small–enough to pay the bills and payroll and keep the building open–I’m hoping that we can increase the revenue enough to where we can supplement or augment the social services, which we’ve never been able to do.”

The Pocatello Regional Airport conducted a live emergency exercise with the Pocatello Police Department, Pocatello Fire Department, and Portnuef Medical Center on Wednesday morning.

Bridle Up Hope, a non-profit equestrian-based therapy and self-esteem building program, is hosting ‘A Night of Hope’ fundraiser event with food, live music, and an appearance from national rodeo star Amberley Snyder on Wednesday, September 17.
“We are looking for support from the community to help girls, women, and horses of Bridle Up Hope,” said Lana Davies, program director for Bridle Up Hope in Pocatello. “Through support of a fundraiser, those funds are going to go into our scholarship fund to help girls and women who can’t afford the program to be able to participate in a life-changing experience.”

The Southeastern Idaho Community Action Agency (SIECAA) is making a final fundraising push through their ‘Hand Up’ donation campaign through the last few months of 2025.
“We truly believe that the hard-working people of southeast Idaho just need a little hand up right now,” said Joe Borich, CEO of SEICAA. “This campaign is going to serve all of our programs, and this is going to be able to help all of those people and this money that is raised is going to go directly back into the communities.”

The Portneuf Pollinator Partnership and Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust are highlighting the Monarch Butterfly, Idaho’s official state insect, in September when the bugs make their migratory trip through Southeast Idaho to winter in California.
“We want to do everything that we can to help protect this species and help them thrive,” said Carly Flandro, community conservation, communications, and marketing coordinator for the Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust. “Every person in Idaho can do that in really simple ways: in their own yard, they can plant milkweed, and milkweed is a really important species because it’s the host plant for monarch caterpillars. It’s the only plant that monarchs lay their eggs on, so it’s essential to their survival.”

The Area V Agency on Aging in Pocatello is looking for donations of mobility equipment and other home-care supplies to stock their in-house ‘Assistive Technology’ (or AT) closet for local seniors in need.

“It is donated by the community giving back to the community,” said Cara Christensen, information and assistance supervisor at the Area V Agency on Aging. “I always say, if you want to see how wonderful our community is, come check out our closet.”

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game released its 2025 Deer/Elk Hunting Outlook report earlier this week, and deer and elk populations should be strong across the state for fall big game hunters thanks to mild winters over the past couple of years.
“We saw a drastic reduction in our mule deer population here in the southeast region, and we’re still seeing the effects of that winter,” said Jennifer Jackson, communications manager for Fish and Game’s Southeast Region. “It’s not going to look the same as it did prior to that winter a couple of years ago, but the good news is that we are seeing our populations of mule deer trending in the right direction; so there were more mule deer on the landscape last fall, and that’s also what hunters should see again this year.”

Dress Express, a family owned wedding dress supplier based in Montana, brought over 1,400 dresses to the Portneuf Valley to give brides an affordable chance to look their best on the big day.
“We start at 50 bucks, so almost anybody can afford a wedding dress,” said Sommer. “Even if it’s just quick to the elopement and the justice of the peace, everybody should be able to wear a dress if they want to.”

Bannock County Commissioners voted unanimously to implement their controversial 2026 proposed county budget at a regular meeting on Thursday, August 28.

The budget has drawn sharp criticism from Bannock County residents and non-profit organizations for its drafted 14% raises to the Board of Commissioners and cuts to programs like the Aid for Friends homeless shelter, the Pocatello Free Clinic, and the Veterans Memorial Building.

The Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust, a non-profit citizen conservation group, recently accepted a $10,000 grant from the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund improvements to the Century Heights wildlife preserve on the southern edge of the city.

The Century Heights wildlife preserve is a 266-acre parcel of land that provides a protected area for native plant and animal species near Century High School.

Bannock County commissioners held a public hearing attended by dozens of residents and area organization leaders who shared overwhelming opposition to the county’s controversial fiscal year 2026 proposed budget on Tuesday.

Complaints against the budget were mostly leveled at the proposed cuts to county-funded non-profit organizations like the Veterans’ Memorial Building (which stands to lose around $43,000 under the draft budget) and Aid for Friends (which would be completely defunded in the upcoming fiscal year, losing $30,000 in county funds).

Pocatello’s Planning & Development Services is asking city residents to take their ‘Housing Study Survey’ to narrow down housing needs in the Gate City.

Feedback from the survey will be used to draft a citywide ‘Housing Plan’. According to a press release from the City of Pocatello, the future Housing Plan will: “analyze housing demand and community needs, evaluate the performance of current regulations, recommend updates to City code, where appropriate, explore potential public–private partnerships to support affordability, and outline strategies to increase the variety of housing options in Pocatello.”

The Museum of Clean, in partnership with Simplot and other local sponsors, will host the first ‘Pocatello Potato Festival’ on Saturday, August 23.

The festival will feature a potato car derby, food trucks, live music, kids’ activities, a beer garden, and free french fries, all to celebrate Idaho’s world-class tubers.

The Pocatello-Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Appreciation BBQ lunch on Friday to thank the hundreds of area businesses that make up the chamber.

“We’re a big membership organization, so we want to make sure they know we appreciate them,” said Matt Hunter, president and CEO of the Pocatello-Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce. “And it’s another opportunity for our members to get to know each other, to meet each other, to see each other; it’s almost like a networking event, but it’s also an appreciation lunch so we get a lot of folks out here.”

The Bannock County Veterans Memorial Association is asking people to help them make the final push to reach their donation goal for repairs to the 100-year-old Memorial Building by the end of August.

In March, an anonymous non-profit organization donated $100,000 to the Bannock County Veterans Memorial Building to fund repairs after flooding destroyed the building’s ballroom and lower-level walls and left the veterans with a $300,000 bill.

Bannock County has released their draft budget for the upcoming 2026 fiscal year, which could see lower taxes for residents; county commissioners are asking people to review the proposed budget and provide feedback.

“In Idaho, we rely a lot upon our nonprofit organizations to make their communities run and to take care of people’s needs and to make Idaho a better place to live,” said Rich Ballou, East Idaho Representative for the Idaho Community Foundation. “We feel it’s our job to grow the culture of philanthropy in Idaho and encourage more people to give back, and we help them do that to make sure their money gets to the right place and accomplishes their objectives.”

Pocatello’s Maag Prescription and Medical Supply hosted a community barbecue celebrating 75 years of business on Friday.

“The community is what keeps us in business–without them, we’re not here,” said Traci.

Pocatello’s ‘Portneuf River Vision’ group is hosting its annual cleanup event on Saturday, August 16.

Volunteers are invited to help clean trash and branches from the banks of the river or bring boots or boats to hit the waters and clear debris jams on the stretch of river from Raymond Park to Simplot.

The City of Pocatello has announced ongoing work on upgrade projects for parks, trails, and the Portneuf River, with many projects scheduled to start over the next two years.

Several of the updated projects include improvements to the Portneuf River to provide better access for swimmers and floaters.