Pocatello

The Portneuf District Library is featuring their vast collection of games and sports equipment available for patrons to check out and enjoy this summer.

“It’s different than anything that we’ve done before, so I thought it would be a really fun program for us to do as well,” said Amy Azzouzat, the Marshall Public Library’s public services supervisor. “It’s always wonderful to partner with an organization like SEICAA that does such good work in our community, and to be able to share our community members’ efforts with them is wonderful.”

“We have companies from all over the area here sponsoring holes, set up on holes, and then we’ve got golf teams from all over the area visiting those sponsors, playing some golf,” said Matt Hunter, president and CEO of the Pocatello-Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce. “A lot of networking, a lot of connecting; that’s what we do at the chamber, we’re helping folks connect.”

The Bannock County Veterans Memorial Association is trying to raise $100,000 by the end of August to qualify for a matching donation, which would help the veterans repair flood damage to the historic Bannock County Veterans Memorial Building.

In December 2024, flooding in an upstairs bathroom severely damaged the nearly 100-year-old Memorial Building’s ballroom before leaking to lower levels, soaking walls, and washing up other issues, which now need repair.

Portneuf Health hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for their new ‘Portneuf Health Now-Chubbuck’ urgent care clinic.

The new location will be Portneuf Medical Center’s first outpatient urgent care clinic in Chubbuck and the second in the area. The Portneuf Health Now-Northgate urgent care opened in Pocatello in 2022.

“It’s been really cool for me to go through the community and be involved with different organizations or departments and get things done and get my hands dirty and try to fix problems,” said Sorenson. “It’s been an amazing five years, and I’m incredibly grateful to the supporters, for those that have concerns or criticisms and the changes we could make, to all of the employees––I’m nothing but grateful.”

The historic World War II B-25 Mitchell ‘Maid in the Shade’ landed at the Pocatello Regional Airport on Monday for an interactive exhibition as part of its ‘Flying Legends of Victory Tour’ across the US.

Porter Meyers, a 13-year-old from Pocatello, recently won third place in the seventh grade category at the RTX Invention Convention US Nationals in Michigan for his design of a ‘sound energy harvester’ device for cars.

“It’s funny, but it also shows the battles that children can face and how they feel like they can’t be heard,” said Hannah Christensen, a Pocatello High School freshman with a leading role as Summer Hathaway in the musical. “I think that’s really important, and I think the story can convey it to the audience.”

The Pocatello Water Department will start replacing a stretch of water main line on South Arthur Ave. between West Whitman St. and West Terry St. in Historic Downtown Pocatello on Wednesday, June 25.

The project will cause street closures and parking restrictions through the area, and residents are asked to park away from the construction zones. Local access will be available through the construction when possible and will be restored at the end of each working day.

Crews from Pocatello Parks and Rec and Artisan Skateparks are putting the finishing touches on the brand new Optimist Skatepark with plans for it to be open to skaters later this summer.
“This is something that we’ve been waiting for for a long time,” said Anne Butler, director of Pocatello Parks and Recreation. “I know the skaters in this community are ecstatic for this opportunity.”

“We have a short time with the kids, but I want to just continue it because I love spending time with kids,” said Tshiebwe. “This is one of my favorite hobbies I love to do, so I’ve been having an amazing time.”

Pocatello Parks and Rec is addressing online complaints of dry grass around the city and in the Mountain View Cemetery.

According to Parks and Rec and a post on the City of Pocatello Facebook page on Sunday, June 15, the city is aware of the dry grass and has repaired leaking sprinkler lines and timers causing dry grass in the area. People can expect to see greener grass in the next week.

The Idaho High School Rodeo Association’s State Finals are underway at the Bannock County Event Center this week, and top athletes are competing for state titles and scholarships.

Friday marks the penultimate day of rodeo events with breakaway roping, tie down roping, barrel racing, bull riding, and more.

“A lot of the things that we do are computer-based with smartphones and smart glasses and smart computers and smart cars,” said Wes Jones, director of Bannock County Emergency Management. “Our approach is we need to be smarter about how we reach out to the communities, and this gives us a more timely and accurate ability to get that information out there and in the hands of the community.”

Gateway Transitional Care Center broke ground on the future site of their new Vent/Trach Unit and Outpatient Therapy Gym on Thursday.

The 14-bed Vent/Trach Unit will be the first of its kind in Southeast Idaho, helping people stay in the Portneuf Valley to receive mechanical breathing assistance after being discharged from the hospital.

ALS of Nevada is hosting their ‘Walk for ALS’ in Pocatello to raise awareness and collect donations for research into the deadly disease on Saturday.

ALS of Nevada hosted its last Walk for ALS in the Gate City in 2019. Event director, and Pocatello native, Jen Robinson said the walk is a way for people to contribute to furthering a cure for ALS and gives people a chance to show their solidarity for those suffering from the illness.

Pocatello city engineers are hosting an open house on Tuesday to discuss plans for their ‘North Portneuf Crossing Project’, which would improve accessibility for pedestrians on busy roads downtown.

Pocatello city engineers are hosting an open house on Tuesday to discuss plans for their ‘North Portneuf Crossing Project’, which would improve accessibility for pedestrians on busy roads downtown.

The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) will close Main Street in Inkom overnight on Tuesday, June 10, and Wednesday, June 1, to demolish the I-15 bridge over the road.

Main street traffic will be diverted onto Old Highway 91 and will only be accessible to vehicles with a height of less than 13 feet. ITD also said the demolition will cause a “considerable amount of noise”.

Gateway Transitional Care Center is remodeling their facility to include a new ‘Vent/Trach Unit’ for patients recovering from injuries or respiratory illness; the unit will be the first of its kind in Southeast Idaho.

Gavin Monteath, CEO of Gateway Transitional Care Center, said over the past seven years, the basement levels of their building have gone through multiple potential project designs, but the care center settled on a respiratory rehabilitation wing when they saw patients coming out of the hospital traveling out-of-state to get care for breathing problems before the could return home

The Ross Park Aquatic Complex opened for its 2025 season on May 24, and the waterpark is sporting a fresh look with new Pocatello city branding.

Earlier this spring, the Ross Park Aquatic Complex had a facelift with a new paint job on the main office, kiddie pool, and railings and fresh flooring in the dressing rooms.

The Portneuf District Library is showcasing their collection of cake pans and cookie cutters available for checkout as their featured resource through June.

The ‘cake pan library’ has dozens of standard cake pans, as well as bakeware in character and unique shapes–all accessible to library patrons for two-week checkout periods.

Demolition crews have started to tear down portions of the Pine Ridge Mall in preparation for renovations to turn the mall into an open-air retail space.

The upcoming ‘Pine Ridge Shopping Center’ is slated to have some of the mall’s current tenants, like Hobby Lobby and CAL Ranch, and welcome new stores like the long-awaited Target.

The American Red Cross is now working out of their new Blood Donation Center location in the Pine Ridge Shopping Center.

The Red Cross relocated ahead of demolitions scheduled in the ongoing project to turn the Pine Ridge Mall into an open-air retail space.

The Bannock County Assessor’s Office announced they have seen a record number of homeowners apply for the Property Tax Reduction (PTR) program this year.

The PTR, formerly known as ‘Circuit Breaker’, program can reduce property taxes by up to $1,500 for people with disabilities, seniors, and some veterans; applicants must have an annual income of $37,810 or less.