Regional News

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.

Work is underway on Pocatello’s new ‘Legacy Park’ on Iron Bend Dr. on the city’s east bench, and the Parks and Recreation Department wants people to stay clear so they can finish key projects before winter.

The Pocatello Parks and Rec department will start final grading and grass seeding on the nearly 5-acre plot, and the projects are slated to last for the remainder of the summer. In spring 2026, the city plans to install paved trails, a parking lot, and a playground.

The Bannock County Fair officially opens Monday, August 4, kicking off a week of classic fun. This year’s fair is jam-packed with live music, a wide variety of food, 4-H animal shows, rodeos, and the annual parade on Wednesday, August 6.

Bannock County’s ‘The Village: A Place for Youth and Families’ recently received the 2025 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties for the center’s innovative approach to counseling kids and teens in the area.

Since opening in 2023, The Village has successfully served over 600 young people as a single point of contact for counseling and diversionary programs to keep kids out of the criminal justice system.

“Our main goal that the Salvation Army does is we want to let people know that we love them, we care about them, and one of the best ways that we can do that is we can help them with these practical things,” said Makowski. “We see a need, we fill it.”

SRD’s Traveling Animals is hosting a ‘Wild Reptile Adventure’ event at Jungle ReTreat Ice Cream in Pocatello on Saturday, July 26.

wo people are in the hospital after being rescued from an early morning house fire in Pocatello on Monday.

At around 12:40 a.m., a woman at 444 Michael Ave. called 911 with difficulty breathing. Dispatchers reported hearing a fire alarm in the background before the woman became unresponsive.

Aid for Friends is approaching the date of their thirteenth annual ‘Splish and Splash’ fundraiser event, scheduled for August 1, to raise money for Pocatello’s homeless shelter.
“This shelter belongs to the community; we want the community to be part of everything that goes on here at the shelter,” said Tami Moore, shelter manager for Aid for Friends. “We need the community support, and as we have increased our beds, it takes more money, it takes more supplies, it takes more case management time… we are unable to continue the increase until we’re able to get the money that we need to continue the stuff that we do here.”

“I’m grateful, I’m appreciative–it wasn’t expected,” said Coroner Danner. “…I don’t think anybody does anything for the awards, I do it because it’s the right thing to do; I do it because I believe in what they [the Family Services Alliance] do.”

“It’s an amazing process, three years of construction, 24/7, and all the way through the winter; it’s been a massive undertaking,” said Justin Smith, public information officer for ITD District 5. “Not only that, but keeping traffic moving while rebuilding the entire interchange has just been something amazing to watch play out, and watching the contractors working, the community interacting with us, it’s been really gratifying to see the project coming to this conclusion.”

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.”