Woman Swallows Drugs During Arrest
(POCATELLO, ID) – A Pocatello woman was arrested on drug charges Wednesday. Officials say 36-year-old Randi Garcia was taken into custody during a routine traffic stop when she attempted to flee on foot. When Garcia was booked into the Bannock County Jail, she threw up heroin and marijuana, which she had allegedly consumed when police [...]
Ammon Maverik Robbed
(AMMON, ID) – The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an armed robbery at a Maverik store in Ammon. Authorities say two white males wearing dark colored clothing, hooded shirts, and bandannas walked into the convenience store along Sunnyside Road at around 2:30 a.m. and held up the clerk at gunpoint. After disabling both phones [...]
District 25 Cutting 19 Teaching, Specialist Jobs
(POCATELLO, ID) – The Pocatello-Chubbuck School Board has voted to eliminate 19 positions in order to balance the district’s budget. Three elementary school P.E. programs will be dropped, and some first-year instructors won’t be returning next year either. Some of those affected by the cuts have not been notified. The move is expected to save [...]
ISU Fined for Vulnerable Medical Records
(POCATELLO, ID) – Idaho State University is being fined $400,000 for leaving electronically-stored medical records vulnerable to hackers. The alleged incident occurred during maintenance procedures in August of 2011 when firewalls were not put back in place. The move left medical records exposed for more than 17,000 patients over a ten-month period. ISU officials say [...]
Blue Cross Donates Money for Parks
(IDAHO FALLS, ID) – Blue Cross of Idaho is donating nearly $100,000 to cities across the state in an effort to combat childhood obesity. $24,000 will go to the city of Idaho Falls’ Parks and Recreation Department. The city plans to use the grant to provide wellness activities for kids during the summer. Parents [...]
Police Warning About Car Thefts
(IDAHO FALLS, ID) – As the weather starts to warm up, so does the local crime rate. Idaho Falls Police have responded to at least nine reports of vehicle thefts this month. In every case, doors were left unlocked, often with the keys still in the ignition. Though all of the vehicles have since been [...]
Father/Son Protesters Arrive at BSA HQ
(IDAHO FALLS, ID) – A local father-son team working to change the Boy Scouts of America’s policy prohibiting openly gay troop leaders arrived at the organization’s headquarters in Irving, Texas this week. Dave and Joe McGrath rode 1,800 miles on bikes to protest the policy, braving bruising hailstorms on Tuesday to arrive in time for [...]
Stabbing Suspect in Custody
(BLACKFOOT, ID) – A Fort Hall man wanted on multiple felony warrants was arrested in Bingham County Tuesday. Officials say 22-year-old Jacob Schmidt allegedly stabbed 43-year-old Glenda Dixey in the thigh during a dispute early Sunday in Chubbuck. Dixey was taken by ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center for treatment. Schmidt then led officers on a [...]
Sentencing Delayed for Ex-Prison Guard
(POCATELLO, ID) – Sentencing has been delayed for a former prison guard accused of having sexual contact with an inmate at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center. Fifty-nine year old Kim Rogers was charged last June for an alleged incident that occurred in March of 2012. Court officials say they’re not sure if they have enough [...]
Terror Suspect to Remain Jailed
(BOISE, ID) – An Uzbek national with ties to an Islamic terrorist group will remain behind bars in Boise until his trial. Thirty-year-old Fazliddin Kurbanov waived his right to a detention hearing Tuesday. The truck driver is accused of conspiring to commit an act of terrorism, and reportedly taught other foreign nationals living in the [...]
Crosses Removed from Roberts Water Tower
(ROBERTS, ID) – An American Indian activist upset about crosses being displayed on the Roberts city water tower has successfully lobbied town officials to take them down. The crosses have been replaced with American flags. Still, Dennis “Joe” Cohea says his personal fight isn’t over. At the urging of the American Civil Liberties Union, Cohea [...]
Salmon School Bonds Fail
(IDAHO FALLS, ID) – Voters in Salmon overwhelmingly rejected two proposed school bonds, one which would’ve provided $14.5 million for the district, and another, which would’ve raised $3.6 million. That means the district will have to borrow money from the state to pay for school upgrades. Voters in the Jefferson School District also rejected a [...]
SUV Crashes Into Motorcycle
(POCATELLO, ID) – Police responded to a two-vehicle accident in Pocatello Tuesday afternoon. Officials say an SUV and a motorcycle collided near the intersection of Cypress and Pole Line Road shortly before 1 p.m. Both drivers, whose names have not been released, were treated on the scene for minor injuries, but weren’t hospitalized. An investigation [...]
Be Wary of Tornado Charity Scams
(IDAHO FALLS, ID) – In the wake of Monday’s deadly tornado in Oklahoma, thousands of people across the nation have begun donating their time and means in assisting the victims. Area officials with the Better Business Bureau are cautioning donors about how they contribute to charities in order to avoid a scam. They recommend avoiding [...]
Food Stamps Could Be Cut From Farm Bill
(IDAHO FALLS, ID) – Major cuts to the whopping $300 billion farm bill being debated in Congress could have a major impact on food stamps. The Senate is considering a $400 million reduction in food stamp funding, while the House is considering a much bigger piece of the pie at $2.5 billion. Currently, 14 percent [...]
New Youth Center in Idaho Falls
(IDAHO FALLS, ID) – The Idaho Falls Arts Council has received a community challenge gift of $241,000 to raise matching funds to complete the construction of ARTitorium on Broadway, an exciting new interactive youth arts center in downtown Idaho Falls. Named the “Phantom 2.0 Challenge” the gift stipulates it will match, dollar for dollar, all [...]
New Information Released on Susan Powell Case
(SALT LAKE CITY, UT) – Newly released police files say Josh Powell had an affair with a Utah woman just months before his wife disappeared. A West Valley City police detective’s report says investigators contacted the woman, whose full name is redacted, in August 2010 after her phone number was discovered in connection with the [...]
Voters to Decide on Levies
(IDAHO FALLS, ID) – Several local school districts are voting on supplemental levies today. The Fremont School District is considering a $1.5 million levy for two years. Voters in Jefferson School District 251 will decide whether to move forward on a $2 million two-year levy. In Power County, residents will vote on a $50,000 levy [...]
Couple Suing Twitter, Sun Valley Over Social Media Name
(KETCHUM, ID) – A central Idaho couple is suing the Sun Valley Resort and the social media site Twitter over use of the Twitter handle “@SunValley.” Leonard Barshack and Erin Smith claim Twitter should return the username to them, since they’d used the handle for more than three years and weren’t violating Twitter’s terms of [...]
Idahoans Live Through Oklahoma Twister
(POCATELLO, ID) – Of the thousands impacted by Monday’s tornadoes in Oklahoma, a handful were from eastern Idaho. Allison Torres, a 2007 Pocatello High School graduate told the Idaho State Journal that she took shelter in a seven-story office building with coworkers. Damaged communication lines made it difficult for Torres to get a hold of [...]