Elmer’s is set to move into Bend, but it’s far from their first time serving customers in Central Oregon

KTVZ on May 20, 2025

Harley Coldiron

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — As shuttered Shari’s storefronts rocked Central Oregon, many residents were thrilled to hear another Oregon favorite – Elmer’s Restaurants, is set to move in. Now, KTVZ News has uncovered that Elmer’s operated for nearly 20 years in Bend, and its previous location is filled by a local favorite for breakfast.

The Elmer’s Restaurant group shared a fascinating piece of Central Oregon history – an old matchbook from the previous Bend restaurant.

Back then, it was called Elmer’s Colonial Pancake and Steakhouse and took up the whole property, which is now split into two businesses.

Elmer’s tells KTVZ News it came to Bend in 1966 and stayed for nearly 20 years, though it was not clear exactly why they left. However, if you look very closely at the front of the matchbox, you can see their old address: 415 East Third Street on Highway 97 in Bend.

So what’s there now? As it turns out, another casual family spot to eat, and a salon.

KTVZ visited the location to find locally owned Laurie’s Grill is currently there. Though they serve lunch and dinner, the restaurant has a particular focus on breakfast.

At some point, that building was then renovated to accommodate two businesses. Laurie’s currently shares the building with Bamboo Salon and Spa.

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Deschutes National Forest plans 422-acre prescribed burn off Forest Service Road 18

KTVZ on May 20, 2025

Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — If conditions are favorable, the Deschutes National Forest plans to conduct prescribed burn operations on Tuesday 15 miles southeast of Bend, on the east side of Forest Service Road 18 just south of the junction with FSR 18 and FSR 25 and about a half-mile east of the Camp II Trailhead.

Firefighters are planning up to 422 acres of ignitions on the Opine 5D Prescribed Burn. 

Ignitions are slated to begin around 10 a.m. Portions of Trail #40 and #50 will be temporarily closed due to operations. While no arterial roads will be closed, numerous three-digit routes will be temporarily closed for safety.  

Overnight smoke impacts are likely in the area around the Camp II Trailhead and Road 2510 Staging Area. Residents in the Pine Mountain area are encouraged to keep doors and windows closed to minimize smoke impacts. Smoke impacts are most likely overnight and in the early-morning hours. 

Firefighters implement understory prescribed burning to reduce wildfire risk to communities. Prescribed burning reintroduces and maintains fire within our fire-dependent ecosystem by removing concentrations of vegetation and restoring forest health while increasing public and firefighter safety. 

Fire management officials work with Oregon Department of Forestry smoke specialists to plan prescribed burns. Prescribed burns are conducted when the weather is most likely to move smoke up and away from our communities. While prescribed fire managers take significant preventive measures, it’s likely that communities may experience some smoke during or immediately after a prescribed burn.  

What does this mean for you? 

During prescribed burns, smoke may settle in low-lying areas overnight and in the early morning hours.  

All residents are encouraged to close doors and windows at night to avoid smoke impacts. 

If available, use a portable air cleaner. Air cleaners work best running with doors and windows closed. You can also create a DIY air cleaner. 

If you have a central air system, use it to filter air. Use high-efficiency filters if possible. 

When driving in smoky areas, drivers should slow down, turn on headlights and turn air to recirculating. 

If you have heart or lung disease, asthma, or other chronic conditions, pay attention to how you feel and if symptoms of heart or lung disease worsen, consider contacting your health care professional. 

Go to centraloregonfire.org to learn more about smoke safety and prescribed burning in Central Oregon and visit When Smoke is in the Air for more smoke preparedness resources. 

For more information on prescribed burning in Central Oregon, visit centraloregonfire.org/ and for information specific to the Deschutes National Forest visit fs.usda.gov/r06/deschutes. Follow us on X/Twitter @CentralORFire. Text “COFIRE” to 888-777 to receive wildfire and prescribed fire text alerts.

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Prosecutor: Developer accused of bribing ex-Palm Springs mayor didn’t ‘follow the rules’

KESQ on May 20, 2025

Garrett Hottle

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – Opening statements began in the trial of a real estate developer accused of providing six-figure bribes to former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, who pleaded guilty last week to a slate of felony charges connected to his support for the defendant’s projects.

John Elroy Wessman, 86, is charged with nine counts of bribery of a public official and one count of conspiracy to commit a felony.   

After several days of jury selection at the Banning Justice Center, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz on Friday swore in a panel to hear the prosecution’s case against Wessman, who is free on his own recognizance.

During a court conference Wednesday, Pougnet, 62, admitted nine counts of bribery by a public official, eight counts of illicit financial interest in public contracts and one count of conspiracy, as well as no contest to three perjury counts. The plea was directly to the court, without negotiations between the defense and the District Attorney’s Office.   

Prosecutors objected to the plea because “the defendant took advantage of the public trust,” the D.A.’s office said in a statement. Pougnet, who is also free on his own recognizance, is slated for sentencing on July 2 and is expected to receive probation.   

He, Wessman and 59-year-old Richard Hugh Meaney were criminally charged, for the first time, in 2017 and later indicted by a grand jury.   

All the felony charges against Meaney were later dismissed. However, he pleaded guilty to a reinstated misdemeanor count of financial conflict in a government contract. Meaney is free and due for sentencing in June.   

The case, which began as a federal corruption probe until it was turned over to county investigators in 2016, has been plagued by repeated delays, some resulting from ongoing challenges by the defense to the indictment, as well as the COVID lockdowns, Pougnet’s relocation to another state, changes to legal counsel and related complications.   

A trial judge in December 2020 dismissed all counts against Wessman, characterizing them as baseless, but the charges were reinstated by the Fourth District Court of Appeals in Riverside less than two years later.   

Pougnet served two terms as mayor, leaving office in 2015.   

The influence-buying scheme that prosecutors say the men were involved in netted Pougnet close to $400,000 between 2012 and 2014, securing his public support for projects brought before the Palm Springs City Council, specifically The Dakota, the Desert Fashion Plaza, The Morrison and Vivante.

Steve Pougnet and John Wessman (2012)

Payments to Pougnet were drawn directly from accounts maintained by Meaney’s Union Abbey Co. and Wessman Development Inc., according to the prosecution.

Deputy District Attorney Amy Barajas told the grand jury in 2019 Pougnet planned to move to Colorado to join his husband and two children when his first term ended in 2011, but the two developers allegedly put him “on their payroll” in order to gain his votes of confidence in their projects.

“This is a case about political corruption in Palm Springs,” Barajas said. “What kind of corruption? Well, one of the oldest stories in the book. Some wealthy real estate developers get a politician on their payroll, and in exchange they get favorable treatment, inside access and large contracts.”   

She said Pougnet was hesitant about remaining for a second term as mayor. The grand jury was shown an email exchange from May 30, 2011, between him and Meaney, in which the latter wrote, “Everything is in place. The big question from everyone is … what are your plans?”  

Pougnet’s response indicated their relationship hinged on the defendant securing something in return.

“I need to know that an offer is very real, that I am an employee somewhere that has a letter `of employment,”’ Pougnet wrote. “That will make a decision much easier. As you know, a month ago, this was not even an option on the table with me and Christopher. Staying (in Palm Springs) has huge family implications considering I would be going back and forth.”

The then-mayor accepted $225,000 as an initial incentive to remain active in local government, according to prosecutors.

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I-8 eastbound near Yuma closed due to vehicle fire

KYMA on May 20, 2025

Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) says Interstate 8 (I-8) eastbound near Yuma is closed.

ADOT says this is due to a vehicle fire at milepost 18, and is advising drivers to expect delays and seek an alternate route.

While the left lane on I-8 eastbound is now open, ADOT says the right lane is still closed. However, the westbound lane on I-8 remains unaffected, according to AZ511.gov.

KYMA will keep you updated on this developing story.

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District Attorneys Urge State to Fund Drug Treatment Programs, as Proposition 36 Increases Local Criminal Justice Costs Statewide

KEYT on May 20, 2025

Mina Wahab

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. — Nearly 70% of Californians voted in favor of proposition 36 last year.  “Prior to Proposition 36, you could be arrested, charged and prosecuted and convicted of a drug offense five times, ten times, 20 times and never have it reach a felony status. The people of California said, ‘that’s insane,’” said SLO County District Attorney Dan Dow. Dow says elevating the status of drug offenses from misdemeanor to felony makes convicted drug offenders choose rehabilitation over jail time.  “If you have two prior misdemeanor convictions for possession of a drug like Fentanyl or methamphetamine or cocaine with two priors and you now are convicted of your third, we can mandate that you go into treatment. And that’s the compassionate part of this,” said Dow. The philosophy marks a stark contrast from the harm reduction philosophy found in many drug treatment programs across Santa Barbara County. “County behavioral health departments weren’t necessarily advocating for the passage of Prop 36, but since it has passed, we’ve been working really closely locally to ensure that the implementation of the new legislation is successful,” said Alcohol and Drug Programs Branch Chief Melissa Wilkins.

Right now, Prop 36 drug treatment programs don’t have funding. Dow is one of dozens of district attorneys up and down the coast who are urging legislators to pass funding for treatment, saying it will allow those living with drug addiction to succeed. The California Legislative Analyst’s Office projected the new changes to Prop 36 to increase local criminal justice costs by several tens of millions of dollars annually. That’s largely due to an increase in the county jail population due to harsher sentences, as well as more community supervision program participants. “We don’t want to incarcerate these people. We don’t want to send them to jail. We want them to get help and get treatment,” said California District Attorney Association CEO Greg Totten.

The proposition also expanded court-mandated mental health and drug treatment workloads. 

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Thousands without power in Mid-Missouri as severe storms remain in area

KMIZ on May 20, 2025

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Severe storms began coming through Mid-Missouri on Monday evening and warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service.

A tornado warning was issued in Benton and Pettis counties that expired at 8:15 p.m.

Benton County saw 4,644electricity customers without power, which included 2,028 Central Missouri Electric Cooperative customers, 132 for Co-Mo Electric, 826 for Osage Valley Electric, 122 for Sac Osage Electric and 1,536 for Southwest Electric Co-Op, according to the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives outage map.

The map showed 425 Central Missouri Electric customers without power in Pettis County. That county’s emergency management agency said in a social media post that its tornado shelters are open.

Morgan County saw 306 Co-Mo Electric customers without power, as well as 291 Ameren customers without electricity. Cooper County had 242 Ameren customers without power.

Storm damage, including trees being down and a house fire from a lightning strike were reported in parts of Morgan County near Versailles, according to a message from its emergency management.

There are also 522 Ameren customers without electricity in Cole County.  Camden County is experience 143 homes without power – 31 Co-Mo Electric Cooperative, 112 Southwest Co-op – while Moniteau County saw 123 Co-Mo Electric customers without power.

In Columbia, an outage began impacting around 120 Water and Light customers at 9:03 p.m. in a neighborhood just south of Green Meadows Road and west of South Providence. A second outage in the same area was reported at 9:07 p.m. that affected 32 homes.

Another 344 customers for Boone Electric experienced outages on Monday night. That number was brought down to 274 within an hour, but came back up to 330 by 10:17 p.m. Outages were reported all around the county, including areas north of Interstate 70, South Range Line Road, West Route K, South Route KK and an area near the airport off of Highway 63. Boone County Joint Communications also reported that a tree was down in the roadway in the 300 block of Hirth Avenue.

Much of the area will be in a tornado watch until around 3 a.m.

There were 573 customers without power in Macon County around 7 p.m., but skyrocketed to 1,032 at 7:35 p.m. according to the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives map. It came back down to 10 homes without power around 8:15 p.m.

Check back for updates.

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National Weather Service Pendleton office reportedly won’t have forecasters overnight due to budget cuts

KTVZ on May 19, 2025

Barney Lerten

(Update-Adding Video and Comments from Representative Janelle Bynum)

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) — A Northwest senator sounded the alarm Monday over a report that the National Weather Service Pendleton forecast office, which provides forecasts for Central and Eastern Oregon and Washington, won’t have overnight forecaster staffing due to Trump administration job cuts and a hiring freeze.

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, released the statement regarding news that the NWS office in Pendleton will not have overnight meteorologist staffing due to the cutbacks.

The Washington Post reports that the Pendleton office is one of seven around the country due to halt overnight forecaster staffing. It says those duties will be redistributed to other NWS offices, which are also facing cutbacks.

“The Trump Administration’s dismantling of the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administraton) workforce is crippling the National Weather Service,” Cantwell said.

“It is unacceptable that the Weather Forecast Office for central Washington state will no longer have enough meteorologists to staff overnight shifts, which will jeopardize local forecasts and warning information, which is imperative for firefighters, transportation workers, the public, and emergency managers.

“The administration should immediately approve NOAA’s request for a public safety exemption and lift the hiring freeze,” Cantwell added.  

NBC News and KTVZ News reported earlier this year about expected cuts at NOAA, and the agency said the Pendleton forecast office has about 25 employees.

On February 19, Sen. Cantwell sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, calling on him to exempt the National Weather Service from the federal hiring freeze, and protect all National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) workers from firings “that would jeopardize the safety of the American public.”

KTVZ news reached out to our state representatives to ask about this.

We did not hear back from Clif Bentz, but Janelle Bynum had this to say: “Well, we know this adds insult to injury. So first we lost our wildfire fighting, resources, our planning resources. I brought one of those workers to the joint session to look Trump in the eye, to have him look her in the eye. And now this is a double whammy.”

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Jefferson County voters approve new ambulance district

KIFI on May 19, 2025

Noah Farley

UPDATE:

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) — People who live in Jefferson County will soon have better access to ambulance services.

The creation of a new ambulance district was approved by voters yesterday in Idaho’s consolidated election. 63% were in favor, per Idaho code, the measure only needed a simple majority to pass.

Now, people living in Rigby can be taken to the hospital much faster, says former Central Fire District Deputy Chief Todd Stowell.

“Not only are we going to have advanced paramedic-trained people…we’ll have the medications that will go along with that, and we will also have an advanced life or an als ambulance equipped with all that advanced stuff as well,” said Stowell.

With the passage, Jefferson County could have its own ambulances ready to go by January 2027.

ORIGINAL:

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) — Election day is tomorrow, and voters in Jefferson County will need to make a decision if they want a new ambulance service. 

Jefferson County currently has only one ambulance district—in Mud Lake.

“We are trying to create an ambulance district here for Rigby, Ririe, Menan, Lewisville…All those areas not covered by the fire district in Mud Lake,” said Retired Fire Chief for Central Fire District, Carl Anderson.

Right now, when areas like Rigby need an ambulance, it often comes all the way from the south side of Idaho Falls. The trip to Rigby can take around half an hour. If there are ambulances on hand in the area, people could be taken to the hospital much faster.

“Not only are we going to have advanced paramedic trained people…we’ll have the medications that will go along with that, and we will also have an advanced life or an ALS ambulance equipped with all that advanced stuff as well,” said Retired Deputy Chief at Central Fire District, Todd Stowell.

If a new ambulance district is created, full-time emergency responders will be on-hand in the Rigby area. That will mean less stress on volunteer first responders, which are getting harder to recruit.

Stowell says some locals are worried about taxes going up if this levy passes. But if Jefferson County gets its own ambulance district, it won’t have to pay to use ambulances from Idaho Falls anymore.

“We are going to have to bring in this new district, which is going to add more money to our tax line on our statements, but it’s not going to be that much.”

Stowell expects a total of taxes going up by $40 for every $100,000 estimated property value.

If the levy passes, Jefferson County could have its own ambulances ready to go by January 2027. That’s why this levy is on the ballot now. 

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Multi-vehicle crash on Missouri Route 6

News-Press NOW on May 19, 2025

Kirsten Stokes

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Law enforcement personnel responded to a multi-vehicle crash Monday evening on Missouri Route 6, near Bessie Ellison Elementary.

According to a Missouri Department of Transportation press release, State Route 6 is now open from Route W to Hurlingen Road, after being closed for several hours.

News-Press NOW reached out to local law enforcement for updates on the multi-vehicle crash and is waiting to hear back from officials.

News-Press NOW will continue to update this story.

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Biologists to monitor black and grizzly bears in Grand Teton area

KIFI on May 19, 2025

News Team

The following is a press release from the National Park Service:

MOOSE, Wyo (KIFI) — Biologists with the U.S. National Park Service and U.S. Geological Survey will conduct bear capture operations in Grand Teton National Park and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway from May 24 to October 15. These efforts support ongoing black bear research in Grand Teton National Park and grizzly bear population monitoring across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The grizzly bear work, carried out by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, is to document recovery under the Endangered Species Act.

When bear capture operations are being conducted, trap sites will be posted with bright warning signs to inform the public of area closures. For bear and human safety, the public must respect these closures and stay out of the posted areas. All trap sites in the park will be located away from established roadways, hiking trails, and backcountry campsites. 

Agency biologists use natural food sources, such as road-killed elk, to bait bears into culvert traps. Once captured, bears are handled in accordance with strict safety and animal care protocols. After handling, bears are allowed to fully recover before being released on-site. 

Data gathered from capturing bears informs ongoing research and management efforts and is vital to the continued conservation of black and grizzly bear populations across the region. Information about grizzly bear monitoring is available from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team’s website: HERE.

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