Idaho State University Celebrates 125 years with Yearlong Festivities

News Team

The following is a news release from Idaho State University

POCATELLO, Idaho – All are invited to join Idaho State University as the institution celebrates an impressive milestone in 2026 – 125 years of higher education in Idaho. A series of events, historical and alumni stories, and an online memory collection board highlight the yearlong festivities.

Since its founding in 1901, Idaho State has seen many changes and challenges but one thing is certain: the past 125 years have helped shape the school into the growing university it is today, and the future holds immense potential.  

How to Get Involved

Whether you’re an alumni, current or previous employee, student, or community supporter, you are invited to celebrate!

Online Memory Board

Share your favorite ISU memories by posting text, photos or videos on the University’s 125th Online Memory Board. If selected, your memories may be shared publicly on social media or other platforms.

Traveling History Display

A curated selection of Idaho State’s history including the most pivotal moments, impactful people and obstacles overcome throughout the last 125 years will be showcased in a stunning visual display at various locations throughout the year. 

Community Events

March 10-11, 2026 – Bengal Giving Day

March 11, 2026 – Community Wide Day of Service 

September TBD, 2026 – Bengal Street Party + 125th Celebration

In the coming months, additional information will be shared about these events, and ways that everyone can join in celebrating this significant historical year. 

“Like a grand oak, Idaho State University was planted with purpose, and over generations its roots have stretched wide and deep, strengthening our foundation and sustaining our growth,” said ISU President Robert Wagner. “In 2026, we proudly honor those who established and nurtured this institution, while continuing the heritage and adding to the growth that will support future generations for the next century and beyond.”

ISU’s History

At the turn of the nineteenth century, the world was changing and the communities in Southeast Idaho rallied behind a cause that would allow them to evolve with the times – education.

The Academy of Idaho was created on March 11, 1901, when Governor Frank W. Hunt signed Senate Bill 53 into law. The bill was drafted by Theodore F. Turner, former mayor of Pocatello and Idaho state senator, who is now considered the “father” of Idaho State University. Looking ever forward, Turner and all those involved 125 years ago began a tradition of community, academic excellence, and inclusion that has persevered through political opposition, the Great Depression, two world wars, crippling drought, five institutional name changes, the Spanish flu and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This year is a time to celebrate the people, traditions and supporters who have contributed to ISU’s lasting legacy over the past 125 years,” said Wagner. “At the same time, we recognize our unique contract with Idaho, to continue providing higher education that is accessible, obtainable and meaningful for the state and our citizens long into the future.”

Visit isu.edu/125years or contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at marcom@isu.edu or (208) 282-3620 for more information about the 125th Anniversary Celebration.

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Fan transforms basement into Patriots shrine with help from Donnie Wahlberg

By Paul Burton

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    BOSTON (WBZ) — Diehard New England Patriots fan Adham Mamoud is enjoying the teams run to the NFL playoffs. And there are not many places he would rather watch than in his basement, where he built a shrine to his favorite football team.

“Last night’s game was special,” he said.

The 31-year-old father of two converted his basement into his own Patriots haven.

“This room is special you have highlights of all the great things that have ever happened to the Patriots. The Super Bowls, the wins,” Mamoud said.

He’s been collecting Patriots memorabilia since he was 16 years old

Every Sunday, you will find him gathered there cheering on his favorite team with family and friends; reminiscing the past and embracing this bright new future.

“I think Super Bowl. But listen, as a Patriots fan, you know the rule. It’s always Super Bowl or bust,” he said of the team’s chances this year.

Mamoud’s prized possession is the ticket he used to attend Tom Brady’s last Super Bowl win as a member of the Patriots. That ticket came courtesy of his friend and fellow Patriots fan – Boston’s own Donnie Wahlberg. The actor gave him the tickets after a video of Mamoud diving into a snowbank went viral.

While Mamoud was talking to WBZ-TV on Monday, he called Wahlberg on his cellphone to get his take on the Patriots.

“Perfect victory last night not too overwhelming. I’m always up for an AFC Championship game. But of course we have got to get through next week to get there. I couldn’t be happier with this Patriots run. It’s just incredible to see. So unexpected, so wonderful, and and well earned by this team,” Wahlberg said.

And now that the Patriots are advancing on in the playoffs, Mamoud plans to leave the man cave behind to attend the game in person.

“I definitely have to go to this game. This room is special for me though. This is everything I dreamed of,” he said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Video appears to show Bruins fan pushed down stairs by New York Rangers fan during fight at TD Garden


WBZ

By Riley Rourke

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    BOSTON (WBZ) — Video newly obtained by WBZ appears to show a New York Rangers fan push a Boston Bruins fan down the stairs at TD Garden after a series of heated exchanges on Saturday.

The incident happened just after 3 p.m. between the second and third periods of the game. Witnesses said that the victim, who told police he had at least 7 beers, was taunting people in the stands.

“You could kind of tell he had quite a few drinks at that time. He was falling out of his seat. Falling onto the stairs,” the witness who recorded the video told WBZ. He asked for his name to be kept private.

The interactions between the 66-year-old victim, a Bruins fan, and 48-year-old Aaron Tucker of Vermont, who was wearing a Rangers jersey, then began to escalate, according to court documents. His wife told police that the victim was getting “uncomfortably close to her.” Witnesses then saw the victim putting his middle finger in her face, according to a police report.

Witnesses also told police that the victim’s friends were trying to get him to leave to avoid any fights.

The witness we spoke with said that Tucker then turned to his group of friends, who were seated directly next to him, and said, “‘If he comes over here, I’m going to grab him by the throat and throw him down the stairs.'” That witness said, after one more altercation, that’s exactly what happened.

The video he recorded shows a man in a Rangers jersey grab another man by the neck, while on the stairs, and shove him. The victim then fell into the seating section below.

“When he went airborne, he went over two rows of club seats, skipped the third row, and hit his head on the concrete wall,” the witness explained. “He just completely folded, upside down, on the concrete and there was a line of blood going down the concrete wall. I don’t know how a human can bend the way that he did.”

Officers arrived to find the victim lying on the ground in the loge section below, “semi-conscious, breathing with eyes slightly open,” documents show. He was taken to a Boston hospital with a cut on the back of his head and was being tested for a concussion, according to a court report. He told EMTs he had no idea why he was going to the hospital.

The victim told WBZ-TV on Monday that he is doing fine but doesn’t want to comment further.

Court documents said that Tucker and his girlfriend left the arena immediately following the fight. He was arrested shortly after on Lafayette Avenue in the North End.

He has been charged with two counts of assault and battery, one to cause serious bodily injury and another on a person over the age of 60. Tucker told WBZ-TV’s Louisa Moller that he is sorry for what happened and that it “wasn’t him.” He declined to go on camera.

Tucker will be arraigned in Boston court on Friday.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Video appears to show Bruins fan pushed down stairs by New York Rangers fan during fight at TD Garden

By Riley Rourke

Click here for updates on this story

    BOSTON (WBZ) — Video newly obtained by WBZ appears to show a New York Rangers fan push a Boston Bruins fan down the stairs at TD Garden after a series of heated exchanges on Saturday.

The incident happened just after 3 p.m. between the second and third periods of the game. Witnesses said that the victim, who told police he had at least 7 beers, was taunting people in the stands.

“You could kind of tell he had quite a few drinks at that time. He was falling out of his seat. Falling onto the stairs,” the witness who recorded the video told WBZ. He asked for his name to be kept private.

The interactions between the 66-year-old victim, a Bruins fan, and 48-year-old Aaron Tucker of Vermont, who was wearing a Rangers jersey, then began to escalate, according to court documents. His wife told police that the victim was getting “uncomfortably close to her.” Witnesses then saw the victim putting his middle finger in her face, according to a police report.

Witnesses also told police that the victim’s friends were trying to get him to leave to avoid any fights.

The witness we spoke with said that Tucker then turned to his group of friends, who were seated directly next to him, and said, “‘If he comes over here, I’m going to grab him by the throat and throw him down the stairs.'” That witness said, after one more altercation, that’s exactly what happened.

The video he recorded shows a man in a Rangers jersey grab another man by the neck, while on the stairs, and shove him. The victim then fell into the seating section below.

“When he went airborne, he went over two rows of club seats, skipped the third row, and hit his head on the concrete wall,” the witness explained. “He just completely folded, upside down, on the concrete and there was a line of blood going down the concrete wall. I don’t know how a human can bend the way that he did.”

Officers arrived to find the victim lying on the ground in the loge section below, “semi-conscious, breathing with eyes slightly open,” documents show. He was taken to a Boston hospital with a cut on the back of his head and was being tested for a concussion, according to a court report. He told EMTs he had no idea why he was going to the hospital.

The victim told WBZ-TV on Monday that he is doing fine but doesn’t want to comment further.

Court documents said that Tucker and his girlfriend left the arena immediately following the fight. He was arrested shortly after on Lafayette Avenue in the North End.

He has been charged with two counts of assault and battery, one to cause serious bodily injury and another on a person over the age of 60. Tucker told WBZ-TV’s Louisa Moller that he is sorry for what happened and that it “wasn’t him.” He declined to go on camera.

Tucker will be arraigned in Boston court on Friday.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

John Hinckley Jr., the man who shot President Reagan in 1981, wants you to read his new book

By Margaret Kavanagh

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    WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia (WTKR) — John Hinckley Jr., the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, just released a new book about his life and met up with WTKR’s Margaret Kavanagh at Bicentennial Park in Williamsburg to discuss his new memoir and the day he tried to kill the former president.

Hinckley, now a free man living in Williamsburg, has just released a book called “John Hinckley Jr.: Who I Really Am” that tells his story from beginning to end.

“It’s my memoir. It’s called ‘Who I Really Am’ and it tells my whole story from beginning to end,” Hinckley said. “All the good and the bad are in the book.”

The book details how he pushed friends and family away in the late 1970s and early 1980s, isolating himself and falling into a deep depression that led to what he describes as delusional behavior.

“By the time 1981 rolled around, I was a very ill man, and I committed that crime,” Hinckley said.

He was obsessed with the 1976 Martin Scorsese film Taxi Driver, where the main character Travis Bickle, played by Robert DeNiro, plots to assassinate a fictional presidential candidate. Hinckley was also infatuated with actress Jodie Foster who played a teenage prostitute in the movie. Foster was 12 when she filmed for her role, Iris.

“In the fall of ’80, I went to New Haven seek her out and I talked to her on the phone a few times and I left messages and wrote poems for her and I always signed them so she knew who I was,” Hinckley said. “She was saying, ‘Look I can’t be talking to strangers on the phone and I was always trying to keep her on the phone.'”

To impress the actress, he devised a plan to kill the president similar to the plot in the movie. Hinckley told me what happened on March 30, 1981.

“I was staying at a hotel in D.C., and I saw Reagan’s schedule for the day in the newspaper, and I made up my mind what I wanted to do,” Hinckley said. “So I wrote a letter to Jodie Foster, and I left it in the hotel room and I took a cab to the Hilton hotel and I saw where the crowd was standing, so I got amongst the crowd and Reagan arrived with his entourage and walked right past me, and it looked like he was waving right at me so it kind of startled me so I just kind of waved back. He went on into the building. He gave his speech and when he came back out. That’s when I shot him.”

Hinckley shot and wounded four people that day. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity the following year, then remained in a mental hospital before receiving his unconditional release and full freedom in 2022.

“I’m just so sorry for what happened,” Hinckley said.

“In 1981, I was depressed, delusional, and that’s why I committed my crimes,” Hinckley said. “But I’m so far removed from that now. I feel so much better now. And my life now is devoted to music and art.”

He creates art that he sells and music that he puts online but says he’s had trouble getting music venue owners to allow him to perform live.

“Then the owner of the venue always seems to cancel on me and it’s very frustrating because I know I can put on a good show and sing my songs and make the people happy,” Hinckley said.

I also spoke with Jason Norman, the ghostwriter who helped Hinckley put the book together.

“I just figured there was much more to him than this and there was,” Norman said. “There was his music career, his college life, his life on the inside, when he was institutionalized for a while, his relationships. I just felt like this was a full story that needed telling.”

Writing the memoir was therapeutic for Hinckley, though emotionally challenging.

“Early on it was hard drudging up all those memories cause I kind of pushed them in the back,” said Hinckley. “I hope people read it and see that I’m not the person I was back in 1981.”

He denounces all political violence and wants peace while continuing to make art and play music, hoping to one day perform live.

“I feel like the public would be attending a good concert if I could just put on the show,” Hinckley said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Woman locked out of mailbox for weeks turns to senator for help

By Kamilah Williams

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    PORTSMOUTH, Virginia (WTKR) — A Portsmouth mother says she has been unable to access her mailbox for weeks after losing her mail keys, leaving her without important documents and prompting her to seek help from a U.S. senator.

Unique Reid said she lost the keys to her London Oaks apartment mailbox in early December and immediately began trying to replace them.

Since then, she says, she has been locked out of her mailbox with no clear timeline for a solution.

Reid said the lack of access has affected critical parts of her life, including mail related to her son, who is autistic, his medical appointments, and other personal documents.

“Important mail about my son, doctor’s appointments, about tax papers supposed to be coming in the mail,” Reid said.

Reid said she contacted the U.S. Postal Service, worked with her property manager, and repeatedly tried calling both local and national USPS phone numbers, but received no response.

“I contacted USPS Postal Service, went to my landlord, talked to her,” Reid said. “She stayed in there with me for about two hours trying to contact the post office on the phone. Called the 1-800 number, called the main post office number, no response.”

WTKR News 3 reached out to the United States Postal Service for clarification. In a statement, USPS said:

“The Postal Service will install new locks and provide new keys for customers residing at this complex who submit a request at the Post Office and pay for a new key. Once a new lock is installed, the customer can pick up the new mailbox key from the Postal Service. Until then, the customer can pick up her mail at the local Post Office. We greatly value the continued support from our customers…”

Despite that guidance, Reid said a month has passed, and she still does not have access to her mailbox.

“It’s still been hectic,” she said.

Frustrated, Reid took the issue a step further and contacted U.S. Sen. Mark Warner’s office. She said Warner’s office responded, telling her that a staff member had been assigned to her case and would contact USPS on her behalf.

When asked how it felt to receive that response, Reid said it was a relief.

Reid said she hopes the issue will be resolved soon, especially with tax season approaching.

“I really do need them because my W-2s are coming in that mailbox and I need them,” she said.

WTKR News 3 will continue to follow this story as Reid awaits a resolution.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Photographer worked with & mentored Renee Good, ODU alumna killed by ICE

By Anthony Sabella

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    NORFOLK, Virginia (WTKR) — We are continuing to learn more about Renee Good, the Old Dominion University alumna who was shot and killed Wednesday by an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis. Federal investigators accuse Good of trying to hit an ICE agent with her car.

While Good lived in Hampton Roads, she sat down with News 3 anchor Erin Miller for an interview in 2022 — then, Renee Macklin. She graduated from ODU in 2020 with a degree in English and spent her time on campus developing skills as a writer and photographer.

Charles Winslow worked with and mentored Good on photography during her time at ODU.

Winslow owns a photography business and hires photographers for sporting events. Good wanted to learn and enhance her writing while in college, Winslow said.

“From the first day of shooting, she was fantastic, she has an eye for it,” Winslow told News 3 over a video call from Germany.

Good worked everything from basketball games to NASCAR races, Winslow says. Other times, Winslow, Good and a small group of photography friends would head to Virginia Beach.

“We’d get the highest room we could get on the beach and we’ll all camp out and shoot the sunrise in the morning because she needed those sunrises for her poems and her books,” Winslow said.

After Good graduated in 2020, the two eventually lost touch. When Winslow first heard about the shooting, he said he was shocked. Around four or five hours later, some of his photographers called him about it.

“When they told me Renee, I was like, ‘no, it’s a mistake,'” Winslow said. “‘Someone mixed this up,’ and, no. It was her. As soon as I saw her photo, I couldn’t believe it. The first thing I thought of was New York.”

Every year in January and February, Winslow says he would invite Good and other photographers to travel to New York to take pictures of the homeless. They used those photos for the ACLU in New York to raise awareness for the homeless.

“She cried. She cried like a baby,” recalls Winslow of Good’s reaction to the experience.

That is the person Winslow said he remembers — someone who cared for others, lived life freely and wanted people to get along.

“If there was an argument, she would be the first one to break it up,” Winslow said. “She would tell people, ‘don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about it.'”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

‘It’s unchartered territory’: Local legislators respond to Governor’s State of the State address

David Pace

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – Local lawmakers are responding to Governor Brad Little’s State of the State address as Idaho enters “unchartered” economic waters.

“Our budgets are tight. I can tell you that no one’s getting a raise at the state of Idaho – teachers or state workers,” said Rep. Rod Furniss, (R)-Rigby, who has served for four years on the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) that sets the state budget. “We’re going to make sure that we have enough money to run the government efficiently.”

After years of budget surpluses, the state is facing a projected $40.3 million deficit.

Eastern Idaho lawmakers responded to the Governor’s message with a dual dose of optimism and realism.

“He’s focusing on budgetary items but without massive, unnecessary cuts,” said Rep. Ben Fuhriman, (R)-Shelley. “He wants to look at renegotiating contracts. He wants to look at being more efficient, cutting red tape – things that I totally support. We should be doing those things anyway, regardless of the status of our budget.”

The dueling tax cuts and state budget cuts promise to be a major theme in the 2026 Legislative session.“As a member of JFAC, I was waiting for all these numbers to come in for budgets and then thinking that, okay, keep close notes so we know what he’s suggesting on spending, and he didn’t do that,” said Sen. Kevin Cook, (R)-Idaho Falls. “In fact, he really didn’t talk about money at all, except for when it came to the health care.”

Idaho legislators say that implementing President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill tax cuts – no taxes on tips, overtime, and tax deductions for small businesses and seniors – will impact Idaho state revenues, requiring cuts to state programs while preserving public education funding at existing levels.

“In the Big, Beautiful Bill that was passed by Trump, it’s a great thing,” Furniss said. “We’re excited to be able to conform to that. But it makes our revenue number really hard to know what it is – it’s uncharted territory. We don’t really know how much revenue is going to come in. We know that there will be a shortfall this year, and it’ll come back next year, but we have to be really conservative this year.”

But lawmakers say they match Governor Little’s optimism that they will be able to balance the state budget as required by the Idaho Constitution.

“Governor Little’s ‘Enduring Idaho’ plan is an example of the kind of leadership that makes Idaho an example of conservative fiscal management,” said Sen. Dave Lent, (R)-Idaho Falls, in a text.

Newly-appointed Idaho lawmaker Rep. Erin Bingham, (R)-Idaho Falls, thanked the Governor for preserving education funding.

“Today was my first day in the Idaho House,” said Bingham in a text. “I was pleased to hear from Governor Little that he is committed to balancing the budget while protecting education. Our biggest challenge this year will be making hard fiscal choices that protect the economy, our schools and our people.”

Rep. Ben Fuhriman, Sen. Kevin Cook and Rep. Rod Furniss sound off Monday following the Governor’s State of the State address.

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Man charged with 2 felonies after allegedly assaulting woman in Morgan County

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Barnett man has been charged with two felonies after authorities claim he assaulted a woman last month.

Williams Simms, 29, was charged with first-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action. He is being held at the Morgan County Jail on a $250,000 bond and a court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says police were called on Dec. 10 for a reported assault. Simms allegedly had been arguing with the since the night before and accused her of being with another person, the statement says.

Court documents say Simms dragged the victim, threw her down multiple times and hit and strangled her before holding a knife to the victim’s throat.

The victim allegedly ran away to a neighbor’s residence to get away from Simms and call law enforcement.

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Fatal 2-vehicle crash on Highway 97 in Klamath County

Triton Notary

KLAMATH CO. (KTVZ)– A two-vehicle crash on Highway 97 near milepost 228 in Klamath County resulted in one fatality Friday evening, according to Oregon State Police.

OSP responded to the crash at approximately 6:20 p.m. on Friday, January 9th, 2026. Investigators determined that a Ford F-450, operated by Douglas Alan Fordyce, 61, of Caldwell, Idaho, was stopped westbound on Silver Lake Road at the intersection with Highway 97.

When the Ford attempted to enter the highway, it was struck by a southbound Freightliner commercial motor vehicle and trailer operated by Sebastian Mercado Juarez, 29, of Fresno, CA resulting in a side-impact collision.

Fordyce was declared dead at the scene.

Sebastian Mercado Juarez and a passenger in the Freightliner, Christian Mercado Juarez, 31 of Fresno CA, sustained reported minor injuries.

Highway 97 was impacted for approximately two hours while emergency crews conducted the on-scene investigation.

Oregon State Police were assisted by Chiloquin Fire and Rescue, Chemult Rural Fire District, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

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