Passions flare after closure of Blackfoot Senior Center food pantry

KIFI on January 22, 2026

Par Kermani

BLACKFOOT, Idaho (KIFI) — Tension over the closure of a volunteer‑run pantry and store at the Blackfoot Senior Center erupted into a packed, emotional meeting as seniors accused the center’s board of poor communication and ignoring members’ concerns.

“Unfortunately, there’s been a breakdown in communication between the members of the senior center, and the board members. And the pantry has been closed,” said Tami Jones, a volunteer at the pantry and local resident.

Jones was disappointed in the decision because of the proximity of the senior center to the apartment buildings nearby. She recalled a recent event in which a gentleman on the sidewalk was struggling to carry two backpacks full of food from the pantry. She offered to help him drive the food back to his house, despite his initial fear that she was judging him for taking so much food. He accepted her offer. She fears that the residents won’t have access to food now that the pantry is closed, since the other pantries are further away.

For roughly three years, volunteers operated a food pantry and small donation store out of the center, bringing in more than $15,000, according to figures cited at the meeting. About half of that went back to the senior center, volunteers said.

During the meeting, former Blackfoot Mayor Paul Loomis and current Chairman of the Board told the agitated crowd that they will not be reopening the pantry.

“We at the senior center are experts at running the senior center.” said Loomis “We’re not experts that run the pantry. And there are four other pantries in this city which take care of food insecurity. And so we’re going to let them do what they’re really good at, and we’re going to do what we are really good at.”

One of the meeting attendees shouted back at Loomis, explaining that the other food pantries made them feel ashamed, whereas the one at the senior center made them feel comfortable and treated them like family.

Board members said they recently decided to stop supporting what they called an “ad hoc pantry,” arguing it lacked the oversight required under the center’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. They also cited food safety concerns and a recent inspection that, they said, raised questions about how donated food was handled.

“You can’t have an ad hoc organization who is receiving donations under a 501(c)(3) that doesn’t have one,” Loomis said.

Other board members were concerned about how funds were donated. “There has to be proper oversight.”

Some seniors countered that the pantry and store had operated openly for years, with the board’s knowledge, and that members were never clearly informed of legal or safety issues.

Board members defended the decision to redirect donated food and pledged to improve communication, publish its meeting schedule in the center’s newsletter and form small working groups with seniors to discuss the various concerns the residents brought up.

Many seniors left the meeting early, upset by the decision. The ones who stayed did not feel satisfied with the outcome.

“We have four other pantries in the city,” Loomis repeated as another attendee quickly interjected with “I reiterate, Paul, not one of them will give these people what that pantry has given us for the last three years.”

Board members promised to issue a statement and a press release to the community concerning the decisions made and to address any concerns the community might have had.

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Man seriously injured in Holt County crash

News-Press NOW on January 22, 2026

Leah Rainwater

HOLT COUNTY, Mo. (KQTV) — An 81-year-old man from Maitland, Missouri, is seriously injured after being involved in a crash in Holt County Wednesday evening.

The 81-year-old driver of the 2020 Toyota Prius was southbound on U.S. 59 Highway when he failed to follow a curve in the roadway, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.

The vehicle traveled off the west side of U.S. 59, where the driver overcorrected and began to skid off the roadway.

The driver was able to return the vehicle to the roadway; however, it then traveled off the east side, where it struck an embankment and began overturning.

The vehicle came to rest on its roof facing east, blocking the northbound lane of U.S. 59.

The man was not wearing a seatbelt, according to the crash report. He was transported by the Atchison-Holt Ambulance District to Community Hospital- Fairfax.

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Inspired by Sundance, University of Colorado Boulder students learn how to put on film festivals

CNN Newsource on January 22, 2026

By Sarah Horbacewicz

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    BOULDER, Colorado (KCNC) — In Boulder, University of Colorado students are excited for next year’s Sundance Film Festival, which will be a great learning experience for putting together festivals of their own.

Sundance kicks off its last year in Utah this week, and students are studying hard. CU Boulder Associate Professor of Cinema Studies and Moving Image Arts Kelly Sears says there’s a waiting list of students eager to get into this classroom.

“I knew there’s a lot of interest in film festivals, but maybe not a lot of understanding about how they function,” explained Sears.

After Sundance announced it would be moving to Boulder next year, Sears signed on to teach a course on similar festivals. She says this is the perfect opportunity for students to learn firsthand.

“We have a front row seat,” Sears said. “I’ve gone to Sundance several times, and I often run into colleagues from other institutions who’ve brought their students there, and I’ve always thought, ‘I wish I could bring CU students to Sundance.'”

That class focuses on more than just Sundance; it also highlights festivals around the world. A long list of guest lecturers signed up to speak to the class, including representatives from the Denver Film Festival, the Boulder International Film Festival, and, of course, Sundance.

Students are also tasked with creating their own festivals by the end of the year.

“They can think about everything from curation, location, funding, audience, community, engagement workshops, whatever they would want in their dream festival,” said Sears.

Some students are diving into the world of cinema for the first time, while others, like Caroline Locke and Annaluna Grandt, are learning how to send their senior films out into the real world.

“I’m very much more creative, centered and driven and so, having someone really give you the tools [for], unfortunately or fortunately, the business practices that you need to know to be successful, it’s really important,” said Grandt.

The students hope to put what they learn into practice when the Sundance Film Festival comes next year.

“I’m hoping that, with the university being here, it’ll really open those doors for students to go to those places,” Grandt 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.

LA Metro advances plans for heavy rail project connecting the San Fernando Valley to the Westside

CNN Newsource on January 22, 2026

By Julie Sharp

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — A decades-long plan for underground heavy rail transit along the Sepulveda Corridor was advanced by the Los Angeles Metro Board of Directors on Thursday, connecting the San Fernando Valley to the Westside.

Applause rang out in the boardroom after the Sepulveda Transit Corridor project was unanimously approved to move forward by board members, essentially laying the groundwork for an alternative to the 405 Freeway.

The route would travel from Van Nuys to Sherman Oaks, under Bel-Air and Beverly Crest, UCLA, and end at Metro’s E Line/Expo Sepulveda Station.

The project aims to lay nearly 13 miles of underground rail and add seven stations at an estimated cost of around $25 billion. Metro officials say the price tag will change as they finalize the project.

“We have tried widening freeways and building over mountains, and we’ve spent billions doing it. The approach has failed,” Los Angeles City Councilmember and Metro Director Katy Yaroslavsky said. “This project represents a fundamentally different strategy.”

The 2016 voter-approved half-cent sales tax, Measure M, will support the Sepulveda Transit Corridor project.

Yaroslavsky called for the agency to focus on the path to delivery and funding, encouraging her colleagues to push for cost reductions, explore new technologies, and construction approaches.

Metro officials said that construction for the project will occur underground, eliminating surface construction and reducing vibration impacts. Tunnels would be below at least 500 feet underground.

The board’s approval on Thursday moves the project forward for further design plans and a final environmental impact report, and additional environmental documentation.

“There’s still a lot to do until we get shovels in the ground, let alone open this thing,” Yaroslavsky 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.

Women find place to connect, create

KVIA on January 22, 2026

Hillary Floren

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Today’s women are busy. They’re stressed, exhausted, overwhelmed and often lonely. That’s why Nicole Haymon decided to take action. She created a “purpose and paint party.” Dozens of women answered the call, gathering for a night of smiles, conversation, goal setting, and painting.

Participant Tonique Hayward says, “It was needed, honestly.  I felt like this was a moment for me to spend some time with myself…with women who are looking for the same thing I’m looking for.  Community, sisterhood.”

Nicole Haymon, also the author of “Imperfectly Purposed,” says she decided to have the women paint journals that they could fill with their thoughts.

“Journaling is a way to brain dump.  Get everything out of your mind, because your mind is not supposed to be a storage.  And you can process your thoughts and go back and look at progress,” she says.

Notable moments also included guided group painting sessions, signature mirror moments, where participants affirmed one another, small group connection, and a celebratory “you go” circle to close out the night.

‘The purpose is for us to be who we are in that moment.  Imperfect, messy, but with a purpose,” Haymon says.

Haymon also wrote a book, called “Imperfectly Purposed.” More information here Imperfectly Purposed: A Guided Journey on Your Path to Becoming Purpose-Full: Haymon, Nicole: 9798449707017: Amazon.com: Books

To find out more about purpose parties, call 219-902-5277.

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‘No sentence long enough’: Sister speaks at sentencing for brutal murder of her teen brother

CNN Newsource on January 22, 2026

By Emily Ashcraft and Jodi Reynosa

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    SALT LAKE CITY (KSL) — The older sister of Ivan Nickolas “Nick” Vetecnik told the man who murdered him that she and her family are serving a life sentence of grief and trauma since the teenager’s brutal death.

She said she was “locked in” on Rowdy Lee Aguilar at his sentencing hearing on Friday and wanted him to “feel every single word.”

“What you destroyed is not replaceable. What you took from him cannot be measured,” Samantha VanTreese said in her victim impact statement.

Aguilar, 22, of Taylorsville, was sentenced to a term of 25 years to life in prison for aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, although he will begin his sentence in a juvenile detention center.

She said two years before her brother’s death, he lost both of his parents.

“We were already a broken family trying to hold onto each other just to survive that pain. And my brother — a 15-year-old child — was trying to rebuild his life,” VanTreese said. “He didn’t deserve to have his future taken on top of everything he had already lost.”

Nick, of Taylorsville, was killed on May 26, 2021. Security video from Aguilar’s home shows he and Nick arrived around 10 a.m. At 1:20 p.m., Aguilar entered his home again alone with his shirt “heavily stained with blood” a statement from the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office said. About 20 minutes later, a business security camera captured Aguilar, then 17, carrying items that looked like garbage bags to the location in a nearby field where bags with dismembered body parts were discovered.

As a sister, VanTreese said she was there for her brother when he needed guidance, but instead of helping him recover from the trauma of losing his parents, his life ended “in the most violent and terrifying way imaginable.”

She described him as a “goofy, soft-hearted, trusting” child who wanted connection and family, and he believed Aguilar cared about him until Aguilar betrayed him.

“There is no sentence long enough, no vocabulary deep enough, to capture what it is like to lose a 15-year-old child, a brother, a boy who still had his whole future in front of him in such a violent, intentional and gruesome way,” she said.

VanTreese said every day she wakes up into the reality that her brother is gone along with the future they imagined together. She said the details of his death — that he was stabbed 26 times in the back of his head and his body was dismembered — live in her mind each day and are part of trauma she carries with her.

“I will never stop wondering if he was scared, if he cried out, if he realized that the person who claimed to be his friend had become the person who decided he didn’t deserve to live,” she said.

VanTreese told Aguilar his prison sentence will not compare to the one her family has.

“I ask that the sentence reflect the truth — that a child’s life was brutally taken, that he deserved protection and that the choices made by the defendant created harm that will last generations,” she said.

VanTreese shared her statement with KSL the day after the sentencing, and said reading the words in the courtroom lifted a weight off her chest.

She said Aguilar’s comments during the sentencing hearing were “huge” to her. During previous hearings he showed no emotion or was laughing, but Friday was different, she said. He cried and apologized for being a monster and snake and told the family that Nick did not do anything to him to provoke his actions.

“Just seeing his raw emotion helped,” VanTreese said, noting that he was crying.

VanTreese said she still doesn’t know why Aguilar killed her brother and probably never will. When his case comes before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole years from now, she plans to be there.

Aguilar will remain in juvenile detention until he is 25, when he will be transferred to prison, according to the sentence.

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.

4.7-magnitude earthquake shakes Wasatch Front

CNN Newsource on January 22, 2026

By Logan Stefanich

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    SALT LAKE CITY (KSL) — People across the state, from Logan to Provo, likely felt the effects of an earthquake during the Thursday morning commute.

The epicenter of the 4.7-magnitude earthquake was about 25 miles south of Evanston, Wyoming, at 7:49 a.m., according to the United States Geological Survey.

People reported household items and furniture shaking, dogs barking and cats cowering.

“I was just sitting at my desk in my living room when all of a sudden I felt my house shaking and sat for a second, confused,” said Madison Olsen, in West Bountiful. “Then I could see my computers and lamp start shaking. I literally stood up, getting ready to run to my kid if I had to, but thankfully it wasn’t too long.”

Ogden resident Sandra Droguett-Collio said she “felt the floor moving.”

“I was so light,” Droguett-Collio said.

Farmington resident Troy Schauerhamer said Thursday’s earthquake is only the second he’s experienced in Utah.

“Definitely a unique experience. Also a little unsettling, because there could be an aftershock or it could get worse,” Schauerhamer said. “You are wondering to yourself if this is really an earthquake, or did something really big just fall off a shelf and shake the house?”

Talissa Meza was at work in the industrial park near the University of Utah campus when the earthquake hit.

“I was at my cubicle, my chair shook a bit and when my monitor moved, I knew it was an earthquake. It’s funny because I stood up to see if anyone knew it was an earthquake, and I saw other heads up, looking confused like me,” Meza said.

There were no reports of any damage caused by the earthquake as of 9:20 a.m. Thursday.

The USGS forecasts a 57% chance of a magnitude 3.0 or higher aftershock occurring in the next seven days. There’s a 19% chance of an aftershock of magnitude 4.0 or higher, and a 3% chance of magnitude 5.0, according to the forecast.

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.

Utah helped turn a Minnesota skier into an Olympic biathlete

CNN Newsource on January 22, 2026

By Matt Gephardt

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    MIDWAY (KSL) — When the Olympics get underway in a couple of weeks, 25-year-old Luci Anderson will be making her debut.

She has qualified to compete for Team USA in Biathlon, a grueling sport that combines cross-country skiing with rifle marksmanship.

Anderson is from Minneapolis, but as she told KSL, the hills of Utah got her ready to compete at the pinnacle of her sport.

“Honestly, all my favorite ski racing memories are Soldier Hollow,” she said. “And hopefully I can make some more biathlon memories here.”

She said the skiing part was something she’d been doing her whole life. “I got into cross-country skiing when I was about 5 years old,” she said.

Shooting, though, was another story. She said she had never fired a gun before being noticed by U.S. Biathlon when she was a junior in college and skiing for the University of New Hampshire. “I didn’t really grow up in, like, a hunting family. We don’t really own guns. I think we have, like, my grandpa’s military rifle or something. I don’t know,” she said, laughing.

But U.S. Biathlon team officials saw her ski times, brought her to the team’s headquarters in Soldier Hollow, put a rifle in her hands — and bang! Less than two years later, she’s on her way to Italy’s Dolomite Mountains.

Asked if there was a moment where competing went from fun to something where she realized she was elite, she points to a cross-country skiing race at Soldier Hollow. She was in high school and that race qualified her for a trip to Norway as an 18-and-younger athlete. “I got to represent Team USA there,” she said.

That was her first time on Team USA. It will not be the last.

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.

Former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore’s attorney says “truth will come out”

CNN Newsource on January 22, 2026

By Joseph Buczek

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    DETROIT (WWJ) — Former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore made his first appearance Thursday in a Washtenaw County courtroom since he was arraigned in December in connection with the home invasion and stalking of a staff member with whom he allegedly had an “intimate relationship.”

Moore, 39, appeared before Judge J. Cedric Simpson in District 14A court on Thursday. Moore, who was accompanied to court by his wife and attorney, is charged with third-degree felony home invasion, as well as misdemeanor counts of stalking and of breaking and entering.

During Thursday’s proceedings, Moore’s defense attorney, Ellen Michaels, asked that the probable cause conference be delayed for 30 days to allow for discovery regarding phone records and Title IX documents. Judge Simpson rescheduled Moore’s probable cause conference for March 19.

Moore’s defense team also filed a motion to quash his arrest warrant and dismiss the complaint. Michaels has requested a Franks hearing, saying the arrest warrant was issued “based on false and misleading statements presented as fact.”

Washtenaw County prosecutors have until Feb. 2 to respond to the motion to quash. A motion hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 17.

“Mr. Moore is innocent of these charges,” Michaels said while speaking with reporters Thursday. “We’re confident the truth will come out in court under oath where it belongs.”

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel fired Moore on Dec. 10, 2025, saying Moore had been “terminated with cause, effective immediately,” adding “this conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy, and U-M maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.”

Hours after the firing, Moore was booked in the Washtenaw County Jail after Pittsfield Township police responded to the 3000 block of Ann Arbor Saline Road for an alleged assault.

During Moore’s arraignment on Dec. 12, Washtenaw County First Assistant Prosecutor Kati Rezmierski said Moore had an “intimate relationship” with the victim for a “number of years,” and that the victim ended the relationship on Monday.

Prosecutors allege Moore made numerous phone calls and sent messages to the victim from that time period forward, but she did not respond to them. The victim then went to the university and cooperated with an investigation.

After being fired by Michigan, Washtenaw County prosecutors say Moore went to the victim’s apartment, barged his way in, proceeded to a kitchen drawer, and grabbed several butter knives and a pair of kitchen scissors.

Prosecutors allege Moore then threatened his own life, saying, ‘I’m going to kill myself. I’m going to make you watch. My blood is on your hands. You ruined my life.’ Moore made a series of intimidating statements, according to prosecutors, but they say there is no evidence to suggest that he directly threatened the victim with the knives or scissors.

Moore was released on a $25,000 bond shortly after his arraignment.

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.

Three charged in deadly Columbia shooting to appear in court

KMIZ on January 22, 2026

Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Three 18-year-olds charged in a deadly shooting in southwest Columbia on Sunday will make their first appearance in a Boone County courtroom Thursday afternoon.

Alexis Baumann, of Hallsville; Kobe Aust and Joseph Crane, both of Columbia; were charged with second-degree murder, armed criminal action and first-degree robbery.

A juvenile is also facing the same charges along with felony theft.

Baumann, Aust and Crane will be in front of Judge Kayla Jackson-Williams at 1 p.m. in the Boone County Courthouse.

Officers responded to a shots fired call in the 1400 block of Ridgemont Ct. around 8:15 p.m. Sunday. When officers arrived, they found Michael Burke, 42, with life-threatening injuries. He later died at the hospital.

Court documents filed in the case say that Baumann and the group arranged to buy a phone from the victim, Michael R. Burke. The group had already met with and stolen from at least two other victims in the two days before the confrontation that led to Burke’s death, documents say. Those incidents occurred on Claudell Lane and Northampton Dr.

Baumann told police that the juvenile would set up a meeting with someone through Facebook Marketplace to buy a phone. The group would then steal the phone and sell it for cash at a local ecoATM.

Baumann allegedly told officers that the juvenile and Crane went into Burke’s home and minutes later, she heard three gunshots. They then took his iPhone and sold it at an ecoATM at the Walmart on Conley Road.

The juvenile appeared before a Boone County judge on Wednesday for a detention hearing. The state requested that he be kept at the juvenile detention center until an adult certification investigation can be completed. The defense requested in-home detention.

The judge ordered the juvenile to stay in juvenile detention until his next court hearing on Tuesday.

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