Dry winter leaves Idaho landscapers shoveling for profits

KIFI on February 19, 2026

Ariel Jensen

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Many Idaho landscapers depend on snow to keep business going, and this winter has made that challenging. Idahoans are used to seeing snowplows at every corner of the street, but this year, they have become a rare sight.

“Really slow. Obviously, we would like more snow than what we’ve gotten,” said Dustin Inglett, Irrigation Maintenance Manager for T&T Lawn Services.

More snow means more work, but less snow means less to take to the bank.

“Our service time for landscape construction and maintenance is a shorter season. And a lot of your landscaping companies rely on snow plowing to bring in, you know, 20, 30, maybe 40% of their income,” said Casey Price, Landscape Design Build Manager for T&T Lawn Services.

This lack of snow is also bringing concern for the future.

“Growing up in agriculture, it’s always important to have water for your crops. We got to refill the aquifer, and hopefully we got enough still in the mountains to bring us along through the summertime,” said Price.

“It’s obviously even more important for the farmers, and where I’m an irrigation technician. Water is my job. So water conservation also plays a big factor in my day-to-day summer activities. And if we don’t have much to begin with, then that makes my job harder,” said Inglett.

These past few days of snow have been vital to the snowplow industry, and they hope it keeps on coming.

“Hopefully we get a bunch here in the next, next a little while, and we at least have a wet spring so that we can have enough moisture for the summer,” said Price.

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Getting Answers: Addressing recent noise issues at Palm Springs airport

KESQ on February 19, 2026

Peter Daut

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – From Palm Springs to Indio, a growing number of Coachella Valley residents say aircraft noise is disrupting their daily lives.

The complaints follow a change by the FAA to the flight approach path into Palm Springs International Airport, and now, the airport is trying to do something about it.

News Channel 3’s Peter Daut spoke in-depth with Kevin J. Corcoran, the chair of the airport commission.

“We’ve heard a lot from folks in Indian Wells, from Cathedral City and others, who all of a sudden for the first time are hearing planes and complaining about noise that they’ve never experienced before,” Corcoran said.

Watch the full interview starting at 4:00 p.m. on News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2.

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WATCH LIVE: Stephens College basketball hosts Columbia College

KMIZ on February 19, 2026

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Stephens Stars will host the Columbia College Cougars women’s basketball team at Silverthorne Arena for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff Thursday.

The game is a special Coaches Vs. Cancer event. Watch the game live in the media player.

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‘Power of One’ dinner returns, raising funds dedicated to preventing child abuse

KESQ on February 19, 2026

Shay Lawson

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (KESQ)  – Olive Crest Desert Communities, a local non-profit dedicated to preventing child abuse, is hosting its annual “Power of One” fundraising dinner on Thursday.

Organizers said this year’s event will “feature an elegant dinner to celebrate and honor the extraordinary Olive Crest Champions of Hope, those individuals, as well as, companies who have been dedicated to protecting and serving children and families in crisis.”

Alia Azariah will be the featured Keynote Speaker. She is a survivor and a nationally recognized expert on human trafficking, sex trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

News Channel 3’s Karen Devine is hosting the event.

You can donate to Olive Crest Desert Communities at this link.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing live coverage.

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Thermal soccer coach who sexually abused girls sentenced

KESQ on February 19, 2026

City News Service

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – A former Coachella Valley girls soccer coach who molested and propositioned multiple students was sentenced today to 61 years, four months in state prison.

A Banning jury in October convicted 30-year-old Juan Manuel Pantoja Troncoso of Salton City of three counts each of forcible lewd acts on a child and contacting a minor for the purpose of perpetrating a sexual offense, four counts of annoying a child and one count of battery, with sentence-enhancing allegations of targeting multiple victims.   

During a hearing at the Banning Justice Center Thursday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Singerton denied a defense motion for new trial and proceeded with imposing the sentence required under state law on Troncoso, 30, who had no prior felony convictions.

Deputy District Attorney Thomas Farnell rendered a detailed account of the five victims’ recollections of what occurred during their interactions with the defendant, when he was one of the lead athletics coaches in the After-School Education & Safety Program at Toro Canyon Middle School in Thermal in 2019.   

The campus’ principal soccer coach, Javier Perez, said some of the girls refused to take to the field unless he was present, fearing Troncoso’s behavior. Middle school teacher Maria Sylva testified the defendant liked “12 to 14-year-old girls. That’s his type.”

Defense attorney Melanie Roe countered that most of the witnesses were negatively influenced by Sylva, who bore unexplained animosity toward Troncoso and had spoken with the girls before they went to authorities.   

“Sylva contaminated the memories of these girls,” Roe told jurors. “She had a mean-spirited intent.”  

She said the victims, now in their late teens, had ideas planted by Sylva, including the use of words such as “uncomfortable” and “inappropriate,” which students in their early teens wouldn’t normally convey unless an adult, in this case an educator, had steered them toward such terms.  

As to whether her client had made casual observations or offered supportive hugs to the youths, Roe questioned where the line was drawn between criminal offense and friendly chat.  

She praised Troncoso’s character, pointing out he was holding down three jobs to support his family at the time of his arrest in 2020.   

The defendant was dismissed by the Coachella Valley Unified School District in the winter of 2020.

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Nevada man sentenced to 17 years for eastern Idaho drug trafficking

KIFI on February 19, 2026

Seth Ratliff

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) — A 45-year-old Nevada man will spend more than 17 years in federal prison for his role in a large-scale drug trafficking operation that funneled methamphetamine and fentanyl into Eastern Idaho.

U.S. District Judge David C. Nye sentenced Franklin Ryan, of Sparks, Nevada, to 210 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today.

According to court documents, Ryan sold large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl in eastern Idaho between March and September of 2024.

On August 26, 2025, Ryan pleaded guilty to the charges against him. Four other defendants charged as co-conspirators still face pending litigation.

The investigation into Ryan’s drug operation involved a coordinated effort between the FBI, ISP, and the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program. U.S. Attorney Davis, who announced the sentencing, praised the interagency cooperation and the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Blythe McLane in securing the conviction.

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Oregon Senate advances Broadman bill to protect public lands from privatization

KTVZ on February 19, 2026

Oregon Capital Chronicle

By Mia Maldonado, Oregon Capital Chronicle

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Oregon Senate in a 17-11 vote Thursday advanced a Central Oregon lawmaker’s bill meant to safeguard public lands against the threat of privatization. 

Senate Bill 1590, sponsored by Sen. Anthony Broadman, D-Bend, would prohibit state agencies from using any funding, data, equipment or staff to help the federal government sell or transfer federal lands to private parties. The measure puts no restrictions on tribes.

Broadman brought the bill in response to efforts from congressional Republicans to include in their massive summer 2025 tax and spending law plans to sell between 2 to 3 million acres of federally-managed land across 11 Western states, including hiking trails and campgrounds in Oregon.

Those provisions ultimately failed after receiving bipartisan pushback and because Congress could not guarantee that those lands wouldn’t be bought by antagonistic foreign interests.

Sen. Anthony Broadman, D-Bend, on the Senate floor on Jan. 13, 2025. (Photo by Laura Tesler/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Roughly 53% of land in Oregon is managed by the federal government, specifically the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service.

“We will not collaborate with federal efforts to privatize our national parks, our monuments, our sacred places,” Broadman said. 

The Senate advanced the bill along party lines, with Republicans citing concerns that the bill would limit private and public partnerships meant to manage the state’s natural resources and protect the health and safety of Oregonians. 

Sen. Todd Nash, an Enterprise Republican and cattle rancher, said there are times when it is beneficial to transfer public lands to private hands. 

“I just don’t want to put us in a place where we don’t have the benefit of doing that, allowing counties and the state of Oregon to participate in that transfer,” he said. 

The bill heads to the House next.

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Moberly woman charged in child’s accidental shooting death from January

KMIZ on February 19, 2026

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Moberly woman has been charged after a child died last month in an accidental shooting.

Jo Timmons, 37, was charged on Thursday with five counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. She is being held at the Randolph County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

Randolph County Prosecutor Stephanie Luntsford said because one count resulted in the death of a child, Timmons faces a sentencing range of 10 years to life in prison, including the possibility of a 30-year sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections, if found guilty. The remaining counts are Class D felonies, each punishable up to seven years in prison.

The probable cause statement says authorities were called on Jan. 18 for a report of an 11-year-old having a gunshot wound. The child later died from their injuries, law enforcement wrote. Previous reporting indicates a fifth-grade student from Moberly had died in a gun accident the same weekend.

The statement says a 12-year-old helped deputies find the handgun in a dresser. Timmons allegedly told deputies that she left three children – a 10-year-old and two 7-year-olds – alone while she went to collect a paycheck that day, the statement says.

She had allegedly received a phone call indicating a vehicle the children did not know had entered the driveway, the statement says. She then received a phone call minutes later from a girl claiming she shot someone, the heavily redacted court documents say.

Law enforcement took statements from the children, who also claimed an unknown vehicle entered the driveway, they hid in a bedroom and a handgun accidentally went off when a child grabbed the gun, the statement says.

One of the children claimed the safety for the gun was on, but they did not know there was a bullet loaded in the chamber, court documents say.

The probable cause statement also notes that “[REDACTED] were placed in a different home.” However, when asked if the children were all belonged to Timmons, Luntsford said she could not go into detail due to the nature of the case. 

“All I can really probably say at this time is that there either have been or were several children residing in this home,” Luntsdorsford said.  

Deputies noted poor living conditions for the children, including smell of feces and urine being persistent throughout the home, as well as various trash, including loose pills and used condoms, being found.

A cockroach-infested shotgun was also found on the wall of Timmons’ bedroom, the deputy wrote. Interviewers with witnesses also claimed the handgun was “not always kept secure,” court documents say.

Luntsford said the living conditions factored into the child endangerment charges. 

“All of us might have a different standard on what’s acceptable as how we should keep our house clean,” Luntsford said. “But if it rises above a level where it seems to be very unsanitary to the point that it is probably posing a danger to the child either because it’s very unhealthy or the situation in which they are living may be unsafe in some way, then we would look at charging endangering.” 

Luntsford added there are no other current suspects at this time. 

“My office has received information regarding this defendant. So we have addressed that,” Luntsford said. “I am uncertain at this time if there will be any further reports regarding  any other potential defendants.”

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Hiker rescued after medical emergency at Ladder Canyon Trail near Mecca

KESQ on February 19, 2026

Jesus Reyes

MECCA, Calif. (KESQ) – A hiker was rescued after suffering a medical emergency on Ladder Canyon Trail, east of Mecca Thursday afternoon.

The incident was first reported at around 12:50 p.m.

“Due to difficult access, CHP helicopter H60 was utilized to locate and retrieve the patient. The patient was delivered to a waiting ground ambulance and transported to an area hospital,” reads a post by CAL FIRE.

There was no word on the current condition of the hiker. Stay with News Channel 3 for any new developments.

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21-year-old Ukrainian refugee with Utah ties killed alongside boyfriend in N.C. shooting

KIFI on February 19, 2026

CNN Newsource

Originally Published: 19 FEB 26 15:56 ET

By Arianne Brown

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    ST. GEORGE (KSL) — A 21-year-old Ukrainian refugee with Utah ties was killed alongside her boyfriend on Valentine’s Day, and the family is seeking to bring her body back to St. George to be laid to rest.

Kateryna “Kate” Tovmash was fatally shot alongside her boyfriend, Matthew Wade, 28, who was a soldier stationed at Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg), west of Fayetteville, North Carolina. The two were at Tovmash’s home in Vass, North Carolina, where she was living with her mom, stepdad and three younger siblings, according to area police. Reports also say that the two were allegedly killed by Tovmash’s ex-boyfriend, Caleb Fosnaugh, 25.

The family, including younger siblings were present during the shooting.

Family spokesperson Amberlyn Brown said Tovmash’s mother, Olena Brown, and stepfather Mycal Brown want to express gratitude to those who have supported them during this time, adding that they don’t want there to be animosity directed at the man suspected of killing their daughter.

“The message they want most portrayed in any of this is just to spread love,” Amberlyn Brown told KSL. “They’re very sad at the decision Caleb (allegedly) chose to make. They did have a relationship where they did know him, and they cared for him.

“Kate was known by everybody as loving, outgoing and ambitious,” she continued. “She loved her siblings more than anything. She loved children. She wanted to travel and she just had dreams as most young girls do. She had just turned 21.”

The family originally moved to the U.S. in 2023 as refugees to escape the war in Ukraine. The family first settled in St. George following Kate’s graduation from high school in Ukraine, Brown said. Following her parents’ divorce, Tovmash moved to North Carolina with her siblings, mother and stepfather two years ago. It was while out there that she met and dated Fosnsaugh, an Ohio resident, and then connected with Matthew Wade, who lived in North Carolina.

“Mycal and Olena would like everyone to know that although it can be hard not to throw hate out there, and as angry as something like this can make somebody, that they’re of the Christian faith,” Amberlyn Brown said. “They know they’ll see Kate again, and as hard as it may seem, the one request that they have, is that people don’t let hate and anger surround this situation. … They believe in forgiveness and that part of them finding peace is forgiving Caleb for what he’s done. They also want to share their love and condolences for Matthew’s family.”

Amberlyn said that at this time, the family is making plans for a funeral in North Carolina and has a goal of bringing her body to St. George to be laid to rest and have a service for her in Utah.

Brown said they have set up a GoFundMe* for the family to help with expenses related to their daughter’s death.

Tovmash’s stepfather told KSL the fundraiser was “set up by the community and has already been passed to Olena, who is the executor of Kate’s estate.”

“They came here originally to escape the war in Ukraine, and they found a lot of people that really cared for them in Utah,” Brown said. “Their overall hope is to bring Kate back to where she first came, which would be St. George. The family is hoping to eventually come to Utah, so our goal is to get the funds raised to be able to transport her body back here. Any other funds will be used for funeral expenses.

“The family believes that Kate is still with them in spirit, and they want to just carry on her legend of happiness and family and love.”

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. ­­­KSL verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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