Month: March 2026

Maile Sipraseuth

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)– Even as winter leaves and daylight stretches longer, some people find that the emotional weight of the colder months doesn’t completely disappear. For those experiencing lingering symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the transition into spring feels like a slow, uneven climb back to normal.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression triggered by a change in seasons, usually when fall starts. This seasonal depression gets worse in late fall or early winter, before subsiding with the arrival of sunnier days in spring.

“Lack of motivation and accomplishing tasks that you would normally be able to do or difficulty sleeping or maybe sleeping too much, overeating or under eating. And it can actually worsen as the seasons change. So it can it can start really manageable and mild when the seasons first kind of start and then it can progress,” Emily Smith, a licensed master social worker at Aspen Mental Health, said.

There’s also a lesser-known form of SAD that occurs in spring and summer, sometimes linked to anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia rather than fatigue.

Treatments for SAD include:

Light therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

Antidepressant medication

Spending time outdoors

Vitamin D

If you’re experiencing lingering depression with persistent or severe symptoms, treatments such as light therapy, counseling, or medication may alleviate symptoms.

“If it doesn’t feel like it’s manageable on your own then it’s then time to go in and see somebody and get a little extra help just because sometimes it is too hard to to handle on your own and you just need a little extra support,” Smith said.

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KIVI Staff

By: Leslie Solis

Originally Posted 5:52 PM, Mar 20, 2026

BOISE, Idaho (KIVI) — A bill that aims to restore a program allowing parents of disabled children to be paid for their work as caregivers is at a standstill inside the Statehouse.

Despite weeks of discussion and advocacy events at the Statehouse, House Bill 807 still has not received a public hearing. The proposed legislation would allow parents to be paid for up to 25 hours of caregiving work each week.

Trixie Wade knows the struggles firsthand. Her 10-year-old daughter, Harper, requires around-the-clock care, meaning someone always has to be home. This makes employment hard to maintain.

“We become a caregiving facility, not a home. We still have to keep a roof over her head… we still have to keep us fed,” Wade said. “We’re not lobbyists… we don’t have money behind us backing us.”

After making calls to Committee Chairman Rep. John Vander Woude’s office to ask when a hearing would take place, Wade says they were told the bill would not get a hearing.

“And to please stop having people contact them that we’re clogging up the phone lines for important stuff,” Wade said.

Rep. Vander Woude says it simply comes down to the bottom line, with budgets cut across the state.

“It’s a great idea… when I first looked at the bill, I liked 807… I liked the way it was structured, but it requires more spending. Unless I have a commitment from JFAC that they’re willing to spend $30 million more… then there’s no sense in moving the bill,” Rep. Vander Woude said.

Democratic Rep. Ilana Rubel has been working with these families and says the issue is not a lack of money, but rather where it is being spent.

“I just feel it’s so profoundly unfair to these families. These folks who have been working on this bill for more than 1 year… have just been so diligent… and they are in such dire need… and they’re being told to pound sand essentially,” Rubel said.

As House Bill 807 awaits a hearing, families like the Wades say they will keep advocating for change.

“Without having the discussion, how can you decide if a program is needed or not. When you’re a parent of a special needs child, you’re always hopeful… you hope that you’re seen, you hope that you’re heard,” Wade said.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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Seth Ratliff

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) — The Idaho House is set to debate a new bill that would introduce strict work requirements for the state’s Medicaid expansion program.

House Bill 913 would align Idaho’s Medicaid requirements with those outlined in the federal “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. John Vander Woude (R-Nampa), says work requirements have been a topic of debate since Medicaid expansion was first introduced in Idaho. According to Vander Woude, the legislation is designed to bring the program back to its original intent: providing insurance specifically for the “working poor.”

Clashing Estimates on Coverage Loss

While the bill successfully passed the House Health and Welfare Committee, opponents warn that the change could strip healthcare from thousands of Idahoans.

House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel (D-Boise) argued that while the bill is not an outright Medicaid expansion repeal, it is designed to maximize the number of people who get “tripped up” and lose their insurance.

“This is all designed to make it maximally difficult for people to get coverage, with the upshot that a lot of people are going to lose coverage,” Rubel told lawmakers. “And that’s not good for any of us who count on hospitals to continue operating and healthcare providers to still be here and working in the state.”

Rubel estimates that up to 40,000 Idahoans could lose coverage due to the change. Vander Woude argues opponents of the bill are overestimating, believing that, at most, between 15,000 and 20,000 people would lose eligibility.

How It Works: Requirements and Exemptions

Under HB 913, Medicaid expansion recipients aged 19 to 64 must complete 80 hours of work or “community engagement” per month to maintain coverage.

The bill outlines several key exemptions for individuals who are:

Under age 26 and currently or formerly in foster care

Medically frail

Enrolled in school at least half-time

Caretakers/parents of dependent children under 13, or caretakers of people with disabilities

Pregnant or receiving postpartum care

Veterans with disabilities

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Seth Ratliff

CHALLIS, Idaho (KIFI) — Search and rescue teams successfully performed a daring high-altitude helicopter rescue Saturday to save an injured 27-year-old man stranded near the summit of McGowan Peak.

The emergency began around 4:33 p.m. on March 21, when Custer County dispatch received a Garmin SOS notification. Details surrounding the rescue are limited, but a post by the Custer County Sheriff’s Office indicates the man had been climbing or hiking in the Pahsimeroi section of the Lost River Range south of Challis, Idaho.

Faced with steep, unforgiving terrain, Challis Search and Rescue, alongside the Idaho National Guard, flew a Black Hawk helicopter to the peaks. Working in thin air, rescue crews hoisted the man from the mountainside at 9400 feet and flew him to a staging area, where he was transferred to an awaiting medical helicopter.

The man’s current condition is unknown. However, following the successful mission, the Custer County Sheriff’s Office took to Facebook to praise the seamless teamwork between the local volunteers and Idaho National Guard crews.

“We appreciate the crew of Talon 70 and Air 4! Another season of cooperation begins!” states the post.

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